Sauvie Island

The growing season is not here yet.  Monday I took the dog and drove into the first 75 degree day of the year on a little vision quest.  My journey led me to Sauvie Island to take a mellow and highly enjoyable walk along the Wapato Greenway.

Sauvie Island is situated just north and west of Portland in the Columbia River.  If you’ve never been, this is an agricultural oasis worth seeing.  All summer you can harvest you-pick berries, peaches, and apples, or purchase other produce from several market locations on the island.  In the fall, heaps of Portlanders turn out to frolic (only sometimes drunkenly) through the Corn Maze or pick up pumpkins and squash for Halloween festivites.  I went there looking for some signs of spring on a beautiful day.

I was not disappointed.  I’ll go back once summer is in full force and get blackberries and blueberries by the pound.  My next weekend adventure is going to be some time spent at the Scappoose Bay Paddling Center learning how to kayak.  Well worth it with so many gorgeous estuary systems to explore in the area. 

There’s something particularly satisfying about the first few days of sunshine in the Pacific Northwest.  Everyone is extra super nice to one another just because we’re all so thrilled that it’s not raining.  That it’s actually warm.  This is not to bemoan the rain, it’s part of what makes everything so green and lush and gorgeous.  But let’s just say those first couple of days of nice weather are celebrated with a singular relief and anticipation for the summer to come.  The dog is having it, and so am I.

~ by Hillory on April 11, 2009.