Some of the local beach residents, the Pacific blue mussels, have been in the headlines recently. Not unlike many human Americans, it seems they are threatened with homelessness.
Even on a double island with 50 miles of wonderful beaches, Quartermaster Harbor stands out as special.
Darsie Beck’s new book, “Your Essential Nature: A Practical Guide to Greater Creativity and Spiritual Harmony,” is as much about us, the readers, as it is about him. His part is written: discoveries of practical activities that free his sense of creative purpose. Our part is waiting, with space provided among the pages.
Every year about this time crocuses and daffodils pop their heads up through the soil. Robins start showing up in huge flocks to snatch worms drawn to the earth’s warming surface. And, people — children and adults — start playing on Vashon Park District fields. Or, as some would express it — sliding into home base with one eye on the dirt.
When I first came to live on Vashon, my attention was absorbed by the woods, filled with lush plants and abundant wildlife. Glancing at the beach, usually from a car window, I saw rocks, sand, water, sea stars, clam shells. Sort of a damp desert, I assumed, under constant assault by cold water, wind, periodic drying out, summer heat and winter temperatures below freezing.
