Bugging You From San Juan Island

Cow and Pig Welcome You to the San Juan County Fair

Just what exactly is it that makes this island so magical? Quite possibly it has something to do with advice a friend gave me shortly after I moved here.  “Be yourself…doesn’t matter who you are or what you do, just go with it!”  I’m sure there are limits with that statement because obviously it’s not a green light to go and break all sorts of laws (look what happened to the Barefoot Burglar)…but if you wanted to paint your house purple OR decorate your lawn with a Cow and Pig, you’d fit right in!   Ok, so there are a FEW people on San Juan Island who might get uptight about that sort of thing.  Some of them recently complained and got the “Free-pile” shut down.  That wasn’t nice.  I suppose those are the residents who might be better off re-locating to where I came from….”homogeoamerica” – land of the McMansions, McTidy lawns, McWalmarts, McEscalades, McCoffees…..AND McFootball!

Okay,  well so there!  I said it!  I’d had enough of what I left behind, so the quirky-ness of the island I readily embraced.  And the people here…well, some of them might be “quirky” too, but I wouldn’t interpret that in a derogatory way.  That person who has the wacky yard ornament might be the first person donating time and effort to raise money when your loved one is sick in the hospital and can’t work.  It might be the guy with the freepile who donates artwork or organizes the community to raise funds for the school, or the person with the purple house who offers to drive your elderly mother to the grocery.  And without a doubt, it means that someone waves to you when you drive into town or stops to pick you up when you have to hitch because your car is in the shop.  It means you get a hug at the post office…or a pat on the back and “how are you?” at the grocery store.   It’s a community of folks who care…in a BIG way!

So…about where I started with Cow and Pig?  Well, they’re inviting YOU to the San Juan County Fair.   Come see for yourself how nice folks here are!  August 17-20, gates open from 10am to 9pm.

A doe a deer...a fe-male deer! Meet Twinkle!

When we moved this past spring, my daughter absolutely forbade me to feed the wildlife.  Somehow or another, they always find me…in Dallas it was Suzy the Squirrel!  Izzy the Rabbit…well, she lives IN the house with me!  At our last house, it was “Momma” raccoon.  She had cataracts and could barely see.  Unfortunately, she had friends who showed up to dine with her.  At first there were only 7.  We jokingly called them the “seven dwarves.”  Then, after the number climbed past 10 to 13, well….that’s when the “no-feeding the wildlife” rule came about!

So new house…no wildlife!  Got it??? Wrong!  Last week, I kid you not, the deer walked right up to me.  I know enough about wildlife that it’s best to just stay still.  They are skittish and don’t like sudden movements.  Having a wild rabbit (that really isn’t wild anymore) live with me has taught me much about how wild things like to get acquainted.  So, I just stood there and didn’t move while she sniffed me a bit.  She decided to lick my hand.  I gave her head a good scratch.  That was all it took for us to become “friends.”

My daughter, Amanda says it is my voice.  She calls me “Snow White.”  Sometimes she calls me “Dr. Doolittle.”  The deer got a name too…Twinkle!  I guess she’s decided she likes me.  I have carrots….and alfalfa pellets to hand out as treats.  Twinkle gets a good head scratch and I get a “petting” zoo in my front yard.

So the “don’t feed the wildlife” rule?  I guess it’s been bent a little.

Sunbow at American Camp ~ San Juan Island National Historical Park, WA

If you look closely you can see it.  At first I didn’t.  It was just another sunset.  Nothing special.  I filed the photo away with the other “sunset” pictures… but one day when I was out walking, I saw one!  My first sunbow.  It looked like a “sign” from heaven.  Apocalyptic maybe?  Was it a warning?   Perhaps it was, but not of something ominous.  For me, it existed as a sign to “slow down” and not miss the wonders of the world around me.  I didn’t have my camera when I saw that sunbow.  I wish I had been able to capture it for others to see.  Later, I remembered the photos saved in the “sunset” folder though.  There it was…waiting for me to recognize the subtle dispersal of colors surrounding the sun as it retired for the day!

“Ahoy Matey!” Ready for a boat ride in Friday Harbor, WA? Lots of fun summer things to do coming up….County Fair starts next week 🙂

I am a graduate student studying Entomology via a distance eduction program through the University of Florida.  In 2009, I moved to San Juan Island, WA where I have picked up my camera again.  My photography can be viewed  online at www.cynthiabrast.com.