Summer is in the Air

Even in the city, the change of seasons is something special and palpable. Today certainly felt like summer here in Portland. There’s a new warmth to the air and a saturated blueness to the sky. We love the way the seasons have an elemental pull on us no matter how distanced our day-to-day lives are from them. (Of course, some of you farm and work outside and we suspect you tend to have rather different relationships to the seasons.)

We’re inside working today (making Merces Saddle purses among other projects), but we can always look out the window and day dream. Following those day dreams for a moment, let’s imagine two versions of an ideal summer day.

Version 1: A day at the beach. It took some time hiking to get there but it was worth any sweat and discomfort. You’re with your family or a handful of good friends. You’ve got everything you need and life seems simple and good. The only limit is the eventual setting of the sun, but that is still many hours off.

Version 2: Sunday in the park with friends. It was a small, somewhat impromptu gathering that grew larger at the last minute as more friends appeared. There was plenty of great food, even if the overall assortment wasn’t perfectly balanced (can you really have too many olives?). After lunch, a game of soccer took shape but you don’t play or perhaps you just wanted a rest. Some solitary time opened up and you realized that your bag contained that book you were in the midst of reading and that you were so enjoying. Sometimes everything works out perfectly. Please come up with your own ideal summer day and feel free to let us know in words or pictures!