Fall is on the way. During our last weeks of hot weather, I got into the habit of going for walks early in the day to avoid the shingle-irritating bright sun and heat.
I noticed that Laurelhurst Park is very different early in the day. The cool damp of night is still in the air. Tai chi groups perform their slow dance among the trees.
Firwood Lake is a perfect mirror… until the ducks wake up! Then, somehow, the ripples make the mirror even more beautiful.
And passing the Blair Community Garden, I see the raspberries getting ripe.
I am happily awaiting the day when I will need a second layer to be comfortable. J’aime sweater weather!
I am slowly (way too slowly, if you ask me) getting back to normal after Shingles knocked me flat. I still have some pain most of the day, take medications to sleep, and get tired easily.
But the world is still out there, and I’m getting out in it more. I like walking in the early morning, because the shadows are long and better for my still-light-sensitive eyes. And, as always, Laurelhurst Park is my favorite place.
Early mornings at the park are quiet and delightful. There were the usual dog walkers and baby walkers, but also pickle ball players, tai chi groups, and a maintenance guy power washing the picnic tables. A lady was training her puppy to sit and stay.
And there was the rain. Just a light drizzle, not enough for anyone to mind, but a steady, cooling reminder that time moves on and summer will end.
I was enjoying it so much, I walked until I was very tired. Feeling discouraged on my way out of the park, this piece of serendipitous advice found me, and I made it home.
While Auntie Bridgett was busy with her table at the Alliance Française Christmas Open House, I took the opportunity to explore the neighborhood. The day was very cold but strikingly clear.
Just behind the Kamm Mansion’s tiny parking lot is a stairway that goes straight up the hill! I counted the steps, and it’s at least three stories high. I wish I had thought to take a picture, but I was anxious to see what was at the top.
And what I found were amazing views! Downtown was laid out in sparkling detail. I stopped every twenty feet or so and took another picture. Here is the Fremont Bridge (on the left) with Mt. Saint Helens, 70 miles away, beyond.
A few more steps, and I realized where I was: directly above Goose Hollow! That meant I must be getting close to…
The Vista Bridge! I have gone under this bridge dozens of times, on the train to the Zoo and Washington Park. It was built in 1925 and links two sections of the West Hills.
It also, as the name implies, offers some amazing views. Here is Mt Hood, shining brightly behind Downtown Portland.
Here is one that includes a hint of the chain link fence the city has installed. It sort of frames the view. Perspective is good.
Once I was across the Vista Bridge, I made my chilly way through the neighborhood and back to the Alliance Française. A few cookies and a glass of champagne, and I was toasty warm.
We have a lot of rainy days in our forecast, so we have decided to just go for walks, knowing we are going to get wet. The grey cloudy light makes the pictures darker than usual, so they look almost magical.
We walked around the park, amazed at the carpet of leaves and the thousands yet to fall. The giant ginkgo tree stays yellow for a week or so, and will drop all its leaves almost overnight.
It was so dark at 1 o’clock in the afternoon that the park lights had come on.
Bridgett got very engrossed in looking at a pair of squirrels chasing each other around the trees. I’m not sure if they were fighting or flirting, but they were so busy they didn’t even notice us.
This tall oak will hold onto its fall leaves for months, until it is ready to spout the green leaves of spring.
Knowing that spring is many long wet months away, I may need to carry the sunshine inside me.
My buddy Cynthia and I headed downtown last week to our Portland Art Museum. The remodeling work is still going on, so floor space is limited, but what they have on display is really interesting.
Upstairs, there is a collection called Psychedelic. Mostly, these are posters for rock concerts in San Francisco in the mid to late 1960s, when I was too young to go to rock concerts. Still, I knew the posters were cool even then.
Groups like The Byrds, Moby Grape and The Jefferson Airplane gave concerts at the Filmore Theater, and posters like these made sure everyone knew this was The Happening Place. We enjoyed the incredible colors, and wondered how they would react under black light.
There were also mannequins with fashions from the era standing about. Mini skirts in metallics and wild colors took me right back my days as a wanting-to-be-cool pre-teen.
Downstairs was a collection of photos taken by a very young Paul McCartney when the Beatles were on their first tour of America.
Since I was all of eight years old, I remember the mood of the time very well. Any news about the group was BIG news, and their music was in all of our ears.
Considering the frenzied energy that went wherever the Beatles did, Paul’s photos capture a more playful, relaxed mood.
Cynthia and I chatted about all sorts of things (as we always do), as we looked and remembered our own 60s journeys.
And when our tummies were empty and our feet were tired, we headed past a leafy church for lunch at McMenamin’s.
We are in The “April Showers” part of spring, and boy, is it drippy! It’s not terribly cold, though, so still good weather for walks.
I needed to get to Auntie Katie’s place to feed Hopey and Maggie while she’s away doing comic business, so Grandpa Nelson and I headed out.
The rose gardens in the Ladd’s Addition Rose gardens are getting ready to bloom! This little guy is showing color already, and by Monday when Katie gets back, there will be lots of blossoms.
In Katie’s own garden at Books with Pictures, the wild roses by the fence are fully open and making the bees happy.
They sure brighten up the corner by the stage!
The tall purple irises are up and looking gorgeous. I love how they look with the antique bed frame Katie has installed as a part of the fence.
Another way you can tell it’s April is that the neighborhoods are covered with tiny green maple seeds.
They look like tiny helicopters close up, but like a green carpet from a distance.
They sure look pretty with the pink cherry blossoms.
When I’d fed the cats and said hello to Sir Isaac Snooten, I joined Grandpa Nelson at Floyd’s coffee house to warm up and rest before heading back up the hill.
Auntie Bridgett and I went for a walk the other day, in between rain showers. We carried an umbrella just in case.
First, we ran into a yard sale being held by a young man who is moving to France. He had all sorts of wonderful things out, but we were at the beginning of a long walk and had to be picky.
Two scarves and a hand embroidered laundry kit from about the 1940s were tucked in my bag to be washed and used. A well-used paperback copy of “Pride and Prejudice” will go on my bedside table tonight.
We continued down the hill to Auntie Katie’s apartment to feed the cats while she is away at the New York City Comic Con. I took a picture of Sir Isaac Snooten to send to let her know her scaly friend is happy.
By then, we were hungry for lunch. We walked across the street to Virtuous Pie, which we have walked past dozens of times. They sell vegan pizzas with gluten-free options, so it was a new experience. It is not pizza-as-usual, but tasty, crunchy and healthy. The place is bright and open, and the pizza smelled so good!
It looked good, too, and was delicious! Pesto sauce, cashew mozzarella and tofu sausage on a thin crust… perfect.
We walked home through the East Rose garden in Ladd’s Addition, where the lovelies are having their second bloom. Even with grey skies, they were beautiful!
Bridgett had brought a small bag of kibble cat food that Mouse can’t eat because of her allergies, and we shared it as we went along. We got noticed by the local crows, who would swoop down and have a snack. You’re welcome, crows!
We got home just before it started sprinkling, having walked more than four miles. What a lovely day here in almost-rainy season Portland.
When I lived just a few blocks from you, we had dinner every week and visited a lot. Now that I am in Portland, I see Auntie Katie more. Last week’s walk in the Fall drizzle ended up at her cozy apartment.
First, I had a piece of pumpkin pie. A slice of not too sweet pumpkin pie delicious-ness is the perfect thing for Second breakfast after a two mile walk.
Restored and refreshed by the pie, I had a visit with Sir Isaac Snooten, Kestrel’s hog-nosed snake. He has a new, larger enclosure and has gotten so big! He is a happy, social, snake boy.
And then, on to the goodies! I have decided to try (after years of feeling intimidated) a Crazy Quilt. You know, non-geometric piecing, lots of trims, and gobs of embroidery. Auntie Katie sweetly offered me her stash of fabrics, and we spent a happy time sifting through four drawers and a basket to find the right textures and colors. It was a real treasure hunt.
We put the chosen fabrics (along with a year’s supply of Publisher’s Weekly as collage fodder) into a sack, had an hug, and I headed back up the hill. I spent a happy hour combining Katie’s fabrics and mine to come up with the color pallet for my first-ever crazy quilt. (Don’t worry, that odd pink flower fabric is not part of the scheme… she just wandered in.)
So now, there are just hundreds of pieces to cut, sew, press, trim, embroider, and piece together. Wish me luck! I’ll keep you posted on my progress.
Saturday just kept going! After a bit of a rest, we walked over to Zach’s Shack to see Johnny Franco and his band.
Grandpa Nelson has been going to Zach’s for years. He loves their French fries and sodas, their pleasant back patio, Zach himself, and Riley, the resident Corgi.
I like Zach’s for the tofu Chicago dogs, cold Guinness beer, and the funky style of the place.
And this evening, there was an additional attraction! Johnny Franco, who we usually listen to at Laurelhurst Park, had set up with his band on the patio. Zach was on hand to help with props and serving… there was quite a crowd!
The band consists of Johnny, who sings and plays guitar; his guitar-playing harmonizing vocalist; a drummer; and a fellow who plays both trumpet and flute, depending on what is needed.
I like the sort of retro-modern style of music they play. Some Beatles songs, some Three Dog Night, and a bunch of very good original songs added up to a pleasant energy. Some of their songs are in Portuguese, so I can’t understand the lyrics, but they are still delightful.
Before we left, we got to chat with Johnny and tell him how much we enjoyed his music. He told us he had just gotten back from Santa Cruz, where Auntie Bridgett went to University. She was happy to hear that her old favorite record store, Streetlight Records, had been very helpful to the band and set up some shows for them.
When it started getting chilly, we headed for home, walking through a neighborhood full of soft light and the sweet summer flowers.
One of the great joys of a Sunnyside Portland summer is walking out to find lovely places to eat. In any direction from our house, there are at least a dozen places within a mile.
You can walk west through Ladd’s Addition for Central American food at Teote House, north to Helen Bernhardt’s for bakery goods, or east to the Bipartisan Cafe for pie and sandwiches, just to name a few. There are also half a dozen food cart pods.
Last week, on a bright afternoon, we walked down to Division to try the newest, The Farmhouse Carts.
This arrangement of food trucks is in the former parking lot of Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider, a locally made yummy drink based on apples and other fruits. (There is some fermentation involved.)
But aside from being able to buy yummy cold drinks, there are trucks for Thai food, hamburgers and fries, Lebanese Saj, hand-held sushi rolls, and boba tea. There is also a large covered area with family sized tables, which will be much appreciated on our long, warm summer evenings.
We enjoyed the food and drinks, but mostly the theater of humanity that we have missed during the winter (and since the 2020 shutdown)…. Kids finding other kids to play with, moms chatting, dogs nosing around under tables.
Dear Liza 