A Short Stay on the Island

We just got back from an overnight, working trip to the cabin on Whidbey Island.  

If you are a Facebook friend, you have seen some of these pics already, and know that we went there to winterize the cabin garden.

 We departed the mainland via ferry in fog, and arrived at the beach in sunshine.

We had to hit the ground running because when we arrived about noon on Monday we discovered that the sewage treatment plant where we get free compost closes at 3:00 and was not open on Tuesday.  Ooops.  We quickly analyzed the job, decided one pick up load would do, and had a quick lunch.  Then Tom got changed, got the old cabin truck started and emptied of junk and went to shovel compost.  It's only free if you load your own.

I put on my gardening clothes and got to work weeding and trimming and cleaning the garden.

While I was doing that, Tom got back with the load of compost and began planting this year's tulip bulbs.  Tulips only do well in our Seattle garden for one year, so we bring the bulbs to the island to plant because they like the sand and lack of water in summer.

We got the work done in time to sit on the deck in the sun and relax.  After dinner I went for a walk in the lingering glow of the sunset and the moonlight.

This morning was foggy and while it looked like it would burn off early, the fog rolled back in for a chilly morning.

We got a slow start but worked to spread the compost and finished by noon.

The sun finally broke through while we had a leisurely lunch and got the cabin ready for our later departure.  Then we went for a walk on the dike and up on the hill behind the lagoon.

 When we got back to the cabin, I went over to the beach just to sit for a bit in the calm sunshine.

 The lagoon at high tide is a wonderful indicator of the weather - blue sky and hardly a ripple.

During our stay the cousin's new cabin next door was undergoing a color change of its own.

I sat on the deck and read for about an hour, and then took one more stroll on the beach road.

We had dinner at a nearby pizza place before heading to the ferry.  We got on just in time for me to grab my camera and capture a glorious sunset on the water.

It was a wonderful little working get-away.