Hedgebrook, Day Twenty-one

Last night, three of us walked over Deer Lagoon to Useless Bay when the tide was going out and the sun was going down. The water was literally rushing out with the wind. No bugs last night and the coolest of breezes, Mt. Rainier right there in the distance. I know I'm gushing, but it was glorious.

I don't have much to say, to tell you the truth. It's been an incredible three weeks, and I leave tomorrow evening from Seattle. I've met an extraordinary group of writers, I've finished a rough draft of the book, I've read two novels, one memoir and a pile of New Yorkers. I've re-read To the Lighthouse, the collected stories of Lydia Davis and some William Carlos Williams. I've received a pile of letters -- thank you to Missy and Carolyn and Rebecca and Mary and Liv and Mary Lou for your beautiful words and old-fashioned stationery. I arrived three weeks ago and spent a glorious day and night with Karen. Thank you for showing me this beautiful part of the world that you call home. I spent a lovely afternoon with Kari in Langley, including a delicious lunch and conversation that could have gone on for hours. Thank you, Kari, for taking the time to come out here and for sharing your life with me. I met Lynda who has been reading my blog for years and with whom I've only exchanged emails. She drove me around Whidbey Island and showed me the sights, introduced me to her beautiful family and shared the most delicious mussels I've ever had, harvested right here on Whidbey. I am grateful for your friendship.

So, I did have something to say.

I'm saying my good-byes today to Hedgebrook Farm, to my little cottage, Willow and to the extraordinary people who work here. I am replenished and filled with gratitude for the experience. I'll never forget this time and the work I did here in solitude, even as I was cared for and nourished.