Thursday, October 4, 2007

So, it's raining in Portland. I still love the place.

100407_splash_close_crop

In the Northwest Hills, all sorts of beautiful trees line the streets. This time of year, the leaves start to fall. When it rains hard enough to cause water to run in the streets, those leaves clump together and float to low places along the curbs and sidewalks. Drains become blocked. (Later on I'll show/explain how the City of Portland and Neighbors West Northwest deal with those leaves.) Look how the water rises into the air in a straight line. Is this an illustration for some sort of law of physics?

I think the drain must be clogged here, at the corner of NW 21st and Glisan, Tuesday about 5:30 p.m. I knew y'all would love to see the cars driving through the puddle that stretched from one corner half way out into the street. Slinging water, making ripples, the cars drove by every time the light changed. Safely out of range, I stood close to the Nob Hill Old Pharmacy Cafe, beneath a teensy little overhang, out of the rain, and snapped couple of shots. Look

100407_mini_splash

It didn't rain all day long on Tuesday or Wednesday, just off and on, sometimes light, sometimes heavy. Wednesday evening while "Jeopardy" was on the TV, Mama and I heard hail hitting the windows on the east side of our apartment. I grabbed my CoolPix L12 and got this shot, though the screen and the closed window. You're looking at the streetlight on the corner; that's the Rose Plaza Apartments in the background. We heard it hailing for maybe two minutes, and the rain stopped in 10 minutes or so.

100407_rain_streetlight

10 comments:

Marie said...

Wow, you got the splashes. I can hear them here in Montpellier. It's raining here too today (which is quite rare).

dot said...

Our whole state is under an outdoor watering ban. We need the rain!
I love your pictures today and I enjoy your comments on my blog. Thanks so much!
Tell Mamma I said "hey"!

Fénix - Bostonscapes said...

Three nice shots. That mini got a free undercarriage wash :). "Nob Hill Old Pharmacy Cafe," what a name!

TORUŃ DAILY PHOTO said...

Those sure are some BIG puddles! Thanks for the comments over at Toruń DP! The series of nightshots continues tomorrow!

Andrea said...

What lovely pictures. We are in much need of rain. Our water supply here in Georgia is very low. Very cloudy here. If it starts raining I am going out and taking pictures. :)

Celine said...

Love the splashes! The end of my street used to get clogged like that... looked like a lake during heavy rains. It took them several tries before they finally (apparently) fixed it. Gotta love Oregon. :)

kostas said...

Rain is blessing!

NorthBayPhoto said...

Fantastic action shots!!

Thanks for visiting my NorthBayPhoto blog.

Ming the Merciless said...

Very nicely done. I have tried many a times, to shoot a photo that can convey the torrential downpour but have not been very successful.

And here you have three splendid photos that really bring out the rainy condition.

Chuckeroon said...

I admire your tenacity. These a nice splashes...think I like the Mini one best.

BTW....ref terrace....yep trained to spread out. New last year and getting better.