> From: Moose <olymoose@xxxxxxxxx>
>
> Today's SF Chronicle Travel Section lead story:
>
> THE ISLANDS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (smallish print)
> OASIS OF ARTSY ECCENTRICITY (BIG PRINT)
> Salt Spring Island is Sonoma County with killer whales (medium print)
>
> All surrounded with images of Salt Sping Island.
> <http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/04/TRP9VII82.DTL
> >
>
> So ramp up the art production and set up the roadside artisan stand!
Bring 'em on! Since the exchange rate has "improved," I haven't even
changed my prices since moving from Oregon. (But I don't take any of
that worthless green money any more. :-)
We already have a gallery/farm stand. We'll be on the gallery tour in
summer '09. (Couldn't do it this year, because we're moving.)
The article had some inaccuracies. The official census puts us closer
to 9,500 full-timers. Robin Williams is not a "celebrity visitor" --
he owns a house here. There are "chain businesses" -- a video store
and Pharmasave -- both have boycott campaigns against them, and are
struggling, although Pharmasave is a monopoly, and charges people
here, but not on the mainland, a $10 service fee over the cost of even
a $1 prescription. (People will pay $25 for the ferry to avoid getting
their prescription filled at Pharmasave.) There are at least SEVEN
wineries, not the two claimed by the article. The "earth goddess" who
rode naked in a protest is actually my friend Briony Penn, who is
running for legislature in the next election. (Imagine someone with
such a history being involved in politics in the US?)
And not everyone "cares about the environment" here -- there's a huge
schism between realtors/developers and "latter day hippies." The local
elected officials tend to rotate between "build more condos as quickly
as possible" and "let's all buy solar panels and disconnect from the
mainland." Other schisms are between full-timers and summer people (as
per the Robin Williams episode), people who want to actually grow food
and those whose idea of "farming" is hay for horses and grapes for
wine, and those who want to lock up land to preserve nature versus
those who think responsible, ecological food production is just as
important. It's been said that "Salt Spring is 10,000 opinions
surrounded by water."
But we love it here.
Oh, one other thing the article got wrong: "don't express an interest
in buying property on the island."
PLEASE express your interest in our property! All we need is some
Californicator who is into raising their own organic food to buy our
farm, so we can settle on our new digs:
http://victoria.en.craigslist.ca/rfs/663968515.html
http://www.ecoproperty.ca/propd.php?id=6397
Please, if you know anyone who always dreamed of living in Sonoma or
Martha's Vineyard, send them to our realtor so we can start Phase II
of our plan without $6,000/month payments on a bridge loan.
:::: Why do they feed eggs to a dog to make it's coat shiny? My parka
is dull and dingy, and I eat eggs. ::::
:::: Jan Steinman, http://www.EcoReality.org ::::
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