May 9-15

buddha field

This week saw the passing of the last open week in the Indralaya spring schedule. From this point on, programs flow on uninterrupted all the way until the end of September! As such, the week was composed of a wide assortment of preperatory activities, culminating in the celebration of several Indralaya-connected birthdays that coincide on May 14 (Happy Birthday to Carol Bee, Steve Murphy, Tim Hulley and me!).

coconut cream birthday cake

Comings and Goings
Indralaya's garden coordinator, Chelsea Cates, returned from a visit to the John Jeavon's farm and gardening center in Willits, CA, where she has previously interned. Wwoofers John Magee and Ona Lindauer departed after a three week stay, on their way to a farm on Camano Island and the NW Folklife Festival at the end of the month.

first plantings of the season fill the garden beds

Brian Davies arrived on Friday and spent the weekend working in the library. Carol Bee came by to work with Leonie and Crystal on the long-time coming Indralaya cookbook, now being readied for publication in mid-June. And Rolf Eriksen dropped by on Saturday to help troubleshoot some issues affecting Wisteria cabin.

My week began in Bellevue, following a quick trip to Spokane over the previous weekend to attend our niece Laura Anderson's graduation from Gonzaga University. On Monday, on the way back to Orcas I met with David Spangler and Deborah Koff-Chapin to discuss their program (Subtle Realms & Creative Expression) that is coming up July 30 - August 4. We shared several ideas and it is apparent that this program has the potential to offer a wonderful shared exploration and expression of human creative and the artistic impulse.

Look, up in the sky!

Around camp, lots of work was underway, including organizing and cleaning the kitchen, painting Apple cabin, hanging a new door at Fir cabin, and a burn pile was used to clean up a lot of debris that has been accumulating around the upper cabins.

buddha field 2