oregon spring

The old saying goes:

March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.

Going out like a lamb is not looking so good right now…

Let's just say I'm pretty sure nobody around here is in a big hurry to see the new film Noah.

life is good!

The weather has been beautiful here. The sun is shining, everyone is smiling, and spring is unfurling right right before my eyes. Yes, life is very good. 

the rites of spring

I know spring officially began a week or so ago, but up here in the Pacific Northwest, it ain't really spring 'till the sun comes out and the forecast looks like this:

there are other signs, too:

the Knuckleheads basking in the sun like the matched bookends that they are,

The plum trees are in full bloom,

I weeded the raised vegetable bed and found the biggest carrot I've ever seen

(here's another shot just for scale)

and the most important sign of spring? 

Walking around barefoot all afternoon!

Here's wishing everyone a warm and sunny spring, wherever you are!

one fine day

One fine day, the sun was shining and the wind was singing.
I think spring might actually come soon!

spring has sprung!

The other day, while rooting through boxes of old photos looking for vintage pictures from high school to post for my facebook friends, I came across this:


It's a vintage sheaf of xeroxed calligraphy from back in the old days, when Dave and I worked with a ragtag bunch of our compadres at a hole in the wall print shop in San Francisco, owned by Dave's former brother in law.

This portfolio of sorts belongs to an old and dear friend of mine who has since gone on to become a successful graphic designer and artist.

These were some of her first efforts at calligraphy and design for customers at the shop, and I think they have a certain sweetness and innocence to them...these days any 3rd grader can put together a pretty professional looking flyer for a grocery store on their home computer, but back then, setting type was an expensive proposition, so hand lettering was certainly a cheaper and more creative option.

But I think my favorite sample in the lot was a hand lettered original poem that I've never forgotten all these years later. It's really the perfect poem for today, the first day of spring:

I sat seeking inspiration

and someone must have told

because the day put on a show for me

at first nearly deafening me with

the sudden outcry of watercolor

(still dripping in its newness)

then its perfume brushed me,

weaving around knees

slithering through toes

as I inhaled a breath of song

(and I must say it did tempt me)

but

I think it was the blue flavor

of the wind juice,

harmonious on my tongue

that made me decide

to eat spring.

~

Diane Fassler, 1975

cheers!

has anybody seen my mojo?

Gah! I'm stuck.

All of my creative channels are tuned to picture only at the moment, and I can't seem to write a coherent sentence to save my life.

So hang on to your hats and please bear with me while I navigate these class-5 rapids of inspiration. And in the meantime, maybe I'll just post pretty pictures for awhile, if that's okay with you...

the new hummers

Our friends up at Green Dog have been watching this hummingbird nest in the courtyard in front of their store for weeks now. The last time we checked in, there were two impossibly teeny tiny eggs...

now the babies are so big they can barely move in there!

Mama's sure got her hands full keeping them fed. She flies in every ten minutes or so with a meal for them. 

And to think I thought human motherhood was exhausting!

more signs of spring

Ever get up in the morning and feel like you've been swimming all night in a vat of this stuff?

The last few days, as the temperature has crept up and awakened the trees from their long winter's nap to bloom like there's no tomorrow,  I've been stumbling out of bed, barely able to breathe without first dislodging vast quantities of green goo from my nose and lungs. 


Poor Dave's been lying awake at night listening to me snore even with these things on.

 Sometimes I even wake myself up. The funny thing is, this allergy problem has kinda crept up on me. I don't remember ever having allergies before moving to Oregon almost 20 years ago, and they've only recently become noticeable. Last spring I brought in a bouquet of Daphne blossoms from the front yard, and after sneezing about 100 times in less than an hour, realized that maybe those sweetly scented flowers were the cause. This spring I'm so congested I can't even smell the damn thing. 


If things keep escalating like they have been, I'm gonna consider joining Costco again so I can buy Kleenex in bulk.
Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to blow go.

drab gothic

Every Wednesday evening, Carmi Levy over at Written Inc. posts a Thematic Photographic theme, and invites everyone to join in. This week's theme is...drab. If it's dimly lit, sad-looking, morose-feeling or poignantly-toned, he's hoping you'll post it to your blog. 

 After looking through my photo library I came to realize that living in a place where it's rainy, dark, cold and, well, drab for much of the year, I'm drawn to photograph images that are anything but drab.

So for the past few days, I've gone looking for drab in my everyday life, and it's not exactly in short supply around here, so I didn't have to go far.

I call this one Drab Gothic...I almost felt like I was doomed to wander the moors, calling out to my beloved.  It's actually just up the hill from my house. So, even though it looks dramatically drab enough to be Wuthering Heights, it's only March in Oregon.  

signs of spring

You know it's coming. There are telltale signs:

Number one: The brilliant sun pouring in through every window illuminates dust bunnies multiplying in all the corners of the house

Number two: The buds on the trees are about to burst into bloom at any moment

Number three: Mosses glowing an unearthly shade of green coat every rock in sight

Number four: You trip over dogs basking in the sun on your lawn

Number five: Leprechauns appear in your kitchen

Number six: Spring taps you on the shoulder and says: "I'm here!"

happy spring!