Room, food, water, air...all in shorter supply.

Every so often, it’s good to lean back & take along look at the long view, and see what’s going on. Soon enough, the Earth will take on its seven millionth person, and it’s time – way past time, actually – to begin the process of sorting out how we can manage with so many folks on one planet.

Here’s a review of the situation in Canadian magazine McLean’s, and there’s a lot to be concerned about. Population numbers & human consumption drive all other ecological & environmental problems…see what you think.

You gotta pass up picking up the pup....but be sure & report it!

Just got this note from Amy Traxler with the Marine Stranding Network:

Once again, harbor seal pupping season in San Juan County is fast approaching. Pups in the San Juans are born on off-shore rocks and reefs and depend on their mother’s milk for the first 3-4 weeks of their life.  At that point, the mother will abruptly wean it, forcing the pup to survive on its own.

Thanks to aerial survey counts conducted by the Department of Fish and Wildlife, we know that the harbor seal population in the San Juan Islands is believed to be at carrying capacity for the system.  This means that populations are stable and likely not growing due to limitations of the ecosystem like food availability. In San Juan County alone we have about 4,000 seals.  Assuming half the population is female and only half of those females are reproductively active, we can expect 1,000+ seal pups to be born in San Juan County this year!

So it is not surprising that every summer the San Juan County Marine Mammal Stranding Network (SJCMMSN) receives dozens of calls from shoreline residents and visitors who find pups on local beaches.  It can be very difficult to leave a beached pup alone but, if the mother is somewhere nearby, she won’t come back to her pup if there’s activity around it.  Continue Reading

Let’s take a look around the island…

• Did you feel the earthquakes last week? There was a 2.8 on the island Wednesday, and a 2.1 yesterday…

Dana

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• Get it on your calendar – Dana Lyons is singing at the Library this Friday at 7pm. See you there!

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• It was cool to see Scott Webster’s SkyMill Energy among the Pacific Northwest semifinalists in the CleanTech Open competition for their work with high altitude wind power…here’s the story.

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• Can you help? Here’s a note from Helen Wallace.…

I lost a very old and worn Catholic prayer book with some family momentos in the pages. The book is entitled “The Key to Heaven” with black binding, old text in English and Latin. It means a lot to me. I was on Young Hill  near English Camp on San Juan Island the afternoon of 6/15/11. PLEASE, PLEASE and PLEASE if you have found it, call Helen at 708-548-1351. I am going crazy looking for it!

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• The Barefoot Bandit case reached a place in the road, as Colton Harris Moore pled guilty to seven federal charges…here’s the rest of the story on the County news webpage.

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• I hear the Market Chef is now open till 6pm each day, and starting this coming weekend – the MC will be open on Saturdays.

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• Steve Dyer is hosting the open mike at The Rumor Mill tonight – drop by & give a listen, or come & sing! See you there!

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In the Thursday evening sun...the new place is looking good!

• John Boyd dropped by the C&S on Thursday night, and filed this report:

Last night we had the opportunity for a sneak peak at the new Cask & Schooner.  Everything about the place is top notch – from the amazing replica of the first vessel built on San Juan Island to the amazing stuffed peppers appetizer, we now have an wonderful new place to dine!  We were treated to some of the best homemade ginger ale (with a hint of lime) that I’ve ever had. Fresh salmon, leek soup, cheeseburgers with olive tampenade (and local beef), chocolate torte, trifle.  We sampled a bit of everything and nothing disappointed!

Gary Gero and gang did a fantastic job on the soft opening and I can’t wait to go back again!

JB

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• Rev at the County Fair needs you to come do a show – here’s more (and how!):

Entertainers Wanted for County Fair

Are you interested in performing at the 2011 San Juan County Fair? Now is the time to get your application into the Fair office for consideration.

The Fair is looking for talent in all areas of the performing arts — music, dance, comedy, circus, poetry and more – with variety being the key to presenting as wide a range as possible.

The Fair dates are Wednesday, August 17 through Saturday, August 20.
For more information and an application visit www.sanjuancountyfair.org , click on Fair Information >Entertainment. Questions? Call the Fair office at 378-4310.

Tonight at the Library

As part of Rob Simpson’s Conscientious Projector series, Inside Job will be presented tonight at the library at 7pm.

The documentary won the 2010 Oscar (for documentary), and is likely to shake your worldview about the country’s financial institutions…check out the film’s website & trailer here, then come.

The Yakima arrives last night in the late evening sun....

Let’s take a look around on this sunny morning….

The Chameleons!

• Yes, school’s out!

• Music this weekend! At the Presbyterian Church, the band Into Light will be playing, along with local (and great!) singers Rhiana Franklin, Lizzy Starr, Zack Reitan, and Ben Goodman – it’s all this Saturday at 7pm to raise money so the kids can go to camp this summer! See ya there!

Meanwhile, it’s The Chameleons tonight at the Rumor Mill, and T:FLO tonight & Saturday at Herb’s (T:FLO was awesome last night at The Rumor MIll’s Karaoke with a Live Band deal…that’s fun!)

And…Bill & Rita Ament present the annual Dance Happy show this weekend (Saturday at 7) – here’s the details!

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• The Duck Soup Inn’s last Happy Hour until September is tonight from 4-6pm for the summer – drop by!

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• Hard to believe it’s fifty already! Here’s more from Kevin Loftus at the Historical Museum:

San Juan Historical Society
50th Anniversary Celebration

Saturday June 18, 2011 • 12 – 4 pm
On the historical museum grounds
405 Price St.

A San Juan Island institution turns 50 and we invite you to join us in celebrating our 50th year of preserving the history of San Juan Island. Our organization was founded by life long islanders who realized the importance of preserving our unique history. The Society has grown from humble beginnings of having small homemade display cases of artifacts located in the county courthouse to today’s museum grounds.

The San Juan Historical Museum is located on the former James King farm, which encompasses over an acre of green space with eight structures each containing exhibits showcasing the history of our island community.

It's all smiles as Deanna Banry welcomes Steve & Louisa at the Banry Café yesterday, in the old Jimmy's PAradise Cafe spot in the bowling alley - the Cafe is now open for lunch & dinner. Drop by & check it out!

To celebrate this milestone we will unveil a new exhibit which pays homage to our founders as well as looking back in time to what life was like on our island in half a century ago. Come and see a collection of vintage farming equipment including tractors and a working threshing machine. There will be children’s games and activities, live music, classic cars and living history reenactments. Food, beer & wine available for purchase from the American Legion Auxiliary and much more!

Fun for the entire family and FREE admission!

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• Summer soccer! Here’s more from Mark:

Summer Soccer Sessions: Once again we’re conducting free summer soccer training.

Who: Girls and Boys, 8th grade and older.

When: Wednesdays starting June 22nd through July 27th.

Where: Lower Field, Friday Harbor High School

Time: 6:30-8:00pm

What: Fitness; skills, drills, systems of play; small-sided games

Thanks! Mark Fishaut, Head Coach, Varsity Girls Soccer

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Missing this year for the Orca Sing - J1 (Ruffles) hasn't been seen since last fall (photo by Mark Gardner)

• The Orca sing is this weekend! Here’s more:

Orca Sing 2011
Saturday, June 18th
7:00pm

Lime Kiln State Park, San Juan Island

Join The City Cantábile Choir and maestro Fred West for the 12th Annual Summer Solstice Concert dedicated to the recovery of the Southern Resident Orca. This year there will also be a special dedication to Ruffles (J-1), the large male J-Pod patriarch orca with an easily recognizable “ruffled” dorsal fin, who disappeared this past winter.

The gathering begins at 6:30 and the concert at 7 pm. Conservation groups will be on hand to answer your questions and concerns about the health of the whales and the waters of the Salish Sea.

The event is free and family-friendly. A donation will be asked for to cover the expenses of the sound system and travel by the musicians.

Parking is very limited; local bus transportation will be available to and from The Whale Museum in Friday Harbor. For more information regarding shuttles, call (360) 378-4710.

Participating organizations: City Cantabile Choir, People For Puget Sound, The Whale Museum, American Cetacean Society of Puget Sound, Friends of the San Juans, The Whale Trail, Orca Network, Killer Whale Tales, Wolf Hollow Wildlife Rehabilitation Center and, Annie and Odin.

Come enjoy the natural beauty of the islands and celebrate the solstice and nature at this free event!

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The Palace Theatre really lights up in the late afternoon sun - and...The Green Latern opens tonight!

Krista has more – here’s all about it:

San Juan County Arts Council

Mission: The San Juan County Arts Council works to promote and integrate the artistic resources of the county for the creative economic development, education and overall well-being of the community

Vision: Where arts flourish, community prospers and lives are enriched

From the seeds planted over two years ago, in the minds of a few, the idea of a San Juan County Arts Council has evolved into a burgeoning organization comprised of almost 150 members plus an enthusiastic and organized steering committee, equally represented by three out of four ferry-served islands (Shaw, we know you’ll be on board soon!). This steering committee meets monthly and is in the process of establishing a business plan.

Why all the excitement? Well, we believe that the San Juans are just a wonderful place to create and to see art of every kind. A tremendous opportunity exists to attract both artists and the tourists who enjoy their work. We see this as an economic “in-coming tide” for our community that can help to launch, in a substantial way, our economic “boats”.

If this concept of an Arts Council excites you, or even if you think it’s just a darn good idea, we would love you to join us and become a member of this forward-thinking group. There is no cost involved. Membership is free. All you have to do is agree with our mission and vision statements (above).

For more information, or to become a member, please send an email to: [email protected]

We offer our abundant enthusiasm in the form of monthly updates on a number of projects which we believe will benefit our island community in very positive ways, and, of course, we are always happy to have your suggestions and comments. We hope this floats YOUR boat, too and that we can navigate the waters of the future together and sail on with a full crew!

The full moon rises over Cattle Pass...photo by Robert Stavers. (Click on the picture to see it full size....)

I love Bob Stavers‘ incredible pictures from all over the world, and here on our island home. That’s last night’s full moon on the rise….thanks, Bob!

You can see his portfolio here on his website.

Killer whales & their people-watching...photo by Monika Wieland.

I love Monika Wieland’s photos…and here’s another great one. She notes:

I took this photo yesterday at Lime Kiln and thought you might be interested in posting it. (I’ve also got a new photo gallery website up in addition to my blog at www.orcawatcher.zenfolio.com and would appreciate a link if you do use the photo!) The shore-based whale-watching has been phenomenal over the last week, with J-Pod spending a lot of time in Haro Strait. It’s starting to feel like summer, even if we haven’t quite had the weather to back that up yet!

Chelan Taylor (left) coordinated the project and fundraising and Andrea Mitchell of Lum Volvo and Tractor Service was part of the crew who installed the fence.

This is exciting – the old arena fence at the County Fairgrounds has been replaced – wahoo! Her’s more from Rev with the San Juan County Fair:

New Arena Fence at the Fairgrounds

The San Juan County Fairgrounds now has a beautiful, new arena fence, thanks to the efforts of a Friday Harbor High School Student.

As her project for the Community Project Experience class at Friday Harbor High School, Chelan Taylor coordinated the promotion and fundraising to replace and repair the arena fence at the fairgrounds. Her efforts were fruitful and in little over a year, enough money was donated to start the project.

Lum Volvo and Tractor Service from Orcas Island won the bid to install the new fence and recently finished the project. Eric Lum also provided the fir lumber for the fence rails, most of which were sustainably harvested from Lum’s property on Orcas. Brownes Home Center on San Juan Island helped by providing a discount on the treated posts and the Fair staff and Sheriff’s Release Work Program provided the labor to tear down the old fence.

Plaques will be attached to the rails with the names of all the folks who donated to this fine community-driven project.

A possible new calf in L pod! Photo from May 29 by Erin Heydenreich for the Center for Whale Research.

Let’s see what’s up around here…

• Looks like we may have a new baby killer whale – I checked with Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Rearch this morning & he’s pretty cautious about this one, since the mom hasn’t yet been identified with certainty yet.  Here’s the report from the Center for Whale Research about the sighting on the 29th last month:

Center for Whale Research staff Dave Ellifrit, Erin Heydenreich, Mercedes Powell, and Kira Kranzler encountered L’s heading south in northern Swanson Channel at 5:35 p.m. (48 43.710 N; 123 17.380 W).

There were several groups fairly spread out and porpoising. We tried to keep up with them until we reached Henry Island, but they never slowed down. There appears to be a new calf traveling with L55 (see photo above). This is a different calf from the one observed on Dec. 6th seen traveling with L5 (L117). We are tentatively calling the newest calf L118 and will confirm the number of new calves once we have had a more conclusive L pod encounter.

The groups we encountered were the L4s, L26s, L43s, L47s, and L53. The encounter ended just off Henry Island at 6:56 p.m. (48 35.60 N; 123 12.23 W) with the whales still spread out and traveling fast south.
For map and more photos, click here.

The scene on the deck outside the Bean Cafe, Saturday morning....

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• Dropped by The Banry Cafe last night to check in, and Deanna says they’re open and she hopes you drop by soon! She says the first two days have been great, and she’s pretty sure there’s a good summer ahead!

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• Mark Flaiz from the Life Care Center (formerly the Convalescent Center) says there’s a presentation about the Death with Dignity Act this Friday – here’s more:

This presentation will be in the library meeting room on Friday, June 17, from 12-1pm.  The topic is the Death with Dignity Act that was passed in Washington state in 2008 and the speaker will be Tom Preston.  Tom Preston is a retired cardiologist who put together the coalition of groups that launched the I-1000 campaign, which won by 58-42%, giving Washington state the Death with Dignity law.  This is not only a controversial topic but also a complicated one and I encourage you to come with your questions. This will be a free presentation open to the community and everyone is welcome.

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It was great to drop by Kurt's BBQ Shack last weekend & get a cherry-smoked chicken sandwich (left)...the Shack is located in the old Dos Diablos/Amigos spot, next to the new Windermere office (which is the former Friday Harbor Realty/San Juan Inn/Sotheby's spot). You'll be glad you did!

• A good trend: The last ten stores in Friday Harbor I visited say they ARE taking Canadian currency for sales now…Americans come out ahead anyway if you accept Canadian currency at par, since a Canadian dollar is worth $1.02US this morning.

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• The Woodward family has arrived in the Dominican Republic – you can follow their mission there with the family blog, which Vic just posted in – check it out here!

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• The dance is this weekend! Here’s more from Liz Francis:

On Saturday, June 18 it’s the 3rd Saturday Contra Dance, at the San Juan Island Grange Hall, from 7-9p.m. We have Cindy Holmes calling & teaching contras and waltzes, along with Hands Four: Val White and Malcolm Suttles, Jim and Katy Nollman on fiddle, guitar, mandolin & piano. All welcome – singles, families – come as you are. All dances taught. No experience necessary. $10/person donation (half price during the instruction session from 7-7:15). Grange sponsored. For information, call 378-3836.

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• Have you been writing for this year’s Fair? Here’s the scoop – and hurry, because things are due by July 10th. Here’s more from Cady & the Wildfire Women’s Writing Group:

Attention, writers! I hope you will all submit an entry (or 2,3 or 4) for the San Juan County Fair 2011. (Here are the rules.) The Wildfire Women’s Writing Group will be facilitating the San Juan County Written Word this year. We are excited that there will be stage time offered for readings of some of the winners pieces. Only if you want to, of course. Please let us know if you are interested!  Also available is the judges’ critique and scoring of your work, but again only if you are interested.

Also new this year: the option of dropping your entries off at one of these three libraries: Orcas, Lopez and Friday Harbor.

Please encourage your friends to submit entries!

Feel free to contact us with questions at our email address, islandwriters (at) gmx.com.

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Bryn visits with folks in New York after his presentation.

• It was cool to see Bryn Barnard at the Community Dinner last week – he had just returned from New York where he had a presentation at Park 51. His new book The Genius of Islam is being well-received on both coasts! Here’s the rest of the story.

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• Fond farewell – three school district folks are moving on, after making a big difference in our kids’ lives. Good luck to Friday Harbor Middle and High School Band Teacher Janet Olsen and Friday Harbor Elementary School Teacher Jay Westphalen as they tackle the challenges of retirement (it’s hard to imagine these incredibly positive & incredibly creative people sitting still!), and all the best to FHES principal Gary Pflueger as he and Annie move to Bonners Ferry, Idaho & an elementary school job there.

This photo of J28 and calf were shot earlier this week at Deadman's Bay from shore by John Boyd (thanks, JB!)

Looks like the good folks at Coldwell Banker had fun putting this together…check it out!

FHHS principal Fred Woods greets newly-graduated Elle (left), Maggie, and Lindsay after the ceremony.

It was great.

Megan is congratulated by friend Carmen on Saturday night.

It was a great evening Saturday night as Friday Harbor High graduated this year’s class…the beautiful weather of the day went with a well-paced ceremony which was capped by a full courtyard of well-wishers & family & friends & people who love these kids.

It always feels like most of the island comes to the FHHS graduation each year, and it’s a great time to see grads past, present & future all in one place.

Happy trails, grads! You rock!

Meeting the cameras - graduate Madi McPadden smiles with her parents for the lenses...

Island pioneer & granddad Sam Buck congratulates a smiling Tanner Buck after the festivities....

Dad Tom & sis Alaina came to celebrate Emily's diploma...she'll join Alaina at Seattle U this fall.

Surrounded by family - Sam's got Jeff & Diana & Russell (FHHS '08) on hand for graduation.

The parking lot wall was repainted last week with the names of the Class of 2011....

Sunset at Lime Kiln....photo by Kevin Holmes

Miracles
by Walt Whitman

Why, who makes much of a miracle?
As to me I know of nothing else but miracles,
Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan,
Or dart my sight over the roofs of houses toward the sky,
Or wade with naked feet along the beach just in the edge of the water,
Or stand under trees in the woods,
Or talk by day with any one I love, or sleep in the bed at night
with any one I love,
Or sit at table at dinner with the rest,
Or look at strangers opposite me riding in the car,
Or watch honey-bees busy around the hive of a summer
forenoon,
Or animals feeding in the fields,
Or birds, or the wonderfulness of insects in the air,
Or the wonderfulness of the sundown, or of stars shining so
quiet and bright,
Or the exquisite delicate thin curve of the new moon in spring;
These with the rest, one and all, are to me miracles,
The whole referring, yet each distinct and in its place.

To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle,
Every cubic inch of space is a miracle,
Every square yard of the surface of the earth is spread with
the same,
Every foot of the interior swarms with the same.

To me the sea is a continual miracle,
The fishes that swim—the rocks—the motion of the waves—
the ships with men in them,
What stranger miracles are there?

The sixth graders are ready to move up!

Dori & Kate Sears are happy to announce this year’s class:

Stillpoint School is proud to present its first graduating class! Congratulations to the Class of 2011: Sis Baker, Simon Vincent, and Emma Reynolds. Sis and Emma have attended Stillpoint School since it opened in 2007; Simon joined the next year. The 6th grade class formed close connections during the years and were thrilled to reach this exciting milestone together.

The first Graduation was a special event for all the students and families. On June 8, 2011, family members and friends attended the Graduation and Promotion Ceremony at Stillpoint School to honor the achievements of the 6th grade class. Additionally, the Ceremony included the promotion of all the students who successfully completed the school year in grades K-5. The ceremony was followed by an outdoor Reception with delicious food and a beautiful cake.

Stillpoint School is proud of the many academic achievements of the Class of 2011, and wishes them all the best in the future.

Leonard Cohen’s song – this is my favorite version of it. See what you think…

Going down...

Naturalist Nan Simpson caught this killer whale in the fading Wednesday sun this week….thanks for the photo, Nan!