Raining gifts

The skies were threatening to spread some rain.

“We have more than enough already”, I complained to Kath. But it’s the Pacific Northwest. Rain is a part of our heritage, a part of the fabric of northwest life, like cedar and salmon. It’s our companion for winter hikes and events, a constant background to the stories of our days, often the sound on our roof as we drift off to sleep. Wet ground is our native habitat.

So, we caught an early afternoon ferry to Guemes Island.

We landed, walked ashore, and headed west on the beach. Raindrops spattered beside us on the waters of Guemes Channel. The hills above Anacortes grew furry with lowering clouds. “It might rain harder,” I worried aloud.

And sure enough, it began to really rain.

“It’s just rain,” Kath replied. She has become a native Washingtonian. Being naturalized to a place means to embrace this land that feeds you; this is the place from which you drink, that builds your body and fills your spirit. To become naturalized is to know that you belong here, loving the rain and all it falls upon. Here you will give your gifts in a loving relationship and sacred bond.

As we entered Peach Preserve we read about its history and reminded ourselves of the generous gift that helped protect this land. A century ago it was a shipyard. It came up for sale in the Seventies. Members of the San Juan Preservation Trust approached Patsy Bullitt of the Bullitt Foundation to see if she could help preserve it. She visited and fell in love with the land.

She donated $1.5 million. In gratefulness, the Trust named the property after her, using her nickname, Peaches.

We walked toward the forest but found that the trail leading to the woods was swamped under several inches of water for a hundred feet. Kath had boots on, but I had low-top hiking shoes. Murphy had his paws. We stayed in the beach-side meadow instead.

Dead stalks of cattails filled the wetlands, which now overflowed their banks. Rosehips splashed watercolor splotches of reds and pinks around the edges. Willows were swelling, dressed in gold for a pre-spring debut. Wildlife hid away this afternoon. A single frog sang a lonely refrain.

The rain intensified, coming down steadily, but still quietly. All other sounds were muffled. It was just us, the meadow, and the steady rain.

Back at the beach, waves lapped gently ashore. Views of the water and woodlands became muted pastels of misty gray and green. Raindrops dripped off our hats and hoods and soaked through our clothes. We strode the shoreline in silence and smiles.

We walked the beach back to the ferry landing. A visit to the general store gave us a potty break and a chance for a snack, and then it was back onto the ferry and a quick ride home. We were soaked. We were joyful to have soaked up the essence of a Northwest day, to be showered with the peace of our homeland in this special way.

I share with you the simple joy of a short ferry ride to a local island, a walk along the beach as a gentle rain falls upon us, softening the meadows, giving drink to our forests and fields, and to our bodies and souls.

We are showered every day with gifts, but they are not meant for us to keep. Their life is in their movement, the inhale and the exhale of our shared breath. Our work and our joy is to pass along the gift and to trust that what we put out into the universe will always come back.

Maybe there is no such thing as rain; there are only raindrops, each sharing its own story. At the close of the day, I close my eyes and listen to the gift of the voices in the rain.

jack

Directions: from downtown Anacortes at 12th and Commercial, take 12th Street west to I Avenue. Turn right down to the ferry at 6th Avenue. Ample parking at J Avenue. Once on Guemes, it's easiest to walk the beach about a half mile west to Peaches Preserve.

By Bus or Bike: Skagit Transit 410 goes right to the Guemes ferry dock in Anacortes. By bike, I prefer taking 6th Avenue from downtown out to the ferry; it is flatter and with far less traffic.

Accessibility: The beach is flat, of course, but sandy and/or cobbly. If you follow South Shore Road from the ferry landing the route is paved and relatively flat, leading to the woods at the north end of the preserve. The entrance is marked with a vertical sign post. The trail through the woods has roots and rocks. The meadow trail is easy to walk but at this time of year muddy in places.