Summer is over, but not the memories

The warm afternoons of a delicious Autumn are with us, and it reminds me of our long, luxurious summer. Let me recap a few things.

Remember how I mentioned that we attended the Chief’s Event in Salem after one of our weekends at Ice Cap Campground? It was a big, well-attended event. Here are a few photos:

Kellen, their partner Cameron, and their roommate, Dane, were all there too. Kellen wanted to get their photo ID, and registered tribal members can upgrade from paper to a plastic photo tribal ID at these annual events. So I was in line at the back of the hall you see above, chatting with Kellen while they waited their turn, when, apparently, I was honored in front of ALL THESE PEOPLE by my local tribal group.

With all the echoing and chatter inside the large hall, despite the fact that they had microphones at the front, it all came through as garble and hiss at the back. I missed it completely.

I decided to check in with Pedro and say hi because I had been gone a long time. I left Kellen in line, and wandered back to my table and Pedro asked if I had heard them honor me up front, with the Chief, and Deputy Chief, and the At-Large Councilors and all the other representatives from the Nation. “Uhhh…no. Honor me for what?” I went over to the Mt. Hood Cherokees table and spotted our Council Chair, who said she knew I was there that day, and assumed that since I didn’t walk up to the front, I must be too shy or humble to want to appear in front of all those people.

Ha! Me! I love the spotlight. I crave attention and fame. They had gifts, they had prepared a message of thanks, for all my work on the Talking Leaves newsletter for the past 12 years. I have just retired from that volunteer position and they wanted to publicly thank me. I was oblivious to it all, yapping away in the back of the hall with Kellen. My disappointment was magnified because that day I had been hoping someone in my group would make an announcement to the huge gathering, in search of new people to work on the newsletter, but no one did. If I had been handed a microphone, I would have jumped at the chance to network and advertise. I am still disappointed over it. Ah well, I am so touched and honored by my lovely and generous group, and also embarrassed of myself.

A month later, we had more than a cooking demonstration at our next meeting. Chef Barton’s insistence on making food with love and intention, and involving children so that they learn, was a real culture experience. We took turns bashing the nuts from their shells, and griding them in molcajetes, then after she cooked it all for us, we tasted the soup.

It was summertime, after all, which necessitates water sports. We were happy to discover last year that the boys actually like to kayak, so we went down to Cook Park, where the city of Tigard rents kayaks to the public.

Blogging has brought special people into my life, which reinforces my opinion that blog communities are real communities, and not just pseudo-relationships. Dede Montgomery is a local writer and Portland-area Native. It’s fun to read her stories about the history of our area, and to talk to her about her experiences living here. Bonus: a tip about where to go swimming on the Willamette River.

Dede and I met up just to spend time together and get to know each other a little better. She lives somewhat close to us, and recommended a park that she loves that I had never visited. It’s on the river, and she showed me her favourite swimming spot. She told me this ahead of time, so I was prepared. We both took advantage of the moment, and swam for a while. There is no swim I love better than swimming in a river. I learned to swim in a river, and most of the swimming I have done in my entire life has been in rivers.

Two days later, Pedro and I packed a dinner and went out to the same beach after he got off work. We ate from a cooler out on the beach. The temperature was in the 90s that day, and when we were sated, we jumped in and swam around. It was amazing. We both thanked Dede in our minds for her generosity in sharing this spot to swim in peace. We had the spot completely to ourselves in the middle of a city, on a super hot summer night. What a gift.

Speaking of the river, our next Cherokee meeting is going to be a volunteer day with Willamette River Keepers. If you live around here, go to their website and choose a location and get involved with the Great Willamette Cleanup! It will be October 10th and there are lots of locations to go, in communities all along the river. Some are from the water, so you’ll need your own kayak, and some are along the shore.

Though I have worked hard to break my Arts habit (remember that habit that I’ve had for years, where I am unable to say ‘no’ to invitations to purchase tickets to performances?), we still end up seeing shows now and then. I joined some of my Cherokee sisters to see the final performance of Newsies! It was a great show. I love every show, though, so make of that what you will .

The reason we are trying to cut down our arts consumption is because our economy is not as sure as it was pre-Dump administration. I have not griped about that cursed vile being lately, because I’m trying to ignore him. That does not mean his wicked fingers aren’t ruining our lives in lots of special ways. Instead of the Midas Touch, that guy has the Shit Touch, turning everything to feces. I am sorry to you, rest of the world. I am sorry we are responsible for this man’s power, and I hope we can someday make it up to you somehow.

Some kids were making money by washing cars at the Safeway, so I pulled in and asked them to wash mine. They were busy, and said it would be 30 minutes. I left the car there, and walked over to the sports bar to enjoy the warm day and a hazy IPA.

Jupyter is retained within house walls most of the time. Twice now, I have caught her looking through the windows, eyes locked with another cat. It’s a beautiful cat. They seem interested in each other, curious, not challenged or threatening. I hope he comes to visit her when she’s outside in her catio. Then they could at least smell each other and say hello in cat language.

There’s our pretty little Jupyter in the catio above. Man, I love that cat. But I am really showing how our Birch tree drops seeds this time of year. I try to keep the deck cleaned up (with delusions of keeping seeds out of the inside of the house), but it’s impossible when it snows like this.

Here’s a visitor who dropped by my backyard office to say hi. I have never seen this one before, and just so we were clear, I invited it to return to the great outdoors. I scooped it up and dropped it onto a rose plant. I hope we can still be friends.

Other news: Kellen is now a homeowner!! I’ll show pics soon. I’m heading to Annapolis to teach in a few days. We have two concerts coming up. I just reserved a night’s stay for Pedro and me in a lighthouse keeper’s home for a Christmas treat, and bought us tickets to Hawaii for my birthday in January! I have been hunting giant crows across Portland and will soon post a crow post, like the Coraline Cats one I did in 2024. I hope you are well. I hope you are protecting yourself from the down days by remembering to notice the up days. Life is good and so are we. ❤