My time on the east coast is soon coming to an end. It will be sad to leave when all of the leaves are finally on the trees and there are cool fungi and flowers growing in the woods, but I am ready to go back home to the west. There are a few things that I’ve never quite gotten used to here.

Photo: young Trillium plants I found while walking a few days ago

Last summer when I got here, I was blown away by the green beauty of this place and how the trees and vines just want to overcrowd everything. I was inspired by the fireflies floating around the edges of the yard at night. I was awestruck with how heavy the rainstorms are here. I will miss some things about this place, but I feel like I have experienced almost everything I can from this town (with the exception of a few restaurants). I have experienced summer, autumn, a long cold winter, and I am experiencing the spring. I’ve walked every trail I could find nearby, and have a few others planned for the upcoming weeks.

I feel like I have made the most of the studio space and time I’ve had, so much so that I have too many pots that I’m trying to figure out what to do with. I have built better habits of taking images of my work, and I have experimented with a whole bunch of new surface decorating techniques. I’ve built up a good starting selection of photos to apply to grad school with. I feel like when I leave Massachusetts I won’t have regrets about things I didn’t get to do that I wanted to. So here’s to the next chapter of my travels!