JERRY, MY INSPIRATION!

Here's Jerry. He is so amazing - married to a beautiful wife, Reene, for 56 years, lives full time on the amazing boat that he built by himself, and has a fantastic and devoted family that he loves to help with building and renovation projects. After all, he was a high school shop teacher north of Victoria, BC, and he obviously is one those guys who can do anything and everything.

Every summer, Jerry and Reene bring their boat north and cruise through the Desolation Sound area for four beautiful months. Along with a handful of other boaters, they make Refuge Cove their "home away from home" and are included in the group we loosely refer to as "locals".

Last week Jerry turned 80! Reene hosted a deck party for all the other "locals" and provided her fabulous pies (blackberry or lemon chiffon) for 60. And she's close to 80 too. Both are my inspiration...still adventuring, still celebrating with friends, still enjoying all that life holds.

So I searched through my box of recycled white clothes and found only one white t-shirt, but just perfect for a quick tie-dye for Jerry's 80th. Doesn't he look great? And I hear he's been seen wearing it at other events. What a guy!

ON THE PROWL FOR THE OWL

The beauty of Refuge Cove is found in the raw, natural environment surrounding us. We have the ocean as our front yard with all of the wildness and mystery and depth that it holds, while my garden and the forest are right out our backdoor. It's everywhere...and we love it! Although our island is immense, we witness very little wildlife. We hear about winter sightings of a cougar or maybe a lone wolf, but during the summer months, we may see a small marten skirting along the beach or a seal surfacing as we paddle along in our kayaks. Squirrels jump from tree to tree and taunt my little dog with their chirping. Bats whisk through the air at night in search of the many bugs filling the sky.
My most faithful and interesting visitor is a barred owl. Every afternoon, when I hear the robins squawking and chirping up a storm, I know the owl is near. Eventually the robins' squawks enter my yard and I begin the search for the owl. He has three favorite perches and I believe he's looking for snakes, baby birds in their nest, or a small mouse or vole. He also sits above my pond where I have ten 4 year old pet store goldfish with their 12 babies. We made a hideaway out of rocks that they can tuck away out of harm's way, and Mr. Owl hasn't managed to get them yet.
But lately he's nowhere to be seen and I haven't heard the robins cry. Where is he? My ear is listening, tuned to the backdrop of the forest. Where is he?

A SHOW OF FORCE

Each month a member of my quilt journal group selects a theme for each of us to interpret in our own way. Sometimes we have a few weeks of warning on what's coming, but July came to us right at the first of the month. After all, it's summer and we're all busy with activity and family and traveling and fun. My Quadra friend, Terry, proclaimed July to be the month of "earth, air, fire, water" and challenged us to use as many of these elements as possible in our piece.

Terry must have known what was on the horizon for us, at least in southern BC.

Two nights ago, I sat in my favorite chair, doing one of my typical late night activities such as writing or doodling, sudoku or listening to my ipod. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a flash outside. What was it? It had been a hot day and rain was on the forecast but I hadn't heard word of lightning. The flash came again, so I turned off the lights and began to watch the show. Thunder was dim and subtle so I knew the show was far away and it didn't give me that powerful surge of force and energy that I've felt with lightning storms in the past. But it was late and I was tired, so soon I realized it would be better for me to go to bed and watch through my bedroom window. At that, I climbed the stairs and "lightening-ed" off to sleep. My faithful pooch was by my side.

But the energy was brewing and at 4 am, my eyes opened wide to witness the most amazing burst of light I have ever experienced, followed IMMEDIATELY by a crack that sent my mind into apocalyptical imaginings: nuclear attack, end of the world, earth's implosion. I had never seen such a show of force in my life.

The show went on for another hour but nothing compared to that earlier flash and crack. It was Mother Nature showing every bit of force she had. I was humbled and honored to be a witness. I will never forget it.

Earth. Air. Fire. Water. A perfect theme, Terry!

RETURN

For those of who who have been following the saga of Tom's border issues, the big news is that he is back. Last Saturday, he ferried across from Anacortes to Sydney, BC, presented his paperwork to the border officials and awaited their answer. After reviewing his papers, one officer said, "I would have done the same thing" with regards to the hockey situation. This is Canada, after all! Two nights with friends and then an early drive north this morning brought him to the Squirrel Cove dock where we re-united after a very long and expensive month apart. I am so happy to have him home....AND SPIKE IS ECSTATIC!

A HUGE thank you goes out to all who helped by writing letters, researching legal information, offering housing and meals, making calls of encouragement, sending good thoughts and prayers. It was a community effort and we can't say thank you enough! Muchas gracias!

For now, its a beautiful summer at Refuge Cove and we're going to enjoy every moment!

CRABBY

I am crabby these days: irritated that my husband, Tom, is still stuck in the United States, grouchy at having to do many home tasks that I'm not used to doing (hauling propane tanks down to the dock, discovering that our truck -our sherpa!- has a dead battery, hauling compost up from the store, etc. etc.), ill-tempered when I have to be the cheerleader for him when he calls and expresses his anger or discouragement or impatience over the process, and anxious that maybe after all of this effort, money, community support, etc., that the border officials will once again turn him away. Crabby!

He has turned in his paperwork, received all of his reports, and turned everything over to his Vancouver lawyer who specializes in immigration issues. The lawyer has said that he possibly will be FED-EXing everything back to him TODAY. And with that, Tom supposedly can cross the border one more time, present his paperwork to the officials for perusal, wait for their answer, and if yes, pay his money for the temporary permit that will allow him to return THIS YEAR. One year at a time, one week at a time, one day at a time. Minute by minute.

So now we wait!

My quilted crabs grace a tote bag. I pieced some warm and earthy pieces together, divided out the fabric with masking tape, and stitched in 9 little crabs. Then with my fine tipped bottle filled with Soft Scrub with bleach, I discharged the color from the crabs to leave behind a hint of the former colors. They are beautiful, yes?

I am crabby, yes! Maybe in a day or two, I'll have some good news.

HUMMERS

We are experiencing a respite from the hummingbirds. May was a heavy traffic month, but as is typical with other years, this first batch leaves around June 1st, and we expect to see the next crew during the month of July. For now, I only have to fill my feeders once a week, and I'm watching for the increase of our high-speed, flying visitors.
The numbers around the feeder was a frequent topic of conversation in June. We figure there were up to 50 at a time, within a 15 ft. range from the feeder. One night, after filling the feeder, I decided to just sit and hold it to see if the birds would come to me, and they did. Out of 6 holes, I had all but one filled. The beating of their wings was cooler than a high speed fan. It was an intense experience!

Speaking of migratory creatures, I am hoping to see me migratory husband soon. With reference to the previous post of his inadmissability into Canada, his situation is looking promising but certainly has been an extreme amount of hoop-jumping, information gathering, and craziness. He is working with a Vancouver immigration lawyer, living in Anacortes with computer access 30 minutes away in Mount Vernon (both good friends!) and is totally immersed in the incredible task of gaining access to his life in Refuge Cove. After an FBI check, police checks, fingerprinting, a complete residential and employment history since the age of 18, letters of reference from 8 individuals, and time for the lawyer to compile it all and summarize the situation, he hopefully will then be able to present it to the border officers (along with a payment for a temporary permit) to enter Canada. This has been such an incredible story and experience! Not a good experience, but incredible in the sense that it has been life-changing and so shockingly sudden.

Let's see who gets here first, Tom or the hummingbirds?

LOCKED OUT OF LIFE

My quilt journal assignment for June is "sometimes a great notion"...so I went to my sewing box and pulled out some oddball notions that I could use to interpret something of interest or going on in my life. Our current situation is so powerful that it all just flowed out onto the cloth....a heavy-duty zipper as the border, an old emblem for the Canadian side, and some cloth tapes to represent the U.S. side...I know, stars would help, but I couldn't find any. Then the safety pin just had to go onto the wrist of the "southern" wrist, as that is my husband, Tom, who was turned back at the border last week as inadmissable into Canada.

We have been traveling to Canada (as U.S. citizens) for many years, first as boaters, enjoying the waters of the Gulf Islands and Desolation Sound, then in 2000 purchased a share at Refuge Cove and have since been spending our summers here. It is heaven on earth here for us. We respect the laws that say we have a 6 month limit per year, so annually migrate between Canada and Mexico (via the U.S.)...two countries we have grown to love, and thank our lucky stars that we are retired and able to live the lifestyle we do.

BUT, last week something came up on their computer screen that caught the Canadians' attention. In 2004, Tom and I went to a hockey game for our beloved UAF Nanooks in our hometown of Fairbanks, Alaska. We were avid fans, and we were at every home game. At this one very exciting game, the fans were up and down in their seats, but this one very tall man in front of me failed to sit down. In my polite, reasonable, non-confrontational way, I asked him to sit down. From that he began to verbally abuse me. My husband got into some verbal discourse with him which I thought might have ended everything, but no, he had to turn one more time and go at me. At that, Tom punched the guy, then the police came, which followed with a court case....and now we are separated by the forces of Homeland Security that are dominant in our world today. (Thanks to George Bush!) Even though the judge reduced the case from a felony to a misdemeanor with a $50 fine (maybe like a traffic ticket), it is that word ASSAULT that Canadians don't like. I just keep thinking there should be a different category for assault at a hockey game...like maybe making him an honorary citizen with a parade and such! But no...that is not our lot.

So he is in the land of lawyers and fbi checks and fingerprinting and fighting this battle which the Canadian consulate says may take 3 years, and I am up at our cabin, managing the garden and the boat, and keeping up with all the little maintenance issues we have here. I have custody of the dog and he has the truck. Phone calls and emails keep us connected. Once the family visitors come and go in August, I will join him south of the border in his fight for re-entry. Unless the immigration lawyer from Vancouver happens to have the middle name of God.

Again, we wait.