Time for a Breath of Fresh Air

Note:  Brown type indicates transcriptions of my journal notes with very slight editing ...

Sept. 19:  Two night ago I tried to grab the colors of rain clouds and the setting sun ... fresh vibrant color, not smothered in a smoke screen.  Today a turkey vulture soared against blue sky -- music for my soul.  The Oregon fires aren't over yet, but they have quieted and everyday the news is better.  We even had some rain. 

When I blogged on October 8 I had an advanced case of cabin fever.  Wildfire smoke had kept us home for over a month.  We had brief stretches with decent air quality when the air moved in from the Pacific, but to the north, south, and west wildfires still kept us smoky.    

Cool, damp and a light haze of smoke hangs in Cooper Creek’s canyon.  Long rays of sun slip through tall firs as the sun slips over the far ridge

 

Real relief finally came October 15 – our first day back out sniffing the breezes and seeing what nature had to offer us.  As you can see from my sketchbook painting, some smoke still hung in the air, but in a tolerable amount.  It actually was quite beautiful. 

There is a stillness in the air and the quiet of a warm fall day waiting for fall’s bluster.  Tall dry grasses and dried Queen Anne’s lace sparkle with shimmering strands of spider silk.  Strands float past, slow and easy, drifting on the barely moving air.

 

Sounds come individually with pauses inbetween – a noisy fly ... one fish rising .... far, far off a woodpecker pounding  ... a California quail.  Mostly stillness.  Sitting here on the bank of the pond feels so ­good! 

 

The next day found us out exploring nearby turf again.  We spent the afternoon at nearby Mildred Knaipe County Park.  It was a lovely fall day tucked between the heat of summer and the wetness of our Oregon winter.  I could sit on the ground and enjoy every moment.

While I’m sketching Dale stalking dragonflies, one lands near me – a striped meadowhawk.  Sitting on the ground I’m at eye level with the hundreds of strands of gossamer, floating eye level in the barely moving air, each shimmering, backlit by the sun.

 

I confess my next page was drawn after I got home.  I was still hanging onto the flavor of the day.  I photographed the hawthorn knowing I wanted to draw it at home, and the fawn is drawn from the photo Dale took when the fawn paused to watch me.

We were just passing the machinery shed, heading for what is left of Mildred’s old apple orchard, when a doe came by on the other side of the shed.  She, too, was heading for the orchard.  Her fawn trailed her, paused with uncertainty, watching me.

 

Big treat on the way home!  Just a glimpse – stubby tail / pointed ears .... a young bobcat scampered across the road.  It’s usually 2-3 years between sightings, and all too often sighting are as brief as this.

 

I’m sure our day at Mildred Knaipe County Park felt especially good because we had been cooped up for so long.  Little did I realize it was just the beginning of a lovely run of getting outside.  Two days later we were at a different park, one to which we returned for 18 days in a row!  More on that in the next blog.