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.

EARLY RISER

My days (and nights) here at Refuge Cove are full and abundant. There is always a corner or a task or an inspiration calling me. It's a bit like farm life...morning chores, planting, feeding the animals (and humans), an occasional trip to town (the dock) for socializing or the mail, heading out to the open waters to pull our prawn traps, a squeezed in session on the sewing machine, finding time for reading and spanish practice, and etc. etc. etc.! And of course the evening crib match with opponent Tom, one of my delicious dinner concoctions, and a movie in the new dvd player to entertain while I do handwork or the like. Phew!...I drop into bed and plummet into dreamland, only to cycle back into another day of early rising.

Roosters are not what wakes me. Chickens are not a part of my animal lot, but many friends and locals have them and we are the lucky recipients of the eggs. Lately I have been on a rooster/chicken (chickster!) focus for my fabric subjects becuase they are one of the ties that bind my Mexican and Canadian lives together. Perhaps chicksters are just one of those beings that take us back to our roots, back to the good old days, back to simplicity and earthiness. Also, I was so impressed and inspired by Linda's beautiful rooster, that I had to try one myself. First one, the "early riser", then the other - "on the run".

The animals I am responsible for feeding are numerous: 1 husband, 1 small dog, 10 goldfish, and about 500 hummingbirds! Now you may wonder how I have calculated this amazing number of buzzing, electric little avian generators. Julie told me one cup of syrup feeds 50, so yesterdays consumption of 2.5 quarts works out to about 500. The feeder is in my kitchen window, in front of me as I work away at the dirty dishes that pile up. They hover and watch as I fill an empty feeder at the sink, and when I hang it, I like to linger a moment or two with my hand at the base. With stillness I can attract them back to the feeder and my fingers just become another perch for them to get their sustenance. An awesome moment!

I bet you can't guess the subject of my next piece!

MOTHER NATURE RULES

It has been a long journey north. All went relatively well and in a timely fashion, but my most unfavorite time of the year (transitioning) stretched through latitudes and time and people and shifts of consciousness, culminating in the place we truly call home, where our spirits feel so connected with our natural surroundings.
It seems as though with each transition, some of my thoughts and ponderings focus on how things have changed. In Mazatlan, its a little like a detective game...putting the picture you remember in your head next to what you see in front of your eyes after being away for 6 months. Didn't that restaurant change names? Do you remember that building? I think there's a new store on the corner.
But coming north, to our tiny berg of Refuge Cove (with all of 17 people here at the moment), changes are a blatant force. They don't happen often, but when they do, everyone notices.
For me, each springtime return has a different feel to it. Last year it was a social thing....different dynamics cast an uncomfortable aura on the place and I felt disconnected for a few weeks. With the tourist season bringing hundreds of visitors, that feeling didn't last long. But this year, its the change of our environment. Mother Nature seems really pissed! Our arrival day of May 1st was dry to the bone, with the ground underfoot crunching along as I climbed the path to our home. My lovely garden was parched, flattened low to the ground from heavy snowfalls, and now, no water. My house was happily NOT littered with mouse poop, but did have a resident group of winged ants living in the roof. Water, typically dancing down the hillside creek, trickled along midst frequent "dock talk" of water shortages and fire danger. There are closures for rockfish, once thought of as a lowly "bottom fish" but now protected because of diminishing supply.
Now, a week later, we've had some rain, our water tank has been filled, and we've caught prawns rather than fish. We'll survive and life goes on. But the feeling that Mother Nature is one amazing and powerful spirit is lingering in my heart these days, and I certainly wish we all could figure out how to turn the tide for our planet....or at the very least, not piss her off anymore.