Living on the water, I find these storms extremely humbling.  Watching the wave explode against the rocks as you hear the wind howling through the trees really makes you realize that we don’t own this planet, it owns us.

Driving along the roads, I’m reminded of footage I’ve seen on TV post-natural-disaster.  The roads are littered with tree branches and bits of greenery, and every now and then you’ll come upon a tree that somebody has dragged off the road, or cut a path through.

A lot of people find winter depressing on Canada’s West Coast.  It’s cloudy for months on end, and it rains a heck of a lot.  Personally, I love this time of year.  Sure, nothing beats going for your first hike in the spring sunshine, but there’s something wonderfully intimate about spending time indoors with the ones you love.

Photo by ecstaticist – http://flic.kr/p/5VKPpj

Wouldn’t you like to get away?

Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
and they’re always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see,
our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows
Your name.

I grew up in the 80s, and watched entirely too many reruns of Cheers as a teenager.  There’s something warm and comforting about the theme song, isn’t there?  What a nice idea, going somewhere where everybody knows your name.  That’s sort of what living on Mayne has been like for me.

I don’t claim to know all one thousand residents personally.  I probably couldn’t even name one quarter of them.  I’m better with faces though, and it’s hard to step foot outside my door without seeing somebody I recognize from around town.  My wife worked at the local bakery for a couple of years, so she knows a good deal more people than I do.  In fact, some people only know me as “Rachel’s husband” or “Reilly and Parker’s dad”.

That’s happening less and less these days, but the point is that there’s rarely ever more than a couple degrees of separation between people on this island.  Everyone talks about everybody else as if you should know who they are.  ”You know, Jake who works with Pete…”

Having moved here from Alberta where multiple days of -30 degree weather are a given, winters on Mayne Island are a dream come true. It rains quite a bit, rarely snows (although last year was an exception) and the temperature only drops below freezing for a few days. The population of Mayne drops to about a thousand people, and some of those people rarely leave their houses.

If you’ve planned ahead in the spring or summer, you’ll have a good stock of firewood built up. Last winter, we found that we had a fire burning most days, and it really helped to cut down on the electric heating costs.

For me, it’s an ideal time to buckle down and get work done. The outdoors aren’t really calling to me, so I can stay indoors and focus my efforts on computer work. I’m a big fan of staying in and watching movies, as opposed to going to the theatre, so that works fine.

The other bonus is that there is rarely an endless block of nothing but rain. It will break several times a week, and then the kids can get outside to burn off some energy. When we lived in Alberta, the temperature/wind just wouldn’t allow that for long stretches of time.

Winters are quiet and cozy. I actually prefer them to the hectic pace of the summer months.

Surrounded by acres of land, 3 of which need to be mowed (I’ll get to that soon – I’m enjoying the wildness for now) I realise that true peace can be pleasantly quiet or talkative. Either way, it’s happy and so am I.

Non-human creatures on Pender Island seem to be peaceful too. For example, Pender has more deer than people – there are no predators to keep the deer population down.

I asked a Penderite, “How often do people get injured by hitting deer with their car?” “Less often than you would think,” was the reply.

Penderites are watchful on the roads and know that if you see one deer crossing the road, there are bound to be others that follow right after. A good thing to remember! So far, I haven’t experienced any truly close calls.

The deer like this property. I don’t have a garden, which is just as well because I don’t want to bother putting up high fences to keep them out. There is plenty of space for them to roam and munch here. They seem to like the heads of flowers that naturally grow here the most. But they avoid the foxgloves which are poisonous.

I often see a doe with up to 2 fawns in the early hours. The fawns sometimes race each other around the trees in the craziest way! It’s fun to watch. If they catch sight of me, they stop. Their vision is amazing and they’re very cautious. They bolt off if you get too close.

The droppings they leave are annoying, but not as annoying as I would have thought. They don’t really smell. Before I moved here I thought that I’d have to wear thick boots as I wandered the land – boots I would need to leave outside because they would be so encrusted. Instead, I’ve been fine in light sneakers or sandals.

Will I ever come to have a love/hate feeling about the deer, as some people here do? They are pests if you have a garden, I understand. I guess tics can be a problem sometimes. And if they run out in front of your car, yikes. But I can’t see myself hating them, ever, because they’re peaceful, and I’m peaceful, so there is some kinship perhaps.

~ Lillea Woodlyns

Marketing with WordPress & More in the Canadian Wilderness

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Farmer's Market Preview on May Day

It’s Small, Everybody Knows (practically) Everybody Else

Depending on how you think about it, you can put that one in the “ups” column, or in the “downs” column.  Sure, there’s a raging gossip mill, and you sacrifice a little in terms of privacy, but for me that’s what building relationships with people is really all about.  If you’re going to make friends, you have to open up a bit, and let people into your life.  Gossip can be annoying, especially when it’s wrong.  Luckily, despite only having a population of about a thousand people, Mayne is diverse enough that if a nasty rumour about something/someone starts, generally the entire population doesn’t buy into it.  I’ve only been here a couple of years, but I can’t think of any examples of anyone being ostracized over anything.

The major bonus to being a small community is that I have no trouble letting my kids (3 and 5) play in the yard unsupervised.  We set a few ground rules about where they can and can’t go by themselves, but I really don’t have to worry about somebody kidnapping them.  Sure, there’s still that 1% chance that some lunatic will decide to vacation here.

Amenities

We’ve got two grocery stores, one gas station, four restaurants, a library that’s open two days a week (?) and a whole lot of hiking trails and beaches.  We don’t have a movie theatre, a swimming pool (but there is the ocean), or a place where you can buy milk if it’s after 7PM.  The happening social scene takes place at peoples’ houses, not at nightclubs or other after-hours spots.  Feel like ordering pizza or Chinese food?  You’re out of luck.

Edith Point, slightly off the trails

Pretty much everyone grows some of their own food, and it’s really easy to find fresh produce (not necessarily at the aforementioned grocery stores though).  Because there is no competition amongst businesses, some take advantage; expect to pay 20 cents more per litre of gas if you’re filling up on Mayne than in Victoria (we rarely buy gas here).

With that in mind, there are two major cities just over an hour away by boat.  If you can’t get it on Mayne, you’ll be sure to be able to find it in either Victoria or in Vancouver.

The Ferries

Hands down, the most frustrating thing about living on Mayne Island is the ferry system.  They are over-priced, and the schedules cater mainly to tourists, not residents.  For example, the last boat to leave Victoria most days is at 7:00 PM.  You end up planning your day around the ferry schedule, timing things perfectly to that you can run from place to place and still make it back home.  Otherwise your quick day trip over to Victoria turns into a rather expensive overnight at a hotel (especially in the summer).  In a sense, living on Mayne Island can be like living with really strict parents: if you’re not home by curfew, you might find yourself locked out for the night.

Campbell Bay early morning

Isolation/Loneliness

I get asked a lot if it gets lonely, especially in the winter.  I can’t quite figure this one out though, there are a thousand full time residents here.  I’ve never maintained a pool of a thousand friends in my entire life.  Assuming that I couldn’t get along with 80% of the people that live here because of personality conflicts (I’m just picking random numbers), there would still be 200 potential friends that live within 10 minutes of me.  It doesn’t get lonely but it’s far more peaceful.

It’s probably no surprise that some full time residents detest tourists.  I’m not one of them.  Tourists bring a different feeling to the island, and offer a different perspective.  Sure, there are some that are completely disrespectful of our home; they speed around the island, litter and complain loudly that there’s nothing to do, but I think most people have a pretty good idea of what Mayne Island is about before they visit.

I love living here, and I think that the benefits really outweigh the drawbacks.  I’ve always been fond of small town living, and both my wife and I agree that Mayne has been the most welcoming place we’ve ever lived.  It’s been incredibly rewarding to be welcomed into the community, and to make our life here.