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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 2019)
B2 THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2019 Photos by Ron Baldwin An anchored bulk carrier catches the last rays of the late fall sun on the Columbia River. Fall: Time for fi shing, harvesting, canning and preserving Continued from Page B1 by much of the West which actually is on fi re. The orange, yellows and golds are framed by a variety of greens and accented by pur- ples and grays here on the cool, damp west slope of the coast range. This lasts until everything turns dank and moldy, wet and cold, gray and brown. Then we’re looking directly into the face of old man winter. Pumpkin spice One phenomenon that creates lots of fall tension for Northwesterners is the return of pumpkin spice. In the pumpkin spice controversy, there are seemingly two camps: those who are intoxi- cated by it, crave it, bathe and scrub with it, pester the baris- tas for its return, and those who abhor it. They fi gure that their only defense is to have a really bad head cold so you can’t really smell anything. By Labor Day the pump- kin spice movement is in full swing with the entire spec- trum of food items tainted by cinnamon, mace and clove. And not just food. Candles, oils, lotions, hair potions and all manner of paper goods scented with pumpkin spice fi ll the store isles. What’s next? Pumpkin spice scented toilet paper? Well, thank- fully no. This year, Proctor and Gamble announced that, contrary to a bizarre and viral internet meme, you are not likely to see pumpkin spice Charmin anytime soon. Toi- let paper is high on my list of things that should never be pumpkin spice, which includes corn chips, hummus, toothpaste and dog shampoo. Humanity must simply draw LEFT: A chicken of the woods mushroom clings to a twisted stump on the south-facing Washington side of the Columbia River. Some mycological specimens have amazing yields. This one totaled 11 pounds. MIDDLE: An early-turning vine maple nests between a Douglas fi r, left, and a Sitka spruce, right, near Naselle. This specimen exhibits a common pattern with gold and pinky-red foliage on the top branches while retaining the iridescent lime-green leaves at the bottom. RIGHT: The autumn bounty of well-known Knappa gardeners Patti and Jim Van Osdal shines like jewels after a morning picking. the line somewhere. Seasonal activities Early fall is the time for fi shing, harvesting, hunting, canning and preserving. The human drive to fi ll the lar- der is a strong and closely held value that is present to a great degree in Northwest- erners. Hunters’ pickups con- gregate at the logging road gates as deer season gears up, archers show fi rst, then rifl e seasons. Bird hunters dusky boats dot the small waters as you hear the early morn- ing report of their shotguns. In Chinook, where I live, salmon fi shing has always been king. Humans have journeyed to Chinook to har- vest the Northwest’s pre- mier food source every fall for, oh say, 10,000 years or so, and that journey is still strong today. Judging by the number of boats visible from the banks, there is no lack of fi shing fervor even now. As I observe the silhouettes of the anglers seated in two rows in a modern, long, low-slung craft with an upturned bow, I am reminded of the artist’s depictions of Chinook native craft in the same places upon fi rst contact. The images are remarkably similar. Some things change with time and others do not. Many Northwesterners, including myself, revere fall as their favorite season. I see fall as some kind of test or warmup for winter. Ah Autumn, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways: I love thee for the sunsets, gold and orange and purple and red. I love thee for the birds return- ing to visit on their jour- ney south. I love thee for the cool, clean, earthy air. I love thee for the leaves, ever try- ing to outdo the sunset. I love thee for the fog, as it hugs the southern shore of the Colum- bia at daybreak, spewing from Young’s Bay and envel- oping all of Astoria in its gray veil. But, most of all, I love thee for the quieting. Walking the margins of the sloughs and creeks near Willapa Bay and the Columbia River as I do, it is thrilling to sud- denly hear the “grahk” of the heron as it lumbers across the sky, the squeaky rattle of the belted kingfi sher, returned from its southern holiday, and the thunder of 10,000 ducks alighting as one when stum- bled upon. These are things that have not changed since those fi rst humans stumbled onto the shore. Fall or autumn? The proper name for the third quarter of the year has been debated by Ameri- can grade schoolers In Per- petuum. Some prefer fall while others like autumn. New Englanders refer to the season as autumn. Maybe you are in Germany, where “herbst” is used, or in Tan- zania, where “vulu” is the Swahili word. In Iran, you would have a choice of no less than nine words, none k c a B g Givin of which I can either write, spell or pronounce. Perhaps my favorite word for fall or autumn is the Finnish word “syksy.” I really like words, and this is a great one, bal- anced and easy to utter, it’s just the kind of word I can embrace. And so henceforth, I shall be referring to my fall wardrobe as my “syksy outfi ts.” Ron Baldwin is a musi- cian, photographer and writer living in Chinook, Washington. 2019-2020 g a difference in k a m to e id u g a ty in Clatsop Coun OREGON CAPITAL We are working on the 5th annual edition of Giving Back INSIDER Get the inside scoop on state government and politics! Watch for our copy of the 2019 CRAFT BEER publication that inserts into the The Astorian on Tuesday, September 24 th To Submit information about your non-profit Fill out a form at this link: https://tinyurl.com/y5no5nlw or email: Lauren McLean at: lmclean@dailyastorian.com to receive a form via mail/email. Deadline for submissions: October 4th, 2019 Look for 2019-2020 Giving Back in the October 29th edition of The Astorian A special advertising section of The Astorian Fall 2019 Giving Back provides our community nonprofits and corporations that support them, a platform for informing the public about their services and opportunities to donate or volunteer. Giving Back is a resource for companies and individuals to use in researching information to assist them in their charitable giving plans. This year we’re offering expanded listings to each nonprofit detailing their mission statements, goals, service area, superstar volunteers, events and giving/ volunteering opportunities.
