A short essay I wrote is up on Orion Magazine’s website.
“My husband wants land. He digs through websites, hoping to uncover a patch we could afford. I want it too but it hurts to see him look at places someone else will live on, or subdivide. It’s not our time, yet. We plant pennies in our bank account and watch them grow too slowly. In the meantime, we live in a condo in the city….”
I love The Place Where You Live feature; I’m glad they brought it back.
And I do love Portland, Oregon—even on days like this one.
A really lovely liquid piece that lays out your longing beautifully… I’m so pleased to have discovered your blog, I look forward to reading more. Warm regards, Vivian
Oh, how well I recognize that longing! Just this year, I’ve finally acquired some land of my own. 🙂 May you soon have yours!
I have mixed feelings about cities and the countryside, too. While I love my brother’s land in Vermont, and love getting away to it, I’m always glad to get back to more settled land when I come home. Didn’t you mention something about there being farmable land in plots there somewhere around once, for city dwellers? What happened with that? I wish you all the best where you are until your dreams come true.
Don’t give up on those pennies in the bank. They can surprise you.
I freakin’ love that photo.