Sunday, December 21, 2008

Unreal, Sunday's Photos of Our Snowy Neighborhood

The ice came and stayed, on top of the snow. It's been cold all day. When I took Duncan out for his morning walk, some where around 10 a.m., I took the camera, too. Then after I brought him back inside, I went back out to take some more photos. My feet got way too cold. I should have put on another pair of socks. I'll have to remember to do that tomorrow when I get ready to go to work! Oh, I called Mama on the cell phone from the front walk and said, "Look out the bathroom window. I'll knock on the snow so that you can hear it." "OK," she said. And in a few minutes I knocked with my knuckles on the snow atop the hedge. She couldn't hear it, so I knocked with Duncan's leash--knocking any harder with my knuckles wasn't an option, it hurt like hell! She heard the leash knock and was astounded. Here's a shot of the front of the building, taken from across the street near the red truck. I forgot to say that I knocked on both hedges on each side of the front walk, too.
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And here's a closeup of the icy snow and the poor ol' cold hedge.
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Here's a shot taken from the front steps. Not only is the ice on top of the snow, it coated the handrail, both the top that you hold on to and the supports of that top. Amazing!
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So, here are the photos. I called Mama from the corner and asked her to stick her head out the kitchen window and wave. "I'll take your picture," I told her. She graciously agreed. Isn't she a cutie?
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I love this ironic bumper sticker on the hatchback door of a vehicle parked on NW Everett.
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Here's the whole vehicle and a bicycle, too. If this person who evidently likes to ski made it up to Mt. Hood Saturday, I wonder if it was in this vehicle--it has less snow on its roof, so maybe it didn't get parked here until after some sort of drive/trip.
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Speaking of vehicles, here is the car across from the kitchen window on NW 22nd Avenue, the one I've been using as a measuring device. I took this one from the street.
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The red truck, across NW Everett from our building, and its snow.
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A blue VW on NW Everett.
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A yellow VW Beetle, on the north side of NW Everett, and a yellow VW on the south side.
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A silver Volvo wagon on NW Everett.
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A car on NW Everett, illustrating what the weather/news people are telling folks to do with their windshield wipers so they won't freeze to the windshield.
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Two views of the scooters on NW 22nd Avenue.
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If this were your baby, would you not be going out to check on it and its cover? Your helmet? I sure would.
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A fire truck on NW Everett.
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A City of Portland snow plow, on Burnside.
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Another city snow plow on NW Everett. I just happened to be there at the kitchen window with my camera. I wasn't so lucky later on when I saw a man skiing east on NW Everett!
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Two shots of a motorcycle on NW 22nd Avenue.
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And another motorcycle, this one being ridden up NW 22nd towards Burnside.
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And for the final vehicle, some shots of my favorite vintage yellow Chevy pickup. It's parked on NW Everett.
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Now for some ice shots. First, a shot of broken ice sheets along the sidewalk on NW Everett. Someone besides me caused this breakage although I caused plenty as I gingerly stomped up and down both sides of NW Everett and NW 22nd Avenue.
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Here's a couple of utilitarian ice shots. This is the light pole that supports the streetlight I shot from the kitchen window. The pole is encased in ice.
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And how about this ice-coated stop sign?
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Imagine my surprise when I came across this artistic ice! I see a heart, a house, and maybe a sun or moon. Someone took the time to break the ice sheet from some nearby snow and then to fashion these shapes that have meaning to us all. Well, not exactly the last one on the right because all I could tell about it is that it is round.
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A series of ice shots, these of icicles on the Garden Party Room at Elephant’s, between Burnside and us.
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Here's a wide shot of the whole wall.
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One last artistic ice shot--if you hold your head just right, squint maybe, you can tell this is a dog's head, facing right. At least that's what I see.
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Here's the same sidewalk shot that I've taken all week, the one I take with my back to Burnside. I had just watched several vehicles being pushed up the last part of this hill. If not for the able men who helped, neither one would have made it out onto Burnside. I was too far away to get a meaningful photo and just couldn't walk any faster--shoot!
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It's been snowing and/or freezing raining again, and we might get four more inches before it stops tonight. Mama and I are so very thankful for our continued electricity and pray for those who have lost it across the country as well as for all of the workers trying to get it back again. Plus we have to remember the street and highway crews, the law enforcement and fire department agency members and rescue/health care workers, as well as all of the retail and restaurant folks who came to work so that the random and/or determined shoppers/diners get their heart's desire.

4 comments:

Virginia said...

Actually I am all about the red truck (natch) and those cute VW's. Yellow ones are fab and the bright blue one is pretty swell too. Good snow shots. Glad it's not me. We are paralyzed when it snows down here!
V

AVCr8teur said...

That is a lot of snow! Is that normal for Portland? The snow on top of the cars look like toupees. When I saw the frozen pole, I thought about someone putting their tongue on it and getting stuck. Did Duncan like walking in the snow? Mama is so cute sticking her head out the window for a picture. She's a trooper!

Anonymous said...

When I was in the hospital I woke up one morning, turned on the Weather Channel and saw the snow in Seattle but I think you guys got way more than they got and should have been the stars that day.

I also saw Mama hanging out the window. Loved that.

Jim Klenke said...

Thats just unreal. Are you sure you will be able to get to work today?