UPDATE and several photos I took on the way home from work Thursday

UPDATE: I slept fine. As Mama used to say every school day morning as she flipped on the overhead light in my bedroom, "Up and at 'em!" That's me, y'all! I did wake up with an allergy/sinus headache, though, so I took something for it. I doubt it will bother me for long. I plan on getting to the bus early again today, just in case I need to rest a bit before beginning work. Thank goodness TriMet considers NE Sandy Blvd. to be the traffic corridor that it truly is and services my bus stop frequently, with two bus lines. It certainly helps me a whole lot!



After work yesterday, I caught the streetcar north to East Burnside and NE Grand Avenue where I waited for one of the two buses that would get me home, either the 12 or the 19. I decided to take a photo of the construction going on at the Burnside Bridgehead--those two buildings going up that have obliterated the view of downtown as you head west towards the Burnside Bridge. For some reason, I'm fascinated with cement mixer pump trucks--I guess there's a truck somewhere at the end of the orange pumps servicing both buildings, one in plain view, the other behind the tree and the old billboard. Take note of the Peter Corvallis box truck, please. More about it later on.



My camera has an exposure compensation button which I decided to use in this photo to learn about it. I wanted to get a photo that allowed us to see the orange cement pump better. Did I add too much here? I think I did, at least for parts of the photo like the sky. By the way, here's why I believe we can't see the cement mixer pump truck. There are several streets at a lower level than the ones we can see in the photo. I've never driven down there or walked down there, but I've seen them from walking on the sidewalk on the bridge. I'll be glad when I'm well enough to explore, even if it might be limited to walking the sidewalk on the bridge above it all--I imagine it will be some time before pedestrians are allowed down there.



Here's a screen shot that gives you a bit of perspective, I hope. There in the lower left corner, I wrote ME because that's where I stood to take these photos. I hope the labels I've written here will help you get an even better perspective of the area. The multi-lane road at the bottom of the screen shot is the Burnside Bridge. Through the label for the tall building, you can see the streets down below the bridgehead--that's what folks call the part of the bridge as it joins the east side of the Willamette. When I ride a bus west across the Willamette over the Burnside Bride, or in any sort of wheeled vehicle, I go along that curve to the right of the label about the orange pump. Those two little blue dots to the right of the empty lot are where I sometimes change to either the streetcar or a bus, heading south.




After work, as I neared the stop where I get off the bus--see the Subway sign--I took this photo when we were stopped at NE 18th and NE Sandy Blvd. I couldn't resist that sky and Dave's lot--he comes into the Blue Diamond now and then, an interesting man who's been in business there for practically my whole life. Seeing those dark skies, you'd think we soon had a down pour. Nope. By the way, the Blue Diamond is beside those leftmost trees up the sidewalk, just past that traffic signal at NE 20th Avenue. I love my neighborhood!




After I got off the bus, I waited at the traffic signal at NE 20th Avenue and took this photo. I cannot resist taking photos of this building--I adore triangle-shaped buildings and am thrilled that I get to see this one often, plus enjoy time in the Blue Diamond which is behind the Halo Salon. While I wait for the light to change, I usually decide whether to walk on the north side of the building, the left side in the photo, or the south side of the building. Depending upon how tired I am, I take the south side which is probably 200 steps shorter and offers one place to rest, at the backdoor of the Blue Diamond. If I'm wanting to get in more steps, I go up the north side of the building--there are three places to rest, if I need them, a pew in front of the Blue Diamond, a bench in front of the Silver Lining pawn shop, and the low wall at the bioswale at the corner where NE Glisan and NE 22nd Avenue intersect a few feet before NE Glisan intersects with NE Sandy Blvd. Like I said, I love my neighborhood! Oh, about the Peter Corvallis truck--while I waited here, in came toward me on the street to the south of the Halo Salon! I couldn't believe that I saw it again in just the short time that it took for me to get from East Burnside and NE Grand on the 19 bus. Oh, one more neat thing--I had the same driver on the 19 on my way to work and on my way home--she recognized me and my hat!

A few more neighborhood sights seen on recent walks, more recent ones followed by older ones.

Poppy.



Succulents.



Daisy.



Roses.



Dumpsters.



The Blue Diamond.



Albertina Kerr's front steps.



Motorcyclists.



Bicyclist.



Bicyclist.



Albertina Kerr's front yard.

Seen in the neighborhood on a recovery walk.

I took my DSLR, a Nikon D5100, with me on a recent walk. Thank goodness! I got this photo of the front yard of a house on a nearby block. Look at all of this color from these large rose bushes!



Here's a wider view that shows the flowering trees in the parking strip. I believe that they are Kousa dogwoods.



Dogwood blossom--reminds me of an origami crane.



One more beautiful Kousa dogwood blossom.



The roses, splendid in their colors and shapes.



There are buds hiding in these blossoms. This bush is just beyond the sidewalk that goes up to the porch, easily seen in the top photo of this post. I took this photo from this perspective, intrigued by the spent blossom mixed with the still lush ones, as well as the buds peeking out here and there.



I can't get enough of these two colors side-by-side.

The new apartment building in my neighborhood, which is known as Kerns. I took this photo March 25, 2015.

After work on Wednesday, I got off the 12 bus and walked south on NE 20th in order to quickly take this photo before walking on home. This is five-story apartment building I mentioned in yesterday's post, the one with the parking lot which was already there in that space. I found this online from March 2, 2013, about plans for the building: The units will be mostly studios or one-bedrooms, although there may be a few two-bedroom units, and each will have a deck or patio, he said. He is Joe Westerman who owns the lot and made the decision to ditch the food trucks for the apartment building. I see nothing to make me think deck or patio. I wonder why that's seems to be the case. Elsewhere online I found in an blurb dated August 22, 2013, that the building is named 20e. Hmmm.

About the parking lot, I just found this online at the Kerns Neighborhood Association Web site, posted February, 2015: Neighborhood Notes Land Use: At our January meeting, Joe Westerman who is building the apartment complex at 20th & Everett (where the parking lot/Green Castle Food Cart Pod was) talked to us about Phase 2 of the building. He now owns the other half of the parking lot (on Davis) and will be building a second apartment building, which will have 56 units, 18 parking spaces and 19 bike spaces. It will look similar to what is currently being built but with a different pattern. It will have two levels, then the top two floors will be set back. They will plant more trees along 20th.

Interesting but not unexpected with developers, if you ask me; this is a huge change if I understand what I'm reading here below, in 2014 he doesn't mention building another apartment next to the one in the photo, he puffs up the parking possibilities, but, look back at the previous paragraph where he says there's a phase 2 which, again, if I'm reading this right, will be built on the parking lot you can see in the screen shot on yesterday's post. I'm basing my confusion on what I found on the Kerns Neighborhood Association's Web site, posted February, 2014: Update on Green Castle Food Cart Property @ 20th: We heard back from Joe Westerman who has plans to develop the former food cart pod into residential. He came to a meeting last year and showed us some plans. According to an email from one year ago, Joe told us: "I will do everything I can to maximize parking at my apartment community. I am installing steps to the ground floor units facing 20th so people can park on 20th and walk right into their unit rather than go around to the main building entrance. The parking on 20th is used very little so this is a good opportunity for me to make better use of it. I will still have the parking lot next door that we currently use for Green Castle customer parking. I think this will take a big load off the streets around my apartment community. I'm also hoping to install a Zip car space so people in my building and the neighbors will have access to ready transportation without having to own a car or look for a space to park it. We would like to have a dedicated space for a Zip Car. Every little bit helps. Lastly I will have at around 10 surface parking places on site which in addition to my other options will certainly add to our total parking solution."

March 5, 2011, announcing what was to come. It didn't pan out. The Google Maps screen shot shows what's coming, in fact, it's almost finished now. I need to get out there and take a photo to show you.

With the Blue Diamond within walking distance of my studio apartment, where the food is excellent on a regular basis, I never felt the need to frequent the food carts that ended up inside the fence. Evidently not too many others did because, as I noticed in person, then read about online, the carts left and an apartment building began to be built in either 2013 or 2014.



So, all of that brown dirt area on the screen shot is a five-story apartment building with 47 units and surface parking there where you see the parking spaces marked on the pavement. If surface parking had not already existed, I seriously doubt the the developer would have included parking in plans for this building.

Neighborhood walk reveals the disappearance of a large tree.

Now. About 40 minutes ago the sight of this tree stopped me in its tracks. No, it's not the angle at which it extends over the sidewalk. The absence of its nearest neighbor surprised me.



Then. You can see what I mean in this photo that I took on Feb. 27, 2011, while out on a walk. The loss of a tree in the city brings a sadness to my soul.

What I saw while on a NE Portland Kerns Neighborhood Walk with Lamont, Sunday, January 5, 2014, No. 2

These three photos show a span about two feet wide along the top edge of this thick, moss-covered limb which is well over my head as I stand on the sidewalk, entranced by the sunshine lighting up first one cluster of ferns, then another.
 

The second part I wanted you to see, this other cluster of ferns with one curved up into nearly a silhouette against the streaky sky. When I checked it on the camera, I saw what I had to take the next photo of there on the left edge of the image.
 

You can see why I got excited when I realized that I could take a decent photo of this lone soldier, this fern all on its own, glowing in the sunshine. Thank goodness for my zoom lens.
 

Have you been wondering about the background above the limb in the first three photos? I certainly did as I checked out each photo on the camera's screen. Once I realized what caused it, I decided to take this photo of the sky and the myriad branches on the tree which splendidly blurred the background when I focused on the various ferns. You can see the ghostlike blur of green in two spots along the top edge of the limb--ferns as ghosts. I love it!

I cannot resist sharing these two photos of the Albertina Kerr building with you, especially after the foggy one yesterday.

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You can see where the hedge ends, the raised corner bed starts there in the shadow--it's been replanted with hardy cold weather plants.



Here's a photo that gives you a chance to see the steps I walked up to get to the gardens so that I could take all of those Nature's beauty photos. The sandwich board at the top of those steps mentions the restaurant and the gift shop inside the building.

Here's what I found at the Albertina Kerr Web site, so you'll know a bit about the center:

Since 1907, Albertina Kerr has strengthened Oregon families and communities. Today, we provide programs and services to children and adults with developmental disabilities and mental health challenges - empowering them to live richer lives.

We're building an army of angels. A community that stands together. Where we challenge the norm to create a society that has no barriers. Where people who face developmental disabilities and mental health challenges are included and empowered. Where families are supported and children have reason to smile. Where everyday people reach out to the most vulnerable and give back to their community. 

Thank you for joining us.