Further…further yet… ascending numbers on an assortment of gateposts and broken signs lead me on…a bit further.  Right to the end of the road.  The end of a side road off a side road off a rural road.  A penetration deep into the ur-natural South End.

Salt Spring Island is equipped with two Ends.  Heads or tails?  Ying or yang?  The North End has the village with grocery stores, liquor stores, full-on hardware and touristy stores.  High-income housing, low-income housing, gyms, cinema, golf course, you’ve got it–they are all part of the North End.  Most people on the island are North Enders, which can often mean normal.  South Enders on the other hand…well, “bucolic” is one way to say it.  “Hippies” has been used.  With very few of the usual amenities to distract them, they tend to live a bit closer to the earth.  They’ve even been seen to worship it a bit.  I mean, I’m pretty sure the majority of on-island grass-fed solstice circle dances are venued in the South End. […]

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