Tag: walks

A walk to a funeral.

It was a day that threatened rain, but I wasn’t in the mood to take two buses to get where I was going.  So I took a nice long walk. Here’s what I saw along the way.

A while ago, I photographed the house on this lot.  I was thinking it was about to be torn down and indeed, it was.  Two houses have replaced it, with two more coming soon.  Once again, I’m torn between the infill development (which I support) and the fact that the houses built are all very large and they leave no room for a yard.
 

Same street.  This guy is for sale and is on a big lot. I sense his days are numbered.
 
I’ve always liked this corner.
 
Reaching for the sun.
 
I love when there are messages written on girders.
 
Someday, someone will be tearing down this building and smile when they discover the mark of Local 28.
 
Here’s a total Portland guy.  Hops growing on his balcony.  He caught me taking this picture.
 
One reason I haven’t yet been to Pine State Biscuits.  Another reason?  I feel like I have to go on a 40-mile bike ride to properly integrate the calories.
 

A loud message.

But perhaps not quite so clear?

This was on the walk to Lowe’s which is not a pretty walk. It’s chock full of speeding cars, little-to-no sidewalks, some careful walking along the edges of mud, various industrial things and then a boring section of seemingly endless parking lot and big box-type stores. It’s a utilitarian walk.  So I heard the message on the sign loud and clear, but I was confused by what it was telling me.  I was confused enough to stop and ponder.  My first question was  “My left, or your left?”  I think they must have meant my left, so I looked to the left of the sign and saw nothing that looked extremely dangerous, just more parking lot and building.  Then I looked to my left and saw the usual, cars driving by, sidewalk.

I finally decided the extreme danger was the steady flow of cars exceeding the 40 mph speed limit in the quest to get to the freeway on-ramp.  And I think the people who put up the sign are not the business we see in the picture, but the business across the street.  Their customers must pull out of the lot into very fast traffic.  The road slopes a bit so visibility might not be very good.  With my mystery solved–at least in my mind–I walked on to Lowe’s and purchased my plastic anchors and wandered back home.

Walk to Alberta Street

I need new shoes.  Actually, I seem to be in need of a lot of new clothing all of a sudden, I’m not sure what happened.  At any rate, I took a walk to Alberta Street and Pie Footwear.  Here’s what I saw along the way.

Longtime readers with stellar memories may recall my love for the house that once stood on this lot.  People who need to refresh their memories can click here.  Indeed, the house is gone and holes are being dug for bigger houses and more of them.  If only progress went in the way I wanted it to, namely more houses, but more tiny houses.  And with permaculture landscapes.
 

Autumn carpet.
 
What should I hear from the basement of the house next to the van with the bumper sticker “Drum Machines Have No Soul”?  Someone playing the drums.  Appropriately.
 

Halloween in Kenton Walk

I had to return a movie and pick up some yarn, so I took a walk in the pouring rain. Here are some of my neighborhood’s Halloween decorations.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
I love walking through alleys.

I found it interesting that my neighborhood, Kenton had many decorations for Halloween.  When I crossed over into Arbor Lodge, Kenton’s fancier neighbor, there was nothing.  Except these pumpkins.
 

Sunday Walk

I wanted to get out of the house today and the sun was also about, so on a walk I went. I stopped to take pictures of a lot/house I’ve always had my eye on. It’s been unoccupied for some time, and I suspect that it will be torn down soon and several houses will be built in its place. I had the idea to put a tiny house in this corner, rent out the bigger house and use the rest of the lot for an expansive garden, but I am lacking the capital to do any of those things. So here are some pictures instead.


From the alley corner. There was a large hedge along the alleyway which has been cut down. This was my first clue that perhaps this lot is due for some changes. In my world, the backyard would have the bulk of the garden beds. Where that shed is would be the tiny house.


Side yard. In my plan that parking would be severely reduced and berries would be planted along this side of the house.


From the front. I would remove the beech tree and a lot of the overgrown foundation plantings and put in an edible, permaculture landscape in the front yard.


As someone who gardens in a small space and thus needs access to all the sunlight I can get, I’m not the biggest fan of planting Douglas Firs in residential backyards. Aside from the sun issue, in most cases their height is out of scale with the house, the yard, and in general with the neighborhood. However, on this street of storybook houses, I love the effect of the Douglas Firs planted behind the houses. It completes the “enchanted forest” effect.

Here’s a nice house with a good-sized yard. Both need a bit of tending.

But look at those great shingles!

Closeup!

My walk took me to Killingsworth, a street I enjoy because it hasn’t much gentrified. In places, it reminds me a bit of the South Boston I lived in during the late 90s. Of course, I never came across the likes of the Jubilee Tabernacle in South Boston, but I delight in its presence here.

Full view of the Jubilee Tabernacle.

See? Gifts with Style? How could I not love Killingsworth?

Finding myself hungry, I ate at the Saraveza Bottle Shop and Pasty Tavern. I had a pasty and soup and went along with the regulars and had some beer. They were having a Valentine’s-themed tasting and I greatly enjoyed my choice of a Cherry Farmers Beer whose name escapes me. Oh wait, they have helpfully listed it on the web site. It was: Upright’s “Blend Edmunds” Cherry Farmhouse“Barrel aged wheaten ‘Four’ with tart cherries & barrel aged ‘Six’ with dark sweet cherries” Right. What they said. It was good. I enjoyed it.

Light-headed from the beer, I wandered over to the Max stop and rode home.

A Walk to Vancouver

A sunny day and an afternoon movie date in Vancouver. How best to get there? I could drive, but the traffic will be awful. I could ride, but then would have to get the bike back somehow and post-movie plans complicate this. Or! I could walk! Friend Kelly agreed to drive me back (we had another event to go to after our movie) and so I walked.

One of my favorite signs. How many miles of Interstate 5 are in Oregon? Why 308.

I could see all three mountains. Here, a shining Mount Hood.

A tiny view of Mount St. Helens peeking over Vancouver.

Mt. Adams was somewhere there, it just wouldn’t show up for its picture.
Thanks to Kelly for making my nice walk possible.

Kelly and I do a Portland City Walk

It was cold and rainy the morning Kelly and I planned to do a Portland City Walk. By the time our walk time came around it had stopped raining and the sun was even shining. So out we set. We did the Buckman/Kerns walk which was fun until it started raining and blowing again. Once the pages of the book were soaked, we cut the walk short and headed for home, dry clothes, grilled cheese and a bad movie. But before that?

An odd combo, but one that might come in handy.
This tree has bent toward the east.
A nicely preserved gingerbread house.
Detail of the detail.

Walk to the Alberta Rose Theater

The plan was for me to meet Matt at the Alberta Rose Theater at 6:45 so we could see Live Wire. It was a warm day, still light outside and not raining. When will I have that combination again? I decided to walk the 4-ish miles to the theater. Here is what I saw along the way.

I’ve always loved that the homeowners left this tidy snag standing in their yard. Snags are an important part of the ecosystem that do not often appear in cities. Their yard is also filled with interesting yard art, of the “real art” kind, as opposed to the “old lady bending over showing her bloomers” kind.

I liked how this simple porch and house numbers in a nice font dress up this house.

“Shhh. Stay quiet and no one will have any idea there’s a house back here.” I can’t imagine how dark this house must be. There are no windows in the front, and both sides of the house are in shadow from trees and bushes.

This cute house seems to have a cute garage to go with it.

Until you look closer and see that it is a separate residence, complete with house number.

This was a bummer find. I’ve been keeping my eye on this empty lot for years, but now it seems it will be turned into surface parking for a nearby church. Permeable surface parking, but still kind of a bummer.

I like how this church sort of looms over the freeway. The cross is illuminated and makes a nice contrast to the “going home” traffic headlights.

A very fun art car.

With great fish actually leaping out of its sides.

At that point it really did get dark. I enjoyed the rest of the walk. Alberta has a lot of fun shops that look very warm and inviting.

Wind eddies and leaves

On Tuesdays and Wednesdays I take two buses to far North Portland to volunteer at a Middle School. My bus stop is right next to “Big Pink” which is the tallest building in Portland. I think Big Pink messes with the air currents a bit, because today the wind was swirling all the leaves into a tidy pile.