IT All Started With The Lake

This is Lake Sutherland, Clallam County, the Olympic Peninsula, Washington.

And this is Lake Sutherland

And this is Lake Sutherland

And this is Lake Sutherland

Sharlene Reynolds found this lake, this bit of land on the lake, with this view of the lake, tucked into a wonderland locals have jealously cherished for as long as they've breathed here. Just look at it; can you blame them? Fortunately, Shar agreed to marry me some 26 years ago (please, don't judge her) so her illustrious find is mine as well. She had been on an internet search for a place with water and mountains where we might retire one day; not a bad result, eh? That retirement came last June when we finally stepped away from our lives as life-long Colorado criminal defense lawyers, public defenders in love with the calling, sold the house, kissed the kids (Conor in Colorado, Kat in San Diego), toasted our friends, loaded up our beautiful, anxiety-ridden dog, Booradley, picked up our lives, and headed to Port Angeles, Washington. We're living in an old farm house on the grounds of a lovely, defunct dairy farm while our new home at the lake is being built. These months have been full of exploring, of learning, of being entranced by the mysteries of the weather, the geology, the salmon, the rivers, the ocean, the trees, and the trees, and the trees; and enriched by the generous, humbling welcome of so many people. So, here with occasional notes about our journey, what we find, this extraordinary place, and how we fare, maybe wrestling with this retirement, and all. I'm trying to figure out how make this blog thing work, likely a continuing adventure for me and anyone taking the time to read it. Many thanks for stopping by.