Living on Orcas Island

Today as I stood in the arena lunging Black Elk, I watched a pair of Eagles engaged in a mating dance. Their cry was completely different from what they normally sound like, and I stood watching them tumble and fall straight up above me, then over the marsh, up into the woods and back again. I thought this is why I live on Orcas!

And when I went to Coffelt's for eggs and saw these wonderful photo ops.  Wheelbarrows in a pile, shovels and pitch forks, a lake rimmed in pastels.

Perhaps it was the joy I felt when looking down the driveway and seeing Ken and Jay and Megan all digging holes for the yurt platform. Jay and Megan will have housing for the summer, our farm is growing.  Our neighbor, Dan had helped Ken design the platform it and then carved out a path lined with old logs with moss intact.

 Perhaps it was the felling of connection  I felt this afternoon I saw two friends who I helped find their homes on Orcas.  Jim had me over to talk about the market and how to prepare his house for sale. We brainstormed about his next tranisition and swapped a few tales.  Then I ran into Tom at the Post Office. He owns Deer Harbor Charters - and takes people whale watching. He had a fire in his home and yet was so happy with the changes he made with the home he   invite to stop by and see his remodel.  We chatted about his winter which he claimed was colder in Florida then here on Orcas!

 I think it was watching my grand-daughter, Trinity learn how to handle the wheelbarrow that made me happy to be on Orcas.

 Or maybe while watching her sleep...

Perhaps it was the long emails I got from a new friend assuring me that going virtual in our Real Estate Business will work just fine, and her warm invitation to join a oil painting class.

Lots to be thankful for; the beauty and the people and of course the gift of living on this very special Island.To see what kinds of properties are for sale on Orcas Island go to: www.orcasdreams.com

Passport to Adventure

I needed a new passport to go to Mexico with my daughter, Felicity. It was a sign of the times that in order to pop over the border to Mexico or Canada, you now need a passport. I couldn't find mine. I always kept it in the same place, why wasn't it there?  I called the Court House in Friday Harbor, where luckily you can get a passport. This was much better than going to Seattle. Friday Harbor is just a short ferry ride away.

After tearing apart my desk and sorting through thousands of  photos  and very important papers, I remembered I had put it in the glove box of my car. Just in case. Like I popped into Canada or Mexico without a plan?  I doubt it!  The last time I was there was for a Horse Expo, it was exactly one year ago.

I woke to the sun reflecting off the golden russet of the madronas outside our window. Another beautiful day? How could this be, it is November!

I put together this week's ad for the paper and then went down to Orcas Landing to catch the ferry.  I watched the commuters, all dressed in sensible shoes and polar fleece. Oh, the Northwest culture is so comfortable.

Some folks were commuting via bike, that too will become more common as gas prices inflate again. I remembered my days of getting up at 6:00 am to catch a train from Princeton Junction to NYC to work at Bloomingdale's and Lord and Taylors. It took over two hours to get to work, and the trains were packed, with some people standing the whole trip. As a manager at both those stores, I did not get to wear comfortable shoes or comfortable clothing. It was still in the days of heels, pantyhose and dresses. I suffered, my feet hurt, I rarely saw the sun, and I returned on the train at 7:30 at night.

View of Turtleback Preserve and Deer Harbor.

Now, I get to travel by ferry, gliding quietly through the Islands, the air cool and fresh, an eagle overhead. I feel so fortunate not to be in a car racing down a freeway at breakneck speed, every nerve tense.

This type of travel is human scale. 

Children get to play and enjoy the trip.

 

Friday Harbor has lots of historic homes and buildings.

Once in Friday Harbor, I was off to Radio Shack, where a nice gentleman took a good photo of me in about 1 minute, and I was out of the store, on my way to the Courthouse. There I did not have to wait in line, but was helped immediately and given lots of free advice on how to be sure I'd get this new passport in time. In and out in about 20 minutes, I was off to look at the shops and grab a bite to eat.

In a Sporting Goods Shop, the woman who owned the shop, launched into a story of how her youngest was born on Orcas, 16 years ago. She was in labor going via ferry to Anacortes. Her labor was progressing so quickly that they put her off the ferry when they got to Orcas. There she was met by Melinda, our local midwife. They drove to the clinic, she gave birth and was back on the ferry home in an hour and a half. Her daughter is the 7th generation on Friday Harbor, except for the fact she was born on Orcas!

Can you make out the outline of Mt. Baker?

Two hours later, I was homeward bound. On the boat, I saw Melinda. This is one of the joys of Island life, you get to connect with people as well as see the connections. We chatted a bit and I mentioned the woman in the Sporting Goods Store. She nodded and said ' oh, yes, but what I remember most about that night was the Northern Lights. It was the first time I had ever seen them.'

I loved how I had seen both mother and midwife in this real life drama, and I felt a bit of nostalgia for my own midwifery days.

Walking Eastsound - on Orcas Island.

Eastsound is the heart of Orcas, where the east and west lobes of Orcas Island join in the middle.  Ken, my favorite cowboy and I were on our way to the Orcas Island Association of Realtors' monthly meeting. We were off to hear Richard Fralic, our County Commissioner talk about the proposed tax levy and give us an update on the Critical Area Ordinance.

Ah, so I am not always just having fun! It's true! I too, work for a living. Selling Real Estate on Orcas Island requires I stay current on all kinds of issues. The tax levy is needed because our Orcas real estate market has been slow, and construction is really down, and they have generated much of our county's income in the past. San Juan County is small but we have fantastic services: from EMT and exceptional medical services to an extensive library, services for seniors and children, parks and recreation. I'll tell you more about services on Orcas later.

On the way to the meeting,  I had a great time taking photos in downtown Eastsound. It is a walking village, perfect for meandering and visiting with neighbors.

This is Teezers, where locals meet for a great cup of coffee and warm chocolate cookies sold for just one dollar!?

Hey, there's that guy with the cowboy hat... he's out in front of Bilbo's, maybe he's looking for care asada? They serve Mexican food.

People always ask: "Do you have DSL on Orcas?" Let me tell you we are connected! With the most educated population in the northwest living on Orcas, we are on the Internet! We may live on an island, but that does not mean we're out of it! We are a well-traveled, politically active, liberal group, who believe in expressing our opinions and letting others do the same.

Here is one of my favorite buildings in town. It houses a trendy little dress shop called 'Tres Fabu'. Owned by Nicki who instead of becoming the therapist she had planned to be, began  making hats which grew into this boutique.  She, like a lot of Islanders turned her passion into a new way of life.

 

Remember the Farmer's Market in Eastsound? Well it's held in the village green, which has a beautiful pavillion built by local artists and craftsman for concerts in the park. Like the Island itself it is quiet here in the fall. The music has moved indoors for the time being.

Next to the village green is the Historical Museum. It has been selected by the Smithsonian as a site for  a project called 'Journey Stories', which will begin next summer.  A perfect venue for our  Orcas Island Characters.

Orcas Islanders are obsessed with Halloween, with all the shop owners dressing for the holiday, and kids and adults alike trick or treating and making merry. How about an adult Fairy costume.

Ah, here's Ginny Lu's Wood's Cove. I wonder if she is a long lost relative? I did sell her house a few years back, now it is lovingly know as 'Beachyhead' by our friends Jerry and Mary. They have an accounting business. When they relocated from the Carmel area, they just continued to work for their clients in California, here on Orcas. Well, they are accountants! Bet that they knew that with no state income tax and low property taxes, they would save lots of money by relocating to Orcas. Why not? There's no traffic, and not even any stoplights!

We are not even halfway down the street. For a small town, we have a lot to offer. Come back tomorrow and I'll show you more of Eastsound!

Building Green on Orcas

It was a wild idea, born of the frustration of high building costs and a desire to recycle and reuse. We had been tossing it around for years. We kept looking for the right piece of land and the right house. The land had to be here on Orcas and the house would come by barge from Canada. You also had to be able to get the house down the road and our roads are narrow and winding, with many overhanging trees. So the house had to be narrow. NO, we did not want a prefab!  NO, we did not want a manufactured home! We wanted to save a quality, stick-built home that was "in the path of progress" and slated for destruction. We were going to recycle a whole house!

 Nickle Brothers in Victoria was our resource.  Over the years we had made friends of Jeremy Nickles and Jim Connley, looking at houses that were to be 'scrape-off's'. Jim and I shared a love of old homes that had good bones and charm, wood floors and framing made of fir that would only be used as trim today. Ken was looking for something a bit more practical, and would require less work.

Then we found the land! It was level, sunny and it was just one mile to a potential barge site and town. There were huge old Big Leaf Maples. There were Cedar trees that were three feet across, Black Willow, Red Alder, English Holly and many beautiful straight Douglas Firs. The land had the most beautiful well drained soil, black with fertility, perfect for gardens that so many Orcas Islanders want.  There were natural meadows, ready for a horse of your own.

We chartered a small plane and flew to Sidney were Jim picked us up. He had two homes there that he said would fit our needs, narrow enough to go down the road and just one story, as so many of our buyers wanted a home all on one level. They were twin houses, in good shape and Ken thought they would be perfect for our project. Then Jim took us over to a little stucco cottage. It was not hard to imagine it on the moors of Ireland, built in 1910.

It had glass door knobs. 

                                                 It had real plaster and lathe walls!

It had old oak floors-in great condtion!

It had old fashioned wood windows!

It had the right look for an Island Home.

I could see it already...

 on it's barge coming to it's new home on Orcas!  Well, if we were going to get two homes, why not three??

Ken thought it was a good plan!

Talk about saving the trees!

With a one thousand square foot home we would save one hundred trees!  With three homes we'd save three hundred trees! Wow, that felt like a good thing to do.