Memorial Day 2021
A Memorial Day like no other. How nature can teach us something about emerging from a pandemic.
On Taking an Autumn Walk and Talking with Women
There’s just something about a Fall day that calls to the spirit to “come outside and breathe.” The withering heat of summer is long gone and the rain, having recently begun in earnest, has taken a rest for a day or two. So, I go for a walk, intending a short one,...
On Being a Goose in Winter
We got shot at the other day. That is, the geese were the target and I was there. I'm still alive to tell the story but, the geese? Maybe not. I arose early, long before the sun, to take my camera to a spot I'd seen some months before. A beautiful landscape...
The Great Pumpkin Fever
Dear Linus: I know where The Great Pumpkin lives. And you can find him here every Autumn. The thing is, though, you have to know the secret. All year round, Sauvie Island is many things to many people. But in Autumn, Sauvie is pumpkin...
Ode to My Old Canoe
I sold my old canoe a few weeks ago. It was unceremoniously hoisted atop the new family's pickup, money placed in my hand and, with the sound of gravel crunched by tires, off they went. With my old canoe. I'm happy and sad at the same time. Happy that my...
Row, Row, Row Your Boat: Confessions of a Nautical Romantic
OMG! (Is that too tween a thing to say when you get to experience something so exceptional and exciting, it feels like you're falling in love?) Okay, some background. Thirty years ago, I bought a red Old Town canoe. It's still in my yard. A 17-foot Tripper,...
The Houseboat in Winter
People who hang around the river in summertime -- swimming, boating, fishing, floating -- know something about what houseboaters do in summer. We do all of those things and more. But, what happens when the sun lowers in the sky, the temperatures plummet, and all the...
A Christmas Ship Can Really Make You Smile
"What's the 60 for?" we all yelled as the skippers passed so close to our deck we could see them sipping coffee inside their cabins. "It's the sixtieth anniversary of the Christmas Ships!" they called back. The annual parade has come a long way from that one...
Thirty Years is a Long Time to Dream…
... of waking up and slipping your boat into the water right from your dock. ... of letting go of city sounds, traffic, and asphalt. ... of looking out your living room window to a view that makes your heart sing every time you open your eyes. Thirty...
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