There is another fun reason to explore downtown Portland!
The city has teamed up with Laika, (the film company that made the stop-motion masterpiece ‘Coraline’) and local artists to create “Coraline’s Cat Trail.”
This series of 31 cat sculptures, all based on the Cat character in ‘Coraline’, has each been painted by a local artist and installed in public areas around town. Most of them are near downtown, but some are by OMSI or the Rose Garden.
Auntie Bridgett and I caught the #15 last Sunday, to see what we could find.
There is a website with good directions, but we used the more easily available, but less accurate, map. So there was a certain amount of guesswork.
We only managed to find 6, but it was so fun chatting with other cat-hunting folks and seeing our lovely downtown come back to life, that we didn’t mind. There will be lots of Sundays to find more.
I am looking forward to seeing things that can only be found in Denmark when I visit you next week! Here are some things that are unique to Portland.
This perfectly repurposed broken cherub statue, now mounted in a tall bush and oddly beautiful, makes me smile on the way to the market.
This skeleton in a tree, who seems to be haunting the bird feeder, is veeeery patient.
This cluttered collection of stickers on a “no pedestrian crossing” sign (where we crossed anyway). The center one says, in French, “This is not a sticker.”
And on the power pole just outside Books with Pictures, these delightful decorations make the world a little “Portlandier”.
I grant you, these bits of Portland weirdness are not historic like your castles or mechanical marvels like your giant wind turbines, but I like them a lot, anyway.
On the way to and from the Zoo this weekend, Grandpa Nelson and I built in some time to walk around and see things. Big cities like Portland always have something new going on.
At Pioneer Square, sometimes called Portland’s Living Room, there is this sign, showing distances to notable locations near and far. Nice to see that “Portlandia” is just five blocks away!
Also in the Living Room is this decoration, called The Weather Machine. It opens up at noon, plays a fanfare, and displays a different icon depending on the weather.
New planters are going in along walkable street. They look sturdy and ready to bloom this spring.
As we waited for the bus home in the afternoon, we got to listen to a concert and choir from the Ukraine Association. They are making sure we all remember that Ukraine is still under attack from Russia and needs our support.
It’s nice that spring is coming and we can be out and about again.
I love wandering around my neighborhood. I always see something unexpected.
This little sculpture, only about 6 inches high, sits on a big boulder placed along the sidewalk of Division Street. Placed close to the Philip Neary Church, someone has decorated this accordion player with a rosary. This is one of 8 such sculptures created by Crystal Schenk and Shelby Davis and installed in 2014. Collectively called “This All Happened, More or Less”, these pieces represent ordinary people calmly going about their business, reading, resting, or chatting.
A different sort of unexpected beauty is this graphically painted re-purposed school bus. I haven’t been able to find out what it is being used for now, but it looks like fun!
These bright pyracantha berries, a perfect winter food source for local birds, seem to glow in the sunshine.
And as I walked along, i noticed that the blustery wind was playing with my scarf in a very photogenic fashion. So I played along.
Our country seems to be in a dangerous place. Our people are fighting each other in Walgreens about wearing masks and in the streets over everything else. Our President is talking crazy about not leaving office when his time is up. People are worried about their health, their schools, and their jobs.
Last week, walking back from downtown, I passed this fallen oak tree in our Lone Fir Cemetery. It was one of the old ones, probably fifty feet tall, and had green leaves all over it. Five minutes before it had fallen, it had looked fine.
Hollow center of a giant
But now that I was able to see into the trunk, I could see the truth. It was rotten on the inside, hollow and useless. I had a shiver of bad literary juju. “That’s like us,” I thought. “We still live in nice houses and have luxuries, but our government has failed to protect us from the evil ambition of this President. We could fall any moment now.”
That sense of dread has stuck with me for days. It has given me nightmares. But it won’t stick around forever. There is still good in the world, and I went out and found some.
Vote of confidence on the Morrison Bridge
I love public art, especially the small bits that sneak up on you. It lets us see good intentions and know that the power for good is there, even when the artist has moved on.
Caring for tiny things on a side street
I love that more people are registering to vote and encourage others. I love that even “the other side” is taking steps to limit the damage to our Democracy. And I hope that when all this energy is acted upon, it will be enough.
Sticker art at AsylumAlways a good idea!
I send you waves of love and hope for a better day.
After weeks of feeling isolated and in my own head, Wednesday was a day that felt very connected, very Portland.
Hooray for Auntie Katie!!!
First, Auntie Katie’s bookshop, Books With Pictures, was voted BEST COMIC BOOK SHOP IN PORTLAND by our local newspaper, the Willamette Weekly. Hooray!
I am sure that her hard work and dedication to customer service in having an online ordering service and door to door deliveries during the pandemic has endeared her to everyone. With so many businesses closing down, it is wonderful to see her thrive.
And in the evening, Grandpa Nelson and Auntie Bridgett walked with me to deliver first aid supplies to the Black Lives Matter protesters. A group of volunteers called Snackbloc collect bandages, gloves, and other useful items in different neighborhoods to be used downtown to support the protesters against the Federal troops.
A beautiful mural along the way!
It pains me so much to see our government beating peaceful protesters. There has been some vandalism, but these troops are not dispersing crowds or stopping it; they are attacking unarmed people, shoving them down and gassing lines of singing women.
Protesters in Portland…. Photo by Beth Nakamura
It is as though they have come to punish these people for standing against the beatings… by beating them, like an abusive father ranting, “Stop crying or I’ll really give you something to cry about.” This is not how I want my country to be.
Police attacking protesters in Portland… photo credit, CNN
But I am a coward. I fear beatings, teargas, arrest and undocumented detention by unknown troops. So I help in a small way so others who are braver can help in larger ways.
We have been having such sunny weather that I have been walking every day. Yesterday, I took Auntie Bridgett on a bit of a wild goose chase looking for some sculpture.
We had two items on our agenda: to eat a picnic lunch in a park, and for me to show Bridgett a front yard full of sculptures that I had seen the day before. I thought I remembered right where it was… and I was almost right.
We packed sausage, cheese, fruits and veg, and two giant bottles of ice water. We also took watercolor supplies, as Bridgett said, “just in case.”
I led us to Market Street and then Stephens, keeping my eyes peeled for the house that I knew should be … around here … somewhere. But we had gone too far, and I was puzzled. How had we missed it? We asked a lady working in her yard, and, after some confusion, she remembered and directed us. It turns out, we had turned exactly one block too soon.
Big sigh. It was getting on to noon, and we had come blocks too far. We stood in the shade and thought… should we go forward, not see the sculpture, and eat sooner, or backtrack, see the art, and delay lunch a bit? We opted for the art, turned around, and walked. And after fifteen minutes, there it was!
It is a real sculpture garden, right in someone’s front yard. Realistic portraits, stylized African heads, and a delightful hand monument, all set among flowers, sunshine, and shade. I took pictures and we stood and appreciated to variety and arrangement.
Then it was sure and truly lunchtime, and we headed to Seawellcrest Park. There were lots of trees and shade, kids playing hide and seek, and deliriously happy dogs playing fetch. We sat and enjoyed being out in the world, watching our fellow mammals at play. We ate our lunch and then painted a little, my first “plein aire” (painting outdoors) attempt.
It’s more of a sketch with pencil and water color than an actual painting, and I’ll work more on it later. But better to start badly than not at all.
When we had eaten every crumb and knew we had gotten too much sun, we headed back home. Sunshine, art, and a wonderful neighborhood to get lost in… I am truly blessed.
I saw that you had a walk along the lovely coast at Monterey and even a barbecue with your mom and dad. Here, we all went for nice long walks through the old, tree filled Laurelhurst neighborhood.
Fourth of July in Laurelhurst
The flowers are so beautiful and the yards kept so pretty, it is almost like some house and garden tour. Houses here were built from 1917 to about the 1950s, so there is a lot of variety, and the lots are steep because every house had a big cellar. The trees grow fat and wide and make lovely shaded walk.
Dahlias that look like fireworks…
We had a nice big bowl of soba noodle soup for dinner, and started watching an old Jimmy Stewart movie called “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” about an idealistic young man learning, and doing something, about corruption in government. In about the middle of the movie, I wanted to walk out to see if I could find the lunar eclipse. It would only be visible during moonrise. My wonderful people agreed to pause the movie and we headed out.
Weird, funny, true poster….
We saw this poster, which is funny and true and sort of sad at the same time, and we saw (and heard!) folks setting of fireworks, but we never got to see the moonrise. The same trees that make us love Portland so much make it hard to see the horizon.
Out of hundreds that heard, the only ones we saw
We got home and finished the movie, with Jimmy Stewart (guided and inspired by Jean Arthur) giving a filibuster in the Senate and smashing the political machine that was running his state. Right triumphed, evil was stopped, and all was well.
Jimmy Stewart, fighting corruption
It was hard to fall asleep, because the fireworks were so LOUD they shook the windows. After weeks of seeing video of political protests with some buildings set in fire, it was hard to relax.
Jean Arthur and Thomas Mitchell help out
If we are, as some people say, in a revolution, I imagine we may be hearing more of these disturbing sounds.
So, the other day I was remembering how my Momma encouraged us to deal with sad times by finding things to be grateful for. And then yesterday, coming back from running errands, I found the Gratitude Tree.
This is a tree planted in the parkway at SE 36th and Main Street. I don’t know how long it has been there, and don’t know how I have missed it until now. Indeed, I may have seen it, but since I didn’t NEED it, it didn’t register. Brains are like that.
Anyway, I stopped and had a good visit with the Gratitude Tree. It carries the website http://www.gratitudedojo.com and is covered with Manila tags, which are attached to a rope by thin wire. Hundreds of people have written what they are grateful for and attached their thanks.
These acknowledgements of gifts great and small made me smile. And, like the Grinch, my heart grew a few sizes. Even in the midst of racial upheavals and violence, an international pandemic and incompetent leadership, there is a lot to be grateful for.
I don’t know who has provided our neighborhood with this wonderful way to put our joy and appreciation on display. I wish I did. I would make them a batch of cookies and write them a limerick.
Cookies don’t travel well online, but here is the limerick.
As I have said before, the Oregon Zoo here in Portland is delightful. They take good care of the animals by giving them large, interesting enclosures. The keepers make sure the animals get healthy food and enough exercise.
The zoo also educates people about animals and how we can help take care of them, both in the wild and in captivity.
Carved mural in the Pacific Northwest area
But the zoo is also beautiful. Even in winter, when trees and gardens go bare, there are sculptures and other kid-friendly art. When I can walk slowly and really look around, I see more.
Carved mural detailCousin Jasper, hanging out with the goats
There is a stack of goats just near the entrance which is a great photo op for families. You and the cousins climb on it every time we are there!
Being cubs together
The late Jim Gion’s lion sculpture, called Lunchtime, is a favorite with kids. They love sitting on the adults and rolling on the ground with the babies.
Sitting on the Mom…
The other day when I was at the zoo I noticed two sculptures that I had never seen before. One is a frog about two feet high, called Sunning. It is in one of the buildings with small, tropical animals on display.
Sunning, by Lydia Herrick Hodge
My biggest surprise was an outdoor sculpture group near the penguin enclosure. I couldn’t see any plaque giving the name or artist, and haven’t been able to find this information elsewhere yet.
Auntie Katie has identified the man as Charles Darwin. Grandpa Nelson wants to call it Mansplaining, which I kind of like. But I’ll keep looking for the correct name!
Sculpture group at Oregon Zoo, title and artist as yet unknownYou on the mouse
Other art, like the stone sculpture garden, is meant to be climbed on.
Jasper and the bear
At a wonderful event called ZooLights, the art is meant to be seen but not touched. Only open at night in winter, most of the zoo is lit up with beautiful colored scenes and animals that seem to swoop and run. It is chilly, but worth the extra layers.
Dear Liza 