Sequim Daily Photo

Early last month I posted pictures of this totem pole that is located at the Jamestown Family Health Center in Sequim. I didn’t know the stories associated with the pole. I heard from a local, Betty, who informed me that the waiting room at the Health Center has informational brochures about the totem and I picked one up. Thank you, Betty! Here is more information about the “Healing Arts Totem Pole” taken from the brochure provided by the Tribe.

At the bottom of this 38-foot pole is a shaman or medicine man whose traditional role is to assure the health and prosperity of the community. He is seen as an intermediary between the natural and supernatural worlds and his most important role is to cure the sick. A shaman derives his healing powers from “spirit helpers,” animal spirits who possess the secrets of life and death and who share these gifts with the shaman. The shaman’s paraphernalia, a rattle and a baton, a crown of mountain goat horns, and a “soul catcher” around his neck, aid him in moving into a trance state to do his healing work. Below the shaman is Frog who lives on both land and in the water and also has the transformational power to morph from a fishlike tadpole into a four-legged frog.

Above the shaman is Sculpin, a guide to aid the shaman in returning to the physical plane. Sculpin is a fish that can also grant certain powers. Above Sculpin is Land Otter. At home on land or in the water, Land Otter is considered a powerful supernatural assistant.

Above Land Otter is Octopus. Octopus is capable of transforming his color, shape, and texture and is considered a great ally when opposing evil spirits. Second from the top is Wolf, who helps to guide the shaman back to the secular world after his spirit world travels. And at the top is Mountain Goat. Mountain Goat lives between the terrestrial world and the sky world and travels ahead of the shaman to guard him against danger.

The S’Klallam brochure does not identify the carving style used for this totem except to note that their totems “represent some aspect of Northwest Native and/or Jamestown S’Klallam life.” The Tribe’s totems at their 7 Cedars Casino are done in a variety of Northwest cultural styles. This one at the Health Center looks Tlingit to me.

This is an aisle from one of my favorite places in Sequim, Doodlebugs on West Washington. To say they sell paper arts and scrapbooking supplies doesn’t begin to cover it. They open up a universe of creativity to anyone who never completely left scissors, paper, and library paste behind in grammar school. They offer demonstrations and “make and take” projects to get you started. My holiday cards began here this year, but that just capped an array of fun and crafty playdates with a great staff full of good ideas.

This sculpture is nothing new to people who walk in the area around Carrie Blake Park and the Water Reuse Demonstration Park. It surprised me when I explored the park recently as I’d never noticed it from the road passing by. The Water Reuse Park where this is located is designed to educate the public on the reuse of water. I believe that the hoops in the distant background are part of a volunteer effort to reforest the area with native oaks.

These two critters have their own small savannah in a yard near the Dungeness bluffs. I’m not sure if it’s ideal giraffe habitat but they seem to be doing just fine.

Asphalt + oil + rain + leaves.

Lavenderlady (AKA Norma), the talented founder of this blog, previously posted images of this local couple that quietly holds court at Sunny Farms around this time of the year. As with us all, they change fashion a little from year to year. Miraculously, they don’t seem to age much. Here they are this year, settled into a little pumpkin pig love nest outside the store.

Here they are in 2008 and here they are in 2009. 

Sunny Farms was recently named in a couple of categories of “Best of the Peninsula.” We’ll revisit tomorrow to see what honors they took.

These wrestling bears are near the entry gate to a Sequim home. I hadn’t noticed that one of them is sporting an uber cool look until I got up close enough to take this shot.