Magic Is Afoot

I get asked all of the time about living on an island.  It sounds glamorous and unique.  It is unique without a doubt but it is far from glamorous. Whidbey Island is a pretty amazing corner of the world.  We are the longest contiguous island in the continental United States (regardless of what Long Island thinks).  Cows and chickens almost out number people here and many of our roads are gravel and not paved.  Most of our roads aren't on any map and in the winter power outages can last for days.  When friends visit I tell them that we roll slowly.  Don't be in a hurry because Island Time means something here.  Be nice to everyone because you'll need that person you flipped off last week for something someday.  We joke that when America (and yes, we really do call the mainland that) finally implodes, we'll only have each other, so we should play nice.

Our north end of the island is anchored by Air Naval Whidbey with the gorgeous Deception Pass Bridge connecting it to the beautiful Skagit Valley.  It has big box store retailers and chain restaurants.  This creates a bit of civilization within reach but not too terribly close. 
The middle of the island is the Island County government seat with Coupeville, Fort Casey and Ebey's Reserve, as featured in major Hollywood films like Officer and A Gentleman and Practical Magic.  On my end...the Southend as it's known...we are an odd mix of rural, retired, artistic, working class, farmers and commuters. The Clinton/Mukilteo ferry links us to America. It's funk-a-fied for sure.  We're liberal but support gun ownership, over educated and under paid but we don't care because it's worth it to live here.  We all know what is going on in our neighbor's lives but try not to gossip and just let people live their lives.  Local food is more than a buzz word, it's a a way of life.  We welcome the whales with a parade each year as they pass the island in migration.  My father (bless his right wing heart) said of Langley "Well, there's just a bunch of damn hippies here" and he's not wrong.  It's one of the many reasons I love it so. We try hard to live our principles and allow everyone to do the same.  It's not easy but we do, actually, try.

We call summer the glorious season here.  From late June (hopefully) to late September we are rewarded for our long, dark, cold, wet winters and springs.  Townies summer and weekend here.  Our roads are busier, restaurants and shops make a large percentage of their annual incomes during summer.  We are, for a few months a year, a tourist destination.  When school bells begin to ring, the townies and tourists leave and my favorite season begins.  Autumn.  We get cool mornings and evenings with a hint of fog.  Days are mostly dry but we get light showers occasionally reminding us to savor the moments before winter storms begin.  We harvest our crops, begin processing our food for jars and freezers.  Salmon and crabbing seasons come to an end and we till our fields under planting cover crops so it can begin again.  I literally do not know a single person who doesn't do at least one of those things this time of year.  As I said, our connection to the land and food is way of life here.  For a girl who grew up in the suburbs of Southern California and spent a lifetime seeing pavement, this place is magical.

I hope in my writing people can see a little glimpse of my world.  For those of you so inclined you will make a sojourn to this way once in your life to see how we do things island style.  Or perhaps you'll look around your own corners of the world and see the magic all around you in this spectacular season known as Fall.