Like most things in the valley, the Methow Store will open in its own good time.
Esteemed poet E. E. Cummings could have been waxing poetic on the Methow Valley when he said, “The world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful.”
In the quiet morning, ice crunches softly underfoot while migrating birds hop about budding trees. Say’s Phoebes, swallows, orioles and robins trill their morning chorus. In the late morning sun, the sound of rushing water competes with the birds as those same ice crystals dissolve into mud puddles that flow into rivulets running down, down the walkway to the creek that soon will rise to a roaring torrent, rushing to join the river and tumble towards the open ocean. As the poet Mary Oliver so wisely observed, “It is the nature of stone to be satisfied. It is the nature of water to want to be somewhere else.”
Get out your hip waders, your galoshes, your Bogs, your muck kickers, your rubbers, your wellies, your “Noah, we’re gonna have a flood” boots — it is officially Mud Season.
Speaking of change, the Methow Store recently changed up their sign. Now the opening is scheduled for Methow Time. What is “Methow Time” you ask? Well, a few anecdotal incidents come to mind. When we first moved to the Methow Valley we contacted a local nursery to purchase some native trees. We were lucky to receive an email response stating the arborist was juggling out of town and would return sometime later the following month. Another time we decided to go into town for dinner on a weekend evening and every single restaurant in Twisp, Winthrop and Mazama were closed for mud season.
I can’t help but think of that poor tourist who once stopped me in the grocery store parking lot to inquire if Highway 20 to the west side would open later that day … in February. The pass will open in Methow Time. Nobody knows the date or time, just that it is certain to open at some point in the future. Relax, and enjoy the mud puddles.
Remember way back in 2020 when the Methow Valley Interpretive Center scheduled a showing of “The Winter’s Tale” but had to cancel due to COVID measures? The show is back on! Thursday, April 20, Methow Valley Interpretive Center will host Wenatchi-Methow Tribal Elder Randy Lewis for an evening of storytelling and a showing of “The Winter’s Tale” — a film created by North Central Washington film students. Randy shares the story of Columbia River superheroes who slayed a dragon as told to him by his grandparents. The dragon’s “tail” and “blood” can still be seen today along the Columbia. Geologist Nick Zentner provides the science behind the storied rocks.
“The Winter’s Tale” is scheduled at the Winthrop Barn. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., the film starts at 7 p.m. The event is a fundraiser for the Methow Valley Interpretive Center. Suggested donation is $15 or more at the door. More information and a trailer of “The Winter’s Tale” can be viewed at https://www.methowvalleyinterpretivecenter.com.
