By Jane Valencia For several years, artist Anne Cotter Moses and I met regularly to make quick paintings in Island spaces. This one was made just outside Cafe Luna. Outside Cafe Luna. Illustration by Jane Valencia
August 2026, Recipes
Kale Slaw!
By Caitlin Rothermel This is a tasty, colorful, and consistently popular summer salad option that can be served as a side dish alongside anything, or as a light main dish. I have made it for years and brought it to every type of gathering – even non-salad and/or non-kale people like this dish. I call…
August 2026, Health Matters, Island Voices
Animism, Hearing Loss, and the Power of Birdwatching
By Gabrielle Wildheart I am the cliché of the midlife person who spontaneously develops an interest in birdwatching. I’ve been on the Merlin app for a few years now, but in the summer of my 39th year things got a bit more serious, and I graduated to E-bird. (If you know, you know.) It’s no…
August 2026, Literary
The Weeper at the Wake, Part 2
By S.E. Reid With its own “strange, hidden corners,” Ferris Island, is similar in many ways to what we Islanders speak of as our own “Old Vashon.” For more Ferris Island tales, visit: http://talebones.substack.com. For more Ferris Island tales, visit: http://talebones.substack.com. Did you miss Part 1 of this story? Read Part 1 here. The barman…
August 2026, Poetry
Bars of Soap
In July issue’s “With Wand and Shawl: the Investiture of Vashon’s New Co-Poets Laureate,” we welcomed Iris Spring and C. Hunter Davis into this shared role. Please enjoy a poem by C. Hunter Davis. When summer ended my mother putthe bars of soap in a tinso we wouldn’t be pestered byants and mice.All winter long…
July 2026, Legends of Vashon
Buried Gold
By Marc J. Elzenbeck There are good reasons to bury treasure. Fear of discovery and theft is well-founded, transport risk is real, and it is wise to avoid temptable natures. Love isn’t known to top the list, but it might be the oldest reason and the best. A love story is why Vashon has been…
Announcements, July 2026, Poetry
With Wand and Shawl: The Investiture of Vashon’s New Co-Poets Laureate
By Jane Valencia On Summer Solstice Eve, poets and poetry lovers gathered from the Island and across the water to celebrate our new poets laureate, Iris Spring and C. Hunter Davis. The event took place at the Open Space for the Arts & Community, which now shepherds Vashon’s Poet Laureate program. Initiated in 2011, with…
Island Voices, July 2026
Mahadasha Cycles in Vedic Astrology
By Melanie Farmer If there were an ancient system that offered specific guidance for each stage of your life, would you want to know more about it? In Vedic astrology, this system exists, and it is known as the Mahadasha cycle. What Is a Mahadasha? In Vedic astrology, or Jyotish, Mahadasha is a major planetary…
Announcements, July 2026
Tires Redux
By Rich Osborne Hey, Vashon, it’s summer! Time to relax for a moment and enjoy our victory. To remember all the Coho Salmon we just saved. Not to pretend that we are done, but to smile over a glass of something and look forward to next year. I‘m talking beach tires, of course. In 2025…
