Just the thing (Updated)**

"I write to understand my circumstances, to sort out the confusion of reality, to exorcise my demons." - Isabel Allende

Just the thing*

In the muddle of my confinement
There is no other, no voice
Other than mine

Without translator
The voice remains
Lost

Until

I tap a vein
Pick at the strand
Turn the thing
Over

And write.

* A poem written earlier today, as a comment, on Terri Windling's  post 'It Begins with Noticing' on her blog Myth & Moor

The wind has us stirred up. Before walking out to open the gate I stood for long minutes to notice. The long stretch of Red Alder across the road stand as they have all winter with their bare limbs crowned with the hint of color. Different they are from the Douglas Fir that rise ever green, ever taller in their points. 

From the south or from the north the wind rocks.

While Pete slept I stood to ... to will my wind-tossed mind, the thoughts of tethered confinement, to find ground. 

Could do this. Could do that. Could do nothing. Could keep standing. Could keep looking. Instead, I pull my red flannel robe from its hook, add my sweatshirt, pull the hood snug against my ears and take one step. I chose the Rogue leather shoes rather than the red rubbers and slip bare feet inside. Less steady in the low cut shoes I slow my gait and steady my foot fall to get over the rutted tracks left by cars.

The puddles that turned to ponds during the heavy rains occupy less space this morning. I stop and watch for the flow of water that has run across the gravel road all month-long. The flow is lessened. I step over lean drain and by this time the big winged bird above me --Raven or Eagle, I couldn't tell-- had joined his partner flying over those points of Douglas Fir.

February is filled with the watery essence of Pisces. (A huge stellium in the heavens)

"... You can’t work at this. You can’t focus harder – but softer. You can’t get tensed up or it chokes off the flow. Relax. Slip this all into your mind then let it go to work under your own radar, away from your own conscious mind. Paying attention is not helpful. But hearing it up front can help you notice when things are flowing – and relax further when they do.

That’s your job this week. Staying warmed up without working at. Leaving the gates open and not being overly concerned over what comes and goes. Just notice when it does..." - Satori

So the astrological advice of "You can't focus harder -- but softer" is something. It is just the thing, probably. We are at the edge of seasonal change when there is a promise but you know how promises mean different things to different people. Time, quality and quantity being only three of the multiple variables. What we, Pete and I, know is coming has to do with accommodating the shifting use of the spaces we share with our community here on the Prairie Front. Soon the kitchen will be used for Sunday Farmers' Market; we will need to realign ourselves and re-purpose the sheltered shape.

We have begun considering how to do that. Ironically or magically walking out to open the simple gate is what could be done today. Writing my way through the confinement of my thinking? It's just the thing.

What is the seasonal change like for you? We'd love to hear about.

xo Moki and Pete

** The update worth considering is (read) "This Special Time Ahead of the Full Moon in Virgo"
(tomorrow, March 1st-2nd depending upon your location).

The photos above are mine, taken today on the Prairie Front save for the photograph of wind surfers/kite boarders which was taken by our friend Teri through the windows of her West Beach cottage. Mahalo Tita Wise.

Water-catchers: letting the story become itself fully and truly

"Young writers often think -- are taught to think -- that a story starts with a message. That is not my experience. What's important when you start is simply this: you have a story you want to tell. A seedling that wants to grow. Something in your inner experience is forcing itself towards the light. Attentively and carefully and patiently, you can encourage that, let it happen. Don't force it; trust it. Watch it, water it, let it grow." - Ursula Le Guin

Enveloped in the big red storm coat bare feet tucked comfortably into my birthday-gift of red rubber boots I began my first walk of the day. It was still dark when I held the rail to climb down the steps of the vardo.  Stopping for a moment, I looked up at the sky just peeling back clouds to let out the eerie layer of light that might be sunrise, or, evidence of the freeway across the Sound, or, the blazing lights of Boeing Field where they build jets. The song of the winds in the trees, I could hear it. The treads gripped, I was grounded. 

Good morning Land, Sky, Firs and Cedars.

Before heading to the kitchen I shined the blue plastic flashlight in the direction of the sandbox. Atop the metal cover in place for the winter are two stainless bowls: one big and round, good for making a generous salad; the other an equally round but flat thing more a tray than a proper bowl. After the most recent storms both bowls were filled. Proper water-catchers. When heated in the large soup pot,  the rain water mixed with a bit of baking soda and a splash of vinegar becomes a pot-and-wash-cloth bath. If I time these baths just right Pete is there to help shampoo my hair. Pouring the hot silky rain water from his taller-than-me position the affect is intimate and simple.

Come with me as I take you back a few years to make a connection with a story called 'Water-catchers'. It begins ...

"Jack and Jill (not their real names) live on ten acres of old sugar land in Pahoa. I can't remember exactly how the non-electrical gate marking their kuleana operated but when we pushed on the handle to make the gate lift I knew we were entering Tinkerland...What caught my eyes and funny bones was the water-jug tree. A large tree hung with plastic jugs filled with water. I later learned the water jug tree was a puakenikeni whose branches would have grown too high without the jugs. What good is a sweet-smelling five-cent flower (that's what puakenikeni means) if you can't reach the fragrant beauties? I laughed out loud when I got the explanation. Puakenikeni was my Papa Honey's favorite flower. He would love the hanging jugs.

The water jug tree was just one of the many marvelously creative life-ways this pair of water-catchers has woven into their lives. Pulleys were everywhere. The friendly warm, wooden handle on the front door has no sharp edges, but is rounded and easy to use. The front screen door opens by moving it left or right. There was that bottle of water again. Dangling from a white cotton twine rope wound around a pair of pulleys a quart-size water bottle served as a weight to open and then keep the door open as folks walk in. Laua'e fronds were cut to hide the bottle. What a pleasant greeting the laua'e gives as friends and family come and go..."

Shortly after the article was published (in the Hawaii Island Journal) I received a letter in the mail. Written on light green paper bordered by a design of Hawaiian greenery I read this:

 6/5/2002

"Dear Yvonne,
Thank you for writing the article about Jack-n-Jill who went up the hill! Your words made me feel like I was there. The smell of the laua'e and the Puakenikeni in the yard was/is a vivid picture. Touching--how you put about Papa Honey. It tickled me that you laughed out loud when you saw the bottle tree. So lately when the phone rings, it's been for Jack or Jill. In the grocery story I hear "Hi Jill"!
Because of your article, we've had many fun conversations recently from family and friends. It makes us feel good that you see us as water-catchers who have a life worth living. Please call us before your next visit.
Malama pono,"
It was signed by the real Jack and Jill, the water-catchers from Pahoa on Hawaii Island

You know how some things tickle at you from the inside? You realize, a story is tying together several digits on a known hand with digits of an unknown hand. The stuff of myth, the scent of Mystery.

The digits of the known hand ...

• Pete was building water tanks. 
• I was writing about people who caught water to fill plastic jugs on a limbs of a puakenikeni tree -- my father's favorite flower -- brought within reach to be enjoyed. 
• Simple tools like pulleys and laua'e fern in the Pahoa water-catcher's home comforted me then, and continued to inspire.
• When it was time to paint our golden wagon, built to simplify our life with environmental illness, it was laua'e that I stenciled on her door and back wall. 

The digits of the hand yet to be ... 

• That 2002 article was written long before I had ever heard the word blog, but in the larger scope of things, the ancestors were preparing me to be a blogger. 
• Sixteen years later (2018) where does my son live and work? He lives on O'ahu and works with a company that builds water tanks. Pete worked for that same company in 2002.

"Something in your inner experience is forcing itself towards the light. Attentively and carefully and patiently, you can encourage that, let it happen. Don't force it; trust it. Watch it, water it, let it grow. As you write a story, if you can let it become itself, tell itself fully and truly, you may discover what its really about, what it says, why you wanted to tell it. It may be a surprise to you. You may have thought you planted a dahlia, and look what came up, an eggplant! Fiction is not information transmission; it is not message-sending. The writing of fiction is endlessly surprising to the writer."

 - Ursula Le Guin

And now ... 

Pete and I have saved the money we received last summer and fall after we gathered friends at our vardo front porch and told a story about our love for Hawaii and our wish to move ourselves and Vardo for Two back. In old school fashion the gifts came to us without a Crowdfunding project, and did instead affirm old fashion values.

The story knew something about itself; we had to allow the story to tell itself. Reaching across time to find the story published on newsprint it was not fiction that I had written; fiction being what Ursula Le Guin was pointing to in the quote above. What it was was the prophetic future written about people living on old sugar land needing time to collect itself. Rather than move across the ocean we are caretakers on a chunk of the land  here on Whidbey. The land is familiar with us; and we are familiar with the land. We needed time to become proper water-catchers.

Digits weaving known with unknown.

'Water-catchers' seems to be another description for an elder-in-training, a makua o'o, in tutelage with Nature herself. Connections between the digits of hands here on Whidbey Island with those there on the islands of Hawaii continue in organic and sustainable time.

Flowing like water ...

Pete and I have begun investing and donating money to support the work of the non-profit organization Hui Mauli Ola. Our son, Christopher Kawika, is part of this Hawaiian group whose purpose is to:

Support intercultural exchange for practitioners to foster indigenous healing knowledge. Support practitioners development by creating interactive programs based on culture and land. Support and develop multidisciplinary educational experiences for communities which encourage them to live healthy and productive lives. Develop materials and programs to educate communities on indigenous health practices. Create environments for our traditional healing arts to thrive and flourish. Protect the rights of traditional cultural practitioners. Promote the use of traditional healing practices.

In particular, we are especially touched by the stories shared in regular podcasts called Leo Kupa.   Roughly translated Leo Kupa means "voices of those who are native." When I listen to these podcasts (co-produced by our son Christopher and Kamakanui'aha'ilono Jingao) I am transported. The tempo and cadence, the inflection, the flavor of pidgin and 'olelo Hawaii take me home. The stories are poignant, informative, and thought-provoking. Each time a new podcast is available I drink the wai wai (the water, the values) and reconnect.

We filled a a box and a Red Envelop and put it into the mail in time for the start of the Chinese Lunar New Year (to honor my Chinese ancestors). The puolu the gift has made its way to O'ahu.  Our Red Envelope of $200 spreads the good and the intention to 'go back home.' In the spirit of a gift-culture we start a new project called the Watcher-catchers.  What began as a dream to move back home to Hawaii has changed. The story had another version of itself to tell; we flow with it, like water.

Water caught, and flowing in an au wai, on the Prairie Front

In addition to connecting with Hui Mauli Ola, we have begun hand-carrying special bundles of offerings, to those who have given us financial support. Then, we will put that same bundle into the mail to reach our patrons who live away from us. Packages of my original writings under the bi-line Makua o'o along with a handwritten poem lay down a foundation, an au wai or water way to keep the goodness in motion.

For a moment we are water-catchers drinking our fill, but not drinking it all, before sending the gift on its way.

- an excerpt from the poem

The first article under the Makua o'o bi-line "A Journey of Becoming Kupuna" in Ka'u Landing, June, 1999.

I keep evolving the gift of storytelling using a hybrid approach of old and new school methods. Old fashioned visits, snail mail parcels and upgrades to my blog are the elements for making that Sponge Blog Cake I mentioned here. Soon I will be upgrading my blog to include ways to catch some water (make some money) from the posts I write. I have more juggling of the feedback from the blog poll, comments and email messages and will allow a month or so to circulate the pu'olo to all our patrons; weaving a gift-giving/patron culture into the strictly money economy takes some practical magic, and luck.

Soon you'll be able to follow our progress and learn how you can become a water-catcher, too. 


Mahalo nui to all the people who came to listen to a story from our front porch on the Full Moon in July last summer.
Mahalo nui to all of you who are reading these updates and posts as the  story grows into itself.
Mahalo nui for the gifts that come our way unbidden.
Mahalo nui na 'aumakua ;and all the rest of the 'ohana our Ancestors who guide us always, everywhere.

xoxo
Mokihana and Pete
The Prairie Front
Langley, Washington 

What a difference a day makes

Changes in the weather are the reality here. February from Aquarius to Pisces (before the 21st and after the 21st of the month) have been ... well, just as pictured here. One day, the sunshine and balmly weather brought the lawn chairs out. Tucked against the south-facing wall of the golden wagon when the North Wind blew it was a day for reading books with noise-abating earphones in place, feet and legs in an out-stretched position. 

What a difference a day made

Twenty-four little hours
Brought the sun and the flowers
Where there used to be rain

My yesterday was blue, dear
Today I'm a part of you, dear
My lonely nights are through, dear
Since you said you were mine

Lord, what a difference a day makes
There's a rainbow before me
Skies above can't be stormy
Since that moment of bliss
That thrilling kiss

It's heaven when you
Find romance on your menu
What a difference a day made

And the difference is you

Songwriters: Maria Grever

What a Diff'Rence a Day Makes lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc, Universal Music Publishing Group, The Royalty Network Inc.

 Same chairs, different weather. We are bundled in layers as the sun begins to warm the sparkly, crunchy snow. How resilient are we? Mostly able to make the adjustments thanks to red rubber boots, long DuoFold underwear, a big red coat, a long flannel robe and a sweet golden wagon for two insulated and heated (we are grateful for electricity!).

To get from the cozy futon to the kitchen, and then to the heated bathroom means taking the hundred steps outside. "It makes you stronger," Pete suggested as I stood at the hotplate making oatmeal. Right, I think he's right really. Just how much stretch can you take to get stronger is a particular measurement for each of us.

I find the adjustment needs a one-day-on-one-day-off approach. One day outside. One day outstretched on the futon. It has something to do with those spoons. How many spoons available today? What a difference a day makes.

Sending warm wishes to you on a snowy February on the Prairie Front!
xoxo
Mokihana and Pete

Valentines for the Earthy Dogs

We took ourselves on a road trip
The sort that begins
On the asphalt lanes
Then onto a boat
Trimmed green
The rails
While foaming
Sea curves
Crescents

Pete drove 

In a downpour

Heading South

To fetch 

Valentines 

And fortune cookies

Welcome,
and share
Lunar Year of the Earthy Dog.

Sun and Moon rose together
to begin the Earth Dog Year
No evidence
of a partial eclipse
The clouds
opened just enough
to embrace
Radiant light.

The New Lunar Year was also a Thursday work party day. Tom Gray, Pete, Prescott and Michael helped to get the new-to-the-Tilth tool shed erect.

I prepped a mid-day meal of chicken wings and long rice (mung bean threads) with handfuls of organic bean sprouts (mung) and lots of ginger-garlic broth. The meal simmered for the earthy dog folks who came to work. And care for the land.

Good luck
Good food
Good company
Begin the New Lunar Year
Prairie Front.
Lucky us!

xoxo
Mahalo for the place and the people.
Moki and Pete

"Breaking eggs to make cake"

"This will be a week of upset, though I wouldn't take that in a negative way.  You've got to break eggs to make a cake. And what about milkshakes? They wouldn't exist if the ingredients were not (violently) upset." - Elsaelsa Newsletter

WikiHow

There's a bitter-sweet irony to the astrology I found in my inbox this morning. The image of breaking eggs to make cake was clear to me; I love cake. I also know that for the past several weeks my guts have been sending me signals that it's time to reset the eating regime and cake needs to wait for awhile. Along with other foods that are best left off my menu, the reality is: I'm having withdrawals from food (I love to eat!) that make it tough on me. 

It's not the first time and probably won't be the last time I make adjustments to what I eat. Part of the sorting and adapting process of being MCS includes knowing what foods make for a friendly gut and 'happy' immune system. 

But this post is also about breaking eggs to make metaphoric and satisfying cake of another sort. Just so there's plenty of room for humor in this recipe, that's call it Sponge Blog Cake and not tempt my new resolve by finding some yummy looking cake to include here, or get so serious I lose track of the goodness. Yay for new moon intentions:)

Instead, the idea for Sponge Blog Cake is this:

I'm feeling the need to update my blog, and shift into a revenue-making approach in 2018. I could really use your feedback about why you read my blogs and what you find interesting enough to keep reading them. 

You'll notice a poll on the sidebar to the right. A couple minutes of your time will help me so much. There's a place for you to add your own reasons for reading these posts, too.

There are many steps to take to make my new Sponge Blog Cake, and it starts by cracking the eggs and being open to what feedback I get from you. 

Mahalo nui,

Moki and Pete

Valentine's Day, New Moon in Aquarius, Year of the Earthy Dog

We are still making adjustments to life on the prairie; three months and counting as the season shifts from winter to spring. Activity increases here on the Tilth. Pete prepares for the shifts consolidating our chattel and we inventory our values and our footprint.

Gratitude collects like the rain that fell over the past weeks; the earth soaks up the water. We do, too. There is a piece of writing that is taking its own sweet time with its intention. The content changes, my editing sense goes from east to west (full on to waning), I forget to account for the shift in seasonal conditions; and the reality of allergies that slow me way down; and the effect of scented products that addle my brain and my immune system.

My mind forgets. My body doesn't. Wheww ... I edit my expectations and send the message: " Low key Chinese New Year." Rather than host a celebration and gather people we will be doing personal ceremony and offer this post as a way to gather with you.

Our love and mahalo spreads like these beautiful hearts (filled with chocolate) and more sent by Mr. Kat and his Peep. Thank you generous Peggy!

Thank you Teri and Martin and Maurine (sorry about the mis-spell ... the Leprechaun caught it ... told me of my error) , too. The gifts were unbidden, unexpected so delightful.

Visual Credit

From the (western) astrology point of view: "The new moon in Aquarius takes place in the middle of the day (in the US) on February 15th. This is a partial solar eclipse.Remember, Aquarius is ruled by Uranus, the Awakener.  Something is going to break loose with this, in your personal life. But we’ll also see it play in the headlines. This is virtually guaranteed with Mercury and Jupiter involved.  News will spread! (It's also a partial lunar eclipse.)This eclipse is very powerful.

Something else. "Great ideas will come from this due to Mercury's involvement. If your thinking has gone beyond its due date, this is a great time to experiment with something new.  - Elsa

I can relate to Elsa's suggestion about my thinking gone beyond its due date. Milk sits in our cooler after I've used it for this or that, but sour milk doesn't go to waste. Instead as long as my body will tolerate buttermilk pancakes that sour milk is perfect liquid. Still, my thinking is sometimes in need of experimentation. Astrologically? I have a very active Uranus in my natal character that loves to incite riots. Just look at my track record! If there's so serious a version of reality going on, Uranus The Trickster does stir things up. And there's Pete who was born Leprechaun in tall bones and a nose for busy-ness.

How about you? Got Trickster.

Chinese New Year begins Friday February 16th. A few characteristics of the Earth Dog  

"The Earth Dog may seem to be quite reserved and quiet at times but they have a persuasive manner and usually reach their goals with the greatest of ease. 
They are loyal and trustworthy but find it hard to forgive and forget if they feel their trust has been abused. The Dog prefers to become an expert at a few chosen activities rather than trying their hand at everything.
Dogs tend to worry a bit too much and see everything from a pessimist’s point of view. They are not materialistic or bothered about money; as long as they can support their family then they are happy." - Feng Shui Store

The 'loyal dog who may find it hard to forgive and forget' is something I can relate to. Perhaps there is room for a bit of Uranus in this Year of the Earthy Dog. Maybe at 70, softening the ground of my being could take on new meaning.


Lastly, we sent off a gift of goodies to O'ahu including a red envelope of lucky money to support  Leo Kupa. Leo Kupa are podcasts that feature stories and mana'o of kupuna, elders, and practitioners of traditional healing and wellness. These oral recordings are a project of Hui Mauli Ola.  Roughly translated leo kupa means 'voice of the locals.' To stay connected with Hawaii -- remembering that 'voice' of the ancestors-- while we live here on Whidbey, we spread some of the water (the wealth given us to get Pete and me home to Hawaii). We are water-catchers, drinking our fill but not drinking it all, before sending the gift on its way.

Listen to the most recent podcast of Leo Kupa (co-produced by our son Chris Kawika Brown and Kamakanui'aha'ilona Jingao) with Kaipo'i Kelling who shares his man'o about his tutelage as haumana, student, of Uncle Gerry Konanui.  Mahalo nui loa you guys!!

The leo, the voice of Hawaii is different than the voices heard here, if it is difficult to understand take a deep breath ... let it out. Ask for the heart and ears to hear something different.

E Ho Mai.
E Ho Mai.
E Ho Mai. E
E Ho Mai
Ka 'Ike Mai
Luna mai e.
O Na mea
Huna No'eau
O Na Mea E
E Ho Mai.
E Ho Mai.
E Ho Mai.

Try again. Listen again.

Happy Valentine's Day. Happy New Moon in Aquarius. Happy New Year of the Earthy Dog.

xo Mokihana and Pete

Water-catchers ... a preview

Like creating an au wai, a water trough, for taro fields ... the ground around the kitchen needed a path to let rain flow.

There's a lot of water -- rain water -- here and in many places in Western Washington after one of the winter storms decided to approach us from the North, skirting the Olympic Mountains, on its way across the sea and the San Juans. Water has been caught, over-flowing in many cases, and with it all inspiration for storytelling is having its way with me.

Two stainless steel bowls become proper water-catchers for simple baths and a luxury shampoo.

I'm working on an 'Aha Update to post here, and a new project that will link Hawaii with us here on the  Prairie Front. It has everything to do with catching water metaphorically and literally. The update winds its way here and there and includes a prophetic bit of writing I did in 2002 while Pete built water tanks (for the company where our son, Christopher Kawika, now works). A true life epic-in-a- post it seems to prove that coming-of-age stories are not reserved for puberty and are instead the activity that keeps life worth living at any age.

Soon, a story begun years ago winds its way here like water. I hope the waiting will be worth it.

"Young writers often think -- are taught to think -- that a story starts with a message. That is not my experience. What's important when you start is simply this: you have a story you want to tell. A seedling that wants to grow. Something in your inner experience is forcing itself towards the light. Attentively and carefully and patiently, you can encourage that, let it happen. Don't force it; trust it. Watch it, water it, let it grow." - Ursula Le Guin