At Abraham Lincoln's Feet

Abraham Lincoln is one of the sculptures in the South Park Blocks here in Portland. Lots of people walk by, some stay longer than others. Mr. Lincoln is definitely an inspiration for us all.

Two Dogs ~ One Inside and One Outside

Today wassn't the coldest day of the year here in Portland. However, the temperature did hover around 43 degrees, not exactly warm. I had an appointment near Urban Grind this afternoon. That's a coffeeshop on NW 14th. There is an overhang that would have protected this yellow Lab from rain if it had actually been doing that. However, the overhang didn't do much for keeping the dog warm for at least the hour and a half that I know that it sat out there.



Django, on the other hand, was quite warm on the couch. His only complaint was that one of his orange brothers had stolen his buttercup when he went outside for his last walk around the block.

Bluebirds and a Reindeer

The streets are full of all sorts of sights including these bluebirds to brighten your day. And if they're not enough, there's an image of Rudolph racing a streetcar along the Portland Streetcar line on SW 10th in downtown Portland.

Heading Home in the Rain

After an afternoon at the Portland Art Museum, I headed home along the Portland Streetcar line. As I approached SW Morrison, I noticed how the Galleria was looking quite stately on the North East corner. The retailer Target will occupy the building at some point in the future.

Powell's Technical Books

At least that's what most of us remember the science/math/computing/engineering bookstore being called. Now it's official name is Powell's Books Bldg. 2 and is located directly behind the Portland Streetcar stop at NW 10th and Couch. Here's the current window ~ taken while waiting for the streetcar to appear. Right now I'm reading two biographies, the Steve Jobs in the window and Mark Rothko by Lee Seldes.

Portland ~ Looking across the Willamette River

The Willamette River runs through Portland and is the "dividing line" between east and west. This is the view of the west side mid-morning today. There could be some rain on Sunday but so far the weather reports indicate sunny and chilly for the next week. "Oh the Joy" to quote William Clark when the Lewis and Clark Expedition came near to the Pacific.



And here's a view a bit more south of the one above...

Another City View

This morning the sun was out for a brief period. We took that opportunity to go out ourselves and found this leaf just about the same time we were able to take in the view of Portland from the Rose Garden in Washington Park....





Later in the evening we had a most memorable Thanksgiving meal. We shared dinner with friends at our home ... all four of us treated it more as a simple meal with friends ~ most wonderful we all agreed.

A Break in the Rain

Tonight there was a wonderful break in the rain we've been having here in Portland for the last few days. Here's a view of the Willamette River and the Oregon Convention Center at night...

Central Llibrary

Portland's Central Library is right on the Streetcar line as well as a stop on Tri-Met's Red and Blue line trains. Today was a blustery, rainy day and I decided to use the nearby parking garage as a "umbrella" for myself and my cameras. There's still some color out there but soon all of the autumn splendor will have left us.

Oregon Symphony

Nothing speaks Portland quite so eloquently as Carlos Kalmar and the Oregon Symphony Orchestra. Tonight Alban Gerhardt not only played the Prokofiev Cello Concerto, but he also played with the OSO in the cello section when they performed Dvorak's New World Symphony. Carlos Kalmar conducted without a score and without his glasses. He was magnificent. The orchestra was phenomenal.

Catching the Falling Leaf

A bright, brilliant sun graced much of the day today here in Portland. Combine that with a bit of wind and sometimes you can catch leaves falling from trees.

Here are some of those leaves as they cascaded down near Pettygrove here in NW Portland.

Running in Forest Park

Running in Portland's Forest Park can be quite an adventure ~ I stopped briefly to take a photo of this mushroom and was surprised at the enhancement that ended up on my screen.



Later I ran by the Stone House and came back with these two arches...


It was a great day!

Cats and Horses

First up is a treasured black cat...



Followed by horses... Cavalia has come to Portland. Under a very large tent near the Fremont Bridge, this show runs until 4 December 2011.
http://www.cavaliaportland.com/



7 December update
Cavalia can be seen into January here in Portland!

Found on NW 23rd

An early morning stroll on NW 23rd ~ you'll find the usually busy Santa Fe, empty of people and in the windows wildlife that excite your small chihuahua.

Santa Fe Tacqueria well before noon...


Squirrel in 3 Monkeys

Hitchhiker to the Airport

Today, the title of the blog really should have been "Take Your Camera for a Ride". I spent more time in the car today than I usually do in a week. That said, this little leaf tagged along and ended up at the Portland International Airport. Passport in hand, it headed off to the gates to board a plane...

Named by Lewis and Clark

Sauvie Island was originally named Wappato by Lewis and Clark. It wasn't later that it began to be called Sauvé Island after Laurent Sauvé, a French dairyman who worked for the Hudson Bay Company. Sauve established a dairy on the island. Over the years Wappato became Wapato and Sauvé became Sauvie.

In any case, today I journeyed to Sauvie Island, a short trip north of Portland for a walk around Virginia Lake, a part of the Wapato Greenway. What had been overcast in Portland was definitely fog on Sauvie Island.

The Leaf's Final Day

Leaves are piling up all around Portland. Raked and blown to the street and then stuffed in bags or cans for disposal at the composting centers, their days are numbered. Here's a leaf that asked for another minute to say goodbye.

Blue Curacao at the Living Room Theatre Bar

The Living Room Theatre is a venue of small sized movie viewing rooms with tables and comfy chairs where you can eat a meal as well as the traditional popcorn. And you can also order drinks from this well lit bar. Perhaps a Blue Curacao...

45th Parallel Performs at Old Church

The 45th Parallel is an arts organization here in Portland that presents small ensembles. Tonight's emphasis was on strings. Here's an image of the last piece from that performance ~ Dvorak's String Quintet in E-Flat Major. This was our third night out in a row. Tomorrow will likely be a night of rest at home. Our friend Justin Kagan is in the center with his cello.

Herbie Hancock on 11/11/11

That's right Herbie Hancock performed with the Oregon Symphony this evening. Eleven has been said to be a powerful number and tonight's performance by Mr. Hancock and all of the members of the orchestra was powerful indeed. Last night we saw a production of Marriage of Figaro that was also extremely well done. You can read about that at the Portland Opera's website here.





The last photo is one I took at 11:11. This is in my neighborhood.

Maples in Autumn

Portland Japanese Garden is a wonderful place to spend time, whether you're walking through, sitting quietly, taking photos, or all of these. Here are two images ... first is a colorful maple near part of the zen garden and a mushroom cluster I found under another maple.

One from the Street / One from the Forest

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Today I walked near the edge of Forest Park and then down NW 23rd. There was certainly a contrast in scene as witnessed below...

Making Connections

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Today was my flight home from Virginia. Frontier Airlines' hub is Denver so the stopover was at that airport with just enough time for moving from gate to gate and restroom facilities. iPhone armed I was able to snap this goldfish who was also making his connection.

Tea Time at Kenmoore

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Visiting in Fredericksburg, VA, you can take in any number of historical buildings. The Kenmoore House is downtown and is for the most part unfurnished. This window is in what was the bedroom. The only furniture is this table and chairs as well as a small table with a mirror to the side ~ simply lovely.

Fairy leaves

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Ginkgo leaves make me think of fairies...

Outdoors in Fredericksburg, VA

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Another title for today could have been Wedding Day Merry-go-round. Fortunately the day was just cold with a slight breeze -- no rain on this November outdoor wedding. Here's a view of the woods at Eden Try just outside of Fredericksburg, VA.

Name That Author

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This wall is at Riverby Books in Fredericksburg, VA. What a great line up of literary talent.

Stop-over in Denver

Heading to Virginia.

Falling Leaves

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Last year when I tried to photograph falling leaves, they'd stopped falling that is, as soon as I would have my camera ready. This year, the same thing happened. Stopped the car, got out the D90 and the wind stopped, the leaves stayed in the trees. This year I had the LX5 handy though. Stopped the car without pulling over and lo and behold captured this. The leaves stopped falling as soon as I opened the door.

Theater of Lights

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The lights at Artists Repertory Theatre lobby. We had tickets for Harold Pinter’s No Man’s Land with actor William Hurt’s starring performance.