Putting the Season Away
Hello and happy October!
I’m writing to you from the road this month. Actually, I’m drafting this letter from the back of my car, where I’m cocooned under a hefty nest of blankets, with the incense of campfire smoke still lingering on my sweater.
My son and I took a rather impromptu road trip this week in search of big trees and big views. So far, it’s been quite successful.
I don’t know what the weather has been like where you are (I know it’s been pretty wild for a lot of people lately), but this year, more than most, the fall equinox felt like such a distinct shift out of summer. Or perhaps I was just paying closer attention.
All of a sudden, the floorboards were cold in the morning, and I went digging for my thick-knit socks. We had a wonderfully warm late foray with Summer, and then, on September 21st, it was as if she just stood up from the table, dusted the crumbs from her lap, and walked away.
She left tomatoes on the vine and squash in the field, and now here we are, scrambling to put the season away before Winter finds his seat.
I kind of love fall for just this reason. It is, of course, its own glorious season, but like spring, it is transitory. We are on our way to the long dark. We’re slowly remembering what the cold feels like, what to do on rainy days, how high we can pile the wheelbarrow with wood for the stove.
It’s a nice season for remembering.
All the while, we are putting up the fruits of the season, making good on all the promises we made in spring, when our plans were just seeds.
It is, also, a nice season for gratitude.
•IN THE STUDIO•
I've been working on some fun projects behind the scenes that are almost ready to share.
We are organizing the 3rd annual Fall GOODIES MARKET for December; I'll be launching a little Tattoo Flash sheet in collaboration with the dreamy Jaiden Dokken later this month; and I'm SO close to finishing carving the 2027 Moon Phase Calendar.
I'll be opening up pre-orders for the calendar later this month, so keep an eye out. Market and Flash updates will be posted on the socials, as well.
Well, we’ve made it to the end of this newsletter. I’m now sitting in the lodge on the rim of Crater Lake catching a spot of wifi to beam this out to you. I’ll be back to the studio in just a few days. But, for now, I’m going to sit and watch the chipmunks scramble the cliff’s edge and do my best to convince the Grey Jays that I am, in fact, very trustworthy and we should be friends... this will take some time.
Photo Notes:
Sunset over Crater Lake from the Watchman Peak Observation lookout.
The night sky from Crater lake.
Coastal Redwood giant
Woodgrain of an ancient Coastal Redwood
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