The Morning Oil

First I decided I had writer's block. Then I started thinking about beautiful my home environs is. So I thought I would post a picture and have done. But the more I think about my home, the less able I am to remain silent. It is in my personality to cling with fierce loyalty to that which is familiar and loved. I prefer my house to all others, my street to all others, my county, my state, my region of the country, and so on. However, I think even laying aside my natural bias, there is a strong case to be made here. The Pacific Northwest may be the most beautiful place in the world. I remember flying over the Willamette Valley as I came back from Michigan from the summer and actually catching my breath as the color hit me. Your eyes almost refuse to believe that anything could be that green. After months spent in the Midwest, it was all I could do to stop myself from believing my home was, in fact, enchanted. I don't deny that Michigan has a beauty all its own, but in comparison with Washington or Oregon it is staid and almost bland. There is something exotic and eerie about the forests and waterfalls here; something that makes you wonder if you aren't toeing the line between this world and the land of Ireland's Sidhe. I grew up surrounded by woods and water, bounded by the Ocean and in view of three massive volcanoes. Mountains were my horizon and I could smell the freshness and mystery of the sea with every breath. So I started google imaging the Pacific Northwest...you know, to post a picture. I had to cut myself off. There were just too many. As you can tell.