Cora's Story

Dale and I purchased 10 acres of abused and neglected land on Whidbey Island. The lay of the land is beautiful, the location is quiet yet accessible - only minutes from the ferry. But the condition is a nightmare! There is a owner-built house (circa 1970) that's been abandoned since about 1997. The roof has been leaking that entire time. And then there's the land itself. The previous owners logged it about 3 years ago. They took nearly all the huge old trees and left the slash and stumps. Lots of Douglas Fir starts have been holding there own unattended - which is nice. But we have quite a bit more biomass in the form of Himalayan blackberry bramble and thistle.

Dale's cousin from Sicily suggested a name for our land: Kore. Kore is one of the names for Persephone, who was the daughter of Demeter. Kore was a maiden - picking flowers in Enna - (Dale's ancestral home!) when she was abducted by Hades. The cycle of life on earth ceased while Demeter grieved and searched for her. Finally Zeus forced Hades to relinquish her for half of of each year. Bounty returns to the Earth when Persephone rejoins her mother. We anglicized the name to Cora. My mother's mother was named Cora. So this is a name that gives us courage and a larger perspective on the project we've take on.