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The bad news first. There are eighteen windows in the cottage, but you can only view the water from sixteen. Nature helped by wrapping Pickering Passage around the peninsula on which the cottage sits.
Pickering Passage, dotted with islands and inlets enough for a boater's dream, is part of the intricately winding Puget Sound. Hartstine Island, across the water, is the largest of the nearby islands. Rising up behind it, wrapped in snowfields of shimmering white, standing in its own quiet elegance, is Mt. Rainier.
The cottage, facing Mt. Rainier, sits at the top of a bluff. We have a shy acre of natural beauty. The acreage is largely untouched, sloping down a huge bowl of green to 260 feet of walkable beach along Pickering Passage. On the way down, you'll pass the gazebo. It's a landmark to boaters sailing up and down the quiet passage. Across the span of water, you can see sailboats slip in and out of Jerrolds Cove.
The cottage, new in 2004, is intimate, quiet, bright and sunny. And of course, full of windows. The style is traditional Craftsman combined with the classic post and beam interior. It features high vaulted ceilings, beautiful exposed beamwork, natural oak floors. Also a large open loft bedroom, an additional single sleeping nook, and a kitchen that's a joy. The sunny breakfast nook has an 8-foot picture window; it frames the trees, water, Hartstine Island and Mt. Rainier.
The deer are not shy. They'll stroll right up and munch away at the roses growing over the porch railing. They think this is their private reserve; they could care less about the bouquet you were going to gather and place in the gazebo for your morning coffee. The eagles have their own agenda. They come, they circle, they pause in the top of the "sentinal" tree next to the gazebo, then flap to an old tree across a small cove that wraps behind the cottage. As stars move across the night sky, you may be awakened by a fox yipping in the distance. It makes you want to open the windows...listen.
In nature's terms there is much to do in the vicinity--but if you're looking for city life, you will be disappointed. Everything here is about the water: the view, the air, the smells, the sounds. Walk down the stone steps to the beach, explore along the water. From the deck or gazebo, sit and watch sailboats and kayaks come and go. If you're an early riser, you might spot the oyster tug through the morning mist, hauling up the channel with its morning take. This is a place where you can just be. And you don't even have to wash the windows!
If you simply MUST do something, take the raft out and explore the coves. Fish, swim (brrrr). Explore islands. Nearby are popular golf courses at Lakeland Village close to Allyn.
In the evenings, the gazebo invites you to absorb the sunset across an evening sky. Build a bonfire in the firepit. In the fall, pick huckleberries. However you choose to spend your time here, we'd love to share this "double treasure" with you: a beautiful home in a gorgeous setting. Come when you can, all of nature will still be here. |
