My Canadian Road So Far: August 2019 Pt. II
On the 15th we came back up to The Last Resort to begin house sitting. Even though we'd been here a few times before, we hadn't spent a great deal of time inside. So to a degree, it feels new to us - especially learning which switch turns on power to which appliance. The eco-mansion is solar powered and on a well with an enormous garden. Dusky kept saying it was heaven on earth and I had to agree.
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The 16th was the last of the Bobcat markers set down by a dream of mine. Dusky and I agreed that watching the readings for the solar panel made it feel like we were playing a game. Who could be better at turning things off right when they're done using them?
It makes me wonder about the meaning of the marker. A big part of Bobcat symbolism is learning independence.
Was the final part of the cycle showing me what it's like to be independent with water, electricity and a good chunk of the food one consumes?
Was it to show me how well I can keep myself entertained, how good it is for me to have time to myself? I love that I found myself on a mountain for the end of the cycle - terrain of the Bobcat after all.
Bobcat has ties to the Hermit Card. Among the many things it represents, is the importance of "living on the mountain" but also coming down off of it when necessary. And there I was, briefly living that and loving it.
(Side note, the avatar for my Animals As Leaders entries is a tattoo design I based on Bobcat and their ties to the Hermit Card. It is the next tattoo I got after my first time living in the woods in the Bay Area.)
When we were down by the garage, there were a few Dragonflies zooming about. One was huge and blue and the most inquisitive of the lot of them. As we were getting into the Roci, it dive-bombed Dusky, smacking into the back of his neck. That was undoubtedly a cycle of transformation set in motion for him.
On the 17th, as we were trudging up the treacherous driveway (the Roci could not navigate it) I looked up. There was a big swarm of Dragonflies overhead. Dusky remarked on my ability to notice the small things, saying he never would have noticed.
The timing stuck out in my mind, because just a week prior had been the end of a 2 year Dragonfly Swarm cycle. And here, another Swarm cycle was beginning.
On the 18th we went down to the river late in the day, checking out a nature park.
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It was a lovely spot and the water was amazing. I do hope we return at some point.
***
Being up here at The Last Resort has been amazing. Going barefoot for extended periods of time, hanging out with Garter Snakes, Hummingbirds, and these guys:
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I've met so many pollinators in particular. Slowly posting them all to Instagram.
This has been amazing quality time for Dusky and I. Watering the enormous garden and exploring the valley. Then cooking dinner while playing the Youtube game before retiring to a nook for Brooklyn 9-9 and or GLOW.
***
We returned to town for a day, then went back out to the valley. We had dinner and drinks with our friends before they headed back out for a few more days.
It was great fun and the food was delicious. The topics of conversation spanned music, science fiction shows, books on nature and science, heritage, etc.
I later realized that had been my first double date, and as I giggled aloud about it, Dusky admitted it had been his first double date as well. They said we didn't have to bring anything, but I'd just baked some muffins. It's a recipe I've been tinkering with and I was quite pleased when they were a hit.
During dinner, Dusky brought up my earlier wondering about why I had yet to see any Lizards in B.C. Our friends remarked that there are Salamanders on the property.
I lit up, thinking of the Salamander who showed up in one of my drum journeys. I asked if there were any orange ones with small black spots.
They shook their heads but then showed us a picture they had taken of what turned out to be two lizards, two Alligator Lizards to be precise.
I was a little disappointed, thinking I'd ran into a third thing reflected in one of my drum journey visions.
To elaborate, before we came out here to house sit, I experienced a Drum Journey where we visited the Middle World.
I was accompanied by Isis-Bat and we went to a large garden. I rarely question the unusual visions in my journeys, but this time I was curious and skeptical about a couple of things.
The first, was Isis-Bat eating out of a cherry tree. This was a garden in which I had planted my favorite fruits and flowers. I'm not opposed to cherries, but that is not a tree I would put in my garden unless it was given to me. At the time, I shrugged, said to myself that she must like cherries, and moved on with the journey.
On our first day of house sitting, we met a Chipmunk who was very fond of cherries, and consequently we immediately named them Cherry. Later that morning, Cherry came fearlessly up to me. Then they scampered to the cherry tree in front of me and munched happily within my view.
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No, Cherry is not a Bat, but I couldn't help but think of the aforementioned scene all the same.
After the aforementioned scene in the drum journey, a UFO appeared. It projected a tractor beam. Isis-Bat finished her cherries and swooped down from the tree, flying into the beam. She went up into the belly of the ship and then away it went, back into the expanse from whence it came.
At the time, I was skeptical and even dismissive, which is, again, unusual for me. I had recently encountered more information on aliens and we had been watching the show The Expanse, so I figured it was just a reflection of that.
However, after the cool meeting with Cherry, I encountered further information regarding aliens that led me to a series of epiphanies. A series of epiphanies that ties into origins on earth. Which brings me back to the weirdly specific connotations of a dream described in this linked Animals As Leaders entry.
Perhaps the vision of the UFO taking Isis-Bat away was not a coincidence after all. More details on that later, in a separate entry.
Later in the drum journey, I met with a Salamander who was orange with tiny black dots. So I was excited and then disappointed in the Salamander conversation that occurred during dinner.
However, when we met an Alligator Lizard the next day, I was overjoyed.
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She reminded me of the many Alligator Lizards I'd once had as pets. The joy I felt at seeing her also made me wonder if I was looking for too much of a black and white parallel.
No, there were not actual Salamanders on the property, but our friends do like to call them Salamanders. And the interaction with her was so sweet and trusting...I'd like to think that counts for something.
***
I am now giving serious thought to checking out house sitting. It would be awesome to come out again for half the year to house sit and WOOF. In
exchange for chores, I can have lodging with both and food with the latter.
If I spring for a better laptop than this damned Chrome Book then I can easily use my free time for writing and perhaps developing my apparent skill with taking photos.
By a better laptop I mean one that actually has some storage space. I need a laptop that I can put a document program and virus protection on. Livejournal aside, I don't like to put my material online while I'm still working on it. And if I do get to be out here for another extended period of time, then I'll need to do some banking, which means I need to keep viruses and whatnot at bay. I could go Mac, but I'm not sure I want to learn a new system.
This is an option I truly want to explore - making money in B.A and spending it in British Columbia. Not forever, of course.
But I like the idea of shedding more possessions and bouncing around for awhile; making the most of my freedom. It would be a great way to meet people, I could get a bus pass and continue to better my knowledge of the system and schedule.
I don't seem to accomplish things through normal avenues. I always find what I need through the people that I meet. This plan of action seems like the best way to go with the flow.
Plus, it would get me away from customer service. While I am good at customer service, it is taxing and I've been thinking for awhile now that I wanted to move away from it and away from bartending in particular.
As mentioned prior in this Animals As Leaders entry, Caribou and Wolf appeared and indicated that it would be a couple years of back and forth before I would settle somewhere.
Now that I think of it, Frogs are amphibians. The word Amphibian is a combination of "amphi" which means "double" and "bios" which means life. It seems Leopard Frog knew I was bound to lead a double life - at least for awhile.
Hopefully, by exercising my freedom, I will be able to complete creative projects and start making income from them as well as odd jobs.
And I don't just mean writing projects, I think I need to get back on the postcard horse as well. I've been getting some great photos while I'm up here and I would like to make a B.C series as well as a California series.
Dusky keeps saying that I'm talented at photography, especially when it comes to noticing reflections. He's been urging me to get a newer phone that will do a better job focusing, as well as an actual camera.
This course of action will sound crazy or risky to some, I'm sure. But no reward without risk, right?
I can't help but be reminded of how Zebra appeared to me, as explained in this Sound Journey entry. They encouraged me to look at things with more flexibility; that my "black and white" perspective was holding me back.
Welcome to my gray area.
***
While watering the enormous garden at The Last Resort, I saw a Bumblebee land on a yellow flower with many petals.
I flashed back to my vision in the month prior, as mentioned in this Sound Journey entry.
I still don't know what the flower is, but this time, it was the right one.
The whole time we were house sitting I wanted to get a picture of a Bumble on the flower, to honor my vision. On the last day, I sat by that patch of flowers for twenty minutes, trying to get the capture. I took a cool one with the house in the background and one of a Shield or Stink Bug.
I felt my legs starting to go numb and I got to my feet, about to walk away. Just then, a Bumble appeared and I got some wonderful shots. I felt very grateful and thanked them.
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***
While downtown picking up lunch, I saw a book on the sidewalk titled "The Universe Has Your Back". I wanted to take it, as it was clearly meant to be passed on.
But I was feeling a bit scattered at the time, and by the time I'd gotten back to the car I'd forgotten about it.
I recalled the book a couple days later, but when I went back someone else had picked it up. Thinking about looking for a copy.
***
Thanks to the guide at the drum journeys I've been attending, I got some solid leads to explore in regard to my new dream of being a nomadic writer. Of course she would be the one to assist me and so promptly. I thanked her for being here.
I'm loving how my experiences with the sound journeys are weaving into everyday life. I'm going to miss them and my guide so much when I go back to B.A.
Thinking back on my Solstice reading, if I were able to make it work house and pet sitting internationally, I would be making time and space for myself.
***
Someone I follow on Instagram shared something she read recently. "One plant per 100 square feet to remove pollutants in the air". Good to know.
***
It occurred to me that my new goal of bouncing back and forth between B.C and B.A, while awesome, is selfish in a way.
I brought it up to Dusky, asking how he felt about me only being around for part of the year. Even though that would be a vast improvement over the amount of time we've been able to spend together in the past couple of years, it's still not moving here like I originally said I wanted to.
Dusky said that we've been force fed ideas about how relationships are supposed to be and that we're living in a new age. Said he wants me to happy and I deserve to follow my instincts.
It is great to feel supported in my endeavor, although I have to wonder if some of that is his habit of putting the needs of another ahead of his own...
***
At the end of the month we went to see one of Dusky's friends:
Click to viewIt was a really fun show, they were rockin' and everybody was diggin' it. I especially loved hearing that Sabbath tune live. We ran into a couple we've become acquainted with through metal and it was nice to see them.
One of their friends came up and remarked on the parallels, saying, "Two metal dudes and two earth goddesses."