On the Reservation

Anyone involved in a creative endeavour knows that Creation fulfills its own purpose throughout their daily lives. Regardless of how we express it, our true purpose is to share our particular creativity with others, thereby encouraging all to flourish.

My own creative urges express best through psychic counseling and photography. But through Spring, I'd been doing very little of either, and had thus been feeling rather sorry for myself. So the other night, before sleeping, I asked my Angels to send me an unmistakeable sign that my particular way of seeing is still a worthwhile gift that I can share in this lifetime.

Did the Angels respond?

Did they ever, the very next day, twice even!!


Friday June 12 was a charming and magical day, much of which I captured in photographs.

Indian Land in early Spring photo by C. Patrick c.2009
My home is in fertile South Okanagan Wine Country, in B.C. Canada. Town residents number 4000 souls with 10,000 more living on local farms. But, as with all land on this continent, this region is the ancestral home of an Indian Band, in this case, the gentle, delightful Osoyoos Indian Band.

desert grasses in June photo by C. Patrick c.2009
My first magical experience began before noon, with a phone call from an old, dear friend, who has been a valued client for more than 20 years.

She had phoned me from her daughter's home in the Cariboo region of British Columbia to book a Psychic Consultation with me. Later, I phoned her for her Reading and we were all business. But on that day we were just like two sisters catching up on important news. We chatted about our respective families and marveled at how quickly the years had passed.

It has been my honour and pleasure both to guide my friend through her career and to watch her soul unfold with each new challenge. And, I believe it is also a sacred trust. You see, my friend is a Native Indian Elder who works in Northern BC with the now aging Elders who are survivors of the 20th Century Parochial Residential Schools that tore apart native families in Canada. 

This strong, fearless woman is safeguarding and translating their memories so future generations will be able to access their wisdom on a database. It is a huge responsibility and she is the perfect woman for the job. So I am just thrilled to be a small part of her emergence both as a teacher and as a preserver of her band's traditions.

My second magical experience came via Holistic Desert Connections, the Holistic store on Main Street, in Osoyoos where I did Psychic Readings and sold my photographic art work. A local native woman, called "D" visited the store, looking for the lady who created the Osoyoos 2009 Photo Calendar. The store owner phoned me and after listening to D's story, I arranged for my husband and me to meet her later that afternoon.

D asked me to photograph some unusual rock formations near her home. She told me that she could see an elephant's head in one of them.

Elephant Head Formation photo by C. Patrick c.2009

Well, this one you just have to see full size!

The sky was hazy, so the camera lens doesn't do it justice. But the naked eye could clearly see the top of a sleeping elephant's head, complete with tusk a closed eye and one ear.

On a clearer day ( probably early in Fall) I'll take a better photo in the morning light. But meanwhile, here are a few photos that reveal the quirkier aspects of those who live on the Reserve.

These noble and ancient people are quirky?

Oh my, yes indeed they are!!

Why else would they post a "No Fishing" notice in the middle of a parchment dry desert?
No Fishing Sign photo by C. Patrick c.2009
The beauty of it is that you really have to hunt to find this fishing hole which is very small and well hidden behind roadside bushes. Indeed without this sign alerting you to the fact of its presence, you might well miss it altogether!

The symbol for the Osoyoos Indian Band is that of a lone howling wolf, which often appears at the entrance way to their individual properties.

I thought I'd grasped the direction of their quirkiness when I saw two wolves emblazoned on a low roadside storage shed; one dark one, and one which looked quite ethereal. An aura, thought I.

ET Hwy Sign photo by C. Patrick c.2009
Then I noticed the sign attached to the side of the shed and everything suddenly became crystal clear.

No wonder their wolf symbol howls to the heavens!

Looking upwards is most commendable when communicating with those from other realms. But while walking in a desert you also have to look down, or you might step on one of these...an 8 ft bull-snake.

bull-snake photo by C.Patrick c.2009

Snake crossing photo by C. Patrick c. 2009

Ya gotta love this sign!

didn't see any "caution snake crossing" signs whilst growing up in London UK, though I suspect there were more than a few two-legged reptiles in Westminster!

equine youngsters photo by C. Patrick c 2009

No roadside fences inhibit the free movement of animals on this Reserve, since it is their land too, and only humans build fences. This lively 2 month old colt was being babysat by his very patient yearling brother while the rest of the family grazed on the dry desert grasses.