BeachIslandLopez IslandOrcas IslandSan Juan Island June 18, 2021

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!

GardeningHomeIslandLifestyleLopez IslandOrcas IslandSan Juan Island May 25, 2021

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.

BoatingIslandLifestyleLopez IslandOrcas IslandSailingSan Juan Island May 4, 2021

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…

IslandLifestyleLopez IslandOrcas IslandSan Juan IslandWeather April 7, 2021

Spring!

As much as we may yearn for it, Spring can take us by surprise.  We wait and we wait.  And then, finally we open our eyes one morning to a coppery dawn, a stretch of sky burning with color and drenched with glory making magic with the sea, a heavenly fresh breeze, glowing greens, colorful blossoms, birdsong, and the very feel of Spring.

The first whisper of Spring holds such promise.  Our smiles deepen, our laughter increases, our hearts open.  We feel stirrings of hope.  As Winter’s cold begins to retreat, easing its grip upon our imagination and inclinations, slowly our spirits awaken, along with the natural world.  We anticipate a new beginning, a fresh start – a new chapter in life waiting to be written.

It is time to laugh, play, and create.  It is a time to revise and change.

Change can ambush, upsetting our comfortable routine.  But, at this time of year, change is expected – perhaps, even invited.  Not a time to be shy or reserved, we flirt with the opportunities and possibilities.  Trust yourself.  Act on your instincts.  To hold back, hesitate, and halt is to snuff out the spark.

No need for impatience.  Preparatory steps are necessary.  Quiet your mind, carve out time to dream and express yourself.  It is pretty amazing what a little shift in perception can do.

If all else fails, go to the beach!

BirdingForestIslandLopez IslandOrcas IslandSan Juan IslandWildernessWinter February 1, 2021

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.

Lopez IslandOrcas IslandRoche HarborSan Juan IslandWeather January 19, 2021

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

HomeIslandLopez IslandOrcas IslandRoche HarborSan Juan Island January 5, 2021

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! 

HomeIslandLifestyleLopez IslandOrcas IslandRoche HarborSan Juan Island December 10, 2020

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!

HolidaysHomeLifestyleSan Juan Island December 18, 2019

The Gift of Food – Holiday Traditions

Even for those who shun tradition and ritual the rest of the year, Christmas is one time we often return to the security of its fold.  Holiday traditions resonate with the imprimatur of time; they become a part of our identity, writing out family history and reflecting cultural heritage.

 

As we seek to put our own stamp on tradition and imbue celebrations with our own sense of style, the irresistible variety of both savory and sweet homemade edible gifts one can lovingly prepare becomes a noteworthy concept.  Many in the islands feel that homemade gifts are the best, and edible gifts are the best of all! It is easy to become highly domestic at this time of year as many of the visible tokens of celebration are, in fact, projects that are both relaxing and pleasurable.

 

It may be wonderful jellies or jams, aromatic breads, cookies and candies, special dressings for salads, a seasoned salt, sugar flavored with vanilla beans, or vinegars seasoned with berries or herbs.  There are butters, sauces, condiments, liqueurs, spiced nuts, and cakes. You are limited only by your imagination

 

A good part of just about anything is the presentation.  It is a visual sort of thing. However simple or small the gift, beautiful wrapping makes it just that more special; the packing becomes part of the present.  A velvet sack, a simple box, or basket can be both wrapping and gift. Hard to wrap items can be sheathed in fabric, tucked into baskets, or encased in netting.

 

Why not combine your food gift with another gift?  Offer cookies in a jar or seasoned salt in its own shaker.  Place a loaf of bread on a breadboard or set muffins in a basket lined with a holiday gift towel.  Tie a unique spreader around a crock of apple butter. Give a gift certificate for ice cream with a jar of homemade chocolate sauce!

 

The heart of Christmas is giving.  We may bemoan the commercialism of the holidays, but generosity still underlies the essence of the season.  We recognize the pleasure in choosing a gift we hope will delight the recipient and take joy in bestowing it.  Homemade gifts are invested with thoughtfulness. Perhaps both making and giving is the true spirit of the season…

HomeKitchenOrcas IslandOrganizationSan Juan Island October 1, 2019

Island Life

The secret weapon for living life on an island is a well organized pantry.  A planned reserve of foodstuffs and sundries for everyday life, a pantry saves time, money, and stress.  Tap the pantry for unexpected meals and reduce trips to the mainland or even the grocery store. Stock it with frugal finds to lower grocery costs.  Set aside supplies for unexpected entertaining. This is the place for those fun specialty items to add that festive touch transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary!  Properly managed, the pantry is an integral part of island living.

 

You may be thinking you don’t have a pantry.  Sure you do! It may not be what one would traditionally envision as a pantry and it may be a closet, shelving in the garage, or even a large trunk, but a pantry it is!  Don’t confuse storage space with the reality of the pantry principle. Certainly it is helpful to have designated cabinet space for pantry goods, but that is not a pantry.  Think of the pantry as a reservoir of consumable goods which may be stored most anywhere in your home. The goal of establishing and maintaining a pantry is actually two-fold:  convenience and protection against unexpected events. A well-planned pantry means you will never run out of commonly used products. Even the smallest home can include a pantry.  A pantry is not a place – it is an attitude!

 

Disorganized pantries slow an otherwise productive person.  They can be a nightmare if not meticulously organized and maintained.  Putting away groceries could take twice as long as necessary, not to mention trying to find ingredients to prepare a meal when circumstances may not be ideal.

 

When stocking your pantry, keep in mind what you use on a regular basis.  Efficiency is the issue here and simplicity is key, but organization is critical.  Keeping your recipe repertoire in mind, decide which items you really need, then embellish your basics with some homemade treats.  You will be glad you did later!