San Juan Island Perspectives » Spring http://www.sanjuanrealestate.com Thoughts from Islanders Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:58:38 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Honoring the Island Daffodils http://www.sanjuanrealestate.com/2011/04/honoring-the-island-daffodils/ http://www.sanjuanrealestate.com/2011/04/honoring-the-island-daffodils/#comments Mon, 04 Apr 2011 17:00:56 +0000 Diana http://www.sanjuanrealestate.com/?p=432 It’s that time of year again: the grass is threatening to grow and need mowing and the snow seems gone for good. Seed catalogs are coming in the mail and the flowering trees are starting to bud out. In my yard I can see the daffodils thrusting their long green leaves through the grass. These hardy and cheerful flowers can often be seen in fields of old farms, next to old homesteads, and in contemporary farms with livestock, a relic of the past. Nothing seems to like to eat the flowers, one of the first bulbs to give … read full article

]]> It’s that time of year again: the grass is threatening to grow and need mowing and the snow seems gone for good. Seed catalogs are coming in the mail and the flowering trees are starting to bud out. In my yard I can see the daffodils thrusting their long green leaves through the grass. These hardy and cheerful flowers can often be seen in fields of old farms, next to old homesteads, and in contemporary farms with livestock, a relic of the past. Nothing seems to like to eat the flowers, one of the first bulbs to give a bright face to the formerly grey days. Grazing animals and deer just leave it alone. Maybe they enjoy seeing the fields of flowers bending to the warm spring winds. It’s a Friday Harbor remembrance of those that came before. A reminder of older days and a harbinger of the warmth of spring. The botanists have developed bulbs that will yield huge bright yellow daffodils, even fragrant ones. But what I like best are the pale yellow ones with the smaller flowers that have been around so long. Look for them in the fields on all the islands soon.

]]> http://www.sanjuanrealestate.com/2011/04/honoring-the-island-daffodils/feed/ 0 Island Living: Garage Sales! http://www.sanjuanrealestate.com/2010/05/island-living-garage-sales/ http://www.sanjuanrealestate.com/2010/05/island-living-garage-sales/#comments Fri, 07 May 2010 18:43:14 +0000 Diana http://www.sanjuanrealestate.com/?p=113 You know spring is here. The garage sale season has begun in earnest with very good Saturday turnouts. It’s a good chance to chat with people and joke about the economy. I’ve been attending these events long enough to sometimes see what I myself sold years ago at someone else’s garage sale! Local charities and causes take the opportunity to do some spring cleaning and raise money for their cause. On an island garage sales are a little different. You often hear, “Yes! Just what I was looking for!” Although the island stores carry most products, a garage … read full article

]]> You know spring is here. The garage sale season has begun in earnest with very good Saturday turnouts. It’s a good chance to chat with people and joke about the economy. I’ve been attending these events long enough to sometimes see what I myself sold years ago at someone else’s garage sale! Local charities and causes take the opportunity to do some spring cleaning and raise money for their cause. On an island garage sales are a little different. You often hear, “Yes! Just what I was looking for!” Although the island stores carry most products, a garage sale lucky find can avoid the trip off to the mainland for the purchase of a specific unavailable item.

Recent sales for the Senior Class and for the Boaters were held in larger venues than your typical garage sale, where many years worth of accumulations were visible at one stop. At the school gym the senior parents were convincing in their persuasive efforts to shoppers, motivated by the knowledge that they would have to dispose of everything when the sale was over before school commenced on Monday. At the fairgrounds there were even boats for sale as well as other nautical items. Prices seemed high at many of the booths, as the vendors had their table rental costs to cover. I believe most of the vendors had fun trading with each other, though, and the baked goods were going fast as people walked around with their mugs of coffee, joking with each other. The Saturday scroungers are my private appellation for the garage sale fans. I feel lucky to live somewhere that really does care about recycling, where the person next to you at a tag sale may be a millionaire or just your average Joe, looking for a glimpse into the past or an idea for the future.

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