Autumn, for many of us, is the most special season in the San Juan Islands.
But it’s not only the incomparable light and shadow of the slanting September sun. Not only the delicious edge of a fall morning or the softness of the day ebbing in the west over our Canadian neighbors. It not only comes in the startling colors of the stately trees at the approach to Roche Harbor, or in the scents and sensations of the Farmers Market at the fullness of its treasure.
No, there is something more. Something in the Friday night glow of a hometown high school football game, in the gathering of parents and teachers to tend some of the state’s finest schools, in the return of summer travelers, and the indescribable welcome of the fall Ferry schedule with its space to spare on all decks.
For autumn is the time when the Islands come back in charming ways to those who live here. We welcome our visitors with a legendary hospitality and warmth. But when the crowds are done, we can see all the more clearly why we chose to be here.
Fall in this precious place is the season of home. –Chita Miller
Photo Courtesy of Gene Nery- Orcas Island
