Hello community!
As you may or may not know, I recently accomplished my dream of buying land. It’s about 5 acres of undeveloped forest in Western Washington, near but not on Puget Sound, in the territory of the Squaxin Island tribes.
I’m calling the land Cosmic Acres.
Why did you buy land?
For a few years now I have really craved being in forests, getting to know our native plants, and enjoying the peace of unplugging from online life. But I also really like living in the city and walking places! So I’m not planning to move out there or anything like that.
I wanted a place of retreat, and I also wanted a place that I could take care of through my life (as a renter in highly unaffordable Seattle, this will be a nice steady place). And I wanted land that I could share with my communities! I think a peaceful retreat is going to be really important for people in the coming years.
Tell me more about Cosmic Acres!
It is a beautiful site of Douglas firs, big leaf maples, Pacific madrones, and other native trees. There are endless evergreen huckleberry bushes, and some gentle/medium slopes. It was last logged around 50 years ago and is currently a thriving young forest. While much of the site enjoys predominantly native plant species, there are vigorous populations of English holly and Himalayan blackberry.
Sitka deer, Douglas squirrels, ravens, and other mostly native wildlife make use of the land, and I’m looking forward to seeing more of them as I spend more time out there. And from most of the site, no humans or buildings are visible.
Right now, there is no infrastructure (just a bucket toilet hidden in some shrubs, and a water dispenser). I have a lot of ideas about how I might build up the space in the future (tiny cabin?) but for the moment, I’m going to focus on smaller projects like a fire pit, compost, and native plant restoration.
How can I be connected?
I’ll be writing semi-regularly about work on the land, nature observations, reflections, and upcoming events. If we are personally connected, there are possibilities to come out and work on the land with me, camp there, or to just enjoy it on a day trip!