Walked 3.1 Miles - Oaks Bottom

 

 

Today was crazy muggy.  I headed to Oaks Bottom in search of cooler weather.  Oh, and I should warn you now, this will not be the last Hydrangea picture you see.  This is another favorite flower; I love all the different colors and varieties.

 

 

 

 

The tell-tale fence is around the Avantis Credit Union.  I'm sad to see this go.  We had a non-fee ATM a few blocks from the house.  That has come in so handy many, many times. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love the wildflowers that grow here.  It is so beautiful and I know all the wildlife thrive in it.  I'm so glad that Portland makes these kinds of areas a priority.

 

 

 

 

This is a great sitting area just at the top of Oaks Bottom.  I've seen many nature classes being taught here.  Today, I saw many different summer camps taking place.  What a great way to spend the summer.

 

 

 

 

I knew I had made the right choice when it dropped at least 15 degrees the minute I was under the trees and starting to descend to the bottom.  It was also snowing cottonwood seeds which gave the whole place a very dream like quality.  So peaceful.

 

 

 

 

I returned to the tad pole pond and the water had dropped drastically.  I hope the little tad poles are hanging in there.  Or maybe they are frogs now?  I did see a garter snake!   You can see his body on the log.  He slithered past me and was almost gone before I had the sense to take a picture.  I haven't seen a snake in a very long time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I really love to find lady bugs. They seem lucky to me.  

 

 

 

 

 

Walked 2ish Miles - West Hills of Brooklyn

 

 

This was a really great walk.  The clouds were just amazing.  I had originally set off for Oaks Bottom, but there was a massively sinister black cloud headed that way.  Instead, I reversed course and headed for the West Hills of Brooklyn.  

 

 

 

 

I kept my eyes on the clouds for most of the walk.  At times, I was walking on the very edge of the storm.  It would start to down pour, I'd cross the street and be out of the storm.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As I was walking along, I spied this hummingbird on a low power line.  I stopped to watch him for a bit.  He swooped down to these flowers and fed on them for a really long time.  At one point he was at eye level with me and he was lovely to look at .  It made my whole day. 

 

 

 

 

I took this picture, walked about 15 feet and took the picture below about 30 seconds later.

 

 

 

 

That big black cloud was still there.  By changing my angle, the image looks completely different.  This sky was just so amazing.  We are lucky to have this kind of magnificent beauty over our heads.

 

 

 

 

Corn!  I love seeing neighbor's garden's doing so well.

 

 

 

 

This pole was tall and at the top were ceramic tiles with 'Peace' in many different languages.  Very cool.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A piece of paper with writing caught my eye.  I picked it up and this guy was on the underside.  After I took his picture, I turned him back over and put him back in the bushes.

 

 

 

 

These colorful boxes were hanging in a few trees.  The state is collecting bugs.  I hope they don't find anything unexpected.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I walked over to where our new community garden will be.  It's great to see that a small bit of progress has been made.  They have staked out a few spots and started to create a trail.  I can't wait for this to be up and running.

 

 

 

 

The view of downtown from the future garden is stunning.  The neighborhood has organized to watch the 4th of July fireworks from this spot.  For the first time in years, we might actual come out to watch them.

 

 

 

 

This entire yard is filled with cactus plants.  They were starting to bloom and they are so pretty.  I especially love the buds.

 

 

 

 

 

I just finished reading a book about an Indian woman from Mexico who ate napolitos regularly.  It was so interesting to find them in my neighborhood.

 

 

 

 

I had to feel the thorns and they were very soft and  not poky at all.  I wonder if that's from all the rain we get?  That's just a guess.

 

 

 

Photo Friday - Words

 

 

The theme of this week's Photo Friday is Words.  When thinking about what I wanted to do, I knew I wanted to use this picture.  I love coming upon street art and this piece was just so lovely.  The bright pink Love on the barbed wire made a striking image.  I was happy to see that it stayed there for  many weeks before someone finally tore it down.

 

Walked 2ish Miles - Brooklyn

 

 

For today's walk, I didn't stray too far from the house.  I wanted to check on the newest construction changes and I didn't have a ton of time to walk. Runkeeper was wonky on this walk and said that I had walked 8.68 miles in under an hour.  That's a pace of sub 7 minutes.  Yeah, not quite right. But it was fun to hear the lady come on every 5 minutes announcing I had walked another mile.  I'm pretty sure I walked about 2 miles on this day.

 

 

 

 

I found this a little strange.  They moved my bus stop in about 5 feet.  This happened 2 days before the bus stop went away completely for a year.  I don't know why they just didn't want until they could remove it all together.

 

 

 

 

The road closed signs arrived early.  Since this walk, they have completely blocked the road to the 17th bridge overpass.  It will be coming down soon.  It has made getting around a little bit tougher.  I have to consciously not let myself go on autopilot when doing my normal day to day things.

 

 

 

 

I wanted to make sure that I got a picture of these large trees.   They were preparing to take them down as I took this picture.  Also, the trees aligning the side of the street where I took this picture (you can see one in the foreground) were also all gone the very next day.  It looks weirdly different on this block now.  

 

 

 

 

I re-visited the house with all of the lily buds.  They are starting to bloom and they are such a beautiful color.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also checked on the construction at 17th and Holgate.  Traffic here has been a mess.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I found these flowers so interesting.  Why are there little petal tufts coming out of the middle?  It looked so strange.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love spying on bees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I missed these two stallions the first time I walked by.  Something caught my eye, so I came back and was thrilled to find these horses.  

 

 

Photo Friday - Geometric

 

 

When I saw that the theme for this week's Photo Friday was Geometric, I knew I wanted to use a picture of the new street painting at 16th and Brooklyn.  The pictures I took previously didn't quite work, so I came back and took this. 

 

Walked 3.45 - Ladd's Addition

 

 

This is the 17th street overpass.  I have walked along this ugly loud stretch any time I've wanted to venture North of Powell.   I always have to turn up the audio of my book, because the traffic is so loud.  I also always keep a close eye, because folks could be sleeping anywhere along this stretch.

 

 

 

 

I wanted to document the area, because by the end of the month it will be gone!  In order to make way for the new MAX line, this overpass will be demolished and a new overpass will be built.  This means that for the next year, I will not be walking in this area at all.  I'll have to use the lame, slow pedestrian light at 13th.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love seeing all of the lavender in bloom.  I like to run my fingers across a patch like this and then my hands will smell good for the rest of my walk.  

 

 

 

 

I'm amazed at all of the painted cars I see on my walks.  Is this a Portland thing?  Or do other cities also have lots of funky cars?

 

 

 

 

Yarn Bombing!  International Yarn Bombing Day is June 11th.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

I walked through Ladd's Addition to Hawthorne and then turned around to head home.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was very tempted to eat a raspberry, but I was good and kept on walking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jesus wants you to pick up your crap.  Hilarious!

 

 

 

 

The Brooklyn Skate Park is getting a new addition!  How cool!  There was also a brand new cement bench as well.  I can't wait to see how this space grows over time.  

 

 

Walked 2.96 Miles - Oaks Bottom

 

 

Today I decided to head to Oaks Bottom.  I haven't walked there in a couple of months and I wanted to see how different it was now that it's June.

 

 

 

 

I found myself looking at these beautiful clouds while on my way to Oaks Bottom.  It's been pretty rainy here, so to see clouds that are so white and fluffy surrounded by blue was just made me happy.

 

 

 

 

I got off the main trail a bit to check out the tadpole pond.  I couldn't get too close to the water, because it was roped off.  I didn't see any tadpoles, but it made me remember catching them as a kid.  Such great fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I turned around where the Oaks Bottom trail runs into the Spring Water Corridor.  It's amazing to see how big the Oaks Bottom area is.  There are so many trails to explore.  Although while walking alone, I prefer to stick to the main path.

 

 

 

 

Deer!  I can't believe I saw a deer at Oaks Bottom.  I was walking along the main trail when this guy caught my eye.  We stared at each other for about 5 minutes.  Such a beautiful creature.  I walked along a side trail a few feet to get a closer look at him.  Finally after looking at him for a long time, I turned my head for a few seconds and when I turned back he was gone.  I hope to see more deer here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love the reflection in this little bit of water.  Can you see the two ducks? The female was making the funniest squishing noise by putting her bill in the mud.  Maybe she was looking for bugs?  She would dig in the mud for a few seconds and then turn to wash her bill off.  Then she would do it all over again.  It was fun to watch.

 

 

 

 

A few blocks from home the wind started to pick up.  My beautiful white clouds now looked like this.  I was glad to be almost home.  The sudden storms we have been getting have been pretty intense.  I was only home for a few minutes when the down pour hit.  Such great timing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo Friday - Grandeur

 

 

The theme this week for Photo Friday is grandeur.  While walking in one of the small rose gardens in Ladd's Addition, I saw this bench with roses all around it.  To me it looked like a throne and a pretty grand one at that.

 

Walked 3.02 Miles - Ladd's Addition

 

 

Today when I set out, I knew exactly where I was headed.  Greg had told me that the street on the East side of the Gideon foot bridge had been painted on Memorial Day.  I had to check it out for myself.  How cool is this?  I wish I would have known, so I could have helped paint.  

 

 

 

 

On the way home, I noticed that the key to the painting was taped to this phone pole.  You can tell that the circles are really gears.  What a great concept.  Now when I look back at the street, all I see are the gears. 

 

 

 

 

I spent quite a bit of time here wandering around and looking at all the details.  I'm sure I'll find new things the next many times I come back.

 

 

 

 

It ties in well to the Brooklyn Skate Park, another neighborhood driven creation.  You can read about how this skate park got it's start here.  I am, personally, so thankful that the skate park is here.  Reading about how sketchy this area was before is just unsettling.  I'm sure I would never cross the Gideon bridge as much as I do now if the skate park wasn't there.  It's the same reason I never walk the underpasses at 17th and Powell.  Just too scary for me walking alone. 

 

 

 

 

When I first opened the door and stepped out to start this walk, I involuntarily groaned.  Muggy.  So very muggy.  The air felt heavy and gross.  I was instantly sweaty.  I would happily trade pouring down rain for this mess.  So after seeing the street painting, I made my way to Ladd's Addition in search of shade and cooler weather.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These plants were so crazy looking.  They were so cool to look at.  

 

 

 

 

I wanted to get closer to the weird plants, but this was the perimeter and I found that I was holding my breath - not even touching anything - because it looked so precarious.  I didn't want to have it fall on me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The roses are in bloom!  I could see the blooms from blocks away.  If you get the chance, definitely check out the 4 small roundabouts in Ladd's Addition.  They are just spectacularly beautiful.  What a great asset to our city.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ok, you all know how much I love squirrels.  I was walking by a tree and saw that a squirrel was right at eye level with me just a couple feet away.  I started talking to it and it came down the tree and got super close to me.  I was dreaming of all the great pictures I could have had if I had the courage to squat down.  But I know that this is a wild animal (even though he was so tame), so I kept a respectful distance and had a game plan ready if he tried anything funny.  Still, he was just adorable and I was happy to spend a few minutes with him.

 

 

 

 

So I took this a few hours after my walk, but I just had to share.  I had been out running errands and came home to this guy in my drive way.  It was about 2pm and I was shocked to see him in daylight.  I haven't seen a possum in ages!  I left my groceries in the hot car and went into the backyard to see where he went.  I was very surprised to turn around and there he just feet from me.  I think I was more shocked than he was.  We both just stared at each other.  He slowly walked forward as I slowly walked backward.  Finally, after a few moments of this, he ducked under my deck.  Later I went out front and ran into him again.  I saw him one last time in the backyard.  He kept giving me the 'not you again' look.  He didn't seem too bothered by me.  Later, I learned that he's been living under my neighbors front porch for quite some time.  I hope to see him again!