LAVENDER - Just off the Road

When we first came to check out Sequim in February 2013, we noticed lots of round mounded plants – in people’s yards, along the road, in fields, as part of the scenery nearly everywhere.  We’d heard about the Lavender Festival here, and that lavender is a big deal, especially during the Lavender Festival in July each year.

 At the time, I wasn’t a big fan of lavender but as I visited some of the lavender stores in town, I started to gain an appreciation for this most beautiful and versatile of plants.  What really sold me was the lavender mocha I tried at a local coffee shop.

As we went house shopping, I determined that I really couldn’t buy a house unless it had lavender in the yard.  We succeeded, and we’ve been admiring the lavender this summer in a new and artful way.  We’ve even purchased a microwave lavender distiller, so we’re making our own oils and bath bombs and other goodies. 

 Lavender is part of the culture in Sequim, and it’s easy to understand why.  We’re proud of being the lavender capital of America… and we smell better than anywhere.

 

YARD STUFF - Just off the Road

Sequim has impressed me with the variety of its lawn ornaments.  Being from Alaska, my lawn ornaments were comprised of the occasional moose, grizzly, or black bear meandering through.  Here, although we see a black-tailed deer on occasion, the vast majority of gardeners seem to have developed a creative gene which includes the animals, birds, creatures and other treasures they proudly display in their yard.

Take my neighbor up the road.  When we first moved into this neighborhood, I kept looking at the statue in his yard – scarcely believing my eyes.  It couldn’t be… but after close scrutiny I realized that it was in fact a Velociraptor.  The fact that the word means “swift thief” did little to ease my concern.  It didn’t help when, at Halloween, the raptor could be seen with a pink flamingo in its mouth.  Oh well.

Boats are a part of the Sequim culture, but I was surprised to see so many boats on dry land... in people's yards.  Turns out they make great decorations, and often wonderful flower planters as well.

Some people near us love seagulls.  To me, they’re a sign of being near the ocean which is one of the reasons we moved here in the first place.  They’re beautiful as they soar, but not so much as they gather up road kill and other stuff that would pollute this beautiful place.  The yard I have in mind has a lovely statue of a seagull, wings spread wide.  It seems that the gull is a decoy of sorts, as I often see the real thing standing near the not-so-real one, wondering, I think, why his buddy doesn’t want to go flying.

Wood carving must be a hobby for another landscaper.  He’s got eagles, bears, unnamed creatures, and all sorts of carved critters lining his yard.  They are good likenesses and demonstrate that, at its best, decorating can be eclectic and work!

The farmer’s daughter in me has mixed emotions about the vintage manure spreader in my daughter’s yard.  She inherited it from the former owners, and has planted flowers all around it to “pretty it up.”  Oh well!

One of my favorites is the metal sculpture goat I found.  It’s nearly life-size, and from the top of its rock, it presides over all it surveys.

I’ve been looking for a creature to adorn my small front yard.  Being a former Alaskan, I’ve thought a moose might work, or perhaps a caribou.  Hard to find those around here.  So far, I’ve come up with a small metal-work flower.  It’s just so hard to decide, but I’m on a mission.  I really don’t want to be the only one without yard stuff in my yard.

FOG - Just off the Road

When Carl Sandberg wrote “the fog moves on cat feet,” he was so right!  In our new home here in Sequim, we sometimes awaken to a covering of the softest, dampest fog I’ve ever experienced.  To our surprise, we had no idea it was there. 

Fog is clever… it steals its way in the night, never giving any indication of its destination.  It covers everything totally, dampening the deck furniture, dripping from the bird feeders (what happens to the birds in the fog?), wetting the cows, setting off fog horns along the coast.

Fog is selective… it settles in at different levels:  sometimes it covers everything, other times it hangs at knee level, often it simply skirts the tops of the tallest trees.  Fog must have a memory, because there are times when it dips into a favorite valley, stays there all day, only to steal
away in the night.

Fog is heavy… at times it brings a pall to everything and everyone in its path.  It is witness to an accident or some other event which calls for sadness and reflection.

Fog is sneaky… it floats along in trailing wisps, much like a kite, dipping in and out of sight behind hills, trees and houses.  Where does it go when it disappears?

Fog is beautiful… just don’t tell it, or it might want to stay around too long.  It can frame the dreariest scene into an Ansel Adams panorama.  It has a way of softening things, settling things.  It can cause the busiest person to slow down and take a deep breath.

Fog, in short, is a never-ending, always-changing assortment of moods and melancholy.  It lives, on occasion, on my deck in Sequim.  For that I’m grateful.

SEA CREATURES - Just off the Road

Just off the road along the Strait of Juan de Fuca, one finds a multitude of interesting creatures.  On a recent hike at Fort Ward on Bainbridge Island, my grandson discovered a tiny, green crab.  He looked so cute and innocent but upon further inspection, the little guy stuck out his claws and attacked!  It was only a small pebble, but the fingers were close and the grandson was suddenly in the air moving backward.  No end of surprises Just off the Road!

JUST OFF THE ROAD

So many of us long to travel to distant, exotic destinations.  We dream and plan and save for such trips, to the exclusion of all other thoughts.  From time to time, my journeys have been a bit exotic, but lately, I've come to realize that the most satisfying destinations lie right near my own backyard...Just Off The Road.

Welcome to my journey.  Enjoy the ride.