Folks among the flowers, No. 2

I asked one of the grown-ups with her about her native costume and discovered she is Hmong. More photos of her and another lovely girl coming soon. 

Woodburn Tulip Farm, Tulip Fest, Woodburn, Oregon, April 22, 2012

Folks among the flowers, No. 1

Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm's Tulip Fest, Woodburn, Oregon, April 22, 2012

Quite the juxtaposition, steam traction engines among the tulips

Four steam traction engines fired up one after another at the far end of the tulip field, then one by one rolled into position in a wide aisle among the tulips.

Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm's Tulip Fest, Woodburn, OR, April 22, 2012

Lovely tulips, glowing in the sunshine

Lovely tulips, glowing in the sunlight. What a precious gift, to be able to see such a sight, out with a friend and with others also in awe of the beauty these blossoms share. I am blessed. Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm's Tulip Fest, Woodburn, Oregon, Sunday, April 22, 2012

And there it is, the mud I'd read about on the Tulip Fest Web page

Since the weather was so sunny and warm, I decided to forego the recommended rubber boots and wear my ol' black Crocs instead. So, I was ready for what you see ahead there, the only mud we saw last Sunday.

I'm not saying that walking on the drier areas was easy, every single step. Nope. Three times, at least, as I put it down in the mushier track, my right foot slid to the right, just enough for my body to send me an uh-oh feeling. Somehow, the tulip gods were with me, 'cause I remained upright! Once I walked onto firmer ground, I looked down at my shoe. Ringing the outer edge like brown icing--mud--right up to the bottom edge of the holes. I couldn't believe that there was no mud inside my shoe! Yippee!

As far as the eye can see, in both directions

Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm's Tulip Fest, on April 22, 2012, a splendidly sunny, warm spring day in Woodburn, Oregon. The high temp at Portland International Airport was 82, a new record for that date.

A surprise among the tulips

She bent over, picking up tulips which had fallen to the ground, her shiny, silky tresses mirroring the sheen of each tulip's petals.

I'm guessing those tulips ended up on the ground because a grown-up just might have knocked into the stems while moving along the rows, searching for just the right spot to set down a toddler or two for a colorful photo op.

So, if you haven't already guessed, you're in for a run of photos taken at Woodburn, Oregon's Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm's Tulip Fest.

An orchard near the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm, Earth Day

After a couple of hours immersed in vivid color, my newly-moved-to-Portland-from-Minnesota friend Julie and I turned the wrong way in her little red Kia, at my urging because I misread the Google Map. Serendipity, it turns out because we saw this orchard. And Julie, game gal that she is, agreed to pull off somewhere close and safe so that I could get a photo, which turned out to be a decent Earth Day image.

Much farther away the shadows were even more impressive, but I'm quite happy to have only walked far enough to get this one. My muddy Crocs held my tired feet, muddy from the fields of tulips, tired from the lumpy ground in the fields of tulips.

Come back tomorrow for photos to the fields of tulips and those of us humans drawn outside by the sunshine to seek beauty.

At the north end of Tom McCall Waterfront Park

These three caught my attention because they appeared to be taking a break, enjoying the sunshine. Piled around the base of the lamp post, note the backpack, purse, and a jacket which appears to be draped over another backpack. I wonder how far they'd walked when they decided to stop for a while.

Seems to me that the woman is about to walk off to find something to photograph--I see what might be a camera strap in front of her, and she's holding her hands in such a way as to make me think she's got a camera.

The people you can see in the distance along the gray railing are on the lower level of the Steel Bridge, on the section set aside for pedestrians and bicyclists. Railroad tracks fill the center of the lower level, and there's another pedestrian/bicyclists path on the north side of the bridge. To tell you the truth, folks on skates and/or skateboards more than likely cross the Willamette River on this part of the Steel Bridge, too. You can easily see the brown waters of the river--we'd had plenty of rain lately. That's why the sunshine provided such an allure to those with the wherewithal to get out and about.

I found it interesting that the only one sitting is the youngest, perhaps because he's still agile and able to easily get up from sitting on what is essentially a curb.

The fullness of the blossoms on this tree makes for a lovely sight, don't you think?

Come back tomorrow for a bit of serendipity--something unique about the gray-haired man! Taking a close look at his right ear provides a hint, a preview, a clue.

A multi-tasking walker at Tom McCall Waterfront Park

Wonder if she's ambidextrous? Wonder where she's gonna light and pick that banjo? Curious over here. I like the contrast of angles and lines and shapes in this image, all around the walker and on her herself. What do you think?

Friendship Circle, at Tom McCall Waterfront Park, several views, several ways

Found on the Internet: Friendship Circle The Friendship Circle at the north end of Waterfront Park was dedicated in 1990. It celebrates the sister city relationship between Portland and Sapporo, Japan. The Friendship Circle includes a pair of 20-foot stainless towers that generate electronic tones.

At this link, read a 2007 article about the sculpture and its sound-producing aspect.

A view from above, focusing on the public art known as Friendship Circle. Image altered at PicMonkey.
  The same view--this time the image is altered at Ipiccy and includes some color manipulation. Makes me think of a 1960s postcard.
  A view from river level. Image altered at PicMonkey.
  The same view--this time the image is altered at Ipiccy.
  Folks and their pets, out enjoying the sunshine. Image altered at PicMonkey.
  The same view--this time the image is altered at Ipiccy.

Found at the Regional Arts & Culture Council Web site:
Artists: Lee Kelly, American, born 1932 Michael Stirling
Title: Friendship Circle Date: 1990
Medium: Stainless steel and digital audio
Discipline: sculpture
Dimensions: 1: 22’ x 8’ 2: 24' x 9' audio duration: 35 minutes
Funding Source: Percent for Art-City of Portland, Portland Development Commission, and the City of Sapporo, Japan
Location: Waterfront Park, Parks and Recreation, NW Naito Pkwy. and NW Everett St.

“Friendship Circle” was a collaboration between sculptor Lee Kelly and composer Michael Stirling. Stirling composed a score based upon traditional and contemporary Japanese instruments to emanate from one of the columns sculpted by Kelly. The sculpture commemorates 30 years of the Sister City relationship between Sapporo, Japan and Portland and was primarily funded by Sapporo as a token of friendship. The sculpture subtly echoes the architecture of Buddhist temples.

Found at Portland Parks & Recreation, online:
Historical Information about Tom McCall Waterfront Park. The idea for this park came at the turn of the century when the 1903 Olmsted Report pointed out the need not only for parks within the city, but for a greenway scheme for the riverbanks in order to ensure their preservation for future generations. The 1912 Bennett Plan again showed a need for more parks and river greenways, but instead of reorienting itself to the river, the city's focus was pulled further inland. In the late 1920s, the seawall was built along the Willamette's west bank for the protection of downtown from the annual floods. The seawall not only cut off the water from the people, but the people from the water as well. The construction of Harbor Drive along the west bank in the 1940s continued the trend of isolating the public from the river.

With the opening of the Eastbank Freeway (Marquam Bridge, I-5), Harbor Drive became less important to the traffic flow of the city. Governor Tom McCall created the Harbor Drive Task Force in 1968 in order to study proposals for creating a public open space in its place. In 1974, Harbor Drive was torn up and construction of a waterfront park began. It was completed and dedicated in 1978, gaining instant popularity. In 1984, the park was renamed Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park.

A sunny view of the flowering cherry trees at Tom McCall Waterfront Park

A scene I've missed getting to see up close for the last several years. Bound and determined not to miss it this year, I took advantage of the sunshine on March 24 and walked through Tom McCall Waterfront Park from the Saturday Market all the way to the Steel Bridge. I continued onto the bridge and took this photo looking south. I wish the trees had been in full bloom, but one can't be too picky around here, what with gray skies, rain, and wind impacting the span of time the flowers are actually on the tree limbs.

Voodoo Doughnuts No. 1

The new sign at the downtown Voodoo Doughnuts. How cool is it that it is across the street from the Keep Portland Weird sign!

666 pounds of doughnuts and Voodoo Doughnuts' boxes used to be in here!

On August 18, 2011, I stood on the sidewalk with Milton and Kay, totally surprised to see through the plate glass window of a building a couple of blocks from my building the giant pink box which had held a a world-record heavy helping of Voodoo Doughnuts earlier that month. I leaned toward the window and said, "I cannot believe this! Look at this, y'all!" Needless to say, they stopped to look with me and I explained what I had heard on the news about the attempt by Voodoo Doughnuts to break the record for the largest box of doughnuts in the world. And here we stood, looking at it 10 days later! How cool is this serendipity? Way cool.

Here's a write-up I found at Bites on Today: "World's largest box of doughnuts weighs in at 666 pounds" By Keith Wagstaff 

How much does the world’s largest box of doughnuts weigh? About 666 pounds -- a sign that eating 3,880 doughnuts might put your arteries through hell. 

The giant pink box of doughnuts -- a stunt from Voodoo Doughnut's owners Kenneth "Cat Daddy" Pogson and Tres Shannon -- was unveiled on Portland, Ore.'s Hawthorne Bridge during an event called Brunch on the Bridge. 

To help Voodoo achieve its goal of making it into the Guinness Book of World Records, Portland’s mayor Sam Adams, a notary and a scale master were on hand to verify that Pogson and Shannon had indeed constructed the world’s largest box of doughnuts. 

“I think we must have set another record when we handed out 666 pounds of doughnuts in just 45 minutes,” said Shannon. “It was a good way to give back to the city of Portland, which has been pretty good to us over the years.” 

The sweet crate, a giant version of the doughnut shop’s regular pink box, contained 380 smaller boxes filled with glazed doughnuts, all arranged nicely into a pyramid. The pair piled on an assortment of their signature treats, from apple fritters to their Fruit Loop-crusted Loop doughnut, until they reached the magic number to break the current recordholder's total of 297 pounds. But why aim for 666 pounds? 

“The current record is a little less than 333 pounds, so we just decided to double it to 666 pounds, which kind of goes along with our voodoo theme,” said Shannon. “It’s the mark of the ‘yeast’.” 

Voodoo is waiting for official certification from Guinness World Records. After the tally, more than 1,400 people in attendance got to share the doughnuts.

And here's a link to an article at KATU TV Channel 2 about Brunch on the Bridge and the Voodoo Doughnuts participation in the event. If you look here, you can see the inside of the box with the pyramid of doughnuts and lots and lots of regular-sized pink Voodoo Doughnuts boxes!

P. S. I've figured out how to get blank lines where I want them! Now, if I can just get this to work as my post. You see, I work on my post, editing and getting it exactly like I want it, in my practice blog. Then I copy and paste it onto my blog. Here goes! Copy. Paste. I'm crossing my fingers! This is a great development, a stunning start towards figuring this out! Hooray! Thanks, Karen, for those words you put into a comment on April 4--they're the reason I'm on the way to figuring out what to do! Thanks!

Seen on the walk to work, March 23, 2012, in the Voodoo Doughnuts No. 2 parking lot

If I sit on my first moring bus in a seat behind the bus driver, when we go by the Voodoo Doughnuts, I get a quick glimpse of the parking lot, then the building, then they're gone. Over a week ago, I spied this "monster," an imaginative creation which certainly matches the creativity with which the Voodoo Doughnuts people treat their doughnuts. Ipiccy, cropped, resized, and altered with the effect neon glow, overlay. The base neon color is red, believe it or not. I like what happened with I chose overlay as part of the process! Ipiccy, cropped, resized, and altered with the effect orton. Sort of made every thing smooth and creamy looking to me. I like this version, too. SOOC, Ipiccy, cropped and resized only. So, here's the original image, just for you so that you can compare the alterations with it. And it lets you see that the "monster's" arms, head and body are made from vines! His eyes appear to be plastic tubs with the vertical slits either painted on or drawn on with Sharpie markers. His mouth and teeth must be some sort of plastic, too, or else the rain we've had lately would have already turned them to pulp. Day-glow orange is painted around his mouth. The car which looks as if it has come to either worship the monster or give itself up in sacrifice is some sort of Honda. Enjoy!

Seen on the walk to work, March 23, 2012

If I were of a mind to, I could turn right a few feet past this pink sandwich board sign and enter ... ... this pink, mid-century-looking building where I could buy myself a Voodoo Doughnut. However, to do so would defeat the purpose of walking. I've lived in Northeast Portland since the last week of January, 2011, and have yet to walk over and buy myself a doughnut. Not only do I not actually need a doughnut, I haven't been in there since the last time I stopped by with Mama in the car, to pick up a couple of glazed for her. She loved to stop on the way home from a check-up with one or another of her doctors, most of the time with Lamont as her driver. Sooner or later, I'll go on in and buy my favorite Voodoo Doughnut, the Chocolate cake, a plain cake doughnut with chocolate frosting. Click here to read all about Voodoo Doughnuts, including the expansive and eclectic menu. Here's what I found on the Voodoo Doughnut's Web site: There are three locations. This one is #2. Voodoo Doughnut Too 1501 N.E. Davis St. in Portland Oregon, U.S.A. phone 503.235.2666 MAP OPEN 24 hours 7 days a week, Cash only, ATMs available Voodoo Doughnut Too is located where Sandy, Davis and 15th meet. We are just across the street from Portland's famous Sandy Hut. You can't miss the pink box building! 20,000 square feet of parking, 800 square feet of seating inside. Bubble Hockey too! P.S. I HATE the new BLOGGER whatever they call it because I cannot get any blank lines to show up between what I consider to be paragraphs. HATE IT! Paragraphs are necessary entities when one is writing. Get real, Google! And I'm quite certain that back whenever it was that they announced this new whatever they call it, I went to their comments or some such and complained up one side and the other about not being able to have a blank line in between what I consider to be paragraphs. Did I hear one word in answer? Nope, not one word. WISE UP, GOOGLE! I've tried indenting what I consider to be paragraphs, leaving an untold number of blank lines on the post as I'm working on it, between sentences to try to force the formation of a paragraph. NOTHING HELPS! RATS, GOOGLE! If I could get this to work, my P.S. would not be jammed up against the rest of this post. Can you notice the bold, italicized section? Every bit of that, copied and pasted from the Web site, was single, short lines, up against the left margin. See what I mean? I HATE the new BLOGGER interface!

Only in Portland, a man and his van grab my attention as I walk to the AHC for a lecture on a sunny, brisk Saturday morning

Take a close look at the man in the pea green jacket. Tell me what you think first attracted me? The purple van? Yes. The pea green lettering that perfectly matched his jacket? Yes, that was next. And just that quick, I noticed his purple hair that perfectly matched the color of the WineUpTV.com van. That's why you can see his hair, just the side of his face and the back of his neck. His hair blends out of sight into the side of the van. Here's a link to the Web site where you can visit the Home of the Wizard of Wine . At the link you can watch an episode of WineupTV, hosted by a man with purple hair--I assume it's the same man, but I cannot be sure since I didn't get any closer than the sidewalk where I stopped to take the photo with my iPhone. Keep Portland weird, that's what I thought as I checked the image on the iPhone and continued on my way. P.S. I HATE the new BLOGGER whatever they call it because I cannot get any blank lines to show up between what I consider to be paragraphs. HATE IT! Paragraphs are necessary entities when one is writing. Get real, Google! And I'm quite certain that back whenever it was that they announced this new whatever they call it, I went to their comments or some such and complained up one side and the other about not being able to have a blank line in between what I consider to be paragraphs. Did I hear one word in answer? Nope, not one word. WISE UP, GOOGLE! I've tried indenting what I consider to be paragraphs, leaving untold number of blank lines on the post as I'm working on it. NOTHING HELPS! RATS, GOOGLE! If I could get this to work, my P.S. would not be jammed up against the last sentence about taking this photo.

The AHC Hard Hat Tour of the Salvation Army Industrial Home, #1

An artifact, not so very old from the looks of it, which I found on a second-floor windowsill in the southernmost, older section of the building.

City Daily Photo Monthly Theme Day: Cobblestones

Cobblestones along the MAX light rail tracks near then PGE Park, now Jeld-Wen Field, of the Portland Timbers, our MLS team. The patrol car you see heading east is the Transit Police, on patrol. See other Theme Day Cobblestones posts here.