Autumn in the City of Roses

I've discovered a new favorite website: http://www.travelportland.com. You specify what dates you are interested in, and it lists all of the wonderful events taking place here, from Art Festivals to Moon Viewing at the Chinese Garden and everything in between. This weekend, I am looking forward to "Art in the Pearl" - where over 125 regional art vendors come to the North Park Blocks to sell their art. My buddy Kimmy and I may meander on over sometime during Labor Day weekend :)

Another cool thing happening around here is the late summer FREE DAY at the Portland Japanese Garden. This takes place September 2nd, and I plan on going there after work. Wanna come?

I'm looking for a friend who wants to go to the Portland Corn MAiZE sometime during the month of October. The maze is on Sauvie Island, Portland's version of Spokane's Greenbluff (and probably a bit larger) where Beth and I picked berries a few months ago. From the picture, it looks like quite the challenge maneuvering thru it! The fall is spectacular here - I love EVERYTHING about it- the warm colors blanketing all the deciduous trees, the smell of fresh, cool, rainy air, cozy sweaters, making hearty, soothing batches of soup, making and drinking creamy chai, the feeling of newness - as the season is always associated w/ new beginnings, the smell of apples and pears cooking w/ brown sugar and oats in the oven, visiting any one of the Northwest's farming communities - who welcome the public into their storefronts, porches, and pasture land to share in reaping the harvest they've worked so hard for all year...and doing all of the above with close friends nearby. Strange that a season marked by dying and freezing can muster up such feelings of warmth, excitement, newness, and joy. It is the glimmer of wonder before the craziness of a consumer-driven holiday season falls upon us. I am happy to be living in this corner of our amazing planet this year, and especially, this glorious season.