Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Thank you, Portland.

There was a bit of a rainstorm last night, complete with howling wind and little branches lashing against the house. I heard something that I hadn't thought about: the wind rushing through trees. I didn't realize how much I worried that I'd miss it. I really love the sound of a good storm frothing through a bunch of trees, and I guess I thought I'd said goodbye to it when I moved out of the forest.

There's so many trees here, and I'm so grateful for them. Right now the colors are spectacular, and every morning walk to school is a leaf walk with an absolute riot of color. I'm not used to deciduous trees, I'm from the redwoods which don't change with the seasons, and sometimes not even with the centuries. But here, just as the days are getting shorter and I'm starting to miss the light, all the trees are dropping their leaves and there's light everywhere. New vistas are opening up, and there's glimpses into interesting spots everywhere.

Honestly, I know this sounds weird, but the things I was saddest about giving up when I moved were sticks and lichen. There, I said it. I really dig lichen, I find it super inspiring, and I'll pick up chunks and just be amazed at its tiny details every time. And yeah, I grew up playing with sticks covered in lichen and moss, and I just LIKE them, they're great for art projects, but really, I just like them. I'm also a huge fan of moss, I love the color and it's intricate lushness. Guess what? The abundance of trees in Portland means that every walk is full of lichen, moss, and covered sticks. I fucking love it.

Here's another great thing. I moved here three and. Half months ago, and I've only filled my gas tank twice, and still have a half a tank left. I used to have to fill my tank once or twice a week at the old place. 90% of my driving is 6-8 minutes away, and if I need to go downtown it's 15 minutes away. Downtown is pretty fabulous, I can get to Powell's books, Lush Cosmetics, and a nice spinning store for awesome rovings. That's your basic trifecta right there, although the addition of perfect pastry and tea would round it out pretty well.

I might start gathering up some lichen to dye wool with. I'd love to find some local wool, and dye it with things I've found in Portland. I have pokeberries growing outside my door, and there's a huge windfall of black walnuts in their dye-covered fruit coating down the road, and of course lichen. Hmmm.....I feel a project coming on, I'm going to start ninjaing those walnuts on the dog walk today.

Portland, I love you, ya gorgeous town.