Reflections on Life in the San Juan Islands is a series of essays on island living in the Pacific Northwest. They are wistful, introspective and laugh-out-loud funny. Admirers of The New York Times' Verlyn Klinkenborg will find a kindred voice in Kalbert's natural instinct for the telling detail. A winter day begins with "the wind howls down the chimney like a hungry cat." A summer filled with spotted fawns, plate sized crabs, boating and flying begins when "long days have grown into dazzling stalks of sunlight." The Trumpeter swans that arrive each November are a gentle reminder that to all things there is a time and a season. Reflections on Life in the San Juan Islands is a must read for those who want a glimpse of island life from the inside.