Welcome to An English Woman in Skagit County, WA

The photograph above was taken on the approach to Kiket, a small island in the Salish Sea. It’s close to where we live. I first set foot on this island in 2020. My now husband and I had driven up from the Bay Area (San Francisco Bay in California) on a six day recce. He wanted to show me this corner of the Pacific North West, a place he knew well. Could we make our home here?

On that day, I saw my first great blue heron and all the hairs went up on the back of my neck. I’m home. The words landed in my mind, heart and body with an absolute clarity and sense of truth. Tears streamed down my face. I have lived in many places, loved them all, but never have I had the visceral sense of homecoming I felt in that moment. I have no idea what called me to this place.

Four years, a pandemic, a wedding and a lengthy immigration process later and I emigrated from a small estuarine village in West Wales in the UK, to the La Conner area in Skagit County, Washington State, USA to start a new life with my American husband at the edge of the San Juan islands.

For all of human history, people have migrated in search of resources, adventures, exploration, spoils, riches, opportunities, transformation, freedom from persecution, war or climate collapse. Three generations ago, the Irish branch of my family left another green isle headed across the Atlantic to Canada, to be a guest in another country.

In the spirit of being a guest, first in Wales, UK and now in the United States of America, I intend to use this space to share my explorations (inner and outer) of this new life.

My aim is to inspire, entertain and share reflections and questions that tickle my curiosity in the hope they draw readers who are similarly curious about the human experience , creativity and our relationships to beings, place, people and the unseen realms.

Who is Juliet Fay?

That’s a good question. I have been many things in my life but none of them capture who I experience myself to be nowadays. That is an ever changing thing. We like to know something about each other though don’t we? So in that spirit, I can share:-

I’m a writer and avid explorer of inner and outer places. I love to write, read, walk, contemplate nature and the mysteries of life and connect with good friends over simple food. Touch and felt sense are my twin compasses. I long to further dissolve the boundaries of judgement and separation that keep me from moving more gracefully with the flow of life and connecting more deeply with the aliveness around and within me.

I’ve had a wonderful life so far that has contained its fair share of loss. What I’ve called work has ranged all over the map. Rather than summarise it here, I invite you to subscribe as tales of my many work adventures get woven into my essays.

My greatest challenge and my deepest joys come from relationships. My husband is my inspiration and soul mate. To walk through this life side by side with someone who shares a passion for deeper exploration is a blessing beyond measure. And yet being in close relationship is something I have found difficult all my life.

I have three adult children who humble and teach me at every turn. As I witness the movie of their lives, I can’t quite believe I had a hand in their creation.

And where would I be without my circle of incredibly wise, funny and loving souls who bless me with their love and friendship? Along the way, I have had the privilege of meeting and being in the orbit of some incredible mentors and teachers. Some identified that way, many had no idea of the impact they had on my life. And a sizeable number of them were writers.

My Mum and my brother continually inspire me with their dry wit, courage and love in the face of life’s ups and downs. My Dad, long passed, continues to remind me of the indomitable spirit of human beings born into difficult circumstances. A journalist, he would have been tickled pink to read this publication by his daughter.

It strikes me, what Substack writers give attention to in their bios (and what they don’t) tells you everything you need to know about what matters to them.

What and when

An English Woman in Skagit County began late summer 2024 as a way to share updates of my new life for friends on both sides of the Atlantic. Family and former clients tuned in too!

Like a strong brassica transplant put into the fertile soil (in this case, of Substack) with just the right amount of sunlight, water and encouragement, it is growing steadily.

I publish roughly weekly about whatever draws my attention in my new life here on the edge of the Salish Sea. Thanks to

• I share a weekly reflection illustrated with my original photographs

• I’m intermittently active on Notes where I share more photographs and mini reflections of life here in the west of Skagit County, WA.

• Poems, Threads that pull me, occasional sketches and other features may be included as this publication evolves.

I’m happy you’re here. Subscribe to keep up with my latest adventures (body, mind and spirit) as a recent immigrant to the USA. You have the option to pledge now for when paid subscriptions get turned on which supports the creation of this soon to be reader supported publication.

To learn more about the tech platform that powers this publication, visit Substack.com.