Pages

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

The Way We Live.


Weather rules here in Port Orford, on the southern Oregon coast.
Sure, the calendar says summer. The rains have dwindled to once, twice a month.


Yet, we're still in a watery mist most of the time, with green life all around, in a variety of shades and shapes. We breathe moist air all year long. Even in summer.


We are surrounded by water and watery images more than man-made images.



At one time, this place was a bustling fishing port. Before this dock was erected, ships docked in open areas, in the bay, largely unprotected from hurricane-force winds that clobber these shores.  Routinely, tempestuous winds and high waves destroyed whole fleet.  
At present,  sixty to seventy  vessels fish regularly in these waters.

You'd think the town would have access to the fish caught here. All of it, is shipped out the minute it arrives on land. Crab is shipped live, in tanks, for premium prices.  If the locals want local fish they need to befriend a local fisherman.

A couple of times a year, the town is treated to a fish fry or a crab feast, courtesy of the local Rotary or the local fishermen.  Then, all proceeds go to local causes, like scholarships for our high school students.

By July, the town has swelled, doubled, tripled. Relatives drop in to celebrate holidays here, try their hands at fishing on the rivers, from the docks.  Fishing is the number one sport, followed by kayaking, biking, golfing.

Did I mention we are only 23 miles from the world renowned resort links of Bandon Dunes?

Yes, in the same supermarket line, we come face to face with millionaires who fly their own jets to play a weekend of golf here, as well as the local fishermen who can barely support their families some years.

One thing for sure: we all wear wind-breakers, all year. The millionaire's is definitely Gore-Tex.

35 comments:

Sally Wessely said...

You live in a fascinating and beautiful place. I think your hardiness is demonstrated by living there year round.

janis said...

Rosaria it is beautiful there! Someday I want to see Oregon first handed!

SG said...

What a beautiful place to live in!

Brian Miller said...

smiles. i miss being near the water...stinks of the seafood...but the big fry sounds nice...would love to visit again, been about 8 years...

ellen abbott said...

isn't that always the way? local produce is shipped out of state so we have to buy and eat produce grown in California or Mexico. fortunately, in our little town is a fish market run by a guy who has his own boat so we get fresh local fish at least.

Arkansas Patti said...

Had to laugh that you can't buy local fish catches.
Often when I lived in Florida, we had to buy California oranges--huh??

Terra said...

Your home is surrounded by water and its beauty. That is disappointing that the fish is sent elsewhere. I live near a harbor in California where some fishermen sell directly from their boats, from time to time. We have bought tuna that way.

RNSANE said...

Yours is a beautiful area, Rosaria. I do hope, one day, to see it. I love my area, too, especially around Half Moon Bay where you can get freshly caught fish and crab as the local fisherman pull in on their boats.

Karen said...

Rosaria, I wish you could send a bit of that rain down here. We are parched in FL. Lovely photos!

Unknown said...

I remember how beautiful that area is...hope I can see it again someday.

Cloudia said...

Like a visit to your place. cool!




Aloha from Honolulu :)

Comfort Spiral

><}}(°>


><}}(°>

<°)}}><

dianefaith said...

Sounds absolutely beautiful -- and cool! We're sweltering here in the South. I rarely wear a jacket, even in the winter, so can't imagine one in the summertime.

Feisty Crone said...

I would love to visit Oregon, and I'm not that far away. It looks gorgeous!

That Janie Girl said...

Beautiful place - I wanna visit!

Maggie May said...

You certainly live in a beautiful place and maybe to stay all year round , when the holiday makers are gone, you need to be a bit spartan!
Maggie X

Nuts in May

NitWit1 said...

Love the fisheye view of your living area. Remotely reminds me of living on the beach in Morocco where we indeed could buy fish right off the boat. We even had beacon, not a lighthouse on the ferry point.

rjerdee said...

Nothing like windbreakers to put everyone on the same footing! There's a lesson in that, isn't there?

erin said...

rosaria, i just don't understand our world. i just don't.

i heard (another) report on public radio today that the oceans are definitely being destroyed. oh, really? imagine! but it's not too late.

i do not belive we are listening. we will only listen when it is too late.

xo
erin

the walking man said...

Better the Gore-Tex than the Kevlar we have to wear 'round here lately.

Just stay safe Rosaria and befriend a fisherman, trade him Italian desserts for fish.

Dr. Kathy McCoy said...

Reading your wonderful post made me feel instantly 20 degrees cooler! You live in such a beautiful place! Green sounds good -- and so do misty days. It was 113 degrees here in central Arizona at 5 p.m. yesterday with more expected today. Thanks for taking the edge off the heat here, Rosaria!

Pseudo said...

I love the Oregon Coast, although I have not been there for 30 years....

Amanda Summer said...

a crab feast sounds heavenly to me....

Anonymous said...

You do live in a fascinating and beautiful place, Rosaria. Though I don't think I'd enjoy constant mist. My only recollection of Oregon is a visit when I was 10 to my paternal grandparents in LeGrande. My father was born in Union and grew up in LeGrande. My vision of the place is timber, and a water pump outside my grandparents' house. No misty scenes such as this beautiful one you posted.
Ann Best, Memoir Author

Ruth said...

I am so hungry for fish right now, but I am also afraid about overfishing our waters. We have to balance this hunger out.

I loved my autumn in Oregon in 1976, when I did the solo campout.

Grandmother Mary said...

Here on the Adriatic it's sunny, hot and dry. Perfect for the beach. And all along the beach, we can buy local catch from local fishermen as they haul it out of the sea that day to nourish our bodies and spirits.

Linda Myers said...

I've spent time in your part of the country. It is beautiful. Your photos really capture it.

Rachel Cotterill said...

We've definitely had a few days of grey sky up in Portland. It's beautiful today, though.

Vagabonde said...

What a beautiful landscape. But you said 60 to 70 vessels fish in the waters – I was just reading a book about Newfoundland and how they depleted cod fishing with too many fishing boats. I hope this is well regulated in your state. The future for so much fishing is not good I think.

Anonymous said...

I love to drive up the Oregon Coast, but I don't remember Port Orford. Maybe we drove through it while I was taking a nap. Driving makes me sleepy.

I love the description. When I feel like an onion drying out this summer, I'll think of you.

Kathryn Magendie said...

It is like that here - during the "off season" we are tiny and quiet and serene, but during peak touist season, we swell and gorge with visitors.

There is that one photo where that old fallen tree looks like a man kicked back in a chair with his foot int the air :-D

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Beautiful pictures. I especially love the first one.

Unspoken said...

You and I live parallel lives in some ways :), but you are much more gracious in yours!

A Cuban In London said...

Beautiful snippet of your town. It has a photographic feel to it and not just because of the images.

Many thanks.

Greetings from London.

Shadow said...

now that sounds like the perfect place to live...

Teri and her Stylish Adventure Cats said...

I so enjoy visiting your blog and getting my 'Oregon' fix. You make it so I can almost smell the ocean...