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Author Archives: Teri J Pieper

These two have been together for nine years, engaged for four years; they’ve lived together and far apart, separated by jobs or school. They’ve lived in the northwest, the southeast, overseas. Their wedding was threatened by a not so distant wildfire. Mazama was on a level 1 alert which means, be ready, in case this fire blows up and moves closer to homes. Their home in Florida was threatened by Hurricane Irma. And yet, it all turned out. The fire cooperated and photos were made high in the mountains and the intimate morning wedding in Mazama went just as planned. Irma changed course. Sometimes it all works out.

They had considered having the entire event high in the mountains near Harts Pass however some family members were reluctant to drive the steep and windy road to the top. And with the potential fire danger, it was even scarier. Instead, they had it on the edge of a meadow at Mazama. Just the three of us drove to Harts Pass to catch the morning light and the beginning of fall colors in the alpine larch trees. Just yesterday, Harts Pass was closed to the public due to the continuing wildfire situation and Mazama is on Level 2 notice.

Since this was a morning wedding, we started early. The hair and makeup artist was there at 4:30 AM! I started working at 6. Have I mentioned that all weddings are unique? It’s true. That is something I love about them.

 

My website, Reflected Light Images continues to be a problem for me to fully update. Hopefully, this will be the last of my weddings to be posted here.

Face it. Many people in the west have had to battle smoke and wildfire for weeks. Even months. Those things stole our summer from us. Now, it’s cool in the mornings and you might need a sweater in the evening. Colors are changing. Not so much with freezing temperatures but endless weeks without any moisture. I don’t expect a big fall colors show like last year. So even though the calendar doesn’t agree, I think summer is over.

Luna and I got out of the car at the trailhead this morning and I was reminded that my brain is still in summer mode. Fortunately, in my car, I had a light jacket and some gloves to get me started up the trail. It did warm up after we got to the lake and the changing colors are beautiful.

This joyous occasion was held at Skalitude Retreat Center in Smith Canyon, not far from Carlton. The natural setting was the perfect place for the rustic decor carefully chosen by the couple and their good friends. It was also perfect for camping, lawn games, playful puppies and high energy children. Celina and Jacob chose to have their ceremony in an aspen grove with a handmade backdrop adorned with rosehip garlands. They walked to the site together, ahead of their friends and family. In the spot they chose, their loved ones created a unity circle out of stones they carried. The loving couple pledged their vows to each other in the circle with their three month old puppy at their feet. The vows were written on birch bark collected by one of their friends. All of their food was locally sourced from farmers they know. It was an amazing day.

Click on the first image to see all of the images as a slide show.

 

This is not a regular post for myeverydayphotos.com. My website, teripieper.com is having some issues that I just can’t deal with during this busy time of the year. So you can expect to see more wedding photos here til I can get it resolved. Maybe by November!

Our valley has been inundated with wildfire smoke off and on for over forty days. This week is particularly bad with an inversion trapping all of the smoke and holding it down throughout the day and night with no relief. A person, or a dog I suppose, should be wearing a mask whenever she ventures out in it. Otherwise, she ought to just stay inside and be grateful for air conditioning and a tightly built house.

Dogs don’t understand this and they want/need a walk each day. Here are a few images from this morning’s walk.

Odlin County Park on Lopez Island is a delightful campground with 31 camp sites, some right next to the beach. We enjoyed campfires til the last night when a fire ban was instituted by the county fire marshal due to high fire risks. We can relate to that and did not complain. The sandy beach is great for going barefoot and beach combing. The dogs found some sticks and two tennis balls so they had everything they needed to stay busy when they weren’t napping. Our friend took Ken fishing for escaped Atlantic Salmon. See this article  and this one too for more information about this non-native species. And then he loaned us crab gear so we could catch and eat dungeness crab!

Life was very good to us on Lopez Island. No doubt, we will return!