Jocelyn Curry

Edgefield, a former poor farm and nursing home, has been in business for 20 active years as a hotel. The gardens seen in the foreground provide vegetables and herbs for the restaurant. Trees and shrubs with changing leaves puncuate the beautiful grounds. We were there during the time of the grape crush for this year's wines.

Early on Monday morning I headed up a pastoral path behind our comfortable and interesting lodging: Edgefield McMenamins in Troutdale, Oregon. I selected a spot to stand and sketch the appealing landscape laid out below. A Douglas squirrel was nibbling in the shrub next to me, and birds flitted in and out. Raindrops began to fall; note the unintentional dappled texture on the small sketchbook page. Walking back to the hotel from my lofty point, I heard tree frogs (couldn't see them), and passed a tree loaded with orange persimmons. Half of its leathery leaves were on the ground. Here is one of them. Edgefield operates at capacity during the summer months, but Autumn is a quiet, reflective time to visit.