Whidbey is truly magical. What an incredible opportunity for you. Your writing takes me back there.
Something happens to my spirit on the ferry, about seven minutes from Mukilteo; I breathe easier, I feel my face smile-I have a calmness and hope that I rarely experience on the mainland. And “woo” is inevitable, regardless of our orientation to things-more-controlled.
Thank you for sharing this. I needed a Whidbey fix this morning, in my house in Portugal.
There are quite a few of us. It started out with my husband wanting a sunnier location but more importantly, a place that we can afford to retire to early. Then safety and the friendliness of the people. I do miss bigger mountains, denser forests, and our family. Overall, I haven’t felt this happy in a long time as I do here. Laura, where do you live here in Portugal?
I've not read your work for a bit... too busy with all the things you shook off on your extraordinary walk in the woods. These words sowed in you by the scent and sounds of the woods, the freedom of being a witch in nature... a connection that I'm craving. Oh, how I envy this time you've had with yourself. Time to come home to Ladonna. I'm now hungry to savor the words these magic moments spun, and you let spill out of you. Thank you.
Your experience sounds so delicious! I’m about to head off for a writing residency at Ragdale and this essay got me giddy. Also, your writing is gorgeous. Happy to have stumbled upon you.
I can walk 2 blocks from my house and look across the water to Whidbey Island. The trees and air and water and winds here are rather special.... Glad you got to experience them!
LaDonna, What a wonderful and life changing experience, thank you for sharing it with your readers. I know several women in the Seattle - Olympia area who are writers and would thrive in such a place….I’ll pass your post on to them. Thanks for including the beautiful pictures…I spent 24 years in Olympia and at times I miss the lush green mossy salt-filled air.
I love, love, love this!!! I have deep family connections to Whidbey Island and have been going there for my whole life. My great-grandparents had a cabin on Mutiny Bay, that two aunts now own. Another aunt lives on S. Whidbey. My grandmother built a house on the other side, near Langley, and it’s where my husband and I got married. I live in Portugal now also but this really makes me yearn for the forests, and owls, of the PNW.
Whidbey is truly magical. What an incredible opportunity for you. Your writing takes me back there.
Something happens to my spirit on the ferry, about seven minutes from Mukilteo; I breathe easier, I feel my face smile-I have a calmness and hope that I rarely experience on the mainland. And “woo” is inevitable, regardless of our orientation to things-more-controlled.
Thank you for sharing this. I needed a Whidbey fix this morning, in my house in Portugal.
So glad I was able to bring you back to Whidbey! It’s a place now fixed forever in my heart.
I have deep family connections to Whidbey, also, and now live in Portugal too.
I’m surprised how many people have traded the PNW for Portugal!
There are quite a few of us. It started out with my husband wanting a sunnier location but more importantly, a place that we can afford to retire to early. Then safety and the friendliness of the people. I do miss bigger mountains, denser forests, and our family. Overall, I haven’t felt this happy in a long time as I do here. Laura, where do you live here in Portugal?
You had me at the subtitle line. <3
Yay! ;)
I've not read your work for a bit... too busy with all the things you shook off on your extraordinary walk in the woods. These words sowed in you by the scent and sounds of the woods, the freedom of being a witch in nature... a connection that I'm craving. Oh, how I envy this time you've had with yourself. Time to come home to Ladonna. I'm now hungry to savor the words these magic moments spun, and you let spill out of you. Thank you.
Thanks, Jennifer!
I’m so glad you got to have the Hedgebrook experience. It truly is a magical place. Looking forward to reading the fruits of this beautiful effort.
Thanks, Alison. I’m looking forward to the fruits, too!
You definitely transformed.
Definitely.
Your experience sounds so delicious! I’m about to head off for a writing residency at Ragdale and this essay got me giddy. Also, your writing is gorgeous. Happy to have stumbled upon you.
Oh, yay and thank you so much! I hope your time at Ragdale is likewise transformative.
I really appreciated reading that. I'm glad you had this experience.
wow. and a forest! and the sea! entrancing.
I have a friend who worked there for several years. She loved it and it's such a beautiful area.
This is so powerful and beautiful. <3
I can walk 2 blocks from my house and look across the water to Whidbey Island. The trees and air and water and winds here are rather special.... Glad you got to experience them!
That is amazing, Sheila! The trees and air and water and winds there are indeed special. I'll be in love with them forever.
I love this. Write on!
So, so happy for you. What a transformational experience. And the photos...
Beautiful writing of a beautiful experience in a beautiful place. I am so happy for you.
Thanks, Penelope.
LaDonna, What a wonderful and life changing experience, thank you for sharing it with your readers. I know several women in the Seattle - Olympia area who are writers and would thrive in such a place….I’ll pass your post on to them. Thanks for including the beautiful pictures…I spent 24 years in Olympia and at times I miss the lush green mossy salt-filled air.
I’m glad I was able to bring a whiff of the lush green mossy salt-filled air to you this morning. And thanks for passing my post along!
I love, love, love this!!! I have deep family connections to Whidbey Island and have been going there for my whole life. My great-grandparents had a cabin on Mutiny Bay, that two aunts now own. Another aunt lives on S. Whidbey. My grandmother built a house on the other side, near Langley, and it’s where my husband and I got married. I live in Portugal now also but this really makes me yearn for the forests, and owls, of the PNW.