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.
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