Postcards | Camp Sherman, Oregon

"I feel as if I am returning to a place where childhood memories were made with my family. There is a simple charm and a sweet nostalgia about this place. I am writing on the floor curled up by the fireplace, with thick wool socks on, we're listening to vintage jazz and the whole room is only lit by the fire and the soft warm yellow glow of lamplight. Time feels as if its moving slower and I also feel transported back in time. Just for this evening, it's the 90s again. The internet barely exists. Everyone has a landline. We still write letters."

How very fortunate I felt being able to tuck away into the woods for a few days this past week. I had brought a few art projects along and we scheduled a birding tour with a local guide and bird expert, Sevilla, for one of the mornings. Birding is a new hobby I am picking up, ever since someone introduced me to the Merlin app two weeks ago.

We drove into Sisters, Oregon for some of our meals, did a little bit of shopping (always support small and local!), but we mostly lazed around the campgrounds and recalibrated a bit as it is pretty rare we take breaks like this, though we're making it a goal to slow down more this year, savor a bit of life, and make a point to getaway more often than in previous year. I drank my coffee outside every morning while listening to the birds trying to identify different calls, trills, and songs (my ear is not very attuned yet), even when the morning was 28F I still padded out with my wooly socks and garden clogs, wrapped in layers and a quilted jacket. 

Amazingly, I got within 50 feet of an American Goshawk! Can you even believe!? I even spotted a Bald Eagle fly over my head and delighted in seeing a hummingbird at rest while the wind blew fiercely through the willow branches. I have always adored hummingbirds and whenever I see them in my life, I think of them as a good omen. That I am on the right path. I so wish I had seen an owl hiding in plain sight in the trees, but strain as I did with my eyes, I never did see one. Though my birding journey has just begun, so I am not discouraged!

I painted my paper clay vegetables I crafted over Christmas break. I journaled. I read old recipe books from the main lodge and snapped photos of new ones to try. I brought one of my digital cameras along, but it's been so long since I've used it, I forgot how to change all the settings, so my old iPhone had to suffice.

The landscape of central Oregon is so breathtaking to me. The snowcapped mountains while in high desert. I love high desert landscapes; I don't know what it is about the muted colors and the emptiness. I just feel like I can breathe. Oregon really does have so much natural beauty that I feel so fortunate to call it home.