Foggy, then, not now.

Foggy near the Moda Center, not what to expect tonight when I go the Portland Trail Blazers' last regular season home game. It's Fan Appreciation Night. On Facebook, the Blazers gave fans a chance to vote on the favorite opening video to be played pre-game. The one I like best is "Lights." Right now, it's got a slim hold on the lead.

Foggy morning commute, April 7, 2014

Once I crossed the street after stepping off the first of two vehicles which make up my morning commute, either two buses or a bus and a streetcar, I immediately realized I had to get my camera out of my backpack and take a few photos. Fog, the streetlights on the Burnside Bridge, the Big Pink disappearing into the fog, the neon Portland, Oregon, sign. All called out to me. Happy to have had the chance to take several photos before the streetcar arrived.



I took this photo as the streetcar slowly headed south on MLK--a split second opportunity.

Nature's beauty, No. 24

To wrap up the entire Nature's beauty series, I decided to go with this photo of the Albertina Kerr property that I took on that cold Sunday morning when I lucked out and decided to see what I could find in the fog. To me, it's important to show you where I was for over two hours, practically swooning with every step as I saw one after another sight that I needed to photograph.

The first five days of the series featured images taken at the far left of this photo where there is corner flower bed, raised above sidewalk level and enclosed in a stone wall topped with bricks. You see where that last tree on the left meets with the end of the hedge? The raised bed starts there and goes an equal distance down to and around the corner before the hedge begins again. The rest of the photos were taken inside the hedge, in several well-maintained beds filled with roses or shrubs or foliage plantings. When I think about how many exceptional opportunities I had for photographs in this small space, I am amazed and humbled by Nature's beauty. And I say, "Thank you," to those who garden on the Albertina Kerr property.

Nature's beauty, No. 23

After a couple days of thorns, I thought this next to last post in the nature's beauty series ought to reflect another aspect of the rose bush, the leaves.
 

Wide shot.
 

Close up, slightly to the right of the wide shot.

Nature's beauty, No. 15

So special, the way this spiderweb drapes along the bottom. The scalloped edge makes me think of Belle's yellow ball gown in Beauty and the Beast. And if you'll look closely at the far left of the spiderweb, tell me if you see what I see, please.

A double web? I guess that is what you'd call it. I looked at the image at its largest size and see two distinct upward bound threads. And there's just a bit of a second spider web there, joined to the other one by a couple of threads going across, practically parallel with the ground. I wish I'd noticed this when I took the photo on Sunday, October 20, but by the time I got to taking these, I was so cold--I'd been out there for almost two hours, enjoying the foggy morning. Thankful for the fog, to tell you the truth, because I figure that it contributed greatly to the fog.

Nature's beauty, No. 8

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Part of an image that makes it look like I own a macro lens, but I don't. I lucked out and got a clear enough wide shot that I was able to crop to this dew-drop-laden stem to share with you, along with a few spiderwebs.

Nature's beauty, No. 7

Tensile tenacity. Definitions from Merriam Webster Online: Tensile, relating to the amount that something (such as a wire) can stretch or be stretched without breaking. I amend. Such as a spiderweb. Such as a dew drop. Tenacity, the quality or state of being tenacious. Tenacious, not easily pulled apart--and--tending to adhere or cling to another substance. We all know that we humans have the capacity to shamelessly destroy all that I have photographed. I celebrate those who instead assertively cultivate the opposite, who celebrate nature's beauty so that all who see may hold fast the nurturing of our souls by said beauty.

Thank you to the gardeners at the Albertina Kerr Center in Northeast Portland.

Nature's beauty, No. 6

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An upward bound trio of rose buds, beautiful in front of the fog shrouded Albertina Kerr Center. It's such a good time to get to see sights like this and to then be able to get photos of said sights. Such a good time. I am certain owning a camera and living in a picturesque environment which is easy for me to experience plays a major role in keeping me sound, mentally and physically.
 

A closer shot.

Nature's beauty, No. 5 AND Happy Birthday, Leland!

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OK. No blossoms here. But, just take a close look at this cloth-like spread of spiderweb. I cannot even imagine how tiny the spider or spiders must be who spun this exquisite patch between these small leaves. I'm making a decision that there were at least two spiders at work because I want to imagine one going this way, one going that way, over and over, until they were done. How in the world did they not run into each other as they worked?

Nature's beauty, No. 4

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What a vivid pink! I couldn't get over the fact that these flowers were growing in the ground, not sitting cut in vases at the local grocery store, their color due to some sort of dye wicking its way up their stems and out into the blossoms. Now, I don't know for sure if that is what happens to make those mums/daisies into a wide array of vivid colors. I'm just guessing. Still and all, this vivid pink is growing in the ground! I'm also in awe of the strength exhibited by these single threads of spiderweb, to be able to maintain themselves while loaded with so many dew drops. Absolutely amazing.

Nature's beauty, No. 3

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I particularly like how this photo turned out and happily cropped it so that you could see the wind blowing the spiderweb. Believe me, I felt extremely lucky when I uploaded this photo and realized that, thankfully, the wind didn't make the flower blow at the same time, or I'd have nothing but blurry dew drops all along the spiderweb.

Nature's beauty, No. 2

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Wide shot, to give you some perspective. This is a side street near my apartment building. The fact that my neighborhood streets are level really makes me a happy walker.

Nature's beauty, No. 1

Fog and dew and blossoms and spiderwebs