It feels like we finally turned the corner into autumn this week. We had one last bright and warm day on Thursday, and the next morning I drove to work in a downpour. This weekend the skies were grey and overcast. I do love a good sunshine day, but it’s against the solid gray backdrop that Portland color really starts to pop.

We have two more weekends at my neighborhood farmers market. I’ve loved watching the seasons change at this little market, and we’ve now arrived at my favorite color season (summer season is my favorite for taste). I love the boxes and boxes of different varieties of apples and pears in reds, yellows and greens. The golden color of the butternut squash is almost as good as the flavor. The deep dark purple of the eggplant is stunning, though I have to admit I am an admirer of the color only. The purple, pink, orange and yellow rainbow carrots are another favorite (tasty looking recipe!). There are still a few summery holdouts, bright pops of tomato red and yellow corn.

The market was quiet today. I sat on a bench with Bill and ate a crepe, admiring the yellow leaves on the trees. I think this every year here, but I couldn’t help but be grateful to live in a place where the changing of seasons is more delineated than my native California. This weekend I could feel myself slowing down, accepting the shift in weather and pace.

The challenge for this week is to mix up some colors to match these autumn hues! I can’t wait to see how these pop up in the sketchbook.