NaPoWriMo--DAY TWENTY EIGHT

NaPoWriMo PROMPT: Today’s (optional) prompt is brought to us by the Emily Dickinson Museum. First, read this brief reminiscence:  Martha Dickinson Bianchi’s description of her aunt Emily’s cozy room, scented with hyacinths and a crackling stove, warmly recalls the setting decades later. Describe a bedroom from your past in a series of descriptive paragraphs or a poem. 

The Best Bedroom Ever

A tent on a sandy beach 

Of the Salmon River. 

Resting on cots. 

No need for covers. 

Night so warm, 

Rain fly is open. 

Screen keeps out bugs 

But lets in the stars. 

A breath of sage 

And evergreen 

Floats on the dark. 

Far from all sound 

But the grumble 

Of rolling water. 

A vision of the day 

Still sighs through the mind. 

NaPoWriMo--DAY TWENTY FOUR

NaPoWriMo PROMPT: Write about a particular fruit – your choice, but describe this fruit as closely as possible.

Maracuyà 

Back in Cusco Peru, after two weeks of trains,

Buses and taxis and boats and airplanes.
Now seeking only a meal and a rest.
Nothing outlandish, what would you suggest? 

We went with a friend to a door in a wall

Where pizza aromas sent out a call.
We soon had a dinner too good to behold,
And a pitcher of liquid as yellow as gold.

It was fruity and citric and mellow and sweet.

From the Amazon jungle, a wonderful treat.
It is called Maracuyà, a gold passion fruit.
We all loved the flavor, there was no dispute.

The size of an egg with a pineapple zing,

Black seeds; fleshy fruit to make the tongue sing.
Many things I’ve forgot from the trip, it is true,
But I’ll always recall the gold fruit of Peru.

VIRTUALLY VISITING THE VIRGIN ISLANDS

Virtual Paintout re-opened with a tour of the U.S. Virgin Islands.  Who doesn't love sky-blue water and white sand? Even better, the Google Street View people took their cameras down for strolls along the beach and rides on the water.  Plus no dealing with crowds, or traffic, or crabby customs agents groping through the underwear in one's luggage. Only thing I missed was the flavor of tropical fruit and the scent of freshly grilled seafood.

Anyway.  After spending a whole evening virtually wandering about I chose three locations to capture on watercolor paper. 

The first painting I did was of a location along a long sandy stretch looking out over the water with sailboats in the foreground and an incoming storm.  No worrying about rain ruining my painting though.  Another advantage of the virtual experience.

The second spot looked like a place to get food and rent beach stuff at an area called Rainbow Beach.  I loved the mango and lime color of the building and the fun idea of cruising around the island in that open off-road auto with the big tires.  

The last location I chose was from a water tour into a bay full of boats and ships.  I was able to stop the ride right where I wanted to set up my painting tools and get to work.  Nobody complained about me making them wait in the hot sun while I captured the scene.

These paintings are posted at Virtual Paintout just one down from the top here--Virtual Paintout U.S. Virgin Islands  and they can be seen with a more of my paintings for sale at my Etsy site.  

September's location is Amsterdam!

IRONSTONE

I've finished and posted a new watercolor at my Etsy Site - Watercolors by Leenie.

It is of an antique pitcher and basin I saw on a table in the ghost town of Custer, Idaho. 

Late in the 1800's Custer, Idaho was a booming gold mining town. When the gold played out it was abandoned. Today Custer has been restored and preserved for history. Some of the items in the buildings were left behind by former inhabitants. Others are antiques from that era.

 

By a sunny window decorated with lace curtains, this pitcher and basin reflected the light. I tried to capture the pearlescent colors and the shine of the surfaces. All the time I was painting I was thinking of pioneer women who brought fine china to display in their houses as they worked to call this rustic place home.

"Ironstone" is my 11x15 inch ORIGINAL WATERCOLOR painted on Arches 140cp watercolor paper with Winsor Newton and Daniel Smith professional pigments. This is a one of a kind work of art.

OREGON COAST September 2017 – Part 5 - The Final Chapter

Instead of returning across the Oregon desert I drove north up the coast. One of the attractions there is the wreck of the Peter Iredale. It was a steel sailing ship which was grounded on the sand at the mouth of the Columbia River during a storm in 1906.

During World War II Japanese submarines fired several shells at the wreck thinking it was part of Fort Stevens just up the coast. No damage was done to the ship or the fort and Fort Stevens didn’t return fire so as not to reveal their location.

After a few photos I continued on up the beach.

Fort Stevens was built during the Civil War 1864-1865. It was an active military post until 1947 and is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

The defensive walls around the fort give a great view of the shipping traffic moving between the Pacific Ocean and the Columbia River.

It was only a short drive to Astoria, Oregon where I made a stop at the Astoria Column, a 125 foot high tower on the hill overlooking the city and the river. It is painted with murals commemorating the history of the area.

I drove my little Subaru into the traffic crossing the Astoria-Megler Bridge and took the 4 mile trip across the river to Washington State.

The last time I visited this part of the country we missed Cape Disappointment Lighthouse. I made the steep hike up the trail to the lighthouse which has a view of the 6-mile-wide mouth of the river. The U.S. Coast Guard keeps watch there over an area known worldwide for rough sea conditions. Nearby is the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center which marks where The Corps of Discovery finally reached their goal.

Due to the Eagle Creek fire near the town of Cascade Locks, all traffic was closed on Interstate 84. So I had to take the winding two lane Highway 14 along the Washington side of the river.

The firefighters were trying to slow the progress of the wildfire but the whole river canyon was choked with smoke. The fire started September 5 and with the dry conditions and wind it continued to grow and spread. It wasn’t contained until November and by then had burned over 48 thousand acres.

It took over an hour of driving east to get clear of the smoke and ashes in the air.

I stopped by the Maryhill Museum of Art. It sits high above the river on the Washington side and was originally supposed to be a mansion where the entrepreneur Sam Hill and his wife would entertain guests.

Among other things, it houses a nice cross section of sculpture and art from European and United States artists plus a display of Native American art.

Three miles away on the bluff is a replica of Stonehenge. It was also commissioned by Sam Hill as a memorial to people who had died in World War II. This was one of the places to be during the 2017 Solar Eclipse.

Alas, I finally had to leave the green forests, orchards and vineyards of the coast and drive on east across the high deserts of Oregon and Idaho to return home. Total miles: 2,098.

OREGON COAST September 2017 – Part 4—Manzanita, Cannon Beach, Seaside

The watercolor artist retreat met at Manzanita, Oregon. Manzanita is a beach town located on The Pacific Coast Highway between Seaside and Tillamook.

It has a huge flat beach which has many moods depending on the weather and tides.

At the north end of the long beach is Neahkahnie Mountain. If you wander way up the beach from town you can even see where the ocean has worn a hole through the headland.

Here is my version of the arch. 

The town is a quiet place but with plenty going on in the way of food, arts and recreation.

If you sit on the hill just above the beach to sketch, you’ll find plenty of scenery plus a good measure of people watching.

 The sunsets are well worth waiting for.

Usually September on the Oregon coast is called “second summer” because of the mild sunny weather. But this time the wind was heavy and the seas rough on several days.

So we got opportunities for challenging seascapes.

I made a trip up the coast to visit Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock.

If you know where to look, you can see Tillamook Lighthouse built on a hunk of rock about a mile off shore. It has quite a history since the waves can be tumultuous and the fog heavy. Just building it cost several lives and many others followed trying to maintain the light to warn ships off the rocks. It was decommissioned in 1957.

It was a windy day when I visited Seaside South Beach to see if I could spot the gray whales reported in the water there.

These young Heermann’s gulls were hunkered down and waiting for better weather to go fishing. I didn’t see any whales.

So I went into town and had lunch at Norma’s. Great food.

If you’re in the mood for saltwater taffy, Seaside Candyman has 180 flavors. I picked out anything with chocolate plus some other kinds to share with the family at home.

For more of my watercolor paintings visit my Etsy Shop.  Or click on the Watercolors by Leenie button on the upper left of this blog page.

OREGON COAST September 2017 – Part 3—Barns, School, Beach

The final part of my drive to the Pacific took me past Newberg and on by scenic farms and vineyards then along Highway 6 through Tillamook State Forest. I stopped several times to take photos.

I later made a painting of this barn. I call this one “Transition.” The changes of time gives old barns so much character. Also you can see the transition from near to far by the shade of the hills in the background.

This huge building has a sign on it which says, “The Christmas Barn.”

Here is my portrait of the place. Both these paintings are for sale at my Etsy Site: Watercolors by Leenie. 

When I came through the forest into the valley near the town of Tillamook, Oregon I looked up the Maple Leaf School.

It has been restored from an empty building with blackberry bushes growing through the floors to what is now the Latimer Quilt and Textile Center.

In 1924-26 my father attended school there. This is a painting I made from old photos for him while he was still alive.

His mother saved most of his report cards. This is one from his second grade. He was a pretty good student!

Here is a photo of him in first grade. This was not at the Tillamook School but from farther north along the Oregon coast in Warrenton. Dad is third from the left in the middle row.

Now, on the stage where he may have sung in programs with his classmates, was a display of textile art.

And the room where my dad practiced arithmetic and spelling was filled with looms and spinning wheels.

That evening I reached my destination and was finally out of the heavy smoke from the surrounding wildfires. Air quality had gone from unhealthy to hazardous over Oregon as the huge fire just east of Portland spread causing evacuations of towns along the Columbia. Even with all the efforts of the fire fighters, the forests continued to burn for weeks. The month was dubbed, “Smoketember” by the Oregon news reporters.

OREGON COAST September 2017 - Part 1 - Waterfalls and Bridges

Once again I drove my trusty Subaru across Idaho and Oregon for a gathering of watercolor artists in September. I gave myself extra time so I could do some exploring of the Willamette Valley before I continued on to the ocean. This time I had my cell phone g.p.s. set up and ready to use to help me find my way. My first destination was Silver Falls State Park just east of Salem, Oregon.

To say the park is scenic is an understatement. Even in this summer of unusually dry weather the huge spruce and Douglas fir trees kept the campground shady and cool. After staying overnight there I took the Trail of Ten falls which is a little over seven miles long. Unfortunately the streams which fed the waterfalls were low. One of the first falls, Winter Falls, was nothing but a wet cliff.

Lower North Falls dropped 30 feet and was amazing even in September.

Double Falls is 178 feet high.

Middle North Falls was much dryer than shown in the brochure photos but was still worth the hike.

This is only the upper part of the cascade and there’s a trail behind it so you can stand and look through a curtain of tumbling water.

I got caught up in taking photos and ran out of time so I only saw seven of the ten falls before taking a shortcut back to my car.

Early the next morning I did a tour of the covered bridges of Linn County while the light was still at a low angle. Oregon is said to have 51 covered bridges. They were built by early pioneers with covers to protect their floors from the rainy weather.

I drove through rustic farm country and came first to Shimanek Bridge. It’s the only red bridge along the route.

It is also known for its gothic louvered windows.

Hannah Bridge was very picturesque in the morning sun.

This is Larwood Bridge. It was built in 1939 over Roaring River. Not so roaring in late summer. I could almost walk across the stream on the exposed stones.

Hoffman Bridge was scheduled for restoration and Gilkey Bridge was closed and off its base while construction workers were giving it a face lift.

Even though the weather was sunny the skies were hazy and full of smoke. There were forest fires to the south in the Three Sisters Wilderness and another wildfire burned to the north along the Columbia River just upstream from Portland.

To add to the smoke, farmers were torching their grass-seed fields after harvest to clean them of disease and weeds. Eastern Oregon is well known for its soggy, mossy wet weather but this wasn’t my experience this trip.