LEAVING

March 15, 2010

I'm REALLY going to miss the good stuff about living in the Pacific Northwest, but I have to admit when we moved here from Montana I was very grateful not to be up to my nose in the cold white stuff. I was willing to trade that for the “not so cold wet stuff” you don't have to shovel. I think I lived long enough to regret that choice. Some people who live in Montana avoid the cold white stuff by going to Arizona in the winter. Warm, with lots of sunshine. Not so much wet stuff in any form. Guess where we plan on spending next winter? AND I get to fish in fly fishing paradise the rest of the year. What was that saying, "too soon old too late smart?"

This has been one of the ‘odd’ years. Weather-wise it hasn’t been normal, whatever that is. We have been having spring for a few weeks. Our early spring meant someone somewhere else was getting our wet stuff. California got the rain. Lots of rain.  The problem with that is they don’t usually have rain and they don’t have a clue as to what to do with it. On top of that there were fires the past couple of years and the roots which help hold soil are gone. Result - mud slides, big time, whole mountain sides sliding down and taking homes along with it. Awful for the folks living there, losing everything. The weather station was claiming the El Nino forces are what caused the problems.

We are grateful for the early spring here. It really is beautiful. In fact, the year my late husband Jim and I first moved out here from Montana, the weather was similar. We scouted the region mid February, and that year was an early spring year as well. Cherry trees were in bloom as were all the various bulbs, there are early blooming rhododendrons (usually bright pink) and just marvelous azaleas in various shades of purple and lavender. Camellias also grow out here; the ones in our neighborhood are red, white and pink. Some become trees, really huge and outstanding covered in bright red blossoms. It’s early March, and everything is in bloom.

We can pull up the highway cameras on the Bozeman Pass along with other places in Montana and see exactly how much snow is still around. We were looking at some photos from a year ago in Livingston; Trav’s blooming daffodils were buried under a late snow. We got laughing about it and he agreed we’d been snowed on every month on the year in Montana, including the 4th of July. Of course it doesn’t last, but it surely a reminder that man is not in charge. Right?

The growing season in Montana isn’t very long. Being a dry climate, you really do have to stay on watering. I was surprised ‘tho at how much nice produce was available at the Wednesday Farmer’s Market at Sacagawea Park. By the way, there is a lovely sculpture of her and baby (Sacagawea ) on a horse there in the park, really beautiful.

Trav was able to grow tomatoes in his garden; in the twenty plus years I lived in WA I never was able to do that.

Of course a lot has changed in Montana since we left in 1988. Fortunately the good stuff I remember seems to still be there. The population is really small compared with Washington, so you just don’t have the amount of crime. It really has become scary here, things like home invasions and carjacking. Someone mentioned to me the other day how friendly people are here in Washington, and I must say I’ve always been treated very well here, but it is a long way from the attitude in general you find in Montana.

Washington is just plain very liberal. After all, it’s the only state that Michael Dukakis won in the 1988 Presidential election. (He didn’t even win his own state!) So it isn’t too hard to see why taxes here are the highest in the country - and our state legislature goes into special session on Monday because the state is horribly in debt and they can’t get the democratic controlled houses to agree on anything. And they’re stuck because they are going to have to take the blame for raising taxes on everything from bottled water and candy to general sales tax. (They already added another dollar to the cost of a pack of cigarettes.) Gratefully I don’t smoke!

Did I mention Montana has a surplus? It is also a conservative state. They just seem to have a different attitude about money and taxes; they haven’t forgotten where the money comes from.

The problem in Washington is they know and don’t care. Really.

On the good side, it is pretty terrific to be able to get a fresh live Dungeness crab at the grocery store - like Albertsons or Safeway. For those who can eat oyster and mussels, those are available live as well (or you can pick your own off our beach here.) The quality of produce here is just amazing. Beef not so much, that’s best in cow country.

I love being able to walk down to the beach (on Hood Canal) and getting my feet wet or just watching the birds or boats. We’re 45 minutes from Port Townsend a lovely Victorian seaport with a couple beautiful public parks - Washington has done very well on parks for the people - and miles of beaches open to the public.

The main ocean is an hour or so away, Long Beach is one of my favorites, especially if anyone is flying kites, again with lots of public beaches. I will miss the big water a lot - but Trav has promised me an occasional trip to Yellowstone Lake and no it’s not the same, but it helps.

I will miss my neighbors. I’ve been incredibly lucky to have such terrific people nearby. I hope the young couple who is buying my home appreciates them - it is so special to have caring friends, I hope I can keep in touch.

I’ve worked twenty years on this house and the yard. It truly has been a blessing to me. I have a couple of small pieces of sculpture in the garden which will go to Montana; hopefully we can find a place for them.

It’s time to go home - we plan to leave here on April 28th, and it will probably still be winter when we get home. Keep a light on for us.

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