Setting Up Summer Plans

It’s mid spring, but my heart and soul are with the summer woods.

My favorite places to go on the Clackamas River Corridor are, unfortunately, burned away. So now I’m going to have to find new woods to spend time in. I have hiking plans for the summer, and I’m sure my partner and I will go to the beach at least a couple of times, but mostly my summer plans are to find the places surrounded by trees (especially next to a river), where I can take Kiki and sit and read and write.

I went to the Molalla Corridor a lot over the course of summer in 2020. It’s a bit of a drive from where I live in Portland, but it’s worth it for the quiet and seclusion of the country wilderness. I would take my camping chair and sit alongside the river for hours, just reading, writing, and watching the birds fly around the cliff ledges. I wrote a lot of poems about what I saw, but really the beauty wasn’t in what I created, but rather it was in the environment itself. There’s just something about being surrounded by trees that connects me to my most magical self.

And I thoroughly believe that trees are magic.

I want to go camping, but I doubt that will happen this year. I didn’t make camping plans early enough, so all of the reservations are likely booked up anywhere within reasonable driving distance. But one thing I do want to try and make happen is a writing retreat out in a cabin in the woods with either just myself, or with my partner, or with other writing friends who want to get away and focus on their projects. The typical ins and outs of every day life makes disconnecting from distractions just…hard. Especially when I have the tendency to overthink anyway. And I do so want to be outside this summer more than I was last year. I just gotta make it happen, I suppose.

I’m also celebrating the two year anniversary with my partner next month. The weekend of our anniversary is actually the weekend of the Portland Pride Festival, and I’ll be going to that with a couple of my friends, so my partner and I will celebrate the weekend after, hopefully with a trip to the coast. I don’t know if it’s just pent up excitement from being socially distanced for such a long time, but I’m full of anticipation for summer. I’m excited for my second semester of my M.A. program. I’m excited to keep moving through the publishing of my debut book of poetry. And I’m excited to feel the warmth of the sun after such a long winter.

What about your summer plans? Anything exciting?