Death and Resurrection

Janice Yates

I've been in an internal rage ever since my sister, Janice, told me she had ovarian cancer - this was during the presidential elections in 2016.  At the time, I was thinking of leaving the country but I promised her I would stay here in case she needed me.  I told very few people, it was as if I said anything it would make it happen.  She wanted no health advice and was adamant that all her loved ones not talk to her on that subject.  It has been horrible.  She passed away at noon on June 3 and I will miss her forever.  Above, she is with her good friend Peggy last year.

I have been moving around trying to find a new place to live and start over.  Luckily, I found a place in Cave Junction in Southern Oregon that I think will work out nicely.  Happy people here.  Below is the Klamath River, where I started out.

Francine and John with the bear I carved for her to give to a client. 

Eloin is a community I found outside of Ashland, Oregon.  After Janice passed I spent a month here cleaning myself out on vegan food, detoxing and rethinking my life. I made up my mind to move to Oregon - look for a place to rent, but first I stayed up on this mountain, totally off grid, to see if I could do it.  Outhouses, solar showers and no internet.  There was some electricity because of solar panels and a generator but mostly well placed windows provided light.

Most of the work at Elion revolved around the four horses and two donkeys - shoveling their manure and using it in the gardens.  Here are Joey and Missy begging for banana skins.

Solar shower, below.  When hot, it is glorious. 

I began carving earth spirits on tree stumps.

One week I painted a series of signs for the property.

Val, below, kept asking me to carve him a snake and one day I found a piece of wood that actually looked like a snake and brought it back. Below, Beth is cleaning it up while Val watches.

Phoenix, below, showing Val and Hanna how to play chess.

Nosey

Below, is an experiment.  I had been reading a book by Ruth Montgomery and she mentioned how she had learned to dissipate clouds in the sky.  Cool.  I began practicing and within half an hour had dissolved 4 clouds.  The next day I went with Annie to town and while we waited for someone in the parking lot decided to dissolve a cloud together.  I took these photos every 30 or 40 seconds.  Look at the cloud in the middle, to the left of the light pole

Gone.  Works every time.  Just look at a cloud and visualize it gone and tell it to dissolve.  It will.

Below, is the local swimming hole in my new area.

When I was having trouble getting my new license plate on, the guy at the local hardware store came out and put it on for me.  Different attitudes here.

I've been to several events since I moved here last month.  Lots of parties and lots of interesting people to meet.  This week is a community full moon drumming.

Below is my landlord, Zapata, getting a back massage.  I got one, too - it was a feast for the elders.  I'm an elder, aren't I.

I spent an afternoon photographing the local Farmers Market which is big here.

Zapata built this house and all the rooms are huge.  They are also filled with huge plants and lots of colorful rugs, blankets and art from around the world.  Below is part of the living room.

Above the living room is another apartment where Little, a 6'2" tall man lives.  Three people live in the house but we are all spread out and can't hear each other.  I can't hear them anyway.

The upstairs bathroom and laundry room.  The painting on the far wall is almost done.  I call it my bathroom Madonna.  It used to be a window.

The second floor on the front of the house is 40 feet wide and 10 feet deep - my bedroom and office.

My roommates.  Giant plants.  My office - can't see the desk.

My bedroom.

The deck in front of my door.  Great place to sit.

Two acres of fruit trees: apples, pears, peaches, almonds.  A huge grape arbor.  

The day I moved in Zapata started tearing this room off the kitchen apart to become our new pantry.  After all the construction, I taped, mudded and painted and he touched everything up (he's very picky).  It looks great and is so handy.