I was reading my Whole Living magazine this morning (in the hot tub!) and came across a bit in recycling that caught my eye. With San Juan County looking to privatize our Solid Waste collection and the future of our community recycling program uncertain, we all need to take responsibility in making sure our recyclables don’t become trash. Here’s a handy chart to find out where to take your recyclables and what products they actually become:
I have never thought about finding a honey comb in our local woods. Well now I am thinking and looking.
Found Honey Comb
Jay was at the local neighborhood “club house” and saw a honey comb sitting on the counter. One of the guys had found it out in the woods and brought it in.Just another show and tell at the end of the day where a few beers are enjoyed and stories of the day’s goings on echo around the room. But, nobody was getting too excited about the bee’s work.
Jay can’t think of anything going to waste, and more importantly, he is always looking for a “find” to gift his bride-me!
The honey comb came home and placed in a plastic freezer bag, small hole cut in the corner and the project was hung by the wood stove with great hope of something sticky and sweet. I was feeling a bit like Winnie the Pooh!!
Thoughts of Winnie the Pooh in my head
We are now enjoying the sweetest of treats and dreaming of more edible finds in the woods.A great website for honey: www.honey.com
Since we moved to Orcas we’ve cataloged much of the wildlife we’ve seen. It’s reassuring to look back over the years and see patterns repeating themselves. One of the “events” we track is the spring and fall migration of rough-skinned newts. These critters emerge from their winter hiding places as soon as the conditions are right — temperature and moisture — and head for bodies of water where they lay their eggs.
Newt crossing in Deer Harbor
We live near the Richardson Preserve in Deer Harbor where scores of newts have to cross the road to get to the wetland. They move extremely slowly and, sadly, many get crushed by cars. The other night, I was coming home about 8pm after a rain. The temp was 52 degrees, and my headlights illuminated a number of newts. I stopped my car, put on my flashers, and moved 21 newts across the road! It felt so good to have a measurable impact, regardless how tiny. (Note: rough-skinned newts are deadly poisonous — 10,000 times more toxic than cyanide – and you must wash your hands immediately after handling!)
Sign art from Kwiaht
We do have “amphibian crossing” signs erected, but they’re faded and have been there so long they don’t catch attention. After reading a blog post and article about our local newts by Russel Barsh of Kwiaht – I contacted him to inquire about getting more signs. There’s no money in their budget for the signs but he sent me the artwork and offered to help coordinate. He said indeed that section of road is one of the top 3 or 4 “worst traffic locations” in San Juan County for newt accidents. I’m confident I can pull together donations from our caring community members for new signs. In the meantime, if you’re driving in an area near a wetland, please pay close attention to the little ones just trying to make it across the road. Long live the Newts!
Looking to enjoy the simple life on beautiful Orcas Island?
Contact T Williams Realty – we’ll help you find your way home.
We’re starting to see welcome signs of Spring here on Orcas. Days are longer, trees are budding and blooming, birds are singing. And if you’re a moss enthusiast, there’s a whole world of miniature lovemaking taking place.
After the sperm fertilizes the egg, a sporophyte emerges. The tip is a capsule filled with spores which will disperse to create new colonies.
Like many plants, mosses reproduce both sexually and asexually. Unlike seed plants, though, mosses have flagellated sperm that must swim to fertilize an egg. That’s one reason they can only survive in moist environments. In early spring, raindrops splash sperm from male plants to female plants. The sperm follow a trail of enticing chemicals in a film of water down a love canal to the egg chamber and bingo, they form a zygote. This is fascinating to me!
Some sporophytes are less conspicuous
Mosses are the oldest plants on land, evolving from algae in the sea that crept onto barren rock. In fact we have mosses to thank for all life that followed: it is their colonization and decay that formed the first organic material and created a hospitable environment for subsequent plants and critters to emerge.
Moss is a major part of our island landscape
Mosses are both delicate and hardy; they’ve survived ice ages and several mass extinctions. They’re ecologically important and sensually wonderful in so many ways, helping to create the serene green lushness the Northwest is famous for. They lie dormant during our summer drought and faithfully spring back to life when the rains return. Being surrounded by a soft green blanket of moss instead of traffic and pavement is just one more reason I love living on Orcas Island. Let the mating begin!
Looking to enjoy the simple life on beautiful Orcas Island?
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Anyone who knows me knows how much I love to cook and feed people, so when my son asked me if we would like to do the rehearsal dinner for his upcoming wedding here on Orcas, I jumped at the chance! He reminded me that this was not going to be a traditional wedding. Good, I said because this was not going to be a traditional rehearsal dinner. My invites read something like this- “Welcome to Orcas………Island Style. We begin with a bonfire; add good food, family and friends. What to Bring: warm clothes/outdoor shoes”. Then I reminded my son to inform our guests of the weather here at the end March!
Next…menu planning. Welcoming guests to Orcas for the first time or anytime is meaningful to me and has to include as much of what we offer here as possible.
I called Becca Gray, Island Hoppin Beer, www.islandhoppinbrewery.com and ordered up one of their hoppy beers. My son and his bride live in Portland where IPA’s are very popular. City brewing has nothing over Orcas brewing!
Next I contacted Rick Hughes, Ray’s Pharmacy (more than your mainland Rite Aid) and ordered wine. Jay gave me an organic red for Christmas that seemed to swallow easily, Green Truck, www.classicwinesofcalifornia.com/585winepartners/redtruck.htm . Rick recommended a white also and the beverages were checked off the list!
A call to my favorite oyster business, Judd Cove Oysters, check them out at www.oysterguide.com/maps/northern-puget-sound/judd–cove. Bill and Char were more than happy to provide me with more than enough to satisfy any “crassostrea gigas” craving. Add some garlic butter and parmesan and we may need to leave more time to rest our tummy before the main dish is served.
King Salmon
My last order was placed with Troller Point Fisheries, Troller@alaska.net . Mark and Diana Hoffman, Orcas locals, who have found their passion in fishing. The Kings are on their way as I write.Salmon Recipe:
Place 1 large bay leaf on a square piece of parchment paper. Top with thick slice of
beefsteak tomato; add several slices of red onion. Place room temperature piece of salmon (one portion) on top of the pile. Mix 2
Parchment Salmon Main Dish
Tbsp of mayonnaise and tsp of dill together and spread on top of salmon. Fold and close up the parchment paper. Place package on a cookie sheet and place in a 300 degree oven. Depending on thickness of the fish, bake 20-25 minutes, just until fish is turned color and flakes apart. Do not over cook. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes. The fish will continue to cook in the parchment pouch. Serve the pouch next to a Caesar salad. Lay several spears of cooked asparagus on top.
Looking to enjoy the simple life on beautiful Orcas Island? Contact T Williams Realty – we’ll help you find your way home.
Recently while showing property I happened across a neat surprise: a fairy house built on an old stump at the end of someone’s driveway. Instant enchantment! I went back to take pictures when I had more time. I just love it and am starting to look at stumps around my property a bit differently. Let me know what you think!
The most important feature of a fairy house is the door. This one has a roof overhang above, garnished with a bird's nest.
Closer inspection revealed that the fairy house was already inhabited. Look at the the cute candle above the bench!
Around back I found a stacked stone chimney. Cool!
And then I found another surprise - a second bird's nest! Someone really had fun with this.
There are many fairy house enthusists – and not all are children. You’ll find books, websites and even YouTube videos on building fairyhouses. All you really need, though is an imagination and desire to have fun outdoors. So go ahead – release your inner child!
And if this inspires you to make one, send me your pictures and I’ll include in a future post!
Looking to enjoy the simple life on beautiful Orcas Island?
Contact T Williams Realty – we’ll help you find your way home.
I have wanted my own flock for some time now. Jay kept saying he does not want to get into the chicken business (he knows who will end up tending MY chickens, and his name starts with J!). Thank goodness for grown sons. My eldest, Eric, homesteads at the south end of our 4 acres and shares my desire to feed myself through farming. Before I knew it a coop went up and the word was out that we were looking for chickens. It is amazing what this island community will provide, you just have to ask. Great friends on Lopez had an extra hen, a Golden Laced Wyandotte, she’s a beauty!. Within 5 days of coop construction, Eric had collected 5 hens with more promised as they hatched. We are in the egg business. I have a feeling, if this pace keeps up, I will be blogging egg recipes and asking for your favorite way to prepare eggs!
One of my favorite magazines, Organic Gardening, had a section on chickens (June/July 2010) naming pros and cons and discussing best backyard breeds, www.orgaincgardening.com.
Now I am finding chicken information everywhere. Island Hardware www.islandhardware.com had a stack of 2012 WSDA Calendars- Birds of Washington, chock full of tips, dos and don’ts for a healthy flock. The WSU Avian Health & Food Safety Laboratory will conduct diagnostic testing for backyard poultry that die. Call 1-800-606-3056 for information. The Avian Health Program also offers two free online training courses: Avian Disease Prevention Training Course and Poultry 101 Training Course. http://agr.wa.gov/FoodAnimal/AvianHealth/AvianCertificationTraining.aspx
Looking to enjoy the simple life on beautiful Orcas Island? Contact T Williams Realty – we’ll help you find your way home.
For Valentine’s Day my friend Susan treated me to lunch at her treehouse on the east side of Orcas Island. Susan is no ordinary person, nor does she serve an ordinary lunch (green curry something-or-other and a fresh mango salad), so why would she have anything other than an extraordinary house?
When you arrive at Goat Leap and cross the bridge to her treehouse, you’re transported to a magical, playful world: An artful assemblage of funky materials – galvanized metal, homosote walls, reclaimed finds – wide plank flooring, old doors, rustic cabinet fronts, amidst bark-on timbers, cozy furnishings and colorful art. A kaleidoscope of fun, anchored in good design. Kudos to the architect – Mira Jean Steinbrecher, Susan and her design friends (including Pam at Red Ticking) for pulling it all together.
Although the treehouse has been featured in a magazine, this is not a pretentious showplace. Rather it’s a kick your shoes off, uncork another bottle and enjoy lap dances from her three pooches – Hamish, Tallulah and Dobby. It’s one of those places where everything is just so, and nothing is. A space that soothes the soul and makes your heart sing. Enjoy the tour, and thank you Susan! [slideshow]
Looking to enjoy the simple life on beautiful Orcas Island?
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Feb. 2012 Westsound Seed Exchange. Includes anyone with extra seeds/plants/bulbs/tubers to share; anyone who wants to come and learn about seed saving and wants to acquire seeds and knowledge; anyone with knowledge or interest in seed saving.
Westsound Yacht Club 2012 Seed Exchange
The set-up: the Westsound Yacht Club was filled with tables covered with packets and jars of seeds. There were few rules explained at the beginning of the event. I believe “no elbowing thy neighbor” was one unspoken rule. Was just thinking I may need to do this due to the way people were hovering over the tables they were going to work over first. It ended up very civilized and all went home with all the seeds they can manage for this season. Two rules: take only the amount of seeds you need for the coming grow season, and bring back seeds to share and exchange next year.
The tables were arranged by ease of growing. Seeds for beginners: radishes, pole beans and kale. Seeds for green thumbs: tomatoes, carrots and corn. I collected from all tables and collected several local seeds- Doe Bay Resort Garden, Bond Brothers Garden, Orcas Parsnips-5thgeneration.
Jars of Local Seeds
This event was sponsored by Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange and Seed Saver Exchange. Excess seeds are donated to the school’s garden and the food bank.
Another local group supporting “grow your own food” – Food Masters. Contact Lerner Limbach 376-4048 or foodmasters.orcas@gmail.com and find out how to order organic spuds. I just ordered 25 lbs. !!
Your will find me in my garden dreaming and planning this year’s harvest.
Looking to enjoy the simple life on beautiful Orcas Island? Contact T Williams Realty – we’ll help you find your way home.
Thank you OPALCO for always being there. Rain, sleet or snow our linemen are out making sure we stay safe, warm and see the light!
Old OPALCO truck door on Orcas Island
Outages here in the islands are not always because we live on an “island” but can be caused by mainland accidents or downed trees in areas that feed the underwater cables that are the power source for the islands.
Snow storms are not common but can also cause an outage. January’s ice and snow storm had the lower mainland in pretty bad shape with 100,000 plus residences facing outages, leaving people stranded in the cold without heat. Orcas saw two power outages that were relatively easy and quick to fix. Our lineman crew is the best, comprised of local boys who have been here most of their lives. They are experienced in being the person sitting in the dark wondering what caused the lights to go out, and asking “should we be cranking up the generator”? And they know most of these community members left in the dark!! These guys have back up from OPALCO office crew who are working just as hard making sure the crew has hot coffee and food should the weather remain a hazard and it look like it will be an all night date.
Orcas Island Snow Fall 2012
Personally, I look forward to outages. I get an opportunity to just sit in front of the fire with a good book, put a pot of soup on the wood stove, find the candles and hunker down. This time, it was the snow that helped put me in the rocking chair instead of a power outage. Islanders are just equipped and look forward to anything Mother Nature throws at us.
Check out OPALCO website http://www.opalco.com to learn more about our members owned co-op and learn about the many programs that benefit its members.
Looking to enjoy the simple life on beautiful Orcas Island?
Contact T Williams Realty – we’ll help you find your way home.
