autumn essay

This morning we had a visit from the leaf people, and I got to thinking about what it is that I love about fall.

It's the crisp air, mornings and evenings. The icy cold east wind blowing down the Gorge and stirring up mini tornadoes of dry leaves in the street, making the dogs jump and snap at them with instant friskiness. The tangy aroma of wood smoke wafting from chimneys makes me nostalgic for my childhood and the smell of great big leaf piles burning in the streets.

But I think my favorite thing about fall is the trees. The sheer variety of color and shape and size is staggering. Portland has a thing for trees. Big old specimens line our streets: elms, oaks, poplars, walnuts, chestnuts, cedars and maples so large it would take three people holding hands to circumnavigate their massive trunks.

On my daily walks, I marvel at how different each tree's timetable is...the giant maples that line one street by my house turn color all at once and form a golden tunnel that stretches for three-quarters of a mile, yet two oak trees planted side by side couldn't be more different. One drops its leaves over a period of a week or two, and the other tree stubbornly hangs on all winter, only letting go when the new buds appear in the spring to push them off.

(photo borrowed from this site)

I love the ginko tree that I pass daily on my morning walks with the pups. All the leaves turn at once - seemingly overnight, then one day they all drop simultaneously, as if on cue from Mother Nature herself, and form a brilliant golden halo on the grass underneath.

(photo by Ken Lomax)

I think my favorite one of all is the japanese maple next to our house. Every year it turns three distinct colors: red, bronzy green and orange, putting on a crazy show until those gorge winds hit and blast off all the leaves in one fell swoop. Mother Nature is such a floozy!

I was tired of that kitchen anyway

The dishwasher blew a seal. Hot soapy water all over the floor.

It buckled the Pergo until it looked like this:

It ruined the subfloor and started growing mold under the cabinet.

Which had to come out to be repaired, but to take out the cabinet, the countertop had to be removed, which ruined the tile, and...and...and

I'm beginning to think I live in the house that Jack built.

green saturday

Can't we just all get along?

not exactly wordless wednesday: green

Jodi over at the Women's Colony has issued a photo challenge featuring the color green. Here are a few of mine...

Can you tell that green is my favorite color?

(It's a good thing I live in Oregon)

Now head on over and check out more

verdurous leafiness at the Colony!

bwaaahhhaha!

All photos were taken October 30, 2009 at Lonesomeville in Portland, Oregon.

Check out the story and their wonderful pottery at their website: Lonesomeville.com

A happy, spooky Halloween from Camp Cactus!

last thursday in october

On the last Thursday of the month in Portland, the galleries on Alberta Street stay open late for a monthly Art Walk. It seems like every town or city with artists now hosts a "First Thursday" or "Second Wednesday" event, where galleries stay open late to showcase new shows, and in some places, the art spills out onto the streets with the result that the ensuing sideshows are almost as interesting than the events themselves. This is especially true here in Portland, where artists and performers set up shop along the sidewalks teeming with people: gallery-hopping alt-yuppies (alternative types with jobs), burrito aficionados, stilt walkers, clowns on bikes, dogs, babies in strollers, and people watchers.

This month's art walk featured a Day of the Dead procession (in the rain, of course) to celebrate el Dia d los Muertos.

(photo by Matt Brown)

All in all, it was a very good night for burritos.

wordless wednesday no. 16