Dear Liza,
Spring in Portland is an exciting time. You don’t know, hour to hour, if you will have sun or rain. Trees that have been bare all winter get dusted with petals before their lacy green petticoats come out.
The ground smells alive as the rain and mosses work together to create life.
Each Rhododendron bloom looks like a perfect bouquet.
Wild roses and strawberries burst with buds and fruit, bright red against the dark shady soil.
The state flower, Oregon Grape, which isn’t a grape, can be found putting on its tiny sour fruits.
I remember walking around this very neighborhood, just about a year ago, apartment hunting. I saw a yard with its just- out -of -the -flat zinnias and thought how optimistic the gardener was, planting heat loving zinnias in what I thought was the perpetual damp of the northwest. But last summer’s heat set me straight, and I walked by the zinnias everyday, being reminded of how much I still have to learn about my new home.
Being in our old neighborhood, I got to visit the flamingos! They are all decked out for Pride Day next weekend, lead in their own parade by their friend duck playing a kazoo. I smiled to see that our gnome is still lurking in the bushes, chuckling as people spot him.
Love,
Grandma Judy
Dear Liza 