April 18-24

This last week was book-ended by the 'spring special' and Easter work parties. Several people stayed over for some or all of the week between, including Charles Shimwell, Teresa Harris, Kathy Miners, Alan Lindquist and Michael Short, all of whom worked through the week on projects big and small. On Thursday, our first wwoofers of the season - John Magee & Ona Lindauer - arrived, as did Wayne Hunt, returning for a 2nd tour of duty on fellowship staff.

We had a mid-week visit from Shandra Augenstein. She is now in the 16th week of her pregnancy and very much a beautiful mother to be.

Adia Dolan

Friday saw the beginning of the weekend work party. Everyone reveled in the beautiful spring weather and by Saturday lunch, approximately 45 people were in camp helping with many of the final preparations for the season.

So much was happening that I neglected to take many pictures until after the work day was over!

Isadora & Sedona

Edna & Charles

Ona & Sasha

Can you see the fairy slippers?
(click photo to enlarge)

A sure harbinger of Spring is the annual appearance of the delicate fairy slipper orchid (calypso bulbosa) in various places around the Indralaya forest. This perennial forest plant is delicately scented and was used by the Haida people in various ways. The Latin name refers to the nymph Calypso from Homer's Odyssey, and literally means 'she who conceals'.

revelation

April 11-17

At the very beginning of the week two fruit trees blossomed simultaneously in the meadow. What mysterious sympathy would bring these two trees, who have lived their lives side by side, to blossom together and ahead of all the others? As the week ended they continued to be the only fruit trees in blossom.

The additional spring work party that was added to the Spring schedule a few weeks ago got underway on Friday. Over the weekend, there were anywhere from 8 to 10 people in camp and a lot of great work was done - cabin cleaning, painting, and construction. These smaller, more intimate work parties are a fun way to experience being at Indralaya.

Megan wields a paint brush

Laurie tends a corner of the garden
while Kari cleans up near the old chicken coop

Alan arrives

Charles preps the old wood room at the library for a new use

Lars & Claes show their stuff

Steve gets ready to mop the kitchen

Michael & Alan outside Pear cabin

Theresa and Kathy on Apple porch

Kathy spent many childhood summers here, in the days when Apple was better known as the Abbenhouse cabin. As people were arriving for the weekend, I was headed the other way to fill a u-haul with new mattresses and other items.

new mattress staging area

While I was away, I also attended a 'creative mentoring' workshop in Olympia with Michael Meade. It was an informative and interesting exploration of the many ways that mentoring occurs in relationships. One of the important points that came out is that mentoring is in large part a process of noticing and blessing (or appreciating) the noble qualities of young people, particularly as they blossom and seek to find their place in the world. What Meade calls 'mentoring moments' can be significant times of change that provide access and insight into the deeper, more vital currents of individual and community life.

April 4-10

Just as the generative forces of Springtime arise and arise from the earth in greater and greater waves of energy, preparations for the beginning of the intensive human season at Indralaya continued to blossom this week.

In work that will be appreciated by all those who have suffered through the cold or lukewarm showers of the past few years in the Roundhouse, a new hot water on demand system was installed. Volunteer Petr Senkerik visited for several days and installed the interior wiring, plugs and lights in Pear Cabin. The outdoor lights between the teepee and the library were repaired, as were the shower enclosure and floor transitions in Spruce cabin. Fifteen new mattresses were ordered to replace old and worn out mattresses in the cabins.

hot water guaranteed!

Pear cabin electrical

Spruce shower

With the help of Mark and Linda Wilkins, who provided plans and a model, three new nest boxes were built and placed on strategic garden fence posts. We have high hopes that these nests will entice swallows to return and establish a colony. Bees have also been purchased to re-establish our bee colonies and they are expected to arrive by the end of the month.

bird boxes, sitting on the fence

In the garden, Chelsea and Leonie continued to plant and prepare the beds.

planting seeds

an impressive array of starts

While cleaning and organizing the dining hall office, I came across two brochures from Indralaya's past. Although neither is dated, the smaller brochure is likely to have been printed in 1946 as it refers to the beginnings of a five year educational plan culminating in 1951. Judging by the picture of the new dining hall, sans its later addition, the larger brochure was prepared sometime between 1958 and 1964.

brochures

(note the early version of the Indralaya logo)

Both brochures seem intended to introduce Indralaya to those who are not yet involved. They emphasize the exploration of theosophical ideas, communal experience, and our human relationship with the subtle forces of the natural world as essential aspects of the intention underlying Indralaya's ongoing development.

From 1946: “The concept of Universal Brotherhood, the first object of the (Theosophical) Society, has been the inspiration of the project (Indralaya) since its inception in 1927. Camps have been conducted each summer, except during the war (1941-1945), to bring together people sympathetic to the spirit of cooperative enterprise. The programs of these sessions have featured lectures and discussions on the fundamental concerns of humanity, effectively enhanced by a natural and friendly atmosphere.”

(click on the photo to see a full size version)

From the later brochure: “Since 1927 people of all ages have worked in all capacities to make Indralaya possible, and have found their stay enriched by their participation in the many facets of camp life. They have found camp physically relaxing and intellectually stimulating. Chances are you would too.”

March 28 - April 3

Plum Tree Buds on a Rainy Day

This week there was a dawning realization that suddenly the beginning of the program season is nearly upon us. The Easter work party begins in just three weeks and from then on program activities will continue almost non-stop, as they do every year, through mid-October. Along with this awareness, there seems to be a stimulating sense of anticipation in the air....

Going my way?

... and lots of projects to attend to as well. Here, Leonie is headed off to clean the interior of water tank B, which is a back-up storage tank that holds 27,000 gallons of water when it is full.

off to sweep the driveway!

Our niece Irena was also here for a few days and volunteered several hours on behalf of Indralaya. In recent years, many high school programs have encouraged student volunteerism and some have found that Indralaya is a great place to satisfy those requirements.

James, Margaret, Frankie

The off-season is also personal retreat time at Indralaya. This past weekend James, Frankie, and Margaret Gomez were up from Seattle for a few days. Margaret volunteered at the Theosophical Library in Seattle for several years which is where she and James met. That's Frankie on the right, age 3.

On Sunday we ventured down near the north shore of East Sound to check out a garage sale and found ourselves at Carol McKinstry's, an artist and co-leader of several recent Creativity Weeks at Indralaya. The photo below, taken from Carol's deck, looks south across the water to the northern shore of Indralaya.

Indralaya Calls to Me...