Quirky makes the island home!

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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.

Don’t…feed…the…Deer???

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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”

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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!

Flowers

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Chocolate Lily (Fritillaria lanceolata) seed podPhoto of the Day ~ “Chocolate Lily (Fritillaria lanceolata) seed pod holds promises of colorful blooms for spring!”

Sometimes called “rice root” or “mission bells”, chocolate lillies are found growing in open dry woodlands and in coastal meadows ranging from southern British Columbia to California.

On San Juan Island, WA, the best place to find them is at San Juan Island National Historical Park’s American Camp on the prairie or look for them at English Camp, along the trail up Young Hill.

The bulbs of the chocolate lily are edible and were eaten or used as a trade item by many Coast and Interior Salish peoples.

Read more about them here: http://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/cs_fraf2.pdf

Meditations from San Juan Island and the story of Jerry the June Beetle (Polyphylla decemlineata)

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Last year I had to put together a collection of insects for my graduate course at the University of Florida.  In this photo, I have a Ten-lined June Beetle that I pretty much stole away from a robin that was after it.  The beetle came home with me and I’m sorry to say I put it in the freezer and later added it with the rest of the bugs that eventually got me an “A”.

A few days ago, a friend called me up.  “Would you like another June Beetle?”  he asked.  I drove over to pick it up and afterwards, took a few photos with my new macro lens, fixed up a nice plastic box insect habitat and thought I’d take a few days to decide what to do with it next.

Daily, I peeked into the box.  Not sure what to feed it, I thought a little about whether my June Beetle might be hungry.  Yesterday though, when I looked into the box, I found him buried into the grass.  What was most noticeable to me was the fact that his antennae which had been upwards directed, were now pointing down.  He looked depressed – like he’d just accepted the fate that had come his way.  No! I thought to myself….I can’t keep him locked up like this.  So, grabbing my camera, I took my June Beetle (now named Jerry) outside.  I carefully took him out of the box and set him on a branch propped against a rock.  The sun was shining and warm and almost instantly, he perked up.  Those antennae started to rise, then waved around and spread open into intricately designed fans that were getting signals only he could interpret.

I snapped away with my camera, enjoying the experience of watching life come into him.  It wasn’t more than maybe five minutes and “Jerry” June Beetle decided to try his wings.  His first attempt to take-off failed.  So did his second….but he got it right on the third try and I watched amazed as he lifted into the air.  He rose almost directly upward and as he reached about 20 feet, he circled over me twice before heading over to the big Douglas Fir tree in my yard.  Freedom was his!  And me?  Well, I have come full circle.  You can learn so much more from observing a creature in its natural habitat than in captivity.  Thank you “Jerry” June Beetle.  It was nice making your acquaintance.  🙂

See more of Jerry and his transformation below! fullsizeoutput_958fullsizeoutput_955

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Thank you for setting me free! Love, Jerry the Ten-Lined June Beetle

About Me!

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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.

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