November 21-27

It was a quiet week for human activity at Indralaya as we closed the gate and headed to Seattle for the Thanksgiving holiday. While we were gone, the wind blew and leaves fell, as evidenced by the following pictures of the black walnut tree that sits at the base of the garden:

last week

this week

November 14-20

With the end of season work party completed, it was once again time to drain the water from the solarium, dining hall, and plumbing cabins. Just in time, as a taste of winter weather arrived on Friday with a light snow fall and temperatures dipping below freezing for the weekend.

Welcome Back!
One enjoyable consequence of the cold weather and snow was the reemergence of the Buddha who has been hiding among the bracken fern near the RMC since early June.

November 19 ~ Buddha field 5

Buddha field 3 (from June 6-12 post)

Down but not Out
Earlier in the week, Leonie visited the Orcas Medical Center to check on some serious bouts of persistent coughing and learned that she had a case of walking pneumonia. As a result, she found herself inside for much of the week and spent much of the time working with co-editor Carol Bee on completing the Autumn issue of Meadow Musings, the occasional newsletter that all donors and Friends of Indralaya receive.

History Lesson
This week also saw the completion of an application to renew the 1999 tideland lease with the State of Washington for the dock area. As part of the application, we were required to submit the Deed of Trust that proves ownership of the land adjoining the lease area.

This title document is dated May 1, 1928, and states, in part, that

“the property is to be developed as a center serving a working community, and as a retreat for purposes of study, meditation and investigation, with departments for literature, arts, crafts, dramatic representations, dancing, and rythmic (sic) exercises all in harmony with the general purposes and plans of the International Theosophical Society with headquarters at Adyar, India....”

Not a bad vision for what was to come.

eagle in tree above the grove

November 7-13

work party conviviality

With the conclusion of the work party this last weekend, another Indralaya season comes to an end. Night falls early and there is quiet on the meadow. Yet even in this time of rest the seeds for next year are already being planted.

Earlier today, I scrolled back through the 34 posts that have been made on this site since the 2011 season began, way back with the President’s Day work party in February. There have been some challenges and many beautiful moments along the way. In looking back over the past eight months, I was filled again with appreciation and wonder for all that this place provides.

Work has been done ~ thoughts and ideas expressed ~ hearts filled ~ lives changed. This extraordinary ‘ongoing experiment in theosophical living’ that we know as Indralaya carries on. May it be ever so!

western sky at sunset

October 31 - November 6

frost on the cabbage

There were a number of things to attend to and follow up on in the wake of the annual meeting of the Indralaya board last week (see October 31). By mid-week things had settled back down, providing time for us to attend to looming piles of paperwork and begin some long planned overhauling of the filing system. Leonie spent several hours working in the archives, while I attended to the RMC office filing cabinets and various stacks of paper that had piled up over the course of the program season. By the time we were done, we'd generated a 33 gallon garbage sack full of recyclable paper waste!

Minor's desk (before)

Minor's desk (after)

On Sunday morning we joined Tina Rose at her home in Olga for a long-ago planned three mile walk to Doe Bay Resort and Cafe for breakfast. Tina has been the graphic designer for the Indralaya program catalog for twelve years now, since taking over from Carol Stanley in 2000. This was the initial meeting to begin planning next year’s catalog, which will be out in mid to late January.

Leonie & Tina, overlooking Buck Bay

As we turned into Doe Bay, it was a great pleasure to see Indralaya’s former resident managers Shandra and River Augenstein, along with their new born daughter Julia and River's mother, Marlene. They were also on their way to breakfast so we all had a chance to sit down together and catch up on happenings over a delicious meal. The most significant happening, of course, being the birth of Julia three weeks ago.

mother and child