A quick note . . . This post is from Cindy’s personal blog, Chalkboard Thoughts. Please visit Chalkboard Thoughts for lots more life-related posts covering travel, gardening, cooking, farming, and other topics from normal day-to-day life.
Hot. In the 90’s. After a morning of getting things done in our little acre of heaven, Bill and I decided to head out for a bite to eat and a few beers at Pat’s Corner at The Grand Lodge in Forest Grove, Oregon. For those of you who don’t know, The Grand Lodge is a Masonic lodge that’s been converted–thanks to the McMenamins–into a hotel, restaurant, and pub, all with sprawling grounds and typical McMenamin’s hippie-style artwork.
After a nice quiet lunch and an IPA or two, we headed out, taking the long way home. It’s only a few miles from The Grand Lodge to our house, but there are lots of side roads going past farms and homesteads that we love to explore. Especially on a hot sunny afternoon, like today.
Driving along stubble fields and acres of blueberries, we had to stop at this ancient farmstead on NW Leisy Road. It’s covered with graffiti, so it’s pretty clear this is a local hangout. But somehow the juxtaposition of the house, which was probably a family’s homestead not too long ago, with the collapsed storage shed in the foreground and the pump house off to the side, got our attention. We had to stop.
So beautiful. And reminiscent of times not so long ago. I wonder who lived here, and what their family was like. And I wonder who hangs out here now . . . spray painting on the exterior–and probably the interior too. It’s so amazing to me that this old place is so close to our suburban piece of heaven, and yet it’s so far away in time.
And for what it’s worth, back at our piece of heaven, this is what it’s like to write a blog post on a hot summer day. Dogs rule.
I had not read your blog posts before I read this one. It looks like I picked a good one to start. That was so entertaining! Loved the unexpected laugh at the end. Thank you for sharing your multiple talents.