Fall is in the air as I make my way out of Portland, Oregon and over to the Williamette Valley and wine region. It’s overcast with a slight wind on this evening as I find the town of Dundee and my accommodations for the weekend, the Dundee Treehouse.
Rising steeply upward, with three different levels, the treehouse is an architectural marvel. The owner shows me how to use the rope lever and pulley system to transport luggage, food and water from the ground level up to main level. It takes a few practices to get the hang of it, but I eventually get my gear, beer, and snacks up without incident.
As the sun goes down the wind picks up. The tree creaks and moans all night long, a natural lullaby. I have no entertainment other than my thoughts and a paperback novel. I believe a family of woodpeckers are above me somewhere. A perfect symbiosis of creatures living together.
In silence I live up here, trekking up and down the stairs to the bathroom, to go for a walk in the nearby forest, or to play with the dogs roaming around the yard. It is the most simple way to live, and one that seems to resonate deeply within me the older I get.
