Pay attention. You could be missing something unqiue. Or have you already seen it so often that it is now ordinary?

Juggling at 4 p.m. on a June day in downtown Portland may not be that unique to some. Look at these people ignoring the man in the top hat plying his craft on SW 6th Avenue. I myself didn't notice him at first as I stood on the Broadway side of Pioneer Courthouse Square. The Festival of Flowers had drawn me to my viewpoint and kept me occupied until I caught a flash of one of his juggling pins as I moved the zoom on the camera. Ah, I thought. I must capture some of these seconds.



Moments later he uniquely caught the pin there on the bridge of his nose, yet no one across the street at the MAX stop even noticed. I wondered where he'd send it with a flick of his head.



Back to catch it on his heel? Then flip it elsewhere? I actually saw it on his heel for a second through the camera lens, but, alas, was unable to get a photo of it there or on its way up.



In front of him after arcing overhead, the pin joined the others in the routine as those pedestrians and folks waiting for the MAX only paid attention to their own private routines.



Then he returned to what I think of as standard, everyday juggling. I soon left myself to catch my bus home, part of my own workday routine. Thanks, juggler, for a moment of what was out of the ordinary for me in downtown Portland.

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!

Here's the news about the BLAST that I had at Bauman's Farm on Oct. 1 when I went for the Giant Pumpkin Weigh Off. I even shot an Apple Cannon!

I decided to go to Bauman's Farm after seeing their activities highlighted on KGW, Channel 8, with Drew Carney, their Out and About guy, who is highly entertaining in his own right. When I heard about dropping pumpkins from on high and weighing giant pumpkins and zip lines, I thought, "Why not get a Zipcar and "Check-ch-check-check-check-ch-check it out!"--a la The Beastie Boys! So I did, and I'm glad. Scroll to the bottom of this post and learn about just how much time you've got left to go have some fun yourself!


Right after I found what turned out to be a perfect paved spot to park my Zipcar, I walked past the big red barn that houses the Farmers Market and Bakery and the Nursery which is beside it, plant nursery that is. I rounded the corner and spied this welcoming quartet of goofy grins and an even more welcome sign above their heads!


Look what I found around the corner. And I don't mean that wheelbarrow or bin of pumpkins in the distance!


I took this photo from the Barnyard bridge, looking towards the massive parking area (I did park there later on--more about that tomorrow) and the field where later on pumpkins would be dropped from a helicopter as part of a fund raiser for Easter Seals. In the foreground you see folks riding on the Pedal Carts. Love that caterpillar! And I'm sure you noticed the giant pumpkins all lined up in two rows, between the Pedal Carts and the parking area. Can you guess which one ends up weighing the most? I'll show you tomorrow!


The Jumping Pillow! Looks Like fun!


I thought about doing this, but I decided not to since I was driving myself in a Zipcar.


Well, I could have done it safely. Maybe next year.

The Apple Cannon and my results!

I shot the yellow one later, two shots for $1.00.


If you look closely above the left-center of the grin, you can see splat that was the apple that I shot! I took the photo in between my two shots. My second shot hit the ground and bounced towards the Isuzu Trooper.


Cute little ladies man takes in the action of these two balloon artists.

About the pumpkin drop, I kept looking here and there, expecting to see a giant crane in the air, waiting to drop one or more of them somewhere. Couldn't see it anywhere, but then I heard a voice coming from up on the Barnyard Bridge, a little boy saying, "They're gonna drop it!" I looked straight up at him from the barnyard and then remembered that I had just heard a helicopter. I quickly put two and two together and hot-footed it back up onto the bridge. I changed to my zoom lens and got several photos that I like.

First one, the helicopter takes off, loaded with a pumpkin.


Second one, pretty much self-explanatory.


Uncle Pete's Polka music, his 12th year! He played The Chicken Dance, and that lady had some fun doing it! How about that little gray poodle in the violinist's lap?

Lots of other sights, all over the place.


Bauman's Farm & Garden, 12989 Howell Prairie Road, Gervais, Oregon. October hours: Monday thru Friday, 9-6, Saturday and Sunday, 9-5.

Here's the activities map.


All of their activities are covered, except for the pumpkin patch. On their Web site, I counted 26 regularly scheduled weekday activities, in addition to their upcoming special weekend activities:

Saturday, October 22
Face painting/air brushing
Allegro Dance Company, 11 a.m.
Silver Creek, Noon – 3 p.m.
Healing Rhythm Drum Circle, Teepee
Uncle Pete's Polka Music, Store
Wine Tasting & Gourmet Food

Sunday, October 23
Face painting/air brushing
Pumpkin Carver Tim Tate
Pie Eating Contest 2 p.m.
Silver Creek, Noon – 3 p.m.
Healing Rhythm Drum Circle, Teepee
Uncle Pete's Polka Music, Store
Wine Tasting & Gourmet Food

Saturday, October 29
Uncle Pete's Polka Music, Store
Healing Rhythm Drum Circle, Teepee
Wine Tasting & Gourmet Food

Sunday, October 30
Courthouse Dance Academy, 1 pm.
Pie Eating Contest 2 p.m.
Uncle Pete's Polka Music, Store
Healing Rhythm Drum Circle, Teepee
Wine Tasting & Gourmet Food

Weekdays I counted 16 activities. It's pretty much an amazing place. Their Web site is informative, and they're on Facebook, too.

Tomorrow I'll post about the Giant Pumpkin Weight Off!

It snowed again, just a little bit that thankfully didn't stay around very long.

Saturday night and Sunday morning, snowflakes fell. Conditions were not right for much of an accumulation. It was doggone cold on Sunday, so I didn't venture out except to walk Duncan. I took photos from the windows and one from the sidewalk.

What do you think this is? I bet you see them pretty often.


In this photo, you're looking northward at the tip top of the tree just outside our kitchen window.


I like how the snow enhanced the design elements of the truck's side and the tire.


A car drove down the street just as I took this one from the bathroom window, right at 10:02 p.m., Jan. 24.


I took this one at 11:17 a.m., Jan. 25. You can see melted snow on the Christmas ornament. Oh, by the way, on Saturday morning someone had put a poor, dried up Christmas tree out on the sidewalk; I noticed tinsel still on its branches, nothing else. Then on Sunday morning while walking Duncan, I spied this shiny red ball on the tiny branch, above where the tree had been placed.


Love my zoom lens because I can get pretty good shots without getting out in the cold!

Mt. Hood, snowless as of Dec. 4, 2008, but...

...snow is predicted later in the week and/or over the weekend. I imagine local winter sports' lovers are waiting anxiously for the white stuff to come on in and make it right on the mountain.

I took these two photos from the work parking garage roof, about 60 miles from the mountain. On the bus ride over the Hawthorne Bridge, I saw that "the mountain was out," so I rode the elevator up one flight and then trekked up to the top of the garage, glad that I had my zoom lens in my rolling black bag. Hence, one with the zoom, one with the regular lens.

How about that cloud formation? I've never seen one like it. Have you?