Finally!

Walk with me, back to our old haunts, Oak Island in full spring regalia.

Before you can even appreciate the views, another sense is stimulated: clouds of sweet hawthorn blossom-scent waft across the meadows. So many of those trees in bloom, predominantly white, but a few pink ones sprinkled in here or there.

The oak trees are leafing out, some of the fresh leaves still uncoated by the least amount of dust. They reflect the light, shining golden green.

Colors are intensified by a grayish sky, providing a terrific contrast effect.

Dog roses embrace trees.

Cherries are already setting fruit, but otherwise blossoms everywhere.

Some old apple trees,

and friends,

and myriad wild flowers, Camassia Quamash among them sprinkling the grass with sky blue.

And of course hawthorn everywhere, sometimes veering on pink.

The waters are still, the occasional carp jumping, robin unperturbed by the splashes in the water.

The woods had a fairy tale quality, including rings nourished by cow droppings.

Heart singing. That was Tuesday.

Maybe just stick with the photographs.

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I feel so thoroughly gutted by Wednesday’s Supreme Court decision eviscerating what was left of the Voting Rights act, that I don’t have it in me to write much until my rage settles. I will link to a couple of smart pieces, though, that will lay out what we are now facing without too much jargon or getting into the legal nitty gritty.

Here is a gift link to Adam Server in The Atlantic.

Here is Leah Litman, one of the most astute court observers.

Here is the Brennan Center for Justice.

And here is an NYT timeline of the Voting Rights Act.

It didn’t take 24 hours for the fallout to emerge: Mississippi and Alabama announce that they will eliminate their Black majority districts. Louisiana is literally suspending their primaries to draw more racist maps. The legacy of MLK Jr., John Lewis and so many others who fought for and paid a bloody price for the ability to vote and be fairly represented all down the drain courtesy of the Roberts Court. With the most disingenuous rationale, they are ushering in a period of drastic reduction in minority representation in the name of equal protection. Perverse.

I am just floored. Although not surprised.

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Music is self explanatory…..

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Some things to bring potential cheer towards the end of the week:

There is a closing reception for the photo exhibition “Lloyd Center Journal”, at the gallery of PLACE, 735 NW 18th Ave at Johnson St. Regular Viewing Hours: M-F, 10-6. If you are in town this Friday, 5/1, you are invited to the Closing Reception from 5:30-7:30 pm, with Artist Talk (Horatio Law at 6pm), and guest speakers Tanya Gossard of Slabtown Tours and Norm Gholston of Architecture Heritage Center (6:15pm) on the history and architecture of Lloyd Center. (Quick reminder: this Friday we are called not to shop or work as a form of protest against what is raining down on this nation.)

On Saturday is the opening reception at the Columbia Gorge Museum for Indelicate, a new show of works around women’s roles in service to a society that wanted them stay at home. Featured are actress, writer and artist Jessalyn Maguire, and Sonia Kasparian, fashion designer and artist from Season 17 of “Project Runway. I have not yet seen the exhibition but look forward to exploring it at a later point.

May 02, 2026, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Columbia Gorge Museum, 990 SW Rock Creek Dr, Stevenson, WA 98648, USA