Dear Liza,
Well, it’s raining again. The past few years, Portland has seen drier winters, and we seem to be making up for it now.
All this rain allows for some lovely, if damp, walks. It thins out the masked crowds at Laurelhurst Park.
And it waters the moss. Portland is a city upholstered with fluffy green moss. I love it!
Walls around houses or office buildings become tiny gardens.
The most common materials, like red bricks, become abstract pieces of art or wondrous topographical maps.
Our Lone Fir Cemetery is especially blessed. This grave, already overwhelmed with a maple tree, is softened with a velvety soft green blanket.
The moss isn’t greedy, though. It shares the walls, bricks, and graves with all sorts of plants and animals . After the moss has softened the stone, it holds on to the rain so ferns can take root.
Tiny flowers and entire ecosystems sprout from the fluffy dampness.
Maybe I will bundle up today and go enjoy some rainy, mossy, goodness. Or maybe I will stay warm and dry in my new pajamas and just write about it.
Love,
Grandma Judy
Dear Liza 