It’s been about 6 months since moving out to the Island.
I guess I should describe where I live now.
The land I am on is just over 5 acres. It is forested with alder, and fir trees mostly.
Towards the back of the property is a wetland and pond that I believe are there year-round.
Beneath the trees lies a carpet of ferns and moss covering the forest floor. Out towards the pond, there is what is called “canary grass”, it’s a green wide-bladed grass that gets about 4 feet tall. Most of the land has never been cleared, there are downed trees, nurse logs, branches, and more sticks than you could ever pick up.
Half of the land is in a preservation trust, which means that I cannot build on it. At first, this caused me concern. Then I did some research and discovered that all the land I can see from my cabin has also been placed in the preservation trust. No one can build on it, ever. This means that I basically live in a preserve, a nature sanctuary and I will never see another house from my cabin.
Wildlife is everywhere.
I have never been interested much in birds….until now. Daily I see and or hear, robins, juncos, stellar jays, flickers, pileated woodpeckers, bald eagles, owls, ducks, and various other winged messengers. It’s become sort of a thing that I awake to the sound of birds as the sun comes up. I have noticed lately that even without thinking about it I can identify the bird calls and who they belong to. I have taken it upon myself to feed them (maybe a bad idea, they eat a LOT). I have various bird feeders I have built around the property that require filling and cleaning on a daily basis.
Spring has now arrived and I now notice a chorus of frogs each night as the sun sets. A multitude of Pacific Chorus Frogs, so many frogs. And also deer, lots of deer.
The cabin itself is 518 sq feet, it has a kitchen, a living area, a “bedroom” and a bathroom. Since moving here I have not had use of the indoor bathroom yet. It needed to be gutted and rebuilt. I have an outdoor propane shower and a composting toilet (Recently my indoor toilet was put in place). Showering outside when its 30 degrees and windy can be interesting. The primary source of heat is a wood stove. I do have a portable oil-filled radiator but I rarely use it. I sleep in the living room on a Japanese futon, complete with grass Tatami mats. I converted the bedroom into a workshop and storage space for the time being. Early on I decided to do all my cooking outside, I have a propane stove that I use for cooking on the covered deck. The reason for this is to reduce the food smells in such a small space. I also got rid of my indoor refrigerator and put a mini fridge out on the deck. I did this to reduce the sound of the fridge running since the kitchen and living room share the same space. Having an outdoor fridge comes with its own difficulties of course like when it freezes outside everything in the fridge freezes as well.
The land itself is in what is locally referred to as east-est Orcas. It’s pretty much the furthest you can get from the ferry landing. Once on the island, it’s another 45 minutes drive to get home. It’s past Doe bay, on the other side of Moran state park, if you drove further past the property about a mile you would drive into the ocean. I am 30 minutes from the nearest grocery store, which has done wonders for my desire for pie or ice cream and after-dinner snacking. I am way too lazy to drive 30 minutes each way to buy snacks.
The adjustment to this type of living has been interesting. There are always things to do. Stacking wood, splitting wood, moving wood, making kindling for the stove, feeding birds, raking up branches near the cabin, the near constant vacuuming of the cabin floor. After spending 2 years moving every month or so and living in other people’s spaces where I had nothing to do, no tasks or chores it is a welcome relief. Idle hands and all that…….
In closing. It’s not about making this place into something else, bending it to my will, or changing it. The land and forest has been here for millennia. It’s about listening to the stories it whispers of, all I have to do is listen, and then I change.