Interview with Kris: Questions by Me
Q: You seem happy with your move from Massachusetts to the Olympic Peninsula.
A: Yes, buoyantly so. This place is a paradise.
Q: That's a bit strong, don't you think? After all, it isn't Tahiti.
A: Not too strong at all. Take today for example. It is July 6. Back in Massachusetts it'll be in the 80s, probably near 90, 90% humidity, and oppressive. Air conditioning here they come. But even indoors it will be sticky. Here, today, the sun is shining broadly, the air is clear and pure and dry, a cool little breeze is blowing, and the temp so far is 70. For me, perfect.
Q: It isn't always so nice there.
A: No, but it often is, and even after living through one of the coldest springs and wettest winters on record here (courtesy of La Nina) it is still mostly nicer here than there.
Q: You look tan, tanner than usual.
A: I'm outside all the time! In Massachusetts I'd be lounging on the couch reading. Here it is just too beautiful to stay cooped indoors.
Q: You do have a nice view.
A: Just looking at those mountains as I walk down to the barn lifts my spirits.
Q: Mucking out and dealing on an intimate daily basis with horse manure is new for you. Kind of yucky, right?
A: Actually I don't mind at all. Ken calls it “the zen of mucking out”. It is a daily chance to go out in the morning and do an hour of bending, stretching, lifting, hauling, the kinds of things you might do in a gym with weights for no reason, but here having a purpose. It is surprisingly satisfying to create compost on this scale, too. And the compost doesn't smell, and there are very few bugs.
Q: Come on. No bugs?
A: Well, there are some tiny flies just on the compost. But there are virtually no mosquitoes. Very few house flies. Some bees/wasps, but in Massachusetts we slid through the narrowest opening in the screen door that was possible, and still mosquitoes would get in. Here there are so few bugs that we get careless, and sometimes a fly comes indoors.
Q: I suppose the flies are special too.
A: No, but much of the flora and fauna is new to me. It is so fun to learn about Indian plum, star flower, madrona, black headed grosbeaks, black tail deer, and salal, and see eagles from time to time.
Q: There must be noxious plants too.
A: Well we have nettles, a couple of types of thorny thistles, and the ubiquitous raspberry thickets. But as far as I can tell, no poison ivy, and you can eat the blackberries to your heart's content.
Q: You've said that living there seems like living in the White Mountains of New Hampshire . . .
A: . . . except with really BIG mountains all covered with snow still, even though it is July . . .
Q: . . . but don't you live in a seaport?
A: Yes, so it's like living near Franconia Notch, only with Rockport/Cape Ann just down the road. I swear I heard a fog horn this morning. The fog had settled in the valleys and over the ocean, but we were in sun up here on the hill. And that means we get really fantastic seafood. Alaskan salmon, dungeness crabs, day boat halibut . . . a feast!
Q: Okay, that does sound good, but still, paradise? You and Ken have been doing a lot to make changes and work on the place. If it were really paradise, wouldn't it already be perfect?
A: I think having projects and things to putter on is part of what makes the place so ideal for us. Because we are retired, and because all our basic needs are already met, there is no time pressure. So if we want to spend a week building the world's most highly engineered compost heap, we can do it just to please ourselves. How much of the property do we want to mow? Would we like a woodland trail here or there? Does the riding arena need weeding, and how nice does it look afterwards? That kind of work is pure play. Deeply satisfying.
Q: No chance you want to move back, I suppose?
A: Oh my, I don't even want to leave for a weekend! Living here is like a vacation all the time. Live. Breathe. Stretch. Grow. Love.
A: Yes, buoyantly so. This place is a paradise.
Q: That's a bit strong, don't you think? After all, it isn't Tahiti.
A: Not too strong at all. Take today for example. It is July 6. Back in Massachusetts it'll be in the 80s, probably near 90, 90% humidity, and oppressive. Air conditioning here they come. But even indoors it will be sticky. Here, today, the sun is shining broadly, the air is clear and pure and dry, a cool little breeze is blowing, and the temp so far is 70. For me, perfect.
Q: It isn't always so nice there.
A: No, but it often is, and even after living through one of the coldest springs and wettest winters on record here (courtesy of La Nina) it is still mostly nicer here than there.
Q: You look tan, tanner than usual.
A: I'm outside all the time! In Massachusetts I'd be lounging on the couch reading. Here it is just too beautiful to stay cooped indoors.
Q: You do have a nice view.
A: Just looking at those mountains as I walk down to the barn lifts my spirits.
Q: Mucking out and dealing on an intimate daily basis with horse manure is new for you. Kind of yucky, right?
A: Actually I don't mind at all. Ken calls it “the zen of mucking out”. It is a daily chance to go out in the morning and do an hour of bending, stretching, lifting, hauling, the kinds of things you might do in a gym with weights for no reason, but here having a purpose. It is surprisingly satisfying to create compost on this scale, too. And the compost doesn't smell, and there are very few bugs.
Q: Come on. No bugs?
A: Well, there are some tiny flies just on the compost. But there are virtually no mosquitoes. Very few house flies. Some bees/wasps, but in Massachusetts we slid through the narrowest opening in the screen door that was possible, and still mosquitoes would get in. Here there are so few bugs that we get careless, and sometimes a fly comes indoors.
Q: I suppose the flies are special too.
A: No, but much of the flora and fauna is new to me. It is so fun to learn about Indian plum, star flower, madrona, black headed grosbeaks, black tail deer, and salal, and see eagles from time to time.
Q: There must be noxious plants too.
A: Well we have nettles, a couple of types of thorny thistles, and the ubiquitous raspberry thickets. But as far as I can tell, no poison ivy, and you can eat the blackberries to your heart's content.
Q: You've said that living there seems like living in the White Mountains of New Hampshire . . .
A: . . . except with really BIG mountains all covered with snow still, even though it is July . . .
Q: . . . but don't you live in a seaport?
A: Yes, so it's like living near Franconia Notch, only with Rockport/Cape Ann just down the road. I swear I heard a fog horn this morning. The fog had settled in the valleys and over the ocean, but we were in sun up here on the hill. And that means we get really fantastic seafood. Alaskan salmon, dungeness crabs, day boat halibut . . . a feast!
Q: Okay, that does sound good, but still, paradise? You and Ken have been doing a lot to make changes and work on the place. If it were really paradise, wouldn't it already be perfect?
A: I think having projects and things to putter on is part of what makes the place so ideal for us. Because we are retired, and because all our basic needs are already met, there is no time pressure. So if we want to spend a week building the world's most highly engineered compost heap, we can do it just to please ourselves. How much of the property do we want to mow? Would we like a woodland trail here or there? Does the riding arena need weeding, and how nice does it look afterwards? That kind of work is pure play. Deeply satisfying.
Q: No chance you want to move back, I suppose?
A: Oh my, I don't even want to leave for a weekend! Living here is like a vacation all the time. Live. Breathe. Stretch. Grow. Love.