Journal Pages #1 – November 1, 2006
It is quiet here in Deep Cove,
near the Swartz Bay ferry docks, Vancouver Island. My accommodation is a little ‘Zen’ hut
situated in a grove of Pacific Northwest rain forest… fir, cedar, maple, and arbutus. (‘Zen’ because it is set apart from the rest
of the buildings on the property, and one is meant to be in-seclusion.) The hut
is one large room with a futon bed-couch; a reclining chair by a large 6X4 foot
window; with a kitchen counter and cupboards… 1 electric element; a rice
cooker; a popcorn maker; a small convection or bake oven/toaster; and! a
counter sized fridge. The very lovely
bath hut is a short walk away. I am the
first to do a long retreat here, so everything is very clean and fresh. It’s perfect.
I have never actually lived
in a rain forest before. Often, I have
walked, driven a car, or ridden a horse through one, but I am finding this more
wonderful. It has been 25 days of
sitting quietly; of being quiet; in quiet… deeply quiet forest. There is intimacy in these days.
October 6, 2006:
Today there is a slight breeze
and so a constant motion of the large, frying pan sized maple leaves just
outside the Zen hut window. The cedar
boughs 15 – 20 feet in the distance also wave and gesture. A lovely sunny day, again! It is filtered light… all is dappled by the
clear sunny sky far above. Amazing. These trees are twice the height of the
tallest palms in tropical Arunachula… 60 feet?
The ground slopes down from the hut, quite dramatically (you would
definitely have a good sleigh ride in the snow!); and though the cedar tree is
20 feet in the distance, I cannot see the top of it. Definitely, I am under a rain forest canopy,
except for the clear sky above the small meadow in front of my window.
The birds (unlike in India) I
know, at least the sounds, if not their names.
It seems that during this mid morning time, 6 or so are always in evidence. I hear their rustling in the leaves,
chirping; or see them flitting amongst the branches. The sun is about mid sky, so moving to be
directly above the meadow. I will watch
the changes in light. Eventually, I will
get full sun for an hour or so, on my large picture window.
I love the small gate at the
foot of the little meadow, opening into further forest. Such an invitation! Blue Jay screeching… about what?? A Blue Jay argument?? Do they always travel in pairs? It seems if there is one, soon there is
another.
It is now 5:30pm… dinner is
on; and I sit down to wait for it to be cooked.
Eagerly I look to the maple leaves that stretch out from the young tree
at the SE corner of my hut. Yes! I have
caught the last of the sun shining on them.
In this light all the stems are raspberry red, so striking in the
contrast to the lime green leaf. I look
forward to watching them actually change colour… having the time to see them
every! day throughout the Fall.
A week later… It rained last night, so the little birds are
all very chirpy and busy this morning.
On returning from meditation, I sit in my chair and watch the
meadow. It’s a bit gloomy, with a light
overcast sky. Then… a few yellow maple
leaves fall… one-at-a-time; there are several Blue Jays flying amongst the branches
and across the meadow. So blue! and
yellow! in the forest of deep greens and browns. I have never thought of our forests as blue
and yellow. I do now. Everything seems very ‘happy’… more alive?
fresher? with the rain. It has been a
dry summer. This is the first even light
rain, in quite awhile.
General Setting: The acre and a half rectangular property belongs
to Janet and Fred Wingfield. They are
retired; and moved to this country setting about 6 years ago. The property slants at about 11 or 13 degrees
incline, south facing. The meditation
hut is at the front of the property by the road, surrounded by magnificent
firs; their house and extensive gardens are on a terrace about mid way on the
property; and ‘za-zen’ hut is on another, smaller terrace about three quarters
of the way back on the property.
So it goes… my first Canadian
retreat. Love ya! Paula
Journal # 2 – November 25, 2006
HORSE COUNTRY
Over the past month or so, I
have noticed that I often wake to the sound of whinnying. A horse.
Where? Well, it seems I am in
horse country. Down at the foot of the
hill below the woods is one of the many country homes with stabling for horses
in the Deep Cove section of the Saanich Peninsula. It brings my youth and adolescence all back
to me.
However, these stables are
not the kind we so often hung around… old cow stanchions turned into horse
stalls in great old grey wooden barns with huge lofts. Stables around here are all new… very
‘country’ looking, well painted with paddocks and landscaping! As I started to walk in the area, I found
that every 5th house or so had stabling with paddocks; and what I
thought were walking paths, were horse trails.
Yes, well developed horse country.
Not often great fields for horses to run in; these are not breeding
establishments so much as riding establishments.
There’s an exception. Just about 4 blocks away, beside one of the
trails I was walking, I found an amazing breeding establishment. Could be Kentucky! Sloping green fields well fenced; large paddocks
covering 20 acres; and half a dozen barns.
The barns are together, scattered casually about with brick courtyards linking
them. All brand new. Fencing the exterior perimeter of the barn
setup (a quarter mile on each side) is a 3 foot high stonewall. On the outside perimeters, next to the
stonewalls are great firs in groups of 2 or 3 which were saved and are now
planted with sword ferns and lawn at their feet. There are stone bridges leading into the two
main entrances. Each stall at ground
level has it’s own small paddock.
Yes. It appears, as if there is a
second floor for a couple of the barns.
One in particular does not look! like a loft for hay. Could be offices and tack rooms, but those I
think I see in a separate building that looks like a house. I should also mention there are internal
trails and a large pond with fountain and sculptures between the barns and the
various country style houses built for the employees.
Could there be an elevator in
one barn? I remember coming across a
wonderful stable near Central Park in New York, which had one. Built in the late 1800’s, it actually had an
elevator that took horses to their stalls on the second floor. But, in New York there has been a shortage of
land for some time. Here??? I wonder.
However, here too there is only an acre or two of barn area, so perhaps
they needed a second floor for stalls!
Who are these people anyway? The
property has a name, of course: Orange Blossom.
That should have given me a clue.
Yes. I later discovered that a
member of the Sunkist family owns the property.
Here! in Saanich, on Vancouver Island.
Why??
Coming upon this place and
remembering the one in New York, brought back my surprise at coming upon
another stable when I was visiting Amsterdam in 1995. Like in the heart of New York City, you are
just not expecting stabling beside apartment blocks and brownstone
townhouses. Also like in New York, the
old stable in Amsterdam was beside their immense city park; and build in the
1800’s. The treat with the stable in
Amsterdam was that it included an indoor ring, which looked like an opera
house… all the walls were white with gold plaster decoration in a rococo style,
with a loggia for viewing. When I looked
in there were a couple of horses going through dressage moves.
So… back to the whinnying…
horses, stalls, paddocks… I feel at home:
Didn’t think I missed it so much.
It actually occurred to me to apply as barn help over at Orange
Blossom. Joke. I have cleaned enough barns… just a romantic
moment after all these years of being away from horses.
It is winter. The clouds have socked in and we have had
rain every day since November 1st.
There is one yellow leaf left on the little maple tree to the SE of my
little hut. No Bluebirds. Snow is expected this weekend. The zen hut is very warm and cozy;
meditations continue at about 4-5 hours a day; and the time is going very
quickly. Next, I will explain why I am
meditating in a ‘chicken coop’.
Love you all… Paula
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