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Rock Bottom Line || Hope springs eternal for a Whidbey gardener

BY HARRY ANDERSON
January 13, 2016

It was dark and dank outside, one of those January days on our Rock when I wish we really had bought that condo in Palm Springs, locked up and flown south, like most birds have the good sense to do. But, as I gazed out my window at the wet desolation, my mind would not stop pondering my vegetable garden.

Ah, that wonderful, fertile, 20-foot-by-40-foot space where I spent such happy hours with the sun overhead and my hands in the dirt in spring, summer and fall. Oh, the tomatoes! And the sweet Walla Walla onions! And the Yukon Gold potatoes! And the zucchini, snow peas, beets, cauliflower and cucumbers! All just fond memories now, of course, though some remain embalmed in Mason jars and freezer bags.

I bundled up in flannel, fleece and wool, pulled on the waterproof boots and strolled out to the muddy, half-frozen garden. The winter wind and rain had not been kind. Half stuck in the mud lay the forlorn little ceramic plaque that had been tossed off the post where it once had proudly hung. “God bless this garden and all who enter in,” it reads. Indeed, divine blessings are needed now more than ever.

Over in the corner, I spotted the broken fan blade of the cute garden whirligig that had succumbed after five nasty, windy Whidbey winters. The old sailor in the little red rowboat, so salty with his white beard and pipe and his yellow Nor’easter hat and coat, had pulled his last oar.

I saw the gray, lifeless remnants of the three zucchini plants that kept producing squash even as frost encroached. I blamed myself for not uprooting them and giving them a proper burial in the compost pile, as I had with all the other vegetable plants. I looked in amazement at the many weeds that had sprouted, despite the cold weather, since last I applied the hoe. Why is it that these weeds can grow so heartily even when everything else is dead or dormant?

In the other corner, I saw the plastic basket I had used to harvest the garden’s abundance and cart it into the house. I had forgotten to take it in, so it filled with rainwater during December’s deluge and then froze into a solid block of ice.

Even as I surveyed the devastation, however, something in me began to stir. Next year, I’ll plan more potatoes and fewer beans. More carrots, fewer zucchini. Yes, and maybe I’ll add a raised bed or two, and some drip irrigation hoses. Something about a garden always makes hope spring eternal.

But first things first, I thought. Send the lawn mowers out to get serviced. If you don’t book that service early on the Rock, you may have hay before your mower is ready. Prune the fruit trees now. The hard frost has made them dormant, but who knows how long that will last given the changing climate. And if you don’t prune, your apples may be the size of prunes.

Put on the gloves and get out there and pull those weeds, then add some compost and till that soil. It’s never too early or too cold. You want a good harvest? Get off your lazy winter butt and get started.

Ah, all that day-dreaming really felt good. It’s so hard to get motivated during this dreary time of year. I feel so much better now. I’m eager for spring to be sprung.

Once upon a time, Harry Anderson made an honest living as a reporter, editor and columnist at the Los Angeles Times. He now lives in central Whidbey, where he spends his time gardening and ruminating on things that interest him. (photos by the author)

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January 13, 2016
Mureall Hébert || ‘Whidbey Writes’ January 2016

January 6, 2016

The purpose of “Whidbey Writes” is to encourage writers with a Whidbey connection to submit short fiction and poetry for publication in Whidbey Life Magazine, thereby giving our readers an opportunity to enjoy these creative writings. Throughout the past year, Whidbey Writes published monthly selections of short fiction and poetry online. The most popular of these entries was also published in the Fall/Winter 2015 print issue.

We’d like to recognize the volunteer editors of Whidbey Writes by publishing an entry from each of them. This month we are pleased to introduce Mureall Hébert and her short fiction selection “Welcome to the Party.” We published another volunteer editor, Chris Spencer, and his selection, “Bare Naked Betty,” in 2015 and will publish a selection from our third editor, Heather Anderson, later this year. We thank them for their dedication and talents and are grateful that they will continue to act as the editors for Whidbey Writes.

This competition, originally created as a collaboration between Whidbey Life Magazine and the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts, will now continue as part of the creative writing section of Whidbey Life Magazine. Whidbey Life Magazine extends thanks to the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts for their ongoing support of Whidbey Writes.

To find out more about Whidbey Writes and the submission criteria, visit the Whidbey Writes Submission page. To see previously selected writings, visit the Whidbey Writes page here.

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Welcome to the Party

BY MUREALL HÉBERT

The moment Mischief heard Pandora’s voice she knew Pandora would be the one to open the box. It was the tone of her speech, all soft and girly, like she didn’t have a brain. Mischief was good at reading people; it was one of her talents. All it would take would be a few suggestive comments and Pandora would do whatever Mischief wanted. It wasn’t Pandora’s fault. She’d been made out of clay. A start in life like that left a girl easy to manipulate.

It had been over a century since the lid had closed, trapping Mischief inside with the others. Fifty-three of them, clustered together. They’d made a decent go of it. Vandal spray-painted the walls, which jazzed the place up considerably. Welcome to the party, Chill, and Tricky Bad was here were tagged in letters four feet tall. A parody of the Sistine chapel graced the ceiling: Zeus with his sickle, holding back fawning mistresses and angry wives while the Fates tsk tsked in the corner. Decadence handed out Russian tea cakes and chocolates, the good ones with liquid cherry centers. The Hedonist brothers enjoyed snifters of brandy and ogled Titillation as she pranced through Zumba moves in her leopard-print yoga pants. It wasn’t a bad life, really, a bit claustrophobic and sometimes it got loud, especially when Anger and Gluttony weren’t getting along, but, all in all, it was doable.

Except beyond the chocolate and art, everyone inside pined for one thing—to find a way out of the box. It was Hope’s fault, her dogged optimism sparking an itch impossible to scratch; she kept them all dreaming of freedom. “Life,” she’d say, sweeping her bangled arms wide, “is filled with endless possibilities.” Annoying chick, especially before morning coffee. Hope didn’t belong in the box, anyway. She wasn’t like the rest of them. It was just a fluke she’d gotten stuck inside. Wrong place, wrong time, and one too many glasses of champagne.

The day Zeus had captured them, he’d been having a rough day. Something to do with a pig-headed-no-good-woman-stealing giant. He spotted Mischief and the others chilling on the shores of Aegina and went crazy. Called them evil and heinous, and in league with the pig-headed-no-good-woman-stealing giants. Didn’t stop to find out what was what. He’d tugged on his beard, crammed the lot of them in the cube, and slammed the top shut, muttering that they were too destructive to roam the earth, which was kind of harsh and not exactly fair (the fact that Pyromaniac’s beach bonfire had taken out a temple might have had something to do with it.)

Still, considering Zeus’s own vindictive side, he wasn’t one to talk about good manners and clean living.

Case in point: Epimetheus and Prometheus, brothers who were given the task of populating the earth. They’d messed up the job, and then Prometheus had stolen fire, and Zeus had gotten pissed, which is why he’d made Pandora out of clay. The whole thing had gone down in earshot of the box; Mischief heard the argument through the walls. Zeus, never one to let sleeping dogs lie, gave Pandora to Epimetheus, along with the box, and advised the happy couple not to peek inside. Not that it mattered to Zeus if the lid was open or closed. The whole thing was a ruse to get Prometheus jealous (as if he’d fall for that one.)

“Don’t open the box,” Zeus said, all Zeus-like.

“Don’t open the box,” Epimetheus agreed and he placed it on a shelf next to his bowling trophy.

But Pandora hadn’t been able to help herself, which had tickled Mischief no end. Every night, after Epimetheus’s snores filled the house, Pandora’s tiptoes whispered across the floor. Then Mischief would feel the wisp of Pandora’s breath through the seams of the box as she gave a sigh.

“I wonder what’s inside,” Pandora said.

“Open it and find out,” Mischief called, and Pandora’s sigh grew deeper and filled with longing.

It took fourteen days for Pandora to give in, which was actually pretty long for a clay-girl. The night that it happened, Pandora lifted the box and breathed her sigh just like always, but this time the breath was filled with danger, which perked up Mischief’s ears. Danger was a prelude to mischievousness.

The back door to the house creaked open and Pandora’s footsteps softened as her bare feet padded across the grass.

“Perhaps if I just had one peek,” Pandora said.

“Yes, one peek can’t hurt.” Mischief stretched on her toes to place her palms against the lid.

Behind her, Narcissism and Selfish chattered away, oblivious to what was going on. Narcissism was talking about his exceptionally silky hair and Selfish was going on about the calluses on his hands and how Narcissism should offer him a pumice stone. “Pay attention,” she whispered to them. “We’ll only have one chance.”

Hope, looking dangerously like Smug, smiled broadly at the idea that she’d been right all along. Her bangles clinked together as she clapped her hands in anticipation.

“Yes, just a small look,” Pandora said, and the curiosity in her voice bloomed into intent.

Everyone in the box fell still, caught by the lilt in Pandora’s voice. Everyone, that is, except Narcissism who began brushing his bangs in front of the mirror.

The lid came off in a rush of cold air, and Pandora’s large, blue eyes peered in. A sound rose as the occupants of the box crowded toward the opening, a guttural growl of satisfaction and readiness. Pandora blinked, and blinked again. “Oh,” she said. “I don’t think this is good.”

She tried to slide the lid back on, but they rushed against her, crushing her hand to the side. The lid tumbled off and then they were free, their bodies expanding into the night air, elongating into shadows or substance or whatever form they liked. They rose into the sky, skipped across the lawn, and sauntered down the road into town. Deception whistled The Devil Went Down to Georgia as he left.

Savoring the rush of freedom, Mischief was one of the last to depart. Narcissism was still brushing his hair and hadn’t noticed the open lid. Hope waited patiently in the corner, probably wishing Narcissism would quit fooling around and get moving.

Mischief stepped daintily to the ground, her dress swishing against her thighs. Around her, the world swelled with the taste of possibility. Eyes sparkling, Mischief smiled at Pandora, who looked rather ill.

“What have I done?” Pandora glanced towards the house. “Epimetheus is going to kill me.”

“Yes,” Mischief said. “He very well might. And if he doesn’t, there’s Zeus to consider. He has such a nasty temper.”

Pandora gasped and put out a trembling hand. Mischief took it and guided Pandora to the porch.

Down the street, alarms cut through the air. Greed sprinted past, fistfuls of money clutched in his hands. Gluttony followed him. Donuts, speared on baguettes, jutted from his pockets.

“Stop!” Pandora’s voice squeaked in futile protest.

“The best thing to do is to hide,” Mischief said. “At least for a while.” She held out the box. “Jump in. Epimetheus will never think to look for you here.”

“Oh, no,” Pandora said. “I don’t want to go in there.”

Mischief ran a soothing hand along Pandora’s arm. “But there’s a party inside, with tea cakes and cherry-filled chocolates. It’ll be a nice diversion. See, the invitation’s written on the wall.”

Welcome to the party. Chill.

Pandora squinted at the graffiti. “I don’t think I’m up to a party. I’m feeling rather tired. Maybe I should go back to bed. Epimetheus might not even notice what’s happened.”

Across the street, Pyromaniac set light to a dumpster. Pandora turned two shades of pale.

“Poor thing.” Mischief led Pandora through the opening of the box. “It’s sweltering this close to the flames. You’re over-wrought. Some quiet time will do you good.”

“Quiet time,” Pandora said, chin trembling. “That does sound nice. It’s been so busy lately, what with Epimetheus’s bowling league and my Mary Kay parties.”

Mischief nudged her forward. “Quick. I think I heard Epimetheus call your name. Perhaps you should squat down behind Hope. I’ll shut the lid, just temporarily, of course, and head him off.”

“Do you promise you’ll let me out soon?” Pandora asked.

“I promise,” Mischief said. “Right after the whole thing blows over.” She lobbed a kiss to Pandora, waved goodbye to Hope and Narcissism, then placed the lid on the box. As it closed, she heard Narcissism telling Pandora about his silky hair.

Mischief slipped into Pandora’s house. Epimetheus, asleep and snoring in bed, twitched once and fell still. The box was lighter in her hands than she’d thought it would be and it slid easily onto the shelf next to the bowling trophy.

She let herself out the back door, leaving Pandora’s box and Epimetheus’s snores behind, and followed the road to the center of town.

Mureall Hébert is an MFA graduate from the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts, and volunteer editor at Whidbey Writes. Her writing has appeared in numerous print and online publications. You can find Mureall online at www.mureallhebert.com and @mureallhebert.

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CLICK HERE to read more WLM stories and blogs. Have a great story idea? Let us know at info@whidbeylifemagazine.org.

WLM stories and blogs are copyrighted and all rights are reserved. Linking is permitted. To request permission to use or reprint content from this site, email info@whidbeylifemagazine.org.

January 6, 2016
Nature’s Winter Art: Fiber-Ice Glows in the Woods

BY SUSAN ZWINGER
PHOTOS BY SUSAN SCOTT
Whidbey Life Magazine Guest Contributors
January 6, 2016

When a high-pressure ridge arrives after one of the soggiest December ever recorded, there are treasures to be found in the woods. It is freezing cold but we walked anyway.

My friend, Susan, and I were strolling through the web of trails behind Whidbey Elementary School when we discovered thick stripes of bright white glowing in the dark forest. We noticed this phenomenon was only on dead wood and never on living branches or trunks.

Susan Zwinger pauses in her walk in the woods to examine an “ice feather.” (photo by Susan Scott)

Picking up these sticks, we found shelf after shelf of microscopically thin layers of ice emerging from the dead wood. These discs were about three inches wide and were perfectly stacked and uniform. Two days later, they had “grown” to almost seven inches in width, and had curled into silky grandmother curls; others drooped down in coils like shiny white beards.

What were these strange creatures? They maintained their shapes as I turned the wood for Susan’s camera, but instantly disappeared when touched by a warm finger. Not melted, but disappeared into thin air, as if they were going from ice to gas instantly.

How plants and animals adapt to cold weather is fascinating and the subject of much study. Some, such as lichen, simply get rid of their water and lie dormant. In the summer you can pour water onto a seemingly “dead” lichen and watch it swell into life. Other plants remove the water from within their cells, (which would be destroyed by freezing) and store it in between the cells. There is a frog in Alaska that completely freezes its entire body—no heart beating—until spring when it thaws and hops off to find a mate.

In this dead wood that we’d discovered—where maximum amounts of water has been absorbed after days of rain—the sudden freeze had swollen the cellular structure and water had been extruded forcefully, either between the cells or from the cells themselves. Thus the beautiful, breathtaking miniature architecture of shelves, curls, columns, and fiberglass-like shapes was created by the cell patterns in the wood itself. It struck us as bizarre that this fiber-ice continued to grow.

Susan had difficulty photographing within the dark alderwood-western red cedar forest, so we turned our flashlights onto the ice structures; they glowed with an otherworldly presence.

A tiny winter wren (photo from WLM library)

Not 15 inches from Susan’s foot, a winter wren discovered a scrape in the leaf litter and was picking out seeds or insects rapidly to preserve its body heat. Perhaps it realized its perfect camouflage; the dark brown bird in dark leaf litter was unafraid of a photographer who was about 450 times his size, looming above.

This small wren, only one-third of an ounce, can maintain a body heat of 97 degrees while, outside, the air is only 27 degrees. What marvelous insulation the thin layer of fluff affords him.

But what of his naked, tiny toes? They are toothpick-thin, yet his heart pumps blood back into them, just as they threaten to freeze. Our regular bird suspects—the robins, chickadees, flickers, and towhees—are tucked up against branches somewhere in this freezing cold.

Even though both of us have wintered in Colorado, hiking and skiing in the cold, bright country, neither of us has ever seen this fiber-ice phenomena before. Only in the Northwest, only near the coast, does this magic of ice feathers happen. Out here, outdoors, the world plays by a different set of the laws of physics.

And to think, just three days ago I was hunched in a big, old armchair feeling sorry for myself, saying, “I never get to see anything new.”

Susan Zwinger, Phd, lives in Langley and wanders South Whidbey Island. She has written four books of natural history, the first of which, “Stalking The Ice Dragon,” won the Governor’s Authors award in 1991. She is an artist and a keeper of detailed nature journals and gives workshops in illustrated journaling. She can be reached at zbird7@whidbey.com.

Susan Scott, photographer and author, enjoys daily walks on Whidbey Island and catching glimpses of extraordinary moments of ordinary life with her camera. Such moments are especially enhanced when walking with good friends, like Susan Zwinger. More of Susan Scott’s photographs can be seen in the gallery at www.susanscottphd.com.

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CLICK HERE to read more WLM stories and blogs. Have a great story idea? Let us know at info@whidbeylifemagazine.org.

WLM stories and blogs are copyrighted and all rights are reserved. Linking is permitted. To request permission to use or reprint content from this site, email info@whidbeylifemagazine.org.

January 4, 2016
Rest Easy—with the Whidbey Island Threshold Singers

BY KATE POSS
Whidbey Life Magazine Contributor
January 6, 2016

During the past holiday season my mind was in a whirl. Thoughts chattered nonstop about entertaining family and guests, buying gifts and shopping for food. I needed a “Rest Easy” session by the Whidbey Island Threshold Singers.

On a Tuesday night before the Winter solstice, my husband and I drove to the Healing Circles building in Langley. After removing our shoes, we padded upstairs to a long room where five women sat in a circle of chairs while a dozen others sat or lay about on the carpet. On hearing the soothing harmony of a cappella voices, my exhausted mind unwound in gratitude and I became aware of the sense of connection and peace that was created, during these dark days, by the tender singing that surrounded us.

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“Easy, rest easy; let every trouble drift away.
Easy, rest easy; love enfolds you and holds you safe.”
— © Marilyn Power Scott, the Threshold Choir

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The first Threshold Choir was formed 16 years ago by Kate Munger in California. The seeds for “threshold singing” began a decade earlier, she said, when she sang at the bedside of a beloved friend who was dying. “I did what I always did when I was afraid; I sang the song that gave me courage,” she noted. “I sang it for two and a half hours. It comforted me, which comforted him.”

Gaea Van Breda, Effie Brown and Christa Straub sing Christmas carols for
Dorothy Lepisto. (photo by Raymond Poss)

The Whidbey Island Threshold Singers are a branch of the Threshold Choir and sing soothing and heartfelt songs, many of which were written by the original choir’s creators. With regular visits to CareAge of Whidbey, the Whidbey Island Threshold singers also are invited to sing by caregivers or family members of those receiving Hospice care on the island.

Christa Straub is one the coordinators of the Whidbey Island Threshold Singers.

“There is something to lying down and having the music washing over you,” said Straub. “We sing in a gentle lullaby voice. It is most important to know that this is not a performance; we’re offering the comfort of voice.” Currently there are 12 singers who sing in groups of one to three at the bedside of the very ill, the bed-ridden, those who are dying or near-death.

Being asked to sing “is an utter honor,” said Straub, “at such a vulnerable, tender time in a person’s life. We understand the trust that’s been given us. We’ve been asked to sing for people who are dying and then are later invited to the memorial. That feels like a beautiful completion of a relationship.”

Straub discovered the Threshold Choir through a friend in California. “She sang with the Threshold Choir and shared a CD with me,” recalled Straub. “I loved the songs and was touched by them. Little did I know that later I would be singing with her as she was dying from cancer. Those evenings singing by her bedside are precious in my memory.”

Padma Salle Getse (left) joins Dorothy’s daughter, Jeanne, in singing Christmas carols. (photo by Raymond Poss)

She was thrilled to meet up with women who had sung in the Anacortes Threshold Singers group. In 2009, after an inspiring Regional Threshold Choir Gathering on Vashon Island, the women, who included Linda Edling, Susan Berg, Netsah Zylinsky and Rohini, formed a branch separate from the Anacortes Threshold Singers in order to better serve the population on Whidbey Island.

Suni MacLean is the North Island contact for the Whidbey Island Threshold Singers. She joined the singers several years ago, after seeing an ad for the group on Drewslist. “I thought I’d like to go and try and it out,” MacLean said. I had been a nurse and been involved in Hospice before and found a great interest in singing. It is definitely a heartfelt thing to do. It benefits both sides: those of us who sing and those who get the benefit of singing.”

New members continue to join the group. Twice monthly afternoon practices are often hosted by Effie Brown in her home in Freeland. Evening practices are in Coupeville and Freeland.

During one practice, Straub and singer Anne Zontine turned to me and sang: “You are Loved,” also written by Marilyn Scott.

“You are loved, deeply loved.
You are a well-cherished garden.
You are loved, deeply loved.
You are a treasured child.
All your life, all your days, from the very first moment of being.
You’ve been loved, greatly loved. You are loved.

Drink it in, drink it in.
Love is the life-giving water.
Take it in, take it in.
Know it in every cell.
Soak it into your toes, so the rose that you are fully blossoms.
You’ve been loved, greatly loved. You are loved…”

— © Marilyn Power Scott, the Threshold Choir

It is remarkable to receive the kindness and warmth that is sung in these words. It creates a feeling of warmth in the heart.

Christa Straub (left) and Effie Brown, captured in mid-song, are long-time members of the Threshold Singers. (photo by Raymond Poss)

Gaea Van Breda has sung with the Whidbey Island Threshold Singers almost from the start. She often provides the deeper-voiced harmony that provides depth to the songs. “I find it nourishing to sing and blend our voices,” said Van Breda. “It’s a huge gift, knowing we’re bringing comfort to the families. It’s all about service.”

On Christmas Eve, I joined the Whidbey Island Threshold Singers, who share their voices each Thursday for Dorothy Lepisto in Langley. At one point, Lepisto, who is 95, was in Hospice care and believed she wouldn’t live much longer. But she did live and found so much happiness from the singing that they continue to visit her each week. Lepisto sings along from printed words to the songs. On Christmas Eve, Straub, Van Breda and Effie Brown joined in singing Christmas carols and creating a sense of true good cheer.

Soothing Threshold Choir songs are available on this CD (photo by the Threshold Choir)

If you or someone you know would like to receive the gift of the Threshold Singers’ song, they can be reached by calling Christa Straub at 360-331-7633 or Suni MacLean at (360-632-9071). If you are interested in joining their group, call Straub or MacLean also.

All lyrics included in this article are written and copyrighted by Marilyn Power Scott of the Threshold Choir. Visit http://thresholdchoir.org/ for more information.

Image at top: Dorothy Lepisto beams at her friendly Threshold singers. (photo by Raymond Poss)

Kate Poss works as a library assistant at the Langley Library. She was thrilled to work for three summers as a chef aboard a small Alaskan tour boat from 2008 to 2010. She was a newspaper reporter in Los Angeles for many years before moving to Whidbey Island where she likes ‘talking story,’ hiking, hosting salons and writing her novel.

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CLICK HERE to read more WLM stories and blogs. Have a great story idea? Let us know at info@whidbeylifemagazine.org.

WLM stories and blogs are copyrighted and all rights are reserved. Linking is permitted. To request permission to use or reprint content from this site, email info@whidbeylifemagazine.org.

January 4, 2016
Britt’s Pickles: Tales of Tradition, Terroir, Taste Buds…and ‘Wild Fermentation’

BY LIS DAVID
Whidbey Life Magazine Contributor
December 30, 2015

It’s not accurate, perhaps, to describe the aroma of aging foods as one that is “delicious.” But that musty scent I detect when I walk into a wine cellar or a cheese cave smells—to me—nostalgic and good.

Memories of my grandmother’s basement, which contained all her canning equipment, remind me of that smell. The stuffy fragrances enter through my nose, travel through neurons and say to my brain: FOOD!

Brine over ferments (photo from Trap Landry)

Those same bouquets of aromas seep into my senses as I enter the fermentation room (a.k.a. the “Pickle Hatchery”) at Britt’s Pickles. I recognize the same damp, oak-wine-barrel smell, only this time the room is filled with aging vegetables. Another aroma I notice is the sour “pop” one gets when bursting open a bag of salt and vinegar chips.

What I smell is a process called “wild fermentation.”

What I see are cases of cucumbers waiting to mature into pickles. I’m told that anywhere between 6,000 and 8,000 pounds of raw vegetables come in each week to be turned into pickles, kimchi and sauerkraut.

I’m meeting with owner Britt Eustis and Trap Landry, the company’s CFO (Chief Fermentation Officer); they’re taking me on a tour through the artistic and scientific process of wild fermentation.

Britt’s Pickle Hatchery (photo from Trap Landry)

This method of food preservation has been around for thousands of years; Eustis became focused on it while on a trip to Japan in the ’80s. He was, he said, fascinated with the science, wisdom and tradition that he saw.

Eustis, who has worked in the natural and organic food industry since the ’70s, has experimented with different ferments for years and has become a preservationist extraordinaire. He opened his own “ferments” business in Clinton just over four years ago, creating fermented foods and selling them in his Pike Place Market shop and more than 50 stores locally and throughout the U.S.

Eustis’ search for water for his Pickle Hatchery led him to Whidbey Island. “The water was the draw, because it has so much to do with what [is created],” said Landry. He calls the water “the DNA” of the pickles.

Britt Eustis cleaning an oak barrel (photo from Trap Landry)

Other special measures taken by Eustis include his use of oak barrels for fermentation, which impart tannin and lower the pH in the brine, creating a safer environment and extraordinary flavor. Additionally, the chefs at Britt’s go directly to local farms during the growing season to obtain the best ingredients and to experiment with seasonal ferments.

The fermentation masters at Britt’s Pickles are chefs—artists who work with vegetables as their medium. Each batch of varying vegetables arrives at the shop with differing requirements that necessitate unique, and practiced, attention. Pickles and other ferments are constantly tasted for flavor and texture and the chefs’ palates or taste buds tell them when the product is perfect for consumption. This personal relationship with each small batch means that when one purchases the product, it will be delicious.

According to Landry, the tranquil island mentality, untreated island water and the access to local farmers make Whidbey Island the perfect place for Britt’s Pickles to create their products.

The process of wild fermentation creates a safe, anaerobic environment where bad bacteria cannot survive and good, probiotic bacteria called Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) thrive. LAB are known to be extremely good for digestion and promotion of overall good health. In this method of preservation, the vegetables are never heated so the nutrients stay intact; the freshest, sharpest flavor and crunchy textures are maintained.

Fresh cucumbers, pre-ferment (photo by Lis David)

Respect for ancient foods and traditions continue today all around the world. Eustis and his team are creating their own fermentation traditions right here on Whidbey with an immense reverence for the craft and value for the different cultures that first created these foods. Whether you’re digging into a jar of pickles for your burger or serving kraut with an old family recipe, trying out a new favorite kimchi on a sandwich or investigating the Korean meal “bibimbap,” you’re devouring foods of ancient rituals, science and art.

Some people can find a place for ferments at any meal. Others may stare, perplexed, looking at the words on Britt’s jars and wondering: “What do I do with this?”

If this is you, follow the advice of CFO Trap, who advises: “Just get a fork and dig in.”

Lis David is new to Whidbey Island and comes with a deep interest in eating her way from one end to the other. She has been working in food for the past 14 years in Washington D.C., Chicago and Cork, Ireland, in restaurants, farms and a distribution center for local food.

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CLICK HERE to read more WLM stories and blogs. Have a great story idea? Let us know at info@whidbeylifemagazine.org.

WLM stories and blogs are copyrighted and all rights are reserved. Linking is permitted. To request permission to use or reprint content from this site, email info@whidbeylifemagazine.org.

December 30, 2015
Take a Polar Bear Plunge—Up and Down the Island!

BY DEB CRAGER
Whidbey Life Magazine Contributor
December 30, 2015

One of the things on my bucket list had always been a Polar Bear Dive, but the cold water was enough to keep me on the shore. So I put it off until a few years ago, when I plunged into the water in Freeland on New Year’s Day. I planned to just get a little wet and call it good. But I wasn’t used to the buoyancy of salt water, quickly lost my footing, and was fully immersed before I realized how cold it was. I crawled back onto the beach, checked it off my list and never considered doing it again.

More than a hundred people make the plunge at Double Bluff Beach. (photo by David Welton)

But that’s not the case with most of the participants of the Polar Bear Dive at Double Bluff Beach in Freeland, where thousands—both participants and spectators—have joined in the fun over the last 12 years. Even if this year is colder, said Dive Coordinator Jon Gabelein, there may be even more participants this year.

“There are some people who do it every year as their New Year’s ritual and then others who feel once is enough,” he said. “The event draws people of all ages, from small children to those well into their 70s,” he added. More than 140 people took the plunge last year.

Cathy Darracott has participated every year except one. The first year, she did it with her dad, who had it on his bucket list—a one-timer. But each year, she meets a few others and her group has grown larger. Now it’s an annual event. “Each year, it gets harder to get that oomph—that’s why it’s important to be with friends,” she said. “As soon as the blast goes off, we’re running with everyone else. Then it’s over in 10 minutes, home into the hot tub, and eating New Year’s Eve leftovers!”

Jumpers in years past, at Freeland Park (photo by David Welton)

The South Whidbey event benefits the Island County 4-H Teen Leadership Program with support from the South Whidbey Recreation District. Whidbey Coffee Company and Mukilteo Coffee Roasters provide the hot drinks. The $15 registration fee gets you unlimited hot beverages and a T-shirt. There’s music and a few beach fires to keep you warm while you socialize with the many others who come to watch.

If you plan on crossing this dive off your bucket list, or you just want to watch, registration starts at 10:30 a.m. at Double Bluff Beach, 6325 Double Bluff Road in Freeland. The plunge is at 12 noon. Bring towels, warm clothes, and blankets. Wear something on your feet to protect them from the rocks. Costumes are optional. It’s a party! There’s more information on their Facebook page: “Whidbey Island Polar Bear Dive.”

It’s a party! Costumes are optional. (photo by David Welton)

But if you plan on being further north, there are still opportunities to get cold and wet. If you’re part of the Navy community, there is a Polar Bear Plunge at Rocky Point off Clover Valley Drive, near the Navy base. This is the fourth year for this free event, where between 50 and 100 brave souls will venture in. Rocky Point is easy to access, so it isn’t necessary to be military, but if you are, you can register online. According to Fitness Manager Jennifer Kellner, there will be extra people in the water to make the dive safe. So don’t forget your towel and a blanket and plan to munch on s’mores and clutch cups of hot chocolate as you warm up. For more information, call 360-257-6936.

Many arrive every year to participate in the fun at Double Bluff Beach. (photo by David Welton)

Finally, if you want to get a full workout, join others for the 5K Run/Walk and Polar Bear Plunge in Oak Harbor. This is the third year at Windjammer Park, 1600 S. Beeksma Drive, starting at 11 a.m. Expect about 200 others to join you in the plunge at 12 noon. The Oak Harbor High School Cheerleaders will be selling hot chocolate and hot cider as a fundraiser at the event; other donations will benefit the Help House and the Garage of Blessings. They are also accepting donations for a local non-profit looking for hats, gloves, and socks for kids, ages three to five.

You can participate in either or both, events. It’s free and open to the public. For more information, check out their Facebook page: “Oak Harbor Resolution 5k Run and Polar Bear Plunge.”

Kids of all ages participate in the Polar Bear Plunge, shown here at Freeland Park. (photo by David Welton)

Deb Crager is originally from the Midwest but has lived on the island for 24 years. She wrote the book “101 Things to do on Whidbey Island: for a Day, a Weekend, or a Lifetime” available on iPad and Kindle Fire.

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December 30, 2015
Island Paper Boys’ Career Inspired by Package Wrapping

BY KATE POSS
Whidbey Life Magazine Contributor
December 23, 2015

Who would believe that humble leaves from lotka and mulberry bushes would carry a pair of designers through good times and hard times. But the papers made of these simple materials have inspired a new design concept that has endured more than 25 years.

Richard Cannon and Richard Bullock (known as “the Richards”), owners of the Langley design firm Cannon/Bullock, discovered the quality paper quite by accident in the early 1990s. They were Los Angeles designers at that time, tasked with creating home interiors for clients who wanted a look of success in Los Angeles.

One day, however, a package arrived that would change the way they did business: it was a vase, wrapped in paper. The vase is long forgotten; it was the paper that spoke to them in a creative way.

The Richards relax after hand-finishing thousands of sheets of wall covering for Four Seasons Hotel last winter. / Photo by Cannon/Bullock

They investigated and found two sources for handmade sheets of cream-colored paper, measuring only 21 by 23 inches and 20 by 30 inches, and their wall-covering design business was born. Experimenting with pigments, textures, hand-drawn design and additions of beads and silk ribbon, the pair found success from natural paper wall coverings.

Lokta grows at the base of the Himalayas in Nepal. The shrub’s leaves are picked, pounded and rinsed in pure mountain water and left to bleach and dry in the high altitude sun. Women in the village of Baktapur, near Kathmandu, Nepal, have created this artisan paper for more than 700 years. It is a favorite paper of Tibetan monks for illuminated manuscripts and scrolls.

Mulberry trees grow throughout central China. The leaves and twigs that remain, following the annual silk cocoon harvest, are made into paper for the Richards by a collective of men who follow a 900-year-old recipe in a village that is supported by the Richards’ paper business.

Richard Bullock, left, and Richard Cannon celebrating the holidays / Photo by STADLER STUDIO (Michael Stadler, http://www.stadlerstudio.com).

Imagine traveling so far, from the humble simplicity of these plants to a Los Angeles studio—8,000 square feet of space with 14 employees, producing about 1,000 sheets a day and fulfilling orders in the design world for clients in North America and beyond. Imagine serving on interior design associations as board members and officers—nationally and internationally—fund-raising, continually producing new ‘products.’ Managing a staff. Payroll. The glamorous life of the “Rich and Famous.” Boom!

Literally. Sept. 11, 2001 and the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers crashed, bringing down not only the offices of investment companies, but also those of publisher giant Conde Naste and design firms as well. Orders dropped off precipitously.

Bullock presents Tortoise Shell-finished paper to clients. / Photo by Cannon/Bullock

“9/11 just about wiped the design industry out,” Bullock recalled, saying that he and Cannon happened to be in Manhattan during the attack, having just moved to Whidbey Island a week before. “When we returned [to L.A.], the fax machine spit out order cancellations. People wouldn’t travel. No one knew if the economy would crash. Hotels were 50 percent of our business. Money stopped flowing. Uncertainty was huge. We were affected like everyone else.”

“We had planned to phase out our L.A. office over the course of two years, but with 9/11 we had to expedite and create closure in six months’ time,” Cannon said of the pair’s decision to move their business to Langley and start over again. “When the economy finally picked up, there was a whole new cast of characters. Hotels had laid off their previous designers who had bought our products.”

On Whidbey Island it was back to bare bones, just the two Richards hand-tinting and illustrating each sheet to fill orders that arrived in the wake of 9/11.

“Sometimes catastrophes cause us to take a different path,” Bullock said. “We found that L.A. had become too distracting. A good distraction, though. We couldn’t say ‘no’ and we made a lot of contacts. In the design industry, as you grow, you’re pushed to grow more. We grew and we became bureaucrats. Coming to Whidbey, combined with the forced cutbacks in the economy, really required that we sit down and rethink what we wanted.”

Loyal clients continued to keep Cannon/Bullock afloat from 2001 to 2008.

“Midnight Dancer” paper design accompanied by a custom lantern / Photo by Cannon/Bullock

Cannon said during that time they continued doing work in Las Vegas for hotels developed by Steve Wynn and his former wife Elaine. The Wynns are known for building luxury casinos and hotels such as the Golden Nugget, Mirage and Bellagio. Designers in Australia, New Zealand, England and Canada continued to place orders.

Business on Whidbey grew to the extent that Cannon and Bullock had again hired employees for marketing, tinting and design of the papers. Then shortly after Obama was elected on Nov. 3, 2008, the economy crashed. And businesses across the country faced economic uncertainty.

“We made a conscious decision to close our Langley studio in 2009,” Cannon said. “The major showrooms all went under.”

Faced again with just the two of them tinting and hand-drawing design on the papers, the Richards rented office space in an industrial building and once again found their creative inspiration.

“Sea Garden” Hand made and colored paper with river washed glass beads and silk thread / Photo by Dennis Zimmerman

“When I am painting I see things happening and get ideas I want to tinker with,” Bullock said, taking a break from hand-dying several thousand sheets of paper for a client’s apartment. “New lines developed.”

“Stepping back into the roots of our business, we realized immediately that, with no employees, we didn’t have to take on extra work to make the payroll,” Cannon said of the bittersweet decision to cut their staff. “We could live with less. It was a newfound stimulation to our creativity.”

The Richards were fortunate to have friends in high places in the design world who continued to buy the natural wall-coverings for their clients. These designers, the Richards say, use their papers as a design tool, to compliment interiors and create moods and textures. Some of their clients include actor Alan Arkin, singer Madonna, the Royal Family of Saudi Arabia and the late newscaster Peter Jennings, along with hotels such as Hyatt Regency, Hilton Hotels, Four Seasons and the Fairmont, among others.

“Our clients are designers in their 60s and 70s now, who have remained good friends. We’re tight. The design world is small,” Cannon said.

Although the majority of paper that is sold for clients is in the cream to beige range, the Richards do have clients who like color and texture that may look like stone or tortoise shell.

“Pietro’s Little Basket” Hand-painted image with silver leaf on hand made paper / Photo by Cannon/Bullock

“This isn’t your grandma’s wallpaper,” Cannon said “There’s no single way for it to go up. It’s a design tool in the hands of a talented designer.”

Their collection has increased from seven to 34 design options in the past 15 years. The two “paper boys” add new collections every spring and fall. They also travel to Paris, Italy and New York to refresh their inspiration in the design world.

Currently the Richards say they are grateful for the orders on their desk and the thousands of papers to tint, texture and draw on before being shipped in boxes and bags to such far-flung places as Maui, Montreal, Aukland, Ireland, London and Australia.

“I like it that way,” Bullock said.

You can visit the Cannon/Bullock webpage at http://www.cannonbullock.com/.

Image at top: Richard Bullock and Richard Cannon consult with each other over a paper design. / Photo by Dennis Zimmerman

Kate Poss works as a library assistant at the Langley Library. She was thrilled to work for three summers as a chef aboard a small Alaskan tour boat from 2008 to 2010. She was a newspaper reporter in Los Angeles for many years before moving to Whidbey Island where she likes ‘talking story,’ hiking, hosting salons and writing her novel.

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December 23, 2015
Lumens || Like a Tree in the Earth

BY SHARON BETCHER
Whidbey Life Magazine Contributor
December 16, 2015

While sociologists of religion speak of the Pacific Northwest as the epitome of “the none zone” (where the majority of persons register no official religious preference on a census), most residents know Whidbey Island to home contemplatives, mystics, naturalists and activists of many religio-spiritual strains with a paradisal dream of living in intimate reciprocity with all beings. Lumens lifts up the voices and wisdom of those who live among us—the creatives whose very creativity, their luminescence, opens out from the taproot of the spiritual path and/or religious faith.

Religions have been preoccupied with trees as symbols, from the Edenic tree of life, the focus of much Western art, to the evergreen of Christmas. But, given our assumption of human exceptionalism over nature’s objects, hardly does one expect to turn to a tree itself to find solace.

Yet it was to a tree that Dr. Susan Scott, Jungian psychotherapist, intuitively turned in her own bleakest hour. Then again, if spirituality might be described as “communion with the life-force,” as Scott puts it, seeking the counsel of the natural world, may be, well, natural.

Cedar, a respite for walkers on trails east of Langley in Woodmen Cemetery

Back in 1992, when Dr. Scott was already well established in clinical practice in Seattle, she found herself in excruciating back pain from a herniated spinal disc. Leaning up against a tall, sturdy cedar tree and asking for help after an exhausting MRI opened her to a new way of seeing the healing process: trees, whose life stories were visible in their structures, revealed ingenuous ways of healing as they grew around obstacles or healed from seemingly devastating wounds. The creativity she witnessed in nature inspired metaphors of healing for her clinical practice as well. And it brought her to the forests of Whidbey 20 years ago as she committed herself to writing what she was learning through her reconceived practice.

“Maybe you need to be in Nature to finish your book,” whispered a wise friend as they walked the beaches of Double Bluff in 1996. Today Dr. Scott splits her practice between her South Lake Union location and her home-office in Langley, where she finished her book, “Healing with Nature.”

Unable to sit for extended periods of time, Scott initially walked the city parks of Seattle to find relief. Eventually she offered walking sessions as part of her therapy with clients. With trees, Scott found a new way to help her clients address their own psychological impasses. The life of a tree, she explains, does not depend on being fixed or cured; a tree finds ways to continue on. It’s a vital lesson for we humans: our disorders, dysfunctions or diseases need not keep us from thriving. We can emulate trees and, no matter our diagnosis, continue to grow.

New life emerges below a split in the trunk of a cherry tree at Third St. and Brooks Hill Dr. in Langley.

The tree is situated, more obviously than the human, given our historic, cultural disconnect from nature, in an interactional energy field of sun, water and soil. Consequently, allowing trees or other natural beings to tutor us can shift an understanding of suffering, which we humans often greet as merely repressive: decay, truncations and regeneration are all endemic to the natural world.

And whether needing to move around an obstacle, like a rock or a roofline, trees work with the wisdom of the life force, sending out new buds of potential. Allowing ourselves to settle down in devoted attention, we humans can visually assess how trees grow beyond what cannot actually be healed. According to Jung, “The creative urge lives and grows in [a person] like a tree in the earth…” If so, we too can trust the natural healing process, the creativity inherent in the life force of both humans and trees.

Root cells turn to trunk cells when they reach enough light, creating a new tree on the trails east of Langley in Woodmen Cemetery.

Scott speaks of the relationship to trees as one of “entrainment” to a healing rhythm. Like a frantic baby held close to her mother’s heart, slowly the baby’s heartbeat “entrains” to the mother’s, calming the baby’s roused emotions. They begin to share the serene breath of the composed mother—just as Dr. Scott found herself comforted by leaning her aching back against the cedar.

A sturdy pine provides shelter for a young Madrona growing at the Whidbey Institute in Clinton.

If “healing with nature” shifted clients perceptual relation to their obstacles away from the pathological labels of a clinical, medical model, it also shifted Dr. Scott’s role as therapist from medical authority—seated as diagnostician over the presenting patient in the enclosure of an office—to peripatetic healing companion. Surely, Dr. Scott is one well-versed in the sciences. But having been an acute observer of nature for 20 years, she has learned, in addition, to watch for the buds of potential, pushing through and around obstacles, in the lives of her clients. She speaks of her work as helping people access their own creative possibilities amidst the energetic fields in which they are caught up.

Dr. Scott grew up in non-denominational Christianity. The sense of communion she learned there has shifted, during her own maturation and given study of other religions, into a spiritual naturalism. She describes her current personal practice as one of communion with that mysterious, indefinable force of life that is within each of us and much larger than all of us. Her devotion consists of being in daily prayerful relationship to this creative and healing energy. Scott speaks of that relationship as built upon the exchange of “call and response,” which she considers innate to our humanity.

Sunrise at the Clinton Ferry Terminal

In 2000, in response to particular moments that awakened what Joseph Campbell speaks of as “the rapture of being fully alive,” she wrote one haiku per day. Since 2006, she has carried a camera on her walking practice, and you may well meet up with her in the woods, at Double Bluff beach or on the streets of Langley. In photography, Scott says, “I am there fully to what calls me.” Her photographic eye, welcoming and loving, holds and honors those moments of nature’s exuberant generosity—sometimes twisted, truncated, but always persistent.

A beach ball at low tide on Double Bluff Beach in Freeland

As humans today become technologically and conceptually distracted, trees and the natural world may be the companions calling out to those of us who are now among the new technological “shut-ins.”

Dr. Scott’s book, “Healing With Nature,” can be purchased at Moonraker and the South Whidbey Commons, both in Langley. The devotional offerings of the call and response she carries on with the natural world can be viewed at her website: susanscottphd.com. All photos accompanying this article were shot by Dr. Scott with the exception of the featured photo by S. Magaddino.

An academic theologian and philosopher by background, Sharon Betcher is now an independent scholar, writer and wannabe farmer living on south Whidbey. As a writer, she won the 2012 Short Story Smash and took first place in the memoir category of the Whidbey Island Writers Association’s 2012 contest. In March 2015, Betcher presented at the annual Women of Whidbey (WOW) Stories Conference. See her story at http://www.wowstories.net/archive/2015-speakers-performers/wow-2015-sharon-betcher/.

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WLM stories and blogs are copyrighted and all rights are reserved. Linking is permitted. To request permission to use or reprint content from this site, email info@whidbeylifemagazine.org.

December 16, 2015
Nutcracker Dancers Worked Long Hours to Present this Year’s Holiday Extravaganza

PHOTO ESSAY BY DAVID WELTON
CAPTIONS BY LISA KOIS
December 16, 2014

In the same way that Whidbey Island “small town” blends committed localism with a cosmopolitan flare, Whidbey Island Dance Theater’s homegrown presentation of “The Nutcracker” combines strong community rootedness with sophistication. Filled with insects and forest creatures, tap dancing, acrobatics and ballet, WIDT’s “The Nutcracker” is a local take on the classic ballet story and includes professional dancing, stunning sets, ingenious props and elaborate costumes.

“The Nutcracker” continues through Sunday, Dec. 20 at South Whidbey High School Performing Arts Center. For more information and tickets, visit http://www.widtonline.org/.

To get readers in the Nutcracker spirit, WLM photographer David Welton captured the following images of dancers in rehearsal:

Sylvia Hurlburt waits for Madame Bumble and the bumble ring. / Photo by David Welton

Dancing in “The Nutcracker” is an annual tradition for many young dancers, including Claire Phelps, Taylor Pitts and Kiera Sherman. / Photo by David Welton

The Whidbey Island Dance Theater is the local pre-professional dance company that brings “The Nutcracker” to the stage each December. / Photo by David Welton

Artistic Director Charlene Brown has been nurturing young dancers on Whidbey during the 23 years “The Nutcracker” has been performed here. / Photo by David Welton

Graham Vanderwood leads the mischievous elves in their acrobatic shenanigans. / Photo by Daviid Welton

“The Nutcracker” combines complicated choreography, professional dancing and the cuteness factor of adorable young dancers. / Photo by David Welton

Rehearsals require extreme focus and long hours for even the youngest dancers. / Photo by David Welton

J.T. Madsen performs on stilts as Madame Bumble. / Photo by David Welton

Principal dancers Zane Vanderwood, Faith O’Brochta and Bojohn Diciple. / Photo by David Welton

Many of the elaborate props, sets and costumes are designed and made by community members and parent volunteers. / Photo by David Welton

There are more than a few tricks and surprises in store for audiences at “The Nutcracker.” / Photo by David Welton

David Welton is a retired physician and staff photographer for Whidbey Life magazine.

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December 15, 2015
Signs Of The Season – ‘Holiday Happenings’ through Dec. 20

BY KATY SHANER
Whidbey Life Magazine Contributor
December 2, 2015

With all there is to do on Whidbey Island this holiday season, you may find it a challenge to choose. But go for it… And enjoy! It’s the holidays!

Turn that page on your calendar and start filling it in. The first week in December is the true meaning of abundance.

Ashley Morrison and Ed Halloran Rotary Club of Whidbey-Westside (photo by Katy Shaner)

Want a Christmas tree or a wreath? Every day, from 11a.m. – 6 p.m. through Dec. 20, you can choose a tree and/or wreath at the Rotary Club of Whidbey-Westside lot at Bayview Rd. and SR 525, Langley. The proceeds help support the South Whidbey High School girls’ basketball team.

Friday–Sunday, Dec. 4-6

Start your weekend from 7 to 10 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 4 with a “Holiday Hoedown” at Greenbank Farm, a Barn dance with the live music of PETE. And don’t forget “First Friday” from 5 to 7 p.m. as all farm businesses stay open late for visitors. Plus check out the special Santa events for the kids. http://greenbankfarm.biz/calendar-2015/.

“A Dickens’ Christmas Carol (A Traveling Travesty in Two Tumultuous Acts)” will be presented at Whidbey Playhouse in Oak Harbor from 7:30 to 10 p.m. on weekends, Friday, Dec. 4 through Sunday, Dec. 20. Matinee Sundays are at 2:30 p.m. In this play within a play, the “Stykes-Upon-Thump Repertory Co. Inc.” rolls into town to perform Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” for the umpteenth time on their road show tour. Led by Sir Selsdon Piddock, they find their way through snowstorms and battling divas to the grand finale to bring their audience a Merry Christmas Caper that will lighten hearts and warm the spirit.

Holiday balls and Swag in Langley (photo by Katy Shaner)

Whidbey Island Community Orchestra, led by conductor Cynthia Morrow, will perform a Holiday concert at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 4 at St. Augustine’s-in-the-Woods on Honeymoon Bay Rd. in Freeland. Admission is free (but donations to support the orchestra are accepted). Bring a non-perishable food donation for the Food Bank to help those less fortunate this holiday season.

Join the Whidbey Community Chorus in celebrating the advent of Christmas at their annual holiday concerts at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 4, and 4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 6 at the First United Methodist Church on SE Ireland Street, Oak Harbor. Admission is free, but donations are very gratefully accepted.

5K Run or a Walk?

You have two opportunities during the first weekend of December.

Head over to Camp Casey and Fort Casey State Park on Saturday, Dec. 5 for the Jingle Trail 5k Fun Run and Walk from 9 a.m. to noon. The race begins at 10 a.m. Be sure to join in the warm-up exercises with Harada Physical Therapy. Snacks will be available following the race.

On Sunday, Dec. 6, (with a check-in time at 9 a.m. and start-time at 10 a.m.), join the Elf Chase 5k Run and Walk at SW Parks and Recreation’s Community Park on Maxwelton Rd. Join in a morning of running, walking (dogs on leash are welcome), and elf chasing!

Do you enjoy shopping locally?

Bayview Winter Market at the Bayview Community Hall (photo by Katy Shaner)

There are markets providing produce, baked goods, hot foods, crafted items and artwork. Visit Bayview Winter Market in Bayview Community Hall, Langley from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Saturday through Dec. 19. And stop in the Hummingbird Farm–Oak Harbor Winter Market from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays through Dec. 19. The market is located at the intersection of Zylstra and Ft. Nugent Roads in Oak Harbor, within Hummingbird Farm’s covered and snug greenhouse solariums. If weather permits, play a game of bocce ball, picnic and stroll about the Farm.

Plus, don’t forget the “Holiday Market on Pioneer” in Oak Harbor from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5—with arts, crafts, food and more. Shop for gifts made by local vendors. Watch for the special appearances from Santa.

Here come the parades!

Langley’s Holly Jolly Parade starts at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5. Musicians, service and youth groups, pets, families and floats will march up and down First and Second St. Later in the afternoon, many businesses will be open late for a festive evening’s “Holiday Shop and Stroll,” as locals and visitors alike shop while enjoying Langley’s First Saturday Art Walk from 5 to 7 p.m.

Further up the island, the Greening of Coupeville Christmas Lights Parade, Tree Lighting and Carol Singing will begin at 4:15 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5. Santa arrives in Coupeville, bringing music and floats along with him. Be sure to stick around for Oak Harbor Yacht Club’s Christmas Boat Parade of Lights along the Harbor.

Enjoy music?

Decorations in front of the Braeburn (photo by Katy Shaner)

The Saratoga Orchestra’s Holiday Concert “Peter and the Wolf,” Prokofiev’s timeless classic, will be held at the Coupeville High School Commons from 1 – 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, in conjunction with the Greening of Coupeville. This is a free family friendly event! Participate in the Saratoga Orchestra’s fun and unique “Instrument Petting Zoo,” where the young and young-at-heart have a chance to get up-close- and-personal with the instruments of the orchestra.

Feel like some comedy and laughs? Try Comedy Island’s Holiday Improv Show at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5 at the Black Box Theater, located at Langley’s Island County Fairgrounds. Exercise your funny bone as Tony Caldwell, Marian Myszkowski, Erick Westphal and LuAnn Wolfe make up scenes and sketches based on audience suggestions.

And all of that is just the first week in December! There’s more to come as we head into week two! So remember all the events that continue on through this week, but add in these new events.

Friday-Sunday, Dec. 11-13

‘Twas In The Moon Of Wintertime – Songs Of The Season will be presented at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 11 at Langley United Methodist Church with Mathew Habib, tenor and Sheila Weidendorf, piano. Celebrate the season with this concert that includes selections from Handel’s “Messiah,” “He Shall Feed His Flock” and “Every Valley” and perennial Christmas favorites such as “I Wonder as I Wander” and “What Child is This?” Nothing heralds Christmastide quite like music!

Whidbey Island Dance Theatre’s dazzling production of “The Nutcracker” is an Island holiday favorite. Friday, Dec. 11 through Sunday, Dec. 13 and Dec. 18 through Dec.19, with evening shows starting at 7:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. matinees on Saturday and Sunday. Don’t forget; it’s all about “the excitement of watching twinkling lights rise ever higher on a magical tree. The thrill of being swept away by snowflakes to a faraway land. No holiday season is complete without a trip to the Land of Enchantment!”

Sweet Mona’s Chocolate Boutique (photo by Katy Shaner)

Decorating sugar cookies and ginger bread is a tradition this time of year. From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 13, Sweet Mona’s Chocolate Boutique is holding Gingerbread and Sugar Cookie Decorating Classes. Reserve a space and be creative as you decorate a tasty treat.

Whidbey Institute Holiday Concert – “May Peace Be” is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 13. This musical celebration of the winter holidays and the return of the light features the Open Circle Community Choir, Randy Hudson and the Heggeness Valley Boys, poet Judith Adams and the SW5 A Cappella Group in Thomas Berry Hall.

Friday-Sunday, Dec. 18-20

Weekend three is here, Dec. 18 – 20, and brings us to the last week of events to share. It’s almost the Solstice Yule and Christmas and two concerts are scheduled.

Joyeux Noël – Celebrate a French Christmas with Island Consort will be presented at 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 20 at Langley United Methodist Church. Celebrate “un Noël Francais” with this concert of French early music, including instrumental works by Boismortier and Couperin, a trio sonata by Michel Corrette with flutist Kimberly Breilein, a Lully chaconne, a Campra cantate with soprano Fumi Tagata, and featuring Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s Messe de Minuit pour Noël with the Island Consort Singers, conducted by Dr. Dianne Vars.

Decorated Tree, Langley (photo by Katy Shaner)

Whidbey Island Center for the Arts will present – Solstice Concert: Duo Flamenco – Eric and Encarnación – Flamenco En Navidad from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 20. Poet Judith Adams will be a special guest. This is a one-of-a-kind holiday concert with Eric and Encarnación, the internationally renowned flamenco duo known for the deep connection and intense energy that permeates their live performances.

Gather together, reach out and welcome into your lives the many Holiday Happenings available this season on Whidbey Island.

Katy Shaner is the volunteer coordinator and manager of the Visitor Information Kiosk. Shaner writes the weekly “What’s Happening” and monthly “Gallery Watch” for the WLM “Flash.” For greater detail on each of the events mentioned in this article, go to the December weekly “What’s Happening.”

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December 10, 2015