Tillie's Nest, Notes and Nostalgia: Salt Spring Island in British Columbia

I first visited Salt Spring in 1999, alone, a few months after my husband passed away. In 2003, I returned with friends.

The following photos are a small teaser of the photos on my Web Album.
I truly love this place.......I've told something about it in the 'description' on the Web Album, but for the Blog I'll add some to it. The following are excerpts of an article by Cathleen Miller published in the Washington Post in 2001.

A walnut stool. Wool blankets woven from the island's resident sheep. Lanterns made from old fruit jars. Hand-thrown pottery. Fleece pullovers. Lapis lazuli necklaces. Wildlife watercolors. Bars of herbal soap. Pots of jam. A papier-mâche crow. The aisles of the old white frame building are packed with handmade merchandise, all created here, on Canada's Salt Spring Island

Is it art? Who cares? In these days of faceless Wal-Marts and anonymous "consumer goods," Salt Spring offers a refreshing alternative

That's largely because scores of writers, musicians, actors, painters, sculptors, hippies, organic farmers, political refugees and aromatherapy practitioners have migrated to Salt Spring to create their own utopia. The water surrounding the island allows this community of 10,000 residents to erect some barriers between themselves, the mainland and the mainstream. Their utopia doesn't allow nuclear weapons or handguns, but eagles and marijuana are plentiful

..... Probably due to its waterlogged geography, Salt Spring's history has always been one of escape. Even though pilgrims have migrated here from every corner of the planet, one trait they've shared was a search for refuge. Some of the island's first settlers were blacks from the United States who were escaping slavery. They began farming, a tradition that many residents proudly preserve today, and raising organic flowers, vegetables and lamb. The island is largely rural, a mixture of farms, forests, beaches and parkland.

Today Salt Spring seems to attract the creative, the unique, the oddball, the misfit -- in short, those with a different way of looking at the world. These people see their island as a haven of kindred spirits. Even though we enjoyed the region's natural beauty -- kayaking through Ganges Harbor and watching eagles on Mount Maxwell -- meeting the island's colorful residents became the lasting, affectionate legacy of our trip.
The full article can be found here: (You need to copy and paste...it's a really good article..couldn't get it to 'link')

http://www.bishopswalksaltspringisland.com/images/Washington-Post_010729-Coolest-Island.pdf