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Walk the Beach!
Many approach walking as exercise, however there are still many who walk for their souls and their body tags along. It is a form of meditation, shifting from overdrive into soft time, quieting the chatter in the head, solving problems – taking long strides, concentrating on the slow, steady rhythm of breathing, comforted by interior silence. Looking and listening – letting go of expectations and life unfolds. Step by step.
Walking the beach is a bit different. You walk to find a treasure, to exercise the limbs, and soothe the soul. To marvel at the birds that play against the sky and clouds. To watch the waves. To simply smell the salt air, to feel the sun and wind against your face, and to run from the foam grasping for your feet. To think and reflect. And no matter how far apart your visits might measure, you are always free to renew an old acquaintance with yourself.
There are those who diligently comb the beach for agates, jasper, arrowheads, special rocks, driftwood, shells, and beach glass. They walk the beach with their heads down. They can’t help themselves. They are collectors.
Many beaches in the islands are highly promoted and/or visible. Some are not. Good examples of the latter are Deadman Bay on San Juan Island, Judd Cove on Orcas, and Watmough Bay on Lopez. Get a map. Check them out!
Secret Gardens in the San Juan Islands
As you drive around the island, you may not think many islanders are into gardening. To the contrary, due to the abundance of wildlife, gardens here tend to be hidden from plain sight. Many take advantage of the topography, views, and trees or simply have an abundance of potted plants on the deck.
A visit to a garden can be a journey. The garden embraces you as you arrive and quickly transports you from the everyday world into a whole new dimension. Your senses are immersed in the experience – light changes, vistas open and close, and you become aware of sounds, colors, and textures all designed to engage and delight.
When designing a home garden, many feel it is essential to relate the house to its surroundings. People tend to spend much of their time indoors and keep this in mind when designing a garden, bringing the garden into the house with compelling views through the windows.
For some, the words art and gardening never mesh. To them, art is something found in a museum, a theater or a concert hall. Art outdoors might be a sculpture park, where the plantings are merely a background. For serious gardeners, art is an everyday experience. Their artistic vision sees beauty in the plants – they create a garden experience where scent, sight, color, sound, and texture combine to make a three-dimensional symphony that continually grows and changes.
Gardens should be spaces that invite gathering, entertaining, and relaxing. Gardens are for living.
Opening Day of Boating Season!
May brings us Opening Day of the Boating Season, but actually boating is pretty much a year round thing in the islands. The many moods and embracing presence of the all-encircling sea is seductive, to put it mildly.
Boating is a way of life in the islands. The San Juan Islands are truly the consummate playground for boaters. The islands’ rich history, natural beauty, rare wildlife, and secluded anchorages as well as moorage opportunities and full service marine docks appeal to those who love being on the water.
Greg King has many clients who have opted to purchase homes with docks or perhaps access to community docks. Some may keep their boats here year long and some opt to use their dock specifically for the shoulder season as a means to cruise/sail the islands in the quieter off season.
Islanders may use their boats to go fishing, maybe a quick run to Lopez for breakfast or lunch at the Orcas Hotel with a stop at the irresistible store at the Orcas Landing. Some visit friends on outer islands. Some head to Sidney for dinner or the Gulf Islands for the weekend! The fun never ends.
When you read that Greg King services all the islands in the archipelago, did you ever wonder how he actually did that? He has a boat! And, transportation on outer islands. Not rocket science…
Orcas Island
Orcas is the largest of the 172 islands in San Juan County with shimmering emerald hills embraced by 125 miles of rocky, tree-lined shoreline. Orcas is the diverse island. Its three long inlets thrust deep into the interior of the island, giving it more shoreline and protected waters than any of the neighboring islands.
Once home to countless generations of Native Americans prior to the arrival of its first white settlers in the late 1850’s, the new white settlers lived harmoniously with the Native Americans and many married native women and started families. Settlements grew slowly until improved steamship routes and increased commerce brought more tourists to the island.
The island’s business center is the village of Eastsound with all the amenities one would expect. Many of the hamlets at Orcas Landing, West Sound, Deer Harbor, and Olga have general stores, noteworthy shops and galleries, picture-perfect lodging, and restaurants. The east side of the island is dominated by woodsy Moran State Park with mountaintop vistas and miles of trails. Nearby is the quiet grandeur of historic Rosario Resort.
Orcas recently received a great deal of attention when Oprah Winfrey opted to purchase a home on the island, putting a spotlight on this jewel-like place. Food for thought…
Winter Birds in the Islands
To many who live in the Northwest, Winter is synonymous with hibernation and dormancy. Those who live in the islands tend to let Winter weave her wondrous spell. The stunning ordinary in the simply overlooked.
The San Juan Islands are fortunate to be blessed with a spectacular array of birds that only visit between Fall and Spring. Trumpeter Swans are the most obvious as they are the largest and most conspicuous of water fowl and are commonly spotted on ponds, lakes, and marshes. To see them flying in V-formation is a sight to behold.
But, there are other Winter birds that may not be quite so obvious. Their colors tend to be subtle, although stunning. Some border on extravagant! Great beaches to spot these birds on San Juan Island include Fourth of July Beach, Cattle Point, South Beach, Roche Harbor, Jackson Beach, False Bay, Jakle’s Lagoon, and Lime Kiln Point State Park. The spit of Fisherman Bay Preserve on Lopez is good as well as Crescent Beach and Waterfront Park on Orcas.
All of nature seems to be at peace. This is the time to dream. In the natural world, Winter is typically the season of rest, restoration, and reflection. But, not for the Winter Birds in the islands!
Soon, the sun will shine and the temperature will rise above freezing. Grab your binoculars and maybe a bird book, then head out to explore for yourself. You won’t be disappointed.
Barometric Pressure
Barometric pressure is the measure of the weight of the atmosphere above us. Barometric pressure varies with altitude; a higher elevation will have less atmosphere above it which exerts less pressure. To keep readings standard across the world, barometric pressure is to be indicated at sea level.
The barometric pressure changes as the weather systems over us change. The pressure differences have a huge effect on the weather. If you know the current air pressure at your home, as well as the pressure trend, you are able to predict certain things about the weather. As a very loose rule, a high-pressure area will be clear, and a low-pressure area will be cloudy and rainy.
Many still opt to have barometers in their homes and monitor them with great regularity. There is no need to understand the complexities of all this since most barometers are marked Stormy, Rain, Change, Fair, and Very Dry but, essentially a falling barometer typically means clouds and rain and a rising barometer typically means clear and sunny.
Many have learned that a falling barometer, for whatever reason, means a shift in their mood. Yes, this could be due to weather, or perhaps, they are one in the same. But, let’s go at this another way. Maybe the weather has nothing to do with anything. Grey, cold, and rainy days can be just as susceptible to the warming influence of enthusiasm as are sunny days.
Even lousy days possess hidden wonder. Days that are expected to be wonderful before they begin turn out to be so much more frequently than days greeted with grumbling. Sometimes you just need an attitude adjustment to shift your perception of an entire afternoon and move forward into a pleasant evening
Dead of Winter? – Listing your Home
January – the month of new beginnings and cherished memories. It is a fresh start, a new chapter. A time for reflection and resolution.
The first month of our calendar year was named by the Romans after Janus, the god of change, transitions, and beginnings. Janus had two faces – one looking forward, the other backward. He had the ability to watch entrances and exits, but symbolically, it signaled the need to balance our hopes for tomorrow with a keen awareness of what happened yesterday. Think about it…
Many considering selling their homes in the islands assume they should wait until Spring to list when the tourists arrive. Some sellers even opt to take their homes off the market for the Winter months. The thought process includes thinking homes show better in the Spring. Unfortunately, many assume incorrectly that homes do not sell in the Winter. This school of thought makes for low inventory…
However, low inventory is nothing short of fantastic for sellers. Basic economics of supply and demand tells us that most things sell for more money when there is less of them available. It has been proven time and time again this applies to housing. https://www.sanjuansre.com/listfall
Today’s serious buyers look at listings pretty much all day, every day. They have apps on their phone, get listings texted and emailed to them, and simply don’t care about the time of year. In fact, many want to purchase prior to Spring to have time to make their new house a home. Listing in January makes for a captive audience!
A Place in the Islands
Sacred partnerships arrive in our lives in many forms; sometimes consisting of wood and stone, rather than flesh and bone. There is a deep peace and contentment to be found in the intimate connections with places as well as people.
Every relationship we have – with other people, with our work – reflects in some way our soul’s intimate union with ourselves. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the relationships we have with a home. We deserve to live in a home that welcomes, embraces, nurtures, delights, and inspires.
When we find ourselves there, we recognize it. It is a vision of something we have had in our mind and the discovery, quite often, has the characteristics of an epiphany. We have the feeling of coming home. It wraps itself around us.
The same is true of a getaway – a haven, a retreat, a refuge – a special place that offers a sense of sanctuary. Families, couples, and singles – regardless of gender – share an urge that borders on primal to have what can be called a getaway. Whenever we find this special place, we add a richness to our wondrous, but sometimes hectic, lives by following our vision to create a getaway of our very own.
To live on an island is to experience a life apart. The island home reflects the owner’s reason for escape. Island homeowners are individualistic, socially conscious, and creative with every home fulfilling its owner’s dream of privacy, harmony with the surroundings, and more importantly, providing a chance to take a closer look at the world.
Living at the water’s edge is an almost universal desire. It is different – where two worlds meet; a little piece of infinity. Magic!
