As our time up here in the 'Great Northwest' - yes, that's what they call it, dwindles, I wanted to write some observations about Western Washington. As the country becomes more and more homogenized, I've been tickled to find that while a Target up here is just like a Target everywhere else, there are some regional differences that stick up and out and massage my funny bone as well as my appreciation for this culture.
First, let's talk Mount Baker. Talking about Mount Baker is the equivalent of talking about the weather in Texas. When we first arrived, people would invariably say: "Have you seen Mount Baker?" I was so tempted to say, Well, yes, I do take my eyes off the ground occasionally." These people have a justifiable if maddening obsession with 'their mountain'. It is very beautiful, and it naturally draws your eye. Now, depending where you live, in Western Washington, YOUR mountain could be Mount Rainier, Mount Adams, Mount Sauk, Mount Baker or the Pickett Range, or any other dozen of visible mountains I could name for the next three lines of type, but you get the idea.
People say things like: "Mount Baker's really looking good today as if the mountain got up that morning and decided to wear a new outfit." Best diplomatic answer, is "Yes, I just love seeing it." What I sometimes think is: "No, I liked the vintage Jackie O it had on yesterday." As winter has approached, the Mount Baker conversation centers around snow - "Well, Mount Baker got dusted last night." I always envision God with his can of Snow Pledge merrily spraying. This "isn't our mountain great" conversation, tends to stall a bit on days where the clouds hang low. Then the talk switches to Burlington Hill. (Yes, there's a big hill on the edge of town - think Cedar Hill in Duncanville, Texas, or Berry Hill in Tulsa, Oklahoma.) You can always see the big brown/green pimple, which is what I'm reminded of. It is good for cell phone towers and I do like the lighted cross on the top of it.
Living in a farm valley has been like living in a foreign country. It hasn't been as radical as living in New Orleans was, but it's a close second. When you enter Skagit County, there's a sign that looks like an interstate sign which announces you can get InFARMation at AM 1630. I tuned in to see what was offered, and I was treated to the September Farm Report. Now, it's November, and they are STILL running the September Farm Report. It is scintillating, but I need my farm news updated. For those that have to know - the potato crop was down this year as was the corn crop because of lousy June weather. The real blow was there were no peas planted in Skagit County for the first time in 100 years because the pea processor went out of business. However, to everyone's relief, the apples, cherries and berries were A-OK as were the 40 kinds of pumpkins grown here. I personally think that 40 kinds of pumpkins is overkill, but as the Concrete Queen, who am I to judge?
An offshoot of farm living is the amount of local produce that flows out into the grocery stores, the Food Coop, a locally owned food store cooperative that sells all local produce as well as those baffling brands of stuff you've never heard of but know are good for you. The local food especially flows out into the restaurants. We have one blip of chain restaurants - they huddle for protection around the cute little minuscule Mall. The rest of the restaurants vie with one another for who can serve the most locally grown food. We have organic, range raised, hormone free, antibiotic free, pesticide free, food out the wazoo here, and is it ever yum. Since food is actually SEASONAL - what a concept -, you can't find strawberries in November in these restaurants - instead it's 40 kinds of pumpkin. Just kidding......well, sort of.
If we're going to talk about food, then let's talk coffee. Yes, it's true. This part of the USA is coffee crazy. These are the folks who have infected the rest of the country. The Starbucks phenomena is well documented, but did you know that Starbucks actually boosts local coffee kiosks? A coffee kiosk is a very small free standing building ideally with asphalt on both sides for double drive thru where you can buy a bazillion different hot and cold drinks including every coffee concoction you can imagine as well as the Zen tea thing. What they can't seem to make up here is a decent glass of iced tea. Nobody drinks iced tea. Even these local restaurants who pride themselves on the quality and taste of their food serve that horrible fountain generated iced tea that has that slightly carbonated aftertaste. After trying and trying to get a decent glass of iced tea, I gave up and now I drink weirdo coffee drinks like everyone else. Here's a list of my favorite kiosks within a 10 mile radius of my house: Whidbey Island Coffee (closest thing to a chain - have at least 3 free standing buildings I know about), Coffee Pronto (only thing people seem to want FAST up here is coffee), Jitterbugs (coffee jitters have replaced ragweed allergy as the most common ailment here), Latte 'Da (way too cutesy - but it has a big Maxwell house type cup outside of it), Beans a Brewin' (just to let you know there's no instant coffee in this part of the country - it gets stopped at the state border), BIG FOOT Java (I have no idea what this name means), Expresso Connection (we like our coffee on steroids, thank you), I Wanna Moka (coffee and chocolate - what's not to like?), and drum roll, please - it's not the name that got me Javazone - it's their slogan: Warm Up Your Trigger Finger (must be transplanted Texans, don't you think?)
Before we leave the farm topic, let me just say that this is an equal opportunity farming community. We don't discriminate. If you can grow it, by God, we'll welcome you into our farming community. We have seafood farms - yes, the underwater farms that grows shellfish and oysters. We have mushroom farms - love the name: The Two Sisters Mushroom Farm. We have flower farms - I really want to see this valley in April. We have berry farms - strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries. We have tree farms - not just Christmas trees either because another peculiarity up here is the propensity to multi-task your plants. Some people landscape with trees. Forget bushes. Forget flowers - just plant trees in an interesting configuration in your front yard. This seems a little short sighted to me because what is a pleasing configuration now could be a nightmare in 20 years. My favorite two little multitasking plants are: (1) the pencil thin evergreen tree that is used for fencing. They are planted in rows and serve the same purpose as chain link or board. You can actually go out and buy them from tree farms. (I'll take 40 feet of 6' high - can't stand seeing those neighbors anymore.) This little evergreen is always planted in multiples and always in straight rows. The second multitasker I like which is also a modified fence is the popular tree. Now having grown up in Oklahoma and traveled thru West Texas, I've seen rows of popular trees planted as windbreaks, but I've never seen them with 10 foot diameter trunks and 100 feet tall. Now, this is a windbreak! You can always spot the old ones - just look for the turn of the century house or barn - the poplars marching down the landscape next to those buildings are guaranteed to be the ginormous version.
As an Oklahoma girl - I grew up in the the land of Indians (literally), I have felt at home up here because of the number of native American tribes. The names though are so foreign. In Washington you have the Snohomish, the Stillaguamish, the Snoqualmie, the Sauk, and the Sualitte. The Makah is a relief after all those 'S's". What seems to be left of these people are three things: The names of rivers, casinos, and artists.
I have one final bone to pick. It's the only thing about living up here which has DRIVEN ME NUTS!!!! It's the weather. Now, everyone is thinking: "We told you, Jan, that you would hate all that rain." WRONG. It's not the rain - which is actually very pleasant, and not that all pervasive. It's the lack of weather prediction. I'm looking out the patio door into the bright sunshine as I write this - but the PREDICTION and the little picture on my computer is for non-stop rain. The forecast changes every 12 hours. Sometimes I think it changes every hour on the hour. This is absolute torture. I want to know when it's going to rain. I want to know when the sun is going to shine. I want to see that clearly defined front with that little red or blue line marching across the weatherman's green screen. This capricious weather forecasting is making me gnash my teeth. I don't like surprise weather, and that's all they have up here.
Oh, I could go on and on: Sloughs (pronounced 'slew') are the Washington form of canals that connect natural waterways, multi-variety evergreens, trees that in Texas are bushes (cedar and holly for a couple), clear plastic baby stroller covers with baby INSIDE, the potato store, and the death wish motorcyclists and bicyclists. Oh, and there's the art work in one town depicting the famous people of the town of Anacortes for past 100 years - scattered like cardboard cut-outs stapled to the buildings. There's the Loggerodeo with the results of the chain saw competitions over the years scattered on main street of Sedro-Woolley. The snow goose migration, the glass sculptures, and the flowers in such abundance that no one seems to appreciate. However, that's enough entertainment for one blog.
If you want to see the pictures that accompany this one, click on the embedded web site: http://picasaweb.google.com/jalyss1/WashingtonBizzarities?authkey=Gv1sRgCOLLuIShgO2M7gE##
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