When despair grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting for their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
— Wendell Berry, The Peace of Wild Things
In 1924, three thousand people gathered for the first mass and dedication of the Sanctuary of Our Sorrowful Mother. At the blessing, Archbishop Alexander Christie offered this prayer: “Let this be a sanctuary of peace for all peoples of the earth and surely in this day a sanctuary is needed. Torn with differences, strife, and grief, the world needs sanctuary where the human spirit can seek peace and consolation.”
Read MoreWhile you might not think of Portland as a particularly volcanic area nowadays (especially compared to other western states like Wyoming), turn back time about 5 million years, and the story would be very different. In southeast Portland, nestled at the top of a quaint neighborhood is Mt. Tabor, an extinct volcanic vent and remnant of this volatile time in Oregonian history. Its cinder cone (a steep conical hill of loose pyroclastic fragments) is part of the Boring Lava Field, an extensive network of Plio-Pleistocene era cinder cones and small shield volcanoes ranging from Boring, Oregon to southwest Washington. This park was my destination for my second nature excursion in the city while visiting for the AWP 2019 Conference.
Read MoreWhile most of the trip was spent attending panels about writing (shout out to the amazing environmentalism in young-adult literature and humor in YA panels I went to) and teaching writing, I did manage to explore the crazy-good food options in the city (try: Screendoor, Butterfly Belly Asian Cuisine, and Salt & Straw ice-cream). Most importantly, though, I was able to sneak away for some nature excursions. The first of these was at Washington Park, one of the oldest parks in Portland, in the heart of the city.
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