Thanks to my Zipcar, here's something I saw at the Oregon State Fair, the Slingshot!

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Just released, speeding upward on some sort of giant rubber bands! Holding on and smiling. I took this photo at 2:43 p.m. on Sunday, September 1, 2013, in Salem, Oregon.
 

In no time at all, physics takes hold and spins the seat so that the occupants are heels over heads and still speeding upward. I didn't count the number of ups and downs, but I can tell you that one would be more that I could take. Have you ever been on this ride? What makes it a ride? More like a jolt.
 

My Zipcar, Toyota Prius Islidur. We're at my on-the-way pit stop at the Fred Meyer in Canby, Oregon. It's the best place to stop for the deli counter and the restroom, bar none, when leaving Portland and heading south to Swan Island Dahlias, Bauman's Farm and Gardens, Schreiner's Iris Gardens, the Oregon State Fair, and/or the Sublimity Harvest Festival.

And, remember yesterday's post with the sign? Today there are signs, too. Folks, pay attention to these if you're trying to decide if you ever want to submit to the Sling Shot. I didn't even have to read because I knew beyond any doubt that I would never find my boo-tay strapped into the capsule. No way, no how.

I've typed what the one one the left says for you here:

Rules
1. Please remove all loose articles: Hats, Sunglasses, Keys, Cell Phones, & Loose Change.
2. Everything must be removed from your front pockets before riding the sling shot.
3. You must be at least 48" tall to ride the Sling Shot.

Restrictions
1. You ride the Sling Shot at your own risk!
2. You cannot ride if you have back, neck, heart, or other medical conditions!
3. YOU CANNOT RIDE IF YOU ARE PREGNANT!
4. You cannot ride if you are under the influence of drugs or alcohol!
5. By going on the Sling Shot you agree that you have read all the Rules & Restrictions and will          abide by them!
6. We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone!
7. NO TICKETS, NO RIDE, NO REFUND!

But here's where it gets down to brass tacks, on the sign on the right:
SLINGSHOT Riders
$30 per person (the squares with the prices on them have been attached to the sign because, dontcha know it, the prices have changed, gone up, I'm sure--it's the slingshot, they're not gonna go down, are they?)
Single Rider $30
Video $the stair rail is in the way, so I cannot tell if it is $30 or $20, but I'll lean towards $30, for consistency and continuity of pricing.

DO NOT RIDE IF YOU ARE PREGNANT DO NOT RIDE IF YOU HAVE BACK, NECK, HEART or HEALTH PROBLEMS

Hot Shot Thrill Rides
TOWER HEIGHT: 190'
CAPSULE HEIGHT: 250'
APPRX. SPEED: 100 MPH
MAXIMUM G'S: 5

RIDERS RIDE AT OWN RISK Needless to say, all I did was take a couple of photographs.

No. 5, a final bouquet of blossoms

From Swan Island Dahlias, Canby, Oregon. I visited early on Labor Day morning.


A test garden dahlia--they don't have names yet, just numbers. I forgot to photograph the number.

Pipsqueak. Hot Tamale.

Patricia Ann's Sunset. Lucky Ducky.

I'm a Hottie. Koppertone.

Bed Head. Little Missy.

Cloudburst. Crazy Legs.

Mardy Gras. Raspberry Punch.

A worker from Swan Island Dahlias cuts blossoms to be sold to patrons of the Dahlia Show. He's got his knife in his mouth and a bouquet in his hands. I had watched him for a while, walking along and cutting first one stem, then another, until he had this big bunch.

We break again from the fun with Milton and Kay for a return to Swan Island Dahlias in Canby, Oregon, No. 4

Here we have a jumble of photos for your enjoyment.
Vassio Meggos, what a lovely flower.

Sprinklers--dodging them became a sort of game for us as we walked the aisles between the rows and rows of dahlias. The person you see to the right of the leftmost sprinkler stream is not a patron. Patrons do not walk between the actual rows, only workers.


Sheer Heaven, photographed after the sprinklers had passed by.


Rawhide, also photographed after getting a drink from the sprinklers.


Vanishing point, furnished by rows of Little Missy dahlias, a paved road, and the power pole and its lines.


More perspective, courtesy of the path headed towards the spot where just about everyone who visits begins touring the acres of dahlias. The cut flower stand and the food vendors are located in that area.

By the time we left, people popped up between the rows of dahlias. While it thrills me that folks come to enjoy the beauty, I knew from previous trips to Swan Island that I would also be thrilled to arrive before the crowds.


One more beautiful sight caught my eye as I drove away in the Zipcar. I had to turn around and go back for this photo of it parked nose-in beside the rows of Little Missy dahlias! A 1955 Chevrolet. My first car was a green one--I loved that big ol' car!

Swan Island Dahlias, Labor Day, No. 3

One of the neat things you can do at the annual event is buy your choice of cut dahlias. You don't cut them, you select them from water-filled buckets.

Come back soon to find out who cuts these long-stemmed beauties. And for more fun with Milton and Kay.

Swan Island Dahlias, Labor Day, No. 2

Dahlia September Morn

A side trip on Labor Day to Swan Island dahlias, No. 1.

Dahlia Edna C ... Joy came over me when I read the name of this dahlia the color of sunshine. I found it on one of the paths amid the rows and rows of colors and shapes and sizes of beautiful blooms. Edna was my Mama's name.




Dahlia Lynette ... I missed finding this one in the fields so finding it in the display area was even more exciting.


Our dahlias were in the same room. I love that we were there together, although the yellow one beside Lynette is not Edna C., Edna C. was nearby.

Lamont and the Slackline and today's dahlia, with a visitor

Please scroll down for today's dahlia, TG 10, from the Canby Dahlia Trial Test Garden, sponsored by The Portland Dahlia Society and The American Dahlia Society, in co-operation with Swan Island Dahlias, maintained in honor of Nick Gitts, Sr. Dahlias on trial--not for sale.

Lamont jumped onto the slackline and stayed for a few seconds, trying to maintain his balance for all he was worth.








TG 10 and a bee!

Oh, boy! It's color-coordinated, street-level accessory time again!

Please scroll down for today's dahlia, TG 11, from the Canby Dahlia Trial Test Garden, sponsored by The Portland Dahlia Society and The American Dahlia Society, in co-operation with Swan Island Dahlias, maintained in honor of Nick Gitts, Sr. Dahlias on trial--not for sale.

I took this photo after I got off the bus at W. Burnside and NW 23rd. The car is driving south from NW 23rd, crossing Burnside or about to turn left onto Burnside and go east. This intersection has been a favorite of mine since we first moved to this neighborhood in October, 2006. It's easy to see why, isn't it?


Today's dahlia, TG 11.

Heritage Tree, South Park Blocks, and today's dahlia.

Scroll down to see today's dahlia, Gregory Stephen, from Swan Island Dahlias.

Click Heritage Trees of Portland to find out about the ordinance that created the Heritage Tree program, as well as additional information at the Portland Parks & Recreation Web site. I especially like the various links, Trees by Year, Trees by Species, Trees by Location, Heritage Elms, and Trees of Merit. When I clicked on Trees by Year, I discovered that I had seen in person the second so designated Heritage Tree in Portland, in 1975.

Believe it or not, I didn't go there first to find today's subject. I lucked out and found this one on Aug. 29 when I got to the Antoinette Hatfield Hall early--I had signed up to help with new usher training for the Portland Center for the Performing Arts. Not wanting to just go inside and just wait, I walked west across the South Park Blocks, not expecting to see a plaque in the sidewalk on the corner--there's the photo, beneath this one. What I read made me look up and find the subject of the third photo below. Now I'm wondering if a sycamore and a London planetree are relatives. Click, click. I'm taking photos and looking for the best vantage points.

The tree as seen from the middle of SW Main as it goes through the South Park Blocks.


The plaque on the sidewalk.


The sign on the tree.


There in the distance you see the brick building--that's the Antoinette Hatfield Hall, part of the Portland Center for the performing Arts, my ultimate destination.


I just love the Internet. I've found a pdf of a brochure or booklet, "Oregon Geology," published by the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, from November 1985. On pg. 7, I've read about the sidewalk plaque. "At the northwest corner of the intersection of Main and West Park there stands a magnificent london (sic) plane tree (Platanus acerifolia) (a) that was planted in 1800 by Sylvester Farrell. At the base of the tree, a gneiss marker indicates incorrectly that the tree is a sycamore (which is a close relative of the london (sic) plane tree). The marker also left out an "L" in the gentleman's last name. The tree has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is the sole survivor from pioneer times in the immediate area."

Simply grand, that information. I love digging for it, too. Can't help it. I used to be a librarian.

Today's dahlia, Gregory Stephen. Facts from Swan Island Dahlias--Bloom: 12" Red, Bush: 4'

Pizza Schmizza's delivery bicycle and today's dahlia

Please scroll down to see today's dahlia, Margaret Duross, from Swan Island Dahlias.

I'm walking last February when this delivery bicycle caught my eye. I liked the way its shapes and colors matched the street barricades and the bollards. So, I took this first photo.


Thank goodness I decided to look back at the bicycle as I walked by this downtown Pizza Schmizza. Trust Your Gut--wow! That statement made me curious, so I looked online and found this entire statement, evidently associated with the franchise: “Trust Your Gut and Claim Your Slice." I wonder how it tastes?


Today's dahlia, Margaret Duross. Facts from Swan Island Dahlias--Bloom: 12" Golden Orange, Bush: 5'

Wildly anxious, that's me! Honk's acting sluggish.

So slow, often nothing much but a spinning rainbow-colored org, my little white iBook Honk has me worried. I'm trying to get everything off of it that I possibly can. By that I mean photos off to Flickr and Walgreens. I'm going to go ahead and post today, if nothing happens before I get finished.

What could be more appropriate for how I feel than today's dahlia, the Wildman?





Facts from Swan Island Dahlias--Bloom: 12" Red, Bush: 3 1/2'

Whoa! A three and a half foot tall dahlia plant, complete with 12" wide blooms. Now, that's wild!