Walked 3.72 Miles - Ladd's Addition

 

 

On this walk, I headed to Ladd's Addtion. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Winter Daphne is starting to bloom. One of the best smells ever.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I tried really hard to get a picture of this plastic rat with the cat sitting next to it. The cat was too friendly to cooperate. 

 

 

 

 

Another Little Free Library. I always shake my fists when I see Infinite Jest. I read the entire thing (over 1000 pages) and just didn't get it. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love the green doors on this church.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Omakase at Boxer Sushi is really just a wonderful thing. I highly recommend it. At 20th and Hawthorne, it's a great addition to the neighborhood. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A three hour tour, a three hour tour. I couldn't get that out of my head after seeing this toy boat.

 

 

 

 

A very good year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was painted in many places long an alley. I don't know if it's suppose to mean anything.

 

 

 

 

I was sad to see this piece that I've taken pictures of before was destroyed. I'm so curious about the story behind this.

 

 

Walked 4.23 Miles - Rhododendron Gardens

Man, oh man, was it rainy today. Hardcore downpour with lots of wind. I set out towards the Rhododendron Gardens, because it's been too long since I've been. The weather was so extreme that I almost turned around several times. I kept picking a distance up ahead as my turnaround point, but each time I got to that mark I kept going. I'm so glad I didn't give up. I like this picture, because you can see the rain coming down in a sheet up towards the top of the bridge. 

Here's a new development. It looks like the permanent sidewalk will go in soon.








Safety is attitude. Everyone should live be these 2 simple rules. 














This was the only duck out of the water and he just looked miserable. I could commiserate. I was soaked from head to toe.





I had the place completely to myself until this friendly dog and his owner came by. I got to pet her for few seconds. Love that.








The puddles were much bigger on the return trip. 





It was great to see the Max construction this far down. The Westmoreland golf course is directly to my left.





What do we do when we can't be together??





I could see entire large trees reflected in puddles. 

Walked 4.63 Miles - Oaks Bottom

If yesterday felt like May, than today felt like December. So cold! I left the house with my hat and I'm so glad I did. Only about 5 minutes into my walk it started to down pour. It's kind of funny that walking in the rain has become a novelty this year. It's been ages since it's rained during my walks. This storm was making up for lost time. I was completely drenched and freezing cold when I got home.

I wanted to run a bit on the Springwater Corridor which is the whole reason I went to Oaks Bottom today. The trail was extremely empty in the cold weather. I ran about a half to three quarters of a mile. I felt good and it was nice to change it up a bit.





All of the little dots in the water are ducks.

Walked 2.49 Miles - West Hills of Brooklyn

I stepped outside with no destination in mind. One look at the epic clouds in the sky and I knew I need to find a place to take pictures of the them, so I headed to the West Hills of Brooklyn and a bit of higher ground.

Today felt like a day in May. It was so beautiful and warm.





I walked up to McLoughlin and the clouds were just incredible. I had to keep reminding myself to look down at the ground every once in awhile. 





The moss has taken over the sidewalk completely. When I walked on the moss, it felt about 2 inches thick. 








I cut my drinking teeth on HRD. I'm pretty sure most people in Portland do. I remember shoulder tapping co-workers to buy some for me and friends 20 years ago. I think it was 3 dollars a bottle back then. It was definitely no more than 5 dollars which is why it's so popular. It doesn't get more bottom shelf than this.





These are popping up all over the hood. When I saw this one, I immediately thought they were referring to Valentine's Day.





I walked up to the Brooklyn Community Garden to get a better look at the clouds. This tree was alive with robins. You can see some of them in the trees, but there were many more you can't see. The moon is also peeking through on of the branches. 





These plants are high above my head on a tall wall. From this angle, they look like a tiny forest. 





I wonder what kind of animal used to own this skull.





I don't think I've ever seen a brand new fire hydrant. 





Construction is everywhere. There really isn't a day that I walk and don't see something like this.








I spent the entire walk thinking about how it felt like a May day. I was very surprised to see that this poem at the very end of my walk also talks about a day that felt like the month of May.

Walked 3.11 Miles - SE Portland

Today was all about the chickens! I figured since it was Valentine's Day that I would treat myself by walking past my favorite house. I've taken pictures here a few times and I just love that their chickens are so close to the sidewalk. After seeing the chickens here, I saw so many more. They are becoming very common in SE and it seems like every other house has a coop. 

The weather was just perfect. These seed pods hanging from trees look really alien to me.





The big long building is finally completely down. It was a weird shock to walk around the corner and see the Gideon Pedestrian bridge which was always hidden by that building before.





The folks in the middle of the bridge were totally making out. It was sweet to see young love on Valentine's Day.





It feels so open now with that massive building gone. You can even see the KOIN tower and downtown in the distance. 





There was already so much happening around this bridge and then a train came through honking it's horn.














Such a fancy coop!














This glass flower was a needed bit of color in this winter yard.





The love birds were gone when I returned to the pedestrian bridge, so I was able to take a picture of the Max construction from my usual vantage point.





My 'waiting for the light to change' picture. Someone had decorated this utility box with Mardi Gras beads.








Construction is definitely ramping up. I had watched worker bees construct the large rebar circle things )on the left) for a couple of weeks. Each one is probably about 20 feet long. It's fun to see them actually go into the ground. 

Walked 3.01 Miles - West Hills of Brooklyn

I'm having a rough day. I missed walking on Monday, so I knew I needed to get outside today. I really wasn't feeling it and almost didn't go, but I finally got out the door. I was a few blocks from my house when I saw a car stopped at a stop sign across the street from me. Completely stopped, just sitting there. I started crossing the street, because I had the right of way. I was halfway across when I looked to my right to see that the car had crossed the intersection and was coming right at me. I don't think she would have actually hit me (at least I would like to believe she would have stopped before she hit me), but she came about 2 inches from me and I jumped out of the way not to be hit. As I was dodging her car, I looked at her and she had a deadpan expression on her face and she was just staring at me. Really, really scary.

It all happened so fast and she was gone before I could come to my senses and think about getting her license plate number. In the three years that I've done this project, I've never had anyone intentionally be malicious like this lady. It really shook me up. At first I was seeing red mad. Then I looked up Franklin street and saw the big hill many blocks away. I knew I needed to walk up that hill just to blow of stem and to get my mind thinking about something else. I managed to get 3 miles in today, but I was kind of cranky the entire time. Heck, I'm still kind of cranky. 

On a happier note, I saw so many cats today. It's been weeks since I've seen a single cat. Today they were everywhere. I took time to stop along my walk and pet the 3 cats that would let me. Cats always lift my spirits and it was just want I needed to help settle my nerves. 











This yard was filled with wood shavings. I couldn't see what the project was. Only the shavings were left.











I headed to the Poulsen house which I just adore. This is what the house looks like when you are outside of the gate. On top of the tall stone wall is a very large hedge. It makes it a challenge to photograph, but that's half of the fun.





It's nice that someone cleared a path on this sidewalk. Moss is everywhere. I love it so, but it's super slippery on wet days. 





These keys are such an enigma. I've seen keys before with this purple key chain. Then on subsequent walks, no keys and only the purple key chain. Now keys are back. A street pole doesn't seem to be the safest key caddy to me.











First signs of sidewalk chalk. Spring is on its way. 











I catch the bus across from this building. I see it almost every day of my life. Today was the first time I took a picture of it. 

Today I had grand intentions to walk to the Rhododendron Gardens. Once I started out, my feet began to hurt in a way that they haven't for some time. So I decided that I would change plans and walk down to the waterfront since it is much closer. Then that was too much, so I headed to the nearby West Hills of Brooklyn and managed to walk over 2 miles. My legs felt better at the end, but I'm glad that I didn't push them too hard.

The first daffodils of the year! I love these bright happy little flowers.

















I saw this statue from a ways away and at first I thought it was a real dog. 

Today I set out without any intention on where to walk. I finally decided to head up Holgate over to Gladstone up and then to Kenilworth park at 34th. It was a cloudy day and not too warm, but luckily I stayed dry the whole time.

This why I don't put up holiday decorations. You have to take them down - eventually. I'm going to keep my eye out to see when this large nativity scene is finally put away.





I love it when the sky is filled with these huge clouds. The sun popped out many times, but mostly it looked like this.











I'm so glad I went to Kenilworth Park, because I was rewarded with Winter Daphne. This fragrant flower is in my top 5 favorites. It's such a treat in the winter and the smell is just amazing. This is the first time I've seen it in bloom this year. I can't wait until it's blooming everywhere.











Many of the trees in the park had tons of sap oozing out of them. Is this normal? I haven't seen this in other parks in the area. I'm worried that these trees aren't so healthy. Hopefully I'm wrong. I was very careful not to get to close to the pitch. I have lots of memories of being covered in pitch after climbing trees. It's so hard to get off.








I have a friend who takes an exercise class at Mt Tabor. She often posts pictures of the tree canopy. Remembering this helped me to remember to look up and see how amazing the tree canopy is at Kenilworth. 








Grout Elementary is such a pretty school. I've taken a watercolor class here with my sis. They also have a great holiday craft fair each year. I just love all the details in the architecture. 








Coming back over the Holgate overpass, I could see this storm starting to roll in. It was really so beautiful that I took a ton of pictures all the while realizing that I should probably get a move on it.





As a comparison, this is what it looked like on the other side of Holgate looking over Brooklyn Yards. Quite a difference. Luckily, I was headed towards the blue skies. I kept looking over my shoulder to see if the storm would catch  me, but it never did.





I think these buds look super alien.

Today was blustery. While it rained most of my walk, it was so light that a true Portlander wouldn't call it rain. I enjoyed the wind and it really wasn't that cold. I headed to Ladd's Addition and had a very nice walk.

I wanted to see if this very large building was completely gone. Nope, there is about a half of a block to go. It's been so amazing to see this building disappear bit by bit.








May peace prevail on Earth





I'm pretty much in love with this picture.





I tweaked this picture quite a bit, so you'd be able to see this squirrel. I knew when I was taking it that the squirrel was horribly back lit, but he was just so cute that I didn't care. He would run away and then come back. He did this a couple of times until he finally leaned out on his feeder to see me better. We stared at each other for a while until I decided to head on my way.





Color is so rare this time of year. Such a treat.











This is so Portland! This is a brand new supply store for bee keepers...that has applied for a liquor license. Rad. I will be definitely checking back once they've gotten their license.











I  just finished reading Wild by Cheryl Strayed. Cheryl walked 1100 miles along the Pacific Crest Trail. Amazing. I've thought a lot about this book on my walks. My mom-in-law is currently preparing for her own long distrance trek. I'm so inspired by this concept. I don't know if it's for me, but who knows? I'm definitely not ruling it out. 

What a beautiful day! It's the first day of February and boy, it is starting off well. I am so happy to say good-bye to the craziness that was January. I decided to head to Oaks Bottom, because I just wanted to be in nature. This was a cleansing walk to celebrate finally getting through my big project at work. The sun was shining bright and it was a joy to walk in short sleeves. Such a great day to be outside.

I have a new obsession with plants in round holes.














I've turned off my music often to listen to birds. Today I turned off my music to listen to the frogs! Such a great change and they were crazy loud. Very fun! Oaks Bottoms was very busy. At the top of the park, there was a class practicing wilderness first aid. Then at this spot, I passed a guy with a gaggle of 5ish years old with him. He was squatting and he had something in his hands. I doubled back to take a peek and he was showing the kids a little garter snake. I so wished I was brave enough to ask to take a picture, but one of the 5 years old was glaring at me and I chickened out. Also, Portland Public Schools were on holiday today, so traffic on the trail was heavier than usual. I'm glad so many parents thought to take there kids here.





I crossed the Springwater Corridor to get a look at the Willamette. The only other time I'd walked on my trail was a rainy gray day. Even though the sun was out, the trail was still extremely muddy. 





Yeah, it looks pretty much the same as before. There were signs stating that the bank was unstable and to stay at least 50 feet away from the edge. I broke that rule here, but only for brief couple of seconds. Falling into the Willamette is not something I ever want to do.








These blue diamonds were about every 50 feet on this trail. I tried to google them to figure out what they mean, but I couldn't find the answer. Does anyone know?





I've seen this series of public art before, but this one was brand new to me. I don't know how I've missed it before. I couldn't resist getting a self portrait.











It's amazing the amount of work that is spent on this park. Now that I've been here so much, I can see all the changes taking place. From regular filling of bird feeders and clearing away tree debris to this great new trail head. Previously, this was an ugly hard to maneuver weird gate thing that wasn't very user friendly or welcoming. Now there's a great wood fence and bike rake. 








Posted on a car window.

Walked 2.65 Miles - West Hills of Brooklyn

Today I had grand intentions to walk to the Rhododendron Gardens. Once I started out, my feet began to hurt in a way that they haven't for some time. So I decided that I would change plans and walk down to the waterfront since it is much closer. Then that was too much, so I headed to the nearby West Hills of Brooklyn and managed to walk over 2 miles. My legs felt better at the end, but I'm glad that I didn't push them too hard.

The first daffodils of the year! I love these bright happy little flowers.

















I saw this statue from a ways away and at first I thought it was a real dog. 

Walked 3.74 Miles - Kenilworth Park

Today I set out without any intention on where to walk. I finally decided to head up Holgate over to Gladstone up and then to Kenilworth park at 34th. It was a cloudy day and not too warm, but luckily I stayed dry the whole time.

This why I don't put up holiday decorations. You have to take them down - eventually. I'm going to keep my eye out to see when this large nativity scene is finally put away.





I love it when the sky is filled with these huge clouds. The sun popped out many times, but mostly it looked like this.











I'm so glad I went to Kenilworth Park, because I was rewarded with Winter Daphne. This fragrant flower is in my top 5 favorites. It's such a treat in the winter and the smell is just amazing. This is the first time I've seen it in bloom this year. I can't wait until it's blooming everywhere.











Many of the trees in the park had tons of sap oozing out of them. Is this normal? I haven't seen this in other parks in the area. I'm worried that these trees aren't so healthy. Hopefully I'm wrong. I was very careful not to get to close to the pitch. I have lots of memories of being covered in pitch after climbing trees. It's so hard to get off.








I have a friend who takes an exercise class at Mt Tabor. She often posts pictures of the tree canopy. Remembering this helped me to remember to look up and see how amazing the tree canopy is at Kenilworth. 








Grout Elementary is such a pretty school. I've taken a watercolor class here with my sis. They also have a great holiday craft fair each year. I just love all the details in the architecture. 








Coming back over the Holgate overpass, I could see this storm starting to roll in. It was really so beautiful that I took a ton of pictures all the while realizing that I should probably get a move on it.





As a comparison, this is what it looked like on the other side of Holgate looking over Brooklyn Yards. Quite a difference. Luckily, I was headed towards the blue skies. I kept looking over my shoulder to see if the storm would catch  me, but it never did.





I think these buds look super alien.

Walked 3.33 Miles - Ladd's Addition

Today was blustery. While it rained most of my walk, it was so light that a true Portlander wouldn't call it rain. I enjoyed the wind and it really wasn't that cold. I headed to Ladd's Addition and had a very nice walk.

I wanted to see if this very large building was completely gone. Nope, there is about a half of a block to go. It's been so amazing to see this building disappear bit by bit.








May peace prevail on Earth





I'm pretty much in love with this picture.





I tweaked this picture quite a bit, so you'd be able to see this squirrel. I knew when I was taking it that the squirrel was horribly back lit, but he was just so cute that I didn't care. He would run away and then come back. He did this a couple of times until he finally leaned out on his feeder to see me better. We stared at each other for a while until I decided to head on my way.





Color is so rare this time of year. Such a treat.











This is so Portland! This is a brand new supply store for bee keepers...that has applied for a liquor license. Rad. I will be definitely checking back once they've gotten their license.











I  just finished reading Wild by Cheryl Strayed. Cheryl walked 1100 miles along the Pacific Crest Trail. Amazing. I've thought a lot about this book on my walks. My mom-in-law is currently preparing for her own long distrance trek. I'm so inspired by this concept. I don't know if it's for me, but who knows? I'm definitely not ruling it out. 

Walked 3.58 Miles - Oaks Bottom

What a beautiful day! It's the first day of February and boy, it is starting off well. I am so happy to say good-bye to the craziness that was January. I decided to head to Oaks Bottom, because I just wanted to be in nature. This was a cleansing walk to celebrate finally getting through my big project at work. The sun was shining bright and it was a joy to walk in short sleeves. Such a great day to be outside.

I have a new obsession with plants in round holes.














I've turned off my music often to listen to birds. Today I turned off my music to listen to the frogs! Such a great change and they were crazy loud. Very fun! Oaks Bottoms was very busy. At the top of the park, there was a class practicing wilderness first aid. Then at this spot, I passed a guy with a gaggle of 5ish years old with him. He was squatting and he had something in his hands. I doubled back to take a peek and he was showing the kids a little garter snake. I so wished I was brave enough to ask to take a picture, but one of the 5 years old was glaring at me and I chickened out. Also, Portland Public Schools were on holiday today, so traffic on the trail was heavier than usual. I'm glad so many parents thought to take there kids here.





I crossed the Springwater Corridor to get a look at the Willamette. The only other time I'd walked on my trail was a rainy gray day. Even though the sun was out, the trail was still extremely muddy. 





Yeah, it looks pretty much the same as before. There were signs stating that the bank was unstable and to stay at least 50 feet away from the edge. I broke that rule here, but only for brief couple of seconds. Falling into the Willamette is not something I ever want to do.








These blue diamonds were about every 50 feet on this trail. I tried to google them to figure out what they mean, but I couldn't find the answer. Does anyone know?





I've seen this series of public art before, but this one was brand new to me. I don't know how I've missed it before. I couldn't resist getting a self portrait.











It's amazing the amount of work that is spent on this park. Now that I've been here so much, I can see all the changes taking place. From regular filling of bird feeders and clearing away tree debris to this great new trail head. Previously, this was an ugly hard to maneuver weird gate thing that wasn't very user friendly or welcoming. Now there's a great wood fence and bike rake. 








Posted on a car window.