My apologies for the bad pun. And my thanks to Robin Kucklick.  Robin is a professional gardener who has worked on Orcas for decades.  About 25 years ago, he helped the County select and plant trees throughout Eastsound.  He chose varieties that had a great fall color...

Island Market goes full on pumpkin for the season! The weather this week surely helped us all put summer to bed and face fall head on and bundled up.  Unfortunately, we are still in the midst of Covid and needing to socially distance and keep our masks on. (See the...

Beach Haven. What a beautiful start to the season.  I recently ran across the Columbus Survey results for 2019.  This data is collected from Community Foundations of all sizes across the country.  They look at distribution rates, number of transactions and amount of...

Not the way you want to land. I have been a member of Orcas Fire and Rescue for 22 years, serving as a volunteer EMT.  It has been a very rewarding experience for the most part.  Being able to assist colleagues, neighbors, and friends during their times of crisis is a...

Don Stillman came by to take a drone photo of our garden this week.  Fun to see the fruits of our labor from a new perspective! If you are over 70 ½ you may be eligible to take a qualified charitable distribution of up to $100,000 from your individual...

Pedestrians and cars pass through Eastsound on Orcas Island. (Erika Schultz / The Seattle Times) I just saw this article on the staffing shortage that local restaurants are experiencing.  The challenges extend to our nonprofit sector as well.  Currently, the Orcas...

Acrobatic Conundrum Orcas Island Fire and Rescue will be holding an EMT Academy this fall.  It is a fairly intensive multi month program that can be completed locally.  There is a small book fee that is reimbursed upon completion of the course.  I took the class 22...

Island Market steps up for our kids once again! OICF received a very generous anonymous donation for the Dental Van program this week.  We are deeply grateful for the support that will ensure all community members have access to dental care.  The next clinic is...

The Canty's. All masked up. At the start of the pandemic, we were told to prepare for a marathon, not a sprint.  It feels like we are now in an Ironman triathlon, and I sure hope we have the stamina to make it through.  An indoor mask mandate for public spaces goes...

Caring signs outside of the Food Co-op Just as we were all getting used to seeing each other’s smiles once again, it appears the masks are back in action.  The current Covid case load on Orcas is higher than it has ever been (see attached update from San Juan County)....