Walking on Whidbey

Yesterday was A Good Day -- and certainly less painful than Friday.

I got up, made the posts I'd been planning to and a few I hadn't, sent a rose to uncrowned_king's LJ and left a comment on the last entry (I can't visit his body's resting place), and then set off for the island.

I'd chosen to go to Fort Casey, one of the old miltary installations on the island designed for coastal defense during WWII. We used to visit there when I was a child and my family vacationed on the island, but I haven't been back for years. Unfortunately, although the guides indicated there were trails, there weren't many of them and none of them were very long. Still, I had a good time just wandering around the battery itself, over the coastline, past the lighthouse, and down five or six short trails.

It felt very strange to be there by myself. I've always had a tendency to solitude, but I haven't done many outdoor trips by myself. It was a beautiful day, and there were people all around: family groups, groups of friends, partners, a soccer team. . . People who didn't have another human companion had a dog with them. The only other person I saw alone was an energetic white haired woman in a pink and black track suit doing what was obviously a regular walk. I felt unusually. . . not "conspicuous" but perhaps set apart?

Still, I had a lovely time, and the point was that I was there with Lohain's spirit. I went down some side trails and found a lovely hillside that overlooked the beach, and just sat there for a while in the sun with the scent of the water.

I saw two deer grazing in high grass very near the path, a snake lying across a path I was considering (which didn't move when I got close, so I decided to leave her alone and take a different route), and a little brown rabbit. When I drove out of the park, I saw another deer, and then a coyote that broke from cover, loped across the road, and disappeared again -- a very rare sight for me.

Then I went to the Earth Sanctuary. I hadn't planned to go, but it's become a touchstone place for me. I went into the labyrinth for the first time in ages -- not because I thought it would bring Lohain closer, but because the center of a labyrinth is always magical space. Then I took a trail down to a stone circle. Finally I took a side path to a medicine wheel, which was fenced off with specific instructions about how to approach it, including being barefoot, washing your feet, smuding, bringing in tobacco, and how to pray there. I didn't go in, but just looking at it was a prayerful experience. It was much more impressive and spiritually charged than either the circle or the dolman.

It was raining lightly off and on the entire time I was at the Sanctuary, but most of the time I was under a thick cover of trees, so it didn't matter. I was all alone on the land, except for the birds and a squirrel (who scolded me loudly), and it was simply lovely.

There's a group called "Whidbey Walks" that's meets once or twice a month to walk together, and I'm thinking of joining up. I love being out there, and I'd like to make some new friends and get to know the island better. Besides, I keep thinking that one day I'd like to live out there, and it would be nice to find out more about what that's actually like.

Boundary-Testing Dream

Every so often I have boundary challenging dreams. I'll be in my home or my car -- or rarely some other place -- and an unknown, unwelcome figure will try to get in. I had such a dream Friday night.

I was on a street somewhere, and a small Asian man was calling for help. His van was rolling away, and he was half-hanging out the side. The vehicle was picking up speed as it went, but I managed to jump in and get to the driver's seat. To my surprise there was no key in the ignition, but the engine was engaged. I managed to turn the wheel to run into a curb and set the emergency break. The crisis averted, I went back to my own vehicle -- which was also a van.

Whenever I get into my car I lock all the doors. I started to do so in the dream, but suddenly felt intense urgency about it. I slid the panel door closed, locked it, locked the passenger and driver's doors -- but the dome light was still on, indicating that a door was ajar.

I realized that a second panel door, this one behind the driver's seat, was half-latched, but not fully engaged or locked -- and there was a youngish man with blonde, short-cropped hair standing outside, trying to get in.

I leaped to grab the inside handle, trying to force the door closed. He gave me an unpleasant smile and shook his head as if to say No, I'm coming in. I pushed harder, and reached back to my purse with one hand, searching for a weapon (a knife?) I knew I had there.

I woke before the contest was decided, with every muscle in my body tensed hard. Once I got my body and breath calmed down, I turned on a light, and kept it on when I went back to sleep.

I always count it a victory if I either fully resist in the dream or wake before they can get in. There's only been one time that an invader succeeded, and then I endured an up close and personal struggle. When I woke, I felt pressure on my chest couldn't speak or move until I called on allies for help.

Sharing Interests Meme

An oldie but a goodie I haven't seen in a while, courtesy most recently of upasaka:

Comment on this post and I will choose seven interests from your profile and ask you to explain what they mean and why you are interested in them. Post this along with your answers in your own journal so that others can play along.