February 21-27

It was a quiet week at Indralaya following the work party. Largely enforced by yet another round of cold and snow. The last of the work party folk left on Monday morning. On Tuesday the water was drained from the dining room in anticipation of an arctic blast of cold air barreling down the Fraser River Valley. By Wednesday, the nighttime temperatures were dipping into the 20's and we had 3" of snow on the ground. The cold lasted through the weekend.

We used the time to get a little bit more moved into the RMC office and unpack a few more of our personal belongings as well.

The RMC Office

A Moment of Reflection

Last weekend a small milestone was noted as this blog, which began at the end of October last year, had its 2,000th pageview. That's an average of 500 pageviews per month. Some of the threads that have woven their way through these four months are the build up to the 2011 program season, the migration of the yew tree on near east beach, winter weather, and the overhaul of the resident manager's cabin (RMC).

Some of you might be wondering what ever happened to the blue dinghy that floated up on near east beach last year (Oct 25-31 and Nov 29-Dec 5). It disappeared shortly thereafter and hasn't been seen since...

sprout smorgasbord

February 14-20

Tending the Orchard

The week just past began with a Valentine's Day wind storm and ended with a season opening work party. In between there were registrations to process, projects to organize, and an interesting meeting of the Wednesday night Theosophical study group.



Weather Watch
One of the prominent ways that people pass the time on Orcas Island is keeping track of the weather. And keeping up with the weather was especially relevant this week. There are several different online sources for weather news - none of which ever seem to be in complete agreement with each other - and one of the forecasts for the weekend was predicting a dramatic drop in temperatures for the weekend, down into the low 20's Fahrenheit (-6 Celsius) on both Friday and Saturday night.

With the work party coming, we were concerned that if we turned water on in the dining hall for the weekend, there might be a risk of water freezing and bursting the pipes. Ultimately we decided to take the risk and proceed with the work party...

President's Day Weekend
...with no regrets, as the weather was magnificent, with crisp air and clear skies. A capable crew of about 25 participants were in attendance and much good was accomplished. Particular emphasis was placed on pruning the fruit trees, but work was also completed in several other areas of the camp.

circling up

updating the job list

garden crew

picking up sticks

relaxation time

Where two or more are gathered...
After the work day was completed on Saturday, a healing circle gathered in the library and joined together in a healing meditation for friends and loved ones.

Perhaps more heartening than the physical work that was done was the following comment that was received from one of those attending:

I'd like to say how much I enjoyed being a part of the wonderful gathering of helpful souls this past weekend. Besides getting some experience tree pruning it also proved to be the perfect environment for doing some spiritual pruning, and this morning I awoke feeling a sense of renewal and excitement for this next season of growth and fruition in my spiritual life.

And isn't that what the real work of Indralaya is about?


Registration Update
In the week since we returned from our travels, it's been a challenge to catch up with the initial deluge of interest in our 2011 programs. Over 200 registrations have been received so far.

People seem to be appreciating the new look of the catalog. Over the weekend, we learned that it has yet to reach many mailboxes in Canada, though just today we heard from a person on Vancouver Island that it was in today's mail. So if you haven't received the catalog yet, it should be arriving soon. And of course information about all the 2011 programs and work parties is available online at www.indralaya.com.

February 7-13

After a couple days in Seattle, we arrived back at Indralaya on Friday. Our trip up the coast included visits with Cordy Anderson in Eugene, Lin Bauer and Kathy Arquette in Salem, and a stop at the Theosophical Society in Portland to drop off copies of the 2011 program catalog.

While we were gone, the curtain drain near the dining hall that had backed up and flooded the basement late last year (see December 6-12) was replaced by local contractor Eric Lum.

Thanks to Tom, Audrey and Petr for staying at Indralaya and tending to the place while we were gone. Petr is now here with his son Kalle. They will be staying through the season opening work party coming up next weekend.

Kalle & Petr

Not surprisingly, there was a huge pile of emails and correspondence to catch up with in the office. Early registration has been booming, with registrations for Spring and Fall programs well ahead of last year at this time.

Seaside Migrations

There continues to be a lot of action on the Indralaya beaches. While we were gone there was a small landslide at the bottom of the steps to near east beach.

The fallen yew tree that was discussed in an earlier blog entry (Oct 25-31) has been pulled from the rocks at the west end of the beach and is now sitting just below the steps.

Over on the north side of the property there was a significant rock fall just west of the dock platform. The bluff that rises up from the shoreline in this area has been prone to slides for many years.

Krotona Memories

Finally, in case you missed noticing the young hawk perched on the Krotona School sign in last week’s entry, here’s a close-up:

January 31 - February 6

Special Krotona Edition

We are on our way back to Orcas now after a week at Krotona, a theosophical community and school that was established in Ojai, CA in 1924. There are longstanding ties between Krotona and Indralaya. It was once something of a tradition to make the long pilgrimage up the West Coast every summer from Ojai to Orcas and spend some time at the camp. Will Ross, for example, was a long time resident of Ojai who traveled to camp frequently and designed some of Indralaya's main buildings (including the teepee and dining hall).

There are also several current Indralaya families with Ojai ties. Leonie lived with her family in the Ojai valley for several years, and the Bees (Austie, Phoebe & Leif, Kim and Dana Erickson) also lived there for a time.

Ojai is also the home of the Krishnamurti Foundation and the Besant Hill (formerly Happy Valley) School, which was established in 1946. Graduates of the school with close Indralaya ties include David Christensen, Brian Young, Carol & Helen Bee, Rene Quenneville and sisters Ondine Toler-Scott and Kyra Canfield. Rolf Eriksen was lead contractor in the construction of several of the school's buildings in the 1980's and 90's.

Annine & Joy

Current Ojai resident Annine Wycherley and her husband lived on Orcas for a year in 1974-75. They lived at Indralaya for part of that time and while they were there, Annine was the camp registrar. Joy Mills, a long time Krotona resident and well-loved teacher and mentor in the contemporary theosophical world, has long been a friend of Indralaya. She first visited the camp in 1946 or '47 and has been back many times since.

The following photos provide a glimpse of the beauty of Krotona:

Gardens and entrance to Library

Star Fountain

student pod

On our way home, we stopped in Halcyon, CA, which is the home of a community that has ties to the Theosophical tradition. We happened by on clean-up day at the Temple of the People, and met community guardian Eleanor Shumway. At the end of our conversation, Eleanor gave us this watercolor from the Temple's collection as a gift to Indralaya.

Leonie & Eleanor