“If once you have slept on an island
You’ll never be quite the same”
… poetic words made famous by Rachel Lyman Field nearly 100 years ago
aptly describe the magic that overcomes so many after spending time on an island.
As a native and former year-round resident of Martha’s Vineyard, I well understand this undefinable sentiment that can’t be bottled or sold. Just riding over on the ferry or a private boat, you know life will be different: the world slows down, and critical factors soften, things smell better, the sky seems bluer. There’s an unspoken camaraderie among those on an island, whether they are known to you or not, like the wry smile when sharing that secret handshake. Island services are often lacking or non-existent, and perhaps therein lies the magic. One comes to appreciate and often revere the natural forces beyond your control, like surf pounding the rocky shores, the wind whistling in the tall spruces, or the night sky that delivers more stars and planets than you ever imagined.
“Oh! you won’t know why and you can’t say how
Such a change upon you came,
But once you have slept on an island,
You’ll never be quite the same.”
Rachel Field wrote those eloquent, knowing words, about her visits to nearby Sutton Island, the location of Talley House (sold by Story Litchfield in June 2019), and she surely understood.
Faraway | Greening Island, Southwest Harbor, Maine | $6,600,000
A family compound on an island off the coast of Maine offering a wonderful shingle cottage, captivating mountain and ocean views, privacy, solitude, a touch of magic and life at your very own pace, known as “Faraway”.
For more information about this listing, or other island listings in the Mount Desert Island and Downeast areas, please contact Story Litchfield in our Northeast Harbor office, 207-276-3840.
