Birthday Moon: Mahina in Gemini

Here's the view from the window at our heads in the vardo.

Outside the Tree Nation is lit with Mahina's brilliance

Clouds hold space for the Gemini Moon after the deep and steady emptying of rain

Beautiful the moon in her Gemini Holoku. Mahalo nui e Mahina

It's been awhile since I've been here to blog about counting on the moon. I have been here, and here and there paying attention to life on Earth while she travels around the sun with the moon, Mahina, always a constant partner.

All day yesterday the sky opened up with 'ua ka lani plenty of rain, thunder for extra elemental presence and humidity tempting 100%. So late in the evening when I could not quiet my mind and heart, stirred by thinking and emotions that wanting attention, I walked across the puddle-thick forest floor and sat at the screen. There was one beautiful message from our dear Margaret (Pete's sister). Her message was an unexpected birthday gift of stories and examples of how their parents' examples of "being a cover for the other" imprinted her.(Sun and Moon).

While I have been away from this blog the events and experiences of life on the planet have kept things interested. With a new solar year, beginning for me and a new Makahiki already begun I found my astrology newsletter for today from Elsa P. Here's part of what she had to say about today's Gemini Moon:

" We wake with the Moon in Gemini bothered by Saturn in Sagittarius and Neptune and Chiron in Pisces. Jupiter, Uranus and Pluto form a second T-square. 
Heck yeah, people are scrambling.

• They are weighing options (Jupiter in Libra).

• They are considering commitment (Venus in Capricorn).

• They are thinking independently and may be open-minded (Mars sextile Mercury in Sagittarius).

• They are working to frame their story (Saturn in Sagittarius).

None of this is inherently bad, but it's certainly a lot to do.  It may be time to retire the word "slacker". " ElsaElsa Newsletter

If the flavor of today's moon is a snapshot of what my new year will be like I will continue to be one busy old woman. Many blessings to you readers who count on the moon from where you are on Earth. May you be surrounded with people who share your values doing good work together having lots of fun. (Thank you to Aurora Levins Morales for that line which she put in her book Kindling when she described her Cubana psychiatrist's final prescription. Now that is solidarity in a healthcare system!)

Still present and visible with Kala the Sun sharing the sky ... good company the Tree Nation, Mahina, Kala, and the bowl of a sky 

'Ole Moons: early blossoms, bees, fruit setting

Sorry to be absent for so long. Mahina continues her constant journey with us Earth walkers, and life continues to be a miracle. 

 Warm weather has brought flowers and honey bees to the berry bushes in the woods. Seems a little early for fruit to be setting.

If you look closely (on the left) you'll see one of the busy honey bees working at collecting nectar

Mid-morning and the birds have been up for hours. The woods are ringing with their songs and trills. A very gentle breeze moves through the orchard. The tide is rising to high at the shore. I wonder who is feeding at the Muliwai?

Huna Sunrise, E Ala E and Spring Equinox Ka Piko o Wakea

This morning's sunrise was brilliant orange spread across the stand of La'au Nui, Tall Trees of the woods. Tomorrow night the Spring Equinox, Ka Piko O Wakea brings equal light and dark. My family and I prepare for ceremony. READ MORE HERE.

Other Kilo for Nana

We have had the rainiest winter on record in the Pacific Northwest. Three big wind storms in the past two weeks with lots of downed trees on South Whidbey, power outages for hours at a time; and floods that many of the locals have never seen here in their memory.

As I write, the rains turned to a sudden harsh hailstorm, then back to rain.

Pollens are plentiful, the orchard is pruned (apple), the plums are in full blossom. The Salmon Berry bushes are blossoming, and a few starting to set fruit.

Temperatures up and down with highs in high 50's on some days, and then down to high 30's at night. So the month is 'activated' (Nana means "to activate") and pretty erratic

Brackens are starting to makawalu.

Raspberry canes are greening up after a light pruning.

Chickens are laying eggs again, yeah!

Apple and Cherry getting ready to blossom

Blossoms in the background are plums, Elder berry is greening up in front

The Girls: Rygel closest, Butterscotch the golden one with head down, Pepper the speckled one

Rygel lays the speckled egg, Butterscotch the light brown and Pepper lays the dark brown. All of them unbeatably delicious eggs.

Raspberry canes leafed out and spreading roots

Kilo for Nana (Atmospheric activities for the month of Nana)

Kalei Nu'uhiwa posted to the 'Aimalama Facebook page. Saying it was a little late, but, the new Malama (Month) of Nana began on March 8, 2016. Here is part of the message she left, and relates to the upcoming Spring Equinox (Saturday, March 19, 2016 for Seattle) and Lunar Eclipse  on Wednesday, March 23, 2016. Kalei's kilo is based on Hawaiian Time, if you live somewhere else, make the necessary time adjustments. 

"Atmospheric activities we can expect are: Piko o Wākea - Equinox scheduled to happen on our heiau between  March 20-22. We also have a partial lunar eclipse scheduled to begin on March 22nd at 11:30pm, will peak around 1:45am on the 23rd and end around 4:00am the 23rd. Check out the website below for more information. Hawaiian names for lunar eclipses are Pō uli, Mahina Uli, Mahina ʻUla & Malama ʻUla. Chant to pray for health during a lunar eclipse: 

I Hiʻiaka paha ʻoe i Hiʻialo, I Kakahiaka nei, I ka lāʻau a ke kaukau aliʻi, I nui ke aho, A hiki i mauli ola, I ola iā Mahina uli, I ola iā Mauli ola ē." 

Mahalo e Kalei!

http://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar/2016-march-23

Clouds move

Woke to this cloud family, within minutes the sky was a solid blanket no blue in sight. 

Akua Po just after midnight

From the orchard in the woods, with the light of Mahina on my lolo ... Mahalo Akua, Thank you!!

Hua Po ceremony and ritual; and Salmonberries

Mahina was brilliant in her Hua Holoku last night. Kalei Nu'uhiwa wrote on the 'Aimalama FB page:

" ʻO Hua ka pō mahina o kēia poʻaono nei i ka malama o Kaulua. Howzit Gangeh. Hua is todayʻs moon phase in the Hawaiian lunar month of Kaulua. Tonight is kapu a Hua, a night when ceremony and rituals were done to personal gods. Kapu Hua comes to an end on the night of Akua, ke huli ka Iʻa.Kaulua is the month when the weather switches back and forth between calm and windy or hot and rainy. Prepare for wind Gangeh. High pressure systems will come through Hawaiʻi brining storms to our islands. Lehua blossoms are blooming profusely. Mango and avocado flowers are appearing as well. The soil is wet and perfect for planting. Halalū gather in the bays. Hakamoa rises in the east right after sunset. All the makahiki stars are being dumped out of the ʻupena makaliʻi in the sky. And that Gang is todayʻs kilokilo ʻouli o ka manawa. E ola! "

"Tonight is kapu a Hua, a night when ceremony and rituals were done to personal gods." I mahalo Kalei for that awareness. With that in mind, I made room for ceremony and rituals by writing this awareness in the medicine story A Native Fern. Later, I made sure to invite and thanks my personal gods. My Ma came to me in dreams after I woke from sleep stood under the bowl of the heavens. Ma came with 'practical' gifts like she did when still in her physical self. What a nice visit! Thanks for the lole wawae, Ma.::::big smiles::::

This morning, while Hina is brightening over skies, I spotted the first salmonberry blossoms outside the Quonset. The Hummingbirds will be bliss'n soon!

Migrate or not?

Two birds that did migrate, aren't. The Redwing Blackbirds dangled from a birdfeed fixed at a friend's deck rafter. Surprised and delighted to see them the other day I said, "They're back early!" My friend said, "No, they never left."

The Anna's Hummingbird is a family of Hummingbird who has become a year-world resident of the Pacific Northwest, changing their migration history because humans have taken to feeding them sweet water in feeders.

Wide range of kilo: on island, and in the city observations

Choppy waters off of Wonn Road in Greenbank, the birds find old pilings to perch

In Seattle, cherry blossoms are blooming

Between the squalls as we headed out of Seattle ... a double rainbow as bright and big as we have ever seen smiled at our adventure

Back on Whidbey yesterday as Mahina is still near-full, at The Prairie Front, the Tilth: a beautiful family of lichen and one of my favorite Usnea living on the slates of the entrance gate

The weather shifts wildly this winter from near 50 degree days, plenty of rain, wind, and then the prediction is for a drop in temperature next ... maybe even snow.

La'au Pau yesterday ... honoring place, people, time

Yesterday was our Holy Days gift day to one another. Pete was my driver as we headed north to La Conner where the Museum of Northwest Art  was displaying the art exhibit entitled 

"Not Vanishing" A Proud Assertion of Heritage.

Cascadia Weekly published an article by Stephen Hunter describing "Not Vanishing" starting with this paragraph, " In the proud assertion of Native American heritage that is "Not Vanishing: Contemporary Expressions in Indigenous Art, 1997-2015," attendees at La Conner's Museum of Northwest Art will see powerful works created by the first generation of American Indian artists to hve benefited from higher education and acceptance into mainstream culture following the cultural revolution of the 1960s."  

The free to the public exhibit was a perfect gift for this winter of 2015. The art was a mixed media experience that was surprising, inspiring, disquieting, humbling and so worth the two hour drive up the island and over the bridge into the Skagit wetlands. The exhibit runs through January 3, 2016. It is wonderful!

This is the description of one of my favorite pieces "Blood Quantum Countdown". Created by Erin Genia in 2011.
Hover and click on the description for a larger view of the description. The work is a huge working clock with masterfully molded and glazed faces depicting the blood quantum in place of numbers on a clock face;
measuring native enough-ness, entitling worth.  

We left the woods in Langley just after 9 in the morning hoping to find a break in the clouds, and the promise of some blue sky and sunshine up north. We were rewarded

Our first stop was just minutes away from the Museum of Northwest Art. We had long wanted to stop and visit what we call "The Three Hats" ... three awesomely beautiful buildings that overlook the channel between La Conner and the Swinomish Reservation.

 What we found when we stepped from the Subaru and began walking toward the first 'hat' was a park of reclamation. Students from La Conner Junior High School had begun a program of gathering seed and propagating native plants in their classroom. The photos and informational placards here describe the plants now taking root in the slopes leading to the hats. The native language is included along with common names, Latin names and the native uses for plants that grow in this Pacific Northwest Salish world.

Pete in one of the three hats. You can see the other two pavilions in the distance

A view of the inside of one of the pavilions, December 29, 2015

The work to create the three cedar hats Pavilion overlooking the Swinomish Channel to welcome the Canoe Journey, 2011

Walking and chanting the 'oli Pule Ho'ulu'ulu ... thanking the ancestors in the Swinomish Channel Pavilion,
December, 29, 2015 

Three pavilions patterned after woven cedar hats provide a stunning backdrop to the arrival of canoes at Swinomish during the 2011 Canoe Journey. The site is now a park overlooking Swinomish Channel and features a native-plant garden and interpretive panels on various aspects of Swinomish history. (Richard Walker)

Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2015/10/01/10-things-you-should-know-about-swinomish-tribe-161926

And ... as we wandered back from our deliriously warming day with the exhibited artwork of Native artists, and fed the internal fires of creativity with the energy of the Three Hats we stopped along the western facing shore of Whidbey Island, to photograph this multi media beach art of kelp, round stones and layered graffiti on a la'au pau day.

Mahealani

I have been absent. Winter cold and damp. Body slows. The Moon knows. Rises, sets. Solstice promises. More light coming. Soon. Not now. Wait.

 Early morning December 26, 2015 Mahealani cleared the thick clouds for a brief look at her full holoku.

The White Pine and Fir look at her, too.

Yesterday, 'Ole Moon Morning

Yesterday we left the woods early in the morning, while it was still dark. Cold already, the coconuts we left for the birds frozen and icy. By mid morning, after the sun was up the frost was everywhere. The temperature: see the number on the car's thermometer. Up in the sky and through the tips of the fingers of tree, beautiful Mahina in her 'Ole Holoku.

Hoku Shaka

 Two photos from Ka Lae (South Point) on the island of Hawaii. Mahalo to our son for the wonderful greetings.