the bonnie lure

8.28.2015


It took just one whiff of the air at Bonnie Lure to transport me instantly back to childhood and the hill in Washington State where my Dad built our house in the '70s.  Something about the trees, the clearings, the grass, and the way the sun was coming through it all was a magical reminder of where I grew up.  Isn't it strange ~ and wonderful ~ how a scent can take us back so quickly to times and places in our past? 

This place, however, is a part of my husband's childhood, a place he used to fish and hike with his father, brothers, and friends.  He led Thor and I through a what seemed to me a labyrinth of trails and trees to get to where Eagle Creek meets the Clackamas River. The shore was very rocky, but the view was great, the sound sublime.  

On the trail back, I noticed a bit of fall color starting to appear in the trees, and even some golden fallen leaves on the ground already.  Are you ready for fall?  Rain is in the forecast here in Portland for the next several days, and that could not make me happier.  I want to take a walk in the pouring rain, listen to it rushing down the gutters and drainpipes, and cozy up in an afghan and read all weekend.  

Read:  I just finished book 2 of the Elena Ferrante Neapolitan novels at the recommendation of my sister.  So good.  I can't wait to read book 3, but last night I started My Struggle by Karl Ove Knausgaard.  So, first things first.  What are you reading? 


the slow exhibit

8.25.2015


I can't pretend I'm still into summer.  It's just too dry, and hot, and brown.  We are still enjoying the tomatoes, conversations on the patio in the evenings, nightly serenades from the crickets, and being barefoot most of the time, but we are at that point in summer where things just look spent, like they are giving up and are as tired of summer as I am.  I long for a change in activities.  I long for the change in music, reading, thoughts and ideas that seem to come with fall.  I long for cool air and deep greens to return; for fog and mist and rain and bare branches.  But, until then, we will soak up the warmth we will surely dream of in winter, and watch with wonder nature's slow exhibit of changing colors, textures, and light.

Saturday morning we set out with no clear travel plan other than heading in the general direction of the Clackamas River.  Wildfires in Washington and Oregon have been raging and we definitely felt the effects over the weekend.  A deep orange sun rose, filtered through the smoky sky, giving everything an other-wordly hazy golden glow.  There weren't many other people out on the old National Forest road we took, and it was nice to feel so alone out there after seeing crowds everywhere all summer.  We stopped along the Clackamas, picnicked next to the Breitenbush, and jumped into the Santiam at Niagara (well, one of us did).  

The end of August always feels like a limbo time.  School hasn't started just yet but is looming,  the weather hasn't turned but every once in a while you feel a fall chill, the garden is still giving but the plants are starting to lie down, weary from their season of giving.  Despite the desire for a quick change in the state of things, I'm going to appreciate this time of slow change and try not to overlook the beauty in this natural process, nor wish it away too quickly, for soon enough another season is just around the corner, and anticipation and longing only make it that much sweeter.

 “I love borders. August is the border between summer and autumn; it is the most beautiful month I know. Twilight is the border between day and night, and the shore is the border between sea and land. The border is longing; when both have fallen in love but still haven’t said anything. The border is to be on the way. It is the way that is the most important thing.” - Tove Jansson


by mlekoshi