the glory of the earth at rest

 

I wish I had taken a picture of the tree when all the leaves were still clinging to the branches.  Blanketing the ground, though, they're just as glorious.

We give thanks to the Earth and to Opa: Master Gardener Extraordinaire.

where the columbia meets the pacific

Last weekend we took a little family day and headed out to Astoria on the Oregon Coast.  We'd never really explored this town before.  As usual, we had some letterbox clues to guide us to some fantastic locales.

At 600 feet above sea level, Coxcomb Hill is Astoria's highest point.  It has some really amazing views and is home to the Astoria Column.

"The story behind the Column, its deterioration and rescue by the Friends of Astoria Column, rivals the history it depicts." (from AstoriaColumn.org)

In addition to the history lessons and the awe inspiring views available here, one can purchase these fun balsa wood gliders for $1 at the gift shop and throw them off the top of the tower or down the grassy hill.

The woman at the shop said this now commonplace tourist activity began as a fundraiser and also as a way to keep people from throwing other things off of the tower... like bowling balls.   (Apparently, before the renovations and prior to the ground around the tower being cemented, the locals used to do this to see how far the balls would imbed themselves into the earth.)

We had a blast with just our little gliders for a couple of hours.

After a beautiful morning at the tower we crossed the Columbia from Oregon to Washington on the Astoria-Megler Bridge (the longest continuous-truss bridge in North America).  After driving up Hwy 101 we spent the rest of our afternoon at Cape Disappointment State Park.

 

The coast of Washington might just rival that of our home state.

It was an on-again, off-again, overcast, glorious day.

autumn garland

As in year's past, we've been collecting all the gorgeous colors of Autumn on our occasional nature walks.  We dipped our leaves in our crock pot of bees wax and, this time around, strung them together to display all their glory.

Oma and Opa's mantel was the perfect exhibition ground.

harvest festival

Yet another year of our lovely Harvest Festival.  A story in pictures...

The Harvest Feast (brought indoors for fear of rain).

Come said the wind to the leaves one day

Come o'er the meadows and we will play

Put on your dresses of scarlet and gold

For summer is gone and the days grow cold

Blessings on your pumpkins dear friends.  May Autumn find you all well.

leach botanical garden

We feel really lucky to be living in Portland.  I'm a transplant here and have enjoyed this city for just over a decade while Ryan has been in or around the area for most of his life.  Amazingly, we keep discovering little gems tucked away in every corner.  The metro area doesn't seem that large but somehow, I still think it's got a lot of secrets to share.  Just this weekend we discovered (only 12 minutes from our house!) Leach Botanical Garden while we were out searching for a letterbox.  This beautiful, 17 acre estate was donated to the city of Portland by John and Lilla Leach.  The Leachs - pioneers, explorers, botanists, artists and scientists extraordinaire - left over 2,000 species of plants here.  Even in late autumn, the gardens are a sight to see and a fun place to explore.

maple leaf crowns

Autumn has brought with it the amazing hues of this season and, here in Portland, the maple trees offer up the most extraordinary palette of technicolor leaves.  Every day when I pick Naiya up from school, the teachers seem to have made some child or other one of these beautiful crowns.  Hers came a few days ago just when I had collected leaves to put together a little how-to to share with all of you.  Aren't they gorgeous?  They're a little bit like the daisy chains of Summer in that they require no special tools or materials other than that of which they are made.

Simply break off the stems from the fallen leaves and overlap a third of one with about a third of another.

Carefully thread the stem through to sort of staple the two leaves together.



 

Lay an additional leaf and thread another stem...

Then another...

...until the band fits your child's head. 

Connect the final leaf to the first (with the stems either hidden inside or displayed out) and let your Autumn Princess or Prince enjoy her/his seasonal coronet.

fruit loop

We try to make it most years to the Fruit Loop out by Hood River in the Columbia River Gorge.  It's another of our days of wholesome family fun on a 35-mile, scenic drive through a valley of orchards, forests, farmlands, and friendly communities. We stop at a few farms to sample delicious fruits and take our favorites home and also take part in some of the fun family activities hosted at Fruit Loop locations.
Our favorite stop is Rasmussen's where Naiya always loves the corn maze and gets a kick out of Pumpkin Funland.  This year it had a London Olympics theme.

 

a little goofy...

...but a lot of fun.

Our second stop was a new one this year. At Draper Girls Country Farm we got some delicious apples to add to the tasty pears we had picked up at Rasmussen and enjoyed the goats, the swing and a walk through the cornfield and orchards.

Our last stop on the Loop was also an old favorite because of the grand fort/castle structure that we so enjoy there.  Kiyokawa Family Orchards also has a delicious and extensive apple and pear selection. 

A few years ago we had taken this ridiculous photo of Ryan and Naiya playing in the super cool castle. 

Sometimes I have a strange wish to recreate goofy moments so I made them pose there again this time around. 

 It was an absolutely gorgeous day and, I'm not exactly sure why, but it was also one of the best family outings we have ever had.