Prayer Flags Revisited; Halibut Cove, July 2017
The recent Fish Camp posts briefly discussed the roles Don Darnell's prayer flags play when salmon is being smoked and canned at Fish Camp.
One role is, of course, deterrence: to discourage gulls and crows and eagles from sweeping in and pillaging. Flags are strung horizontally near where the salmon chunks are laid out on grates to skim over before smoking; these flags flutter softly in light breezes and whip vigorously when the wind picks up. Whether the flags actually deter is a little speculative. As the afternoon wore down and most campers had moved to the pressure cookers on a different float, the untended racks beneath the flags were empty except for some crackling salmon bits left over from smoking. Crows eyed the bits, hopped nearer, inspecting with sideward gazes, retreating, and returning; they finally hopped onto the table and snapped up the cracklings. They were undeterred by the flags; as the stiff breeze dropped, the flags no longer snapped and whipped. But in combination with human presence, probably even relatively quiet flags discourage the birds.
The second role, discussed a little in the Fish Camp posts, is more spiritual, and reflects "our" connection with salmon. Probably not many Tibetan monks ever saw salmon, but traditional uses of prayer flags (to promote peace, compassion, strength, and wisdom, according to Wikipedia) are consistent with belief in the core social goodness and importance of salmon. Indigenous people have relied communally on salmon for thousands of years. Salmon bring good will and compassion, as prayer flags are thought to do. Don's float has two higher strings of flags, strung between two tall pilings. They are visible in the cove from a great distance. The renewal message and recognition of change and replacement inherent in prayer flags is analogous to the continual renewal of salmon and salmon's recurring gift to other species, including humans.
Here are a few photos of Don's prayer flags. It is fair to think we need all the help the flags can offer in a quest for peace, compassion, strength, wisdom, and good will.
Flags guard the salmon chunks as they skim over.
When the breeze freshened, the flags whipped about.
Crows eventually decided it was safe (enough) to snag the untended cracklings. The breeze had dropped considerably.
Don also strung these flags between two of his tall pilings.
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After a lifetime of mainly expressing myself with words, my postings here will mainly rely on images. They will speak for themselves to some extent, but I'll usually add a few comments of explanation. I've taken photographs for decades, since the 1950's, inspired in part by my father's photographic skill. Four years of photo assignments and quality darkroom time eventually gave way to decades of casual and family picture-taking. I re-immersed myself when I left film and turned to digital.