A Trip to Skagit Valley, Surviving Infusions during Supermoons, Last Days to Sign Up for Spooky Season Poetry Class, and Voting

Glenn and I with dahlias and Mt Baker in Skagit Valley

A Trip to Skagit Valley in October

Knowing I had a tough week in front of me, we decided to take a spontaneous trip to Skagit Valley on one of the sunnier days before my infusion date. We stopped by RoozenGaarde and admired their dahlias and bought tulip and daffodil bulbs to plant for next spring. While we were there, a woman recommended a local pumpkin farm called Gordon Skagit Farms. We then stumbled upon it as it was really close, but it was only fifteen minutes to close. We got coffee and pumpkins and kettle corn for the drive home, but it was incredible to be there at sunset, all these gorgeous farm settings (their logo is a fox!) and kids taking picturesque shots with tractors. If you’re in the area, check out Gordon Skagit Farms—it is gorgeous and huge. How had we missed it on all our other trips to the area in the fall? No idea!

Surviving Infusions During Supermoons

Hunter’s Moon Supermoon

The day I was supposed to get my infusion was also the day of the Hunter’s moon Supermoon, which was pretty spectacular. The infusion experience? Not so much. The infusion center had NO saline bags—the shortage is real, people—and my doctor had forgotten to order ANY of my pre-medications (last time I had four). It lasted longer than my last one and I was in a public room instead of a one-person room, too, so no television or audiobooks (didn’t want to be rude to the other people in the room, but it makes four and a half hours with a painful needle in a vein seem much longer). I had side effects—headache, itchiness, muscle cramps—and was pretty wiped out for two days. I hope this was worth it! My immune system doesn’t really “do” vaccines properly, so these antibody infusions are important to keep me out of the hospital with more serious disease, but they really aren’t fun. But right before the infusion, I walked out into my garden, and I saw the first butterfly of the season: a Red Admiral. Seemed, along with the Supermoon, to be a good omen.

Red Admiral Butterfly

Today was the first day I was able to get out and about, and it was crazy windy. We visited our local pumpkin farm, JB Family Growers. I voted too! If you have election anxiety, you’re not the only one. The only way this vote is close is because people would rather vote for a deranged, hate-filled criminal than vote for a woman, because this country has a LOT of deep-seated misogyny. “I just don’t like her voice” I’ve heard people say—which is a terrific reason to not vote for someone, right? I mean, who cares about women’s rights or health care or the Ukraine—against “a candidate’s voice is annoying (and by that, they mean female.)” Anyway, I hope you get out and vote because every vote is going to count this election.  I am going to hope for the best. In Washington State, we also had Senator and Governor votes, as well as some important initiatives, so it seemed like a good one to vote early on.

After we went to the pumpkin farm, a squall blew up, but afterwards there was a beautiful double rainbow. And it was nice to get some fresh air (even if it did come with 40 mph wind gusts!)

This might be your last chance to sign up for Kelli and my Spooky Season Poetry Zoom class!

Spend Sylvia Plath’s birthday writing new poems! Just in time for Spooky Season, a poetry class exploring how the natural world intersects with the supernatural with poets Kelli Russell Agodon and Jeannine Hall Gailey. Kelli and Jeannine will discuss their fascination with the natural and supernatural worlds, sharing poems by Plath and others that blur the lines between the familiar and the unknown. Together, we’ll harness this energy in our own writing, drawing inspiration from the unknown and the uncanny. This two-hour Zoom class will end with a Q&A for a deeper dive into this hauntingly beautiful topic. Join us to stir your imagination and leave with fresh drafts of new poems!

There are only a few spots left, so don’t miss out! 🦇👻🎃