Gl acial Granite Beaverton Valley Faithful Reader, On San Juan Island was my first blog and is now retired yet I leave it here because it contains my history of San Juan Island that so many of you have been kind enough to let me know you enjoyed. You will find the links to my history posts in the right hand column here in 2 parts: History of San Juan Island Part I, then scroll down to find History of San Juan Island part II. Part I starts with the first post, Birth of an Island with a quick overview of the Island's geologic history and continues to The 49th Parallel Meets the Salish Sea which describes how the vaguely worded Oregon Treaty of 1846 set the pieces into place for the infamous Pig Incident . Who Was Juan de Fuca ? The History of San Juan Island Part II explains how Native Women Saved Society , includes the effects of Gold! , and leads up to Charles Griffin's Response to the shooting of his Most Notable Pig . Lee Bave in Front of The Pig War Museum

New Baby J-45 with Mother Samish (J-14) photo credit: Ken Balcomb Center For Whale Research What a great birthday present! This year what we thought were two new Orca calves turned out to be three! Two of them in J-pod and so far all looking healthy and active. That is very good news especially with the recent loss of seven whales missing and assumed dead. This does not solve the problem the whales are facing of a diminished food supply but is a hopeful sign. Check out OrcaCam on the Center For Whale Research website Link to: The Whale Museum

Fir Bough Out My Bedroom Window I watched the fat rain come down last night but sure did not expect to find a snowy morning. Not that I mind. I have a peaceful association in the reflected light off the snow that brightens an overcast winter day. An excerpt from The Four Seasons of the Year by the first American Poet, Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672) Moist snowie February is my last, I care not how the winter time doth haste, In Pisces now the golden Sun doth shine, And Northward still approaches to the Line, The Rivers 'gin to ope, the snows to melt, And some warm glances from his face are felt; Which is increased by the lengthen'd day, Until by's heat, he drive all cold away

There is a big call out for volunteers these days. President Obama is asking us to give service time to our communities. Whenever I hear a call out for volunteers I hear the voice of Grace Slick on the Woodstock Album when she says "Good Morning people! Now you will hear morning maniac music, believe me..." and then Jefferson Airplane blasts into Volunteers of America ... Jefferson Airplane - Volunteers of America Look what's happening out in the streets Got a revolution Got to revolution Hey I'm dancing down the streets Got a revolution Got to revolution Ain't it amazing all the people I meet Got a revolution Got to revolution One generation got old One generation got soul This generation got no destination to hold Pick up the cry Hey now it's time for you and me Got a revolution Got to revolution Come on now we're marching to the sea Got a revolution Got to revolution Who will take it from you We will and who are we We are volunteers of America

There are some people with businesses in town who would like to leave lit-up signs on all night in Friday Harbor. Currently this is against our Town Ordinance. Leaving lights on all night is not only an irresponsible waste of resources but would be a blight to our night sky. Please attend this evening's public hearing and let town council know that this is an unacceptable proposal. Starry Night ~ Vincent Van Gogh NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING Notice is hereby given that the Council of the Town of Friday Harbor, Washington will hold a PUBLIC HEARING to consider revisions to Title 14 of Friday Harbor Municipal Code regarding sign regulations at 5:35 PM, February 19, 2009 at Town Hall, 60 Second Street, Friday Harbor, WA 98250. Proposed revisions are to allow signs to be illuminated after businesses are closed.

Princess of Cups ~ Druid Craft Tarot A reader asks... Anita : When you say the 1000 day countdown starts today, does that mean that the Age of Aquarius won't really be here for another three years? Me : That's right Anita. As I understand it we have made it through the cusp period between the Piscean Age and the Age of Aquarius and are now in the "Dawning" of the Age of Aquarius. The Age of Aquarius starts officially in 2012, or in 1,000 days minus a few now. See the countdown widgit in my right-hand column. This is of course in sync with the Myan calendar running out. So we are into the transition which they say will cause some tumult but by 2036 things should be really groovy. Anita : I heard a "anti-snarking" story on NPR this morning, maybe the no more derision part is already starting. Me : Right again, I think we are all going to have to do our part. I know that with Bush no longer in the White House I do feel quite a bit less snarky already.

The moon is in the seventh house and Jupiter is aligned with Mars. You know what that means. It is officially the dawning of the Age of Aquarius. Come this morning, February 14, 2009 at dawn the moon in Libra enters the seventh house, the house of relationships, and Jupiter and Mars are aligned in Aquarius in the twelfth house, the house of spiritual transformation. The official 1,000 day countdown to the Age of Aquarius begins today. To usher in the Aquarian Age with a fitting mantra link to: Meditation for an Invincible Spirit in the Aquarian Age . AQUARIUS Johanofsweden When the moon is in the Seventh House And Jupiter aligns with Mars Then peace will guide the planets And love will steer the stars This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius The age of Aquarius Aquarius! Aquarius! Harmony and understanding Sympathy and trust abounding No more falsehoods or derisions Golden living dreams of visions Mystic crystal revelation And the mind's true liberation Aquarius! Aquarius!

Cindy Kallet & Grey Larsen Feb. 14th, 7:30 PM at the Lopez Island Grange Hall, $10 Unique Tapestry of Contemporary Folk and World Music What better way to celebrate Valentine's Day than to take your sweetie to a Home on the Grange concert on Lopez Island. I hear from my friend Sue DuMond on Lopez that Cindy Kallet & Grey Larsen will be playing. Here is what Sue has to say... "Cindy Kallet and Grey Larsen, each well known and loved for their decades of music making have joined musical forces in a new duo. Cindy is a superb singer, guitarist, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Grey is one of America's finest players of the Irish flute and tin whistle, as well as an accomplished singer and concertina, fiddle, piano and harmonium player. As composers each has contributed to the unique tapestry of contemporary folk and world music as it exists and flourishes in America today. Together, they weave songs and tunes of vibrant color and rich texture.More info: link to: Home on the Grange , or call: 468-2753. Lopez Grange Hall

Friday Harbor Waterfront Late 1950s Today, February 9th, Friday Harbor turns 100 years old. There will be celebratory goings on at the Grange Hall, the Fire Station and the Yacht Club all day. Link to: Friday Harbor Centennial

Have you ever had a perverse thought that you tried to banish from your mind but the more you tried to resist it the more it persisted? I watched the Superbowl last weekend, or at least parts of it. Having been a fan of Bruce Springsteen since his early days I looked forward to his half-time show. It was when he went out onto a part of the stage that jutted into the crowd that it struck me. Bruce Springsteen was twins-separated-at-birth with Tom Jones! Bruce Springsteen ~ Tom Jones

Yes, we can and we did. Obama Taking the Oath. ~ Photo: Damon Winter/The New York Times Throngs Watch the Ceremony. ~ Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Jill & Joe Biden, Barack & Sasha Obama Pete Seeger was a rickety old man over 20 years ago when I saw him at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival. He must be at least 100 years old. What a hopeful omen for the country that he was there at the Lincoln Memorial today singing Woody Guthry's This Land Is Your Land , yes, with all the verses. Pete Seeger, Bruce Springsteen, Beyonce, will.i.am Beyoncé - America The Beautiful I feel a little corny but can not stop my eyes from watering while Beyonce leads the crowd in singing America the Beautiful .

Michelle Obama - Our New First Lady At Train stop in Wilmington, Delaware to Pick up the Bidens Taking the same train route that Abraham Lincoln took to his inauguration, President Elect Obama is undertaking the final leg of his inaugural journey to the nation's capital. Stopping along the way aboard the vintage 1930s Georgia 300 coach Barack Obama is speaking to the American people pledging to reclaim America's spirit as he warns of steep the challenges facing the country. In Philadelphia Obama said, "Let's build a government that is responsible to the people and accept our own responsibilities as citizens to hold our government accountable... Let's make sure this election is not the end of what we do to change America, but the beginning and the hope for the future." Barack Obama Waves to Crowds in Claymont, Delaware

Mini-Mac Lives! with my deepest and sincerest thanks to my neighbors Lee, for sending Roger over, and Roger for performing the resurrection. I may be turning into a droid but when my computer crashes I do too. Its not just because of my blog habit/obsession but I use my Mini-Mac for so many things including aspects of my jobs not to mention making up flyers and emailing them out. Here is my most recent, a flyer inviting folks to the upcoming Inauguration Day Potluck at the High School. Obviously I owe a debt to Shepard Fairey, the designer of the now iconic Obama poster. One thing that may have put my Mini-Mac over the edge was my attempt to make a few cents off my blog by advertising books/music/film through an Amazon book carousel. In particular I wanted to feature the book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid by Jimmy Carter and the DVD, Gaza Strip by filmmaker James Longley. Longley, the talented son of my neighbor Roger who brought Mini-Mac back to life, was nominated for an Oscar for this documentary that gives a rare view into life in Gaza under the Israeli occupation. Carter’s book and Longley’s film are both available at San Juan Island’s public library. San Juan Island Library , the last refuge for the internet addicted during a crash. God Bless the public library.

Here I am posting at the public library. God bless public libraries! My mini mac has crashed and I have no immediate funds to fix/replace it. If you have a spare Mac laying around that you would be willing to let me use or buy real cheap please call 360-370-5210. I will be able to answer the phone now that I cannot get online. Until then, I hope to be back soon! People lived for centuries without computers. I myself spent some of the happiest years of my life living off the grid. This is going to be OK.... except I have to get off now because another library patron is waiting....

Israeli Tank Photo: Ariel Schalit/Associated Press Gaza Resistance Photo: Muhammed Muheisen/Associated Press Condoleezza Rice blames Palestine's democratically elected Hamas for bringing Israeli violence down on Gaza. Hamas has fired rockets into Israel. With this rationalization Israeli tanks roll into Gaza. What Rice neglects to acknowledge is that Hamas has very good reason to resist the murderous Israeli occupation of its people. Israel imprisons Gaza in a death grip controlling everything including information going in and out of the occupied territory. With complete disregard for human rights Israeli forces have targeted even clearly marked humanitarian aid vehicles killing not only many hundreds of Palestinian civilians but international aid workers as well. What irony that Israel would turn Gaza into something even worse than the German occupied Warsaw Ghetto. Link to: U.N. and Red Cross Add to Outcry on Gaza War Link to: Statements of the Free Palestine Alliance Link to: Live From occupied Palestine

If getting healthier is on your New Year’s Resolution to-do list here are a few tools you can use to help you along the way. Eat Tomatoes for Longevity BLUE ZONES: Go to the Blue Zones website and fill out the Blue Zone Vitality Compass questionnaire to calculate your life expectancy and find out what simple steps you can take to add vitality to you life. Dan Buettner founded Blue Zones after a National Geographic funded study of world wide populations. Buettner discovered key common practices to living a long and healthy life. Here are the top ten. 1. De-convenience your home – lose the remote, buy a light garage door and lift it yourself, use a shovel instead of a snow-blower. 2. Eat Nuts – Have a can of nuts around your office or home, eat a handful daily. 3. Drink Sardinian wine – Sardinian canonau wine has the world's highest levels of antioxidants. Drink a glass or two a day. 4. Play with your children – this is excellent low intensity exercise and will strengthen a family. Both associated with longer life expectancy. 5. Grow a Garden – This proven stress reducer will put your body through the range of motion and yield fresh vegetables. 6. Hour of Power – Downshift daily with a nap, meditation, prayer or a quiet walk, de-stressing is a proven way to slow aging. 7. Eat Tofu – Arguably the world's most perfect food, eaten by the world's longest lived women. Contains a plant estrogen that makes skin look younger 8. Get a Tan – Doctors are rethinking the notion of slathering yourself with sunscreen. Up to half of Americans are Vitamin D deficient--a condition that can double your chance of dying in any given year. A tan not only looks healthy, it is. 9. Donate your large dinner plates – eat off 9 inch plates as the Okinawans do and reduce calorie consumption at dinner by 20-30%. 10. Write Down your Personal Mission – Know and putting into practice your sense of purpose can give you up to a decade of good life. Still Life with Teapot and Fruit ~ Paul Gauguin LIMBA SLIM: Dovetailing nicely, just in case losing weight figures into your New Year's plan for a healthier future, is a helpful new product designed by San Juan Island's own Rebecca Barnard. Limba Slim combines aromatherapy with hypnosis and uses your own limbic system , the most ancient part of your brain by directly accessing it through your sense of smell. The Limba Slim system comes with a Limba Sniffer, Limba Scent and a 10 minute guided meditation that will gently take you to a beautiful beach where you are guided to make healthy food choices. This is how it works, first dab the scent under your nose and then listen to the meditation. Throughout the day carry the Limba Sniffer with you to bring you back to that relaxed place of luscious, healthy food preferences.

Rachel Maddow I have been following Rachel Maddow 's lively critique of Pastor Rick Warren , the preacher chosen by Obama to give the invocation at his inauguration. The choice of Warren has caused quite a stir on the left due in large part to the mega-church preacher’s support of California’s proposition 8 banning gay marriage and his likening of gay marriage to incest and pedophilia. Maddow, herself a lesbian, isn’t going to let this slide by without notice. Pastor Rick Warren Warren however, isn’t the only Christian leader to make audacious statements about gays lately. Pope Benedict , who not surprisingly, is opposed to gay marriage, recently likened homosexuality to the destruction of the rainforest saying, "The tropical forests do deserve our protection. But man, as a creature, does not deserve any less." According to Reuters, the pope called behavior beyond traditional heterosexual relations "a destruction of God's work." The pontiff warns that blurring the distinction between male and female could lead to the "self-destruction" of the human race. Pope Benedict To thinking people who do not have a stake in upholding the patriarchy, homosexuality and gay marriage are no threats to the human race. In fact, less thoughtless breeding by humans could come as a relief to the rest of the planet and benefit the human race as well. The only thing that is truly threatened by gay marriage is the patriarchy. Homosexuality makes male chauvinists like the pope and pastor Rick Warren squirm. Christianity is a patriarchal religion. If you want to keep women firmly in their place you do not want any blurring of gender distinctions. Rachel Maddow on msnbc set Obama has said all along that he wants to bring all Americans together. Choosing Preacher Rick may be a peace offering to all the Americans who loved Sarah Palin. Like it or not a large segment of the American population are bigots. At the same time this choice is a slap in the face to the gay community and an unhappy choice for civil liberties. I for one am enjoying watching the brilliant Rachel Maddow poke holes in the patriarchy with her sharp wit.

Mele Kalikimaha! Obama Emerging from the Sea (photoshop - with my apologies to artist Christian Riese Lassen)

Naturalist, photographer and blue-haired roller hockey goalie Monika Wieland of the blog, Orca Watcher tagged me for the Six Random Facts meme. You can read more about memes right here . This one is like a party game to get to know fellow bloggers. Here are the rules to the Six Random Facts Meme: 1) Link to the person who tagged you. 2) Post the rules on your blog. 3) Write six random things about yourself. 4) Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them. 5) Let each person know they've been tagged and leave a comment on their blog. 6) Let the tagger know when your entry is up. A while ago my sister Patty sent me my old Girl Scout Badge Sash. I referred to the merit badges earned in my youth to pick out six random facts about myself. 1. Hey Look! I earned a merit badge for Witchcraft! Actually, I think this one was for outdoor cooking. Those outdoor cooking skills came in handy at the Earth First! base-camp by Dixie, Idaho where I was known to rustle up some grub. 2. I’m not sure what this one was for but it seems to be about the changing seasons. For 20 years I practiced rituals based on the changing seasons with a group of women called Ea rth Rising . 3. Here’s my happy camper badge. Before my outdoor cooking adventures in Idaho, I left my home on Lopez Island thinking that I was going on a camping road trip for a few weeks. It turned out to be a few years. I called it the camping trip of no return. 4. Ah, the sewing badge. I don’t sew much anymore but at the height of my Luddite back-to-the-land days I sewed my clothes by hand with needle and thread. Those were the best clothes I’ve ever had. 5. The sculpture badge: when I went back to school to complete my bachelor's degree in Fine Art I had to take a sculpture class as a requirement. After I carved my first piece of stone I was hooked. I ended up getting an MFA in sculpture and painting. 6. Finally, the book badge. Two unwritten novels live in my head, Confessions of a Barbarian Priestess , an action adventure revision of Euripides, Medea told in Medea's own voice and Land of the Free , a sweeping saga and historical romance set on San Juan Island during the Pig War era. Blogs I've Tagged: Sue at: Gleanings Radio Show Steve at: My Dog Ate Art Susan at: Susan Wingate, Writer Anita at: Thornbush Report Annie at: Daily Paintings Mike at: A Bagpipe Journal

Day five of my Prosperity Grounding & Mantra practice and I'm not rich yet. However, the wolves are staying on the other side of the door and maybe for now that is good enough. Luxury is more than just money. Today I had the luxury of a snow day at home. The same woman who advised grounding and the Lakshmi Mantra for financial well-being also recommended I try Feng Shui for prosperity. If you stand in your doorway looking into your home the far left corner is your prosperity corner. Things you want there to attract wealth: flowing water, the colors green, red & purple, gems, coins, goldfish, lucky money cats, horses, healthy plants, symbols of prosperity. What you do not want: dirt, grime, broken things, symbols of poverty, kitty litter or clutter. Yes, she said clutter. My prosperity corner is in my guest-room/art-storage room. Talk about clutter. Today I cleaned this room and set it up as my yoga room, something I've been meaning to do for a long time. I still have a few piles to go through but I'm thinking I should be in pretty good graces with Lakshmi who, according to wikipedia , " Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped by those who wish to acquire or to preserve wealth. It is believed that Lakshmi (wealth) goes only to those houses which are clean and where the people are hardworking. She does not visit the places which are unclean/dirty or where the people are lazy ". In the very corner of my prosperity room I made a prosperity altar. Beach glass and glass floats to symbolise moving water, (flowing energy), Ganesh, the Hindu elephant god to remove obstacles, My footed replica of an ancient Egyptian offering bowl with agates, turquoise, crystals, jade and coins, and my "Keep the Money Coming" post card. Lucky Jade

Billy-Bob Thorton as Bad Santa “You’d better watch out, get ready to cry, You’d better go hide, I’m telling you why ‘cuz Santa Claus will take you to hell. He is your favorite idol, you worship at his feet, but when you stand before your God He won’t help you take the heat. So get this fact straight: you’re feeling God’s hate, Santa’s to blame for the economy’s fate, Santa Claus will take you to hell." Feeling God's Hate? That's Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church's Santa song which also includes the line " Santa's to blame for the dead soldier's fate ." The Kansas group has applied for permission to put up their "Santa Claus Will Take You to Hell" sign, where else, but the Washington State capitol rotunda in Olympia . The group, also known for protesting at the funerals of Iraq war soldiers because they believe the war and the deaths are God's punishment for the U.S. condoning homosexuality, held a protest in Olympia on Sunday against the infamous atheist sign currently on display at the capitol along with a Nativity scene and a Holiday Tree. Kansas Baptists Protesting Atheist Sign at Washington State Capitol photo JOHN FROSCHAUER / AP Meanwhile, the Department of General Administration, which oversees the Capitol grounds, declared a moratorium Friday on any pending and future requests to put up displays in the Capitol building. According to Janet Tu of the Seattle Times, "The moratorium applies to Westboro's application, along with pending requests for a Buddhist display, a Jewish banner, a mannequin of Satan holding a statement against atheists and wishing them a merry Christmas, an aluminum pole in celebration of the invented holiday of Festivus, and a "Flying Spaghetti Monster Holiday Display." A menorah is still scheduled to go up Dec. 21, since that application had already been approved. Car Magnet for the Church of the Flying Spagetti Monster

The Lakshmi Report - Day 2 I got an email this morning… Greetings from Amazon.com, We're writing to let you know that we are having difficulty processing Visa (exp.xxxx/xx) payment for the above transaction. A few Christmas presents I was actually going to buy I have now canceled. Having been raised a Christian I wondered momentarily if I was being punished for not shopping locally. Instant Karma? Well no, I’m sure there is a perfectly logical and mathematical reason why my debit card was rejected. I am so fucked. Can prayer help? I remember reading once in the book, Adventures in Prayer , by Christian writer Catherine Marshall that prayer is not some fancy ornate thing. "Prayer" she said, “is a delivery truck”. Oh Lord, please put the pedal to the metal. later that morning... My great fear this morning was a horror of the dreaded cascading bouncing check syndrome. With fear worming around in the pit of my stomach I forced myself to do the grounding meditation and the Lakshmi mantra all 108 times before I went to the bank to check on my account. My prayers were answered! I was not over-drawn! Plus I was able to pick up 50 more of my Christmas cards from the printer on credit until Tuesday. And I still had $17.00 in cash! I went to the market and bought a bunch of bananas and some blueberry jam feeling quite redeemed and prosperous. But I still can not tell... Is this working or not?

C ommemorating the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Price of Silence The track, donated by Aterciopelados and arranged by fusion music guru Andres Levin, combines the voices of Hugh Masekela, Julieta Venegas, Stephen Marley, Angelique Kidjo, Yungchen Lhamo, Aterciopelados, Yerba Buena, Natacha Atlas, Rachid Taha, Kiran Ahluwalia, Chiwoniso and Emmanual Jal with those of U.S. artists Natalie Merchant, and Chali 2Na of Jurassic 5. Introduction by Lawrence Fishburne.

Emily Dickenson ~ Oil on Canvas link to artist: Marjolein Vandersluis I DIED for beauty, but was scarce Adjusted in the tomb, When one who died for truth was lain In an adjoining room. He questioned softly why I failed? “For beauty,” I replied. “And I for truth,—the two are one; We brethren are,” he said. And so, as kinsmen met a night, We talked between the rooms, Until the moss had reached our lips, And covered up our names. Emily Dickenson