Lunar Eclipse Muses

I call upon the muses of the moon.  I am renewed, feeling my solar return to a new year.  From Easter time until recently the months have been a time of reflection and moving forward. I question everything in a new light. Do you ever wonder about reflection and how important the light is?  If we didn't have light rebounding from surfaces we would be in the dark all the time.  It's so basic to survival... reflection...angles of rays.

In the light of someone's eyes you can see their essence.  Eye contact, for people and animals, but what about plants?  They bend to the light and blossoms are their essence... scent and brilliance.  I'm learning a lot from my garden this year.

My ancestors were from a faraway land and I am Caucasian, yes, maybe literally, from the Caucasus Mountains perhaps. My father's parents settled in B.C.  My father & his bro owned an orchard in Winfield back in the 1940's and they lived in Kelowna at the time...I was born in '55 and we lived in town, Glenmore area.  Our orchard was several miles away...across the highway from Okanagan Indian Band land.  Dad and Uncle Tom sold the orchard in 1960's and my father bought a small orchard across the lake, the westside.  My father was a friendly man... the Indians liked him. This westside was also the traditional hunting grounds of the Ok Indian Band, and again we had land across the road from the Indians.

That band separated from the Winfield/Vernon Indians and westside band members formed Westbank First Nations in the 1960's.  I went to school with First Nations and at that time more of their children stayed in school.  We were friends and I graduated high school with them.  Little Roxanne is now First Nations chief.  I remember her bro, Tom, in our high school typing class.  He and Tim were the only boys in the class of 25 women. Certainly his keyboard training is handy now, as he's on First Nations council, too.  So...our family goes way back with friendship ties to these bands. Now, these bands, among others,  are very wealthy, which is lovely to see, as they have resources to influence  government decisions regarding land and water.  I wish other native aboriginals in parts of Canada and the U.S. would have this good fortune, to have influence and live comfortably.

When I was born in Kelowna, population was 9,000 people.  Now population is way above 140,000 if you count surrounding little 'burbs that used to be separate.  Actually it's almost traumatizing the way this city grew.  The beauty is still there...but you have to look much harder to find it.  City council,  decades ago, sold out basically  I don't even want to go into how they dispose of treated sewage in Okanagan Lake, the same lake most residents get their treated water from for home use...and drinking.  Seriously, do the math, people and don't live in a fantasy!

 I feel closer to the First Nations than white man in my outlook and perspective.  That's why 5 years ago I bought my condo on Indian band land near an eastern headwaters lake....actually it's a long term lease until 50 years from now which is like a purchase, but it's still band land.  The owners live on this land, too, and my family knew them from before.

I think our big hope, for environment in this valley and in B.C., and maybe Canada entirely, are the Indian Band land owners, because their culture, and mine, is to respect the land and water.  I continue to try to help in any way I can...in signing petitions opposing the TransMountain pipeline for example.

We'll see what happens.  I just feel much safer on this land, and I wake up to the sounds of nature outside my bedroom window, quail, pheasant, wind rustling the tree boughs.  It is good.