Another one of those blue sky days in Portland!

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June 16, 2012, a Saturday. I must have been on an errand to the main post office nearby. Who could resist taking a photo of these bikes and balloons on such a sunny day? They pulled me in as they stood there on the sidewalk, catty-cornered from one of my favorite vintage Portland buildings, the United States Customs House which opened for business in 1901. Back when we lived in Northwest Portland, I used to walk by the building on the way from the apartment to a bus stop on NW 3rd--it was a fine sight to see during that early morning exercise. Click here for some interior photos and news of the building's future.

Creative Problem Solving, #2

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Richard's bicycle came up with a flat tire on its rear wheel as he rode near Sublimity, Oregon, on Sunday afternoon, September 8. I just happened to have pulled off in the gravel nearby to take a photo when I noticed him sitting on the railroad ties used to separate the parking area from the grassy area. I pulled closer and asked if all was well, and he told me yes and smiled. I told him that I have sons so I felt compelled to check, then I asked if I could take his photo and put him on my blog. He smiled again and gave me permission. I told him my blog's name and wished him a good ride the rest of the beautiful afternoon. He agreed that it was a wonderful day in Oregon.  I did not ask if he had walked along for a while with the flat tire or if it had happened just before he arrived at this spot on the highway. I did know that I had carefully passed him not long before. So, here's Richard, creatively solving the problem of having somewhere to sit while he changed his flat tire.

Parked

The blue bicycle with the pink front wheel and the yellow back wheel caught my eye as I walked by. Then I noticed the child seat on back of that other bike. I didn't walk inside to look for parked cars, but surely there were some somewhere, some time. After all, it's a parking garage.

Seen on the corner of SW Madison St. at SW 4th Ave.

Oh, to be young again. To be able to ride a bicycle in those high heels, without wearing a helmet. Not!

Hollywood Farmers Market, July 7, 2012

Just a bit of what I saw at the market, clockwise from the top: Rainier cherries, tomatoes, flowers (and a flower-covered bicycle and its owner, wine, triplets along for the ride, cabbages and onions.

Neons are in! Street level matching colors, No. 5

Talk about serendipity! Look at this guy's helmet juxtaposed with the back of that stop sign on the corner of SE Stark and SE 6th Avenue! How cool that I snapped when I did and the camera got that split second in time! Wow! I'm excited about this photo.

Oh, before I get totally distracted by my excitement, look off in the distance, south down SE 6th. See those parked vehicles, many of which are red? They match the man's backpack. There's a north-facing red stop sign, too.

OK. I found something else that matches--there's a teensy bit of bright green there at the corner to the right of the bicycle's front wheel. When I clicked on the original size for an up close look, I saw that it appears to be what's left of a bottle brush, crushed and torn up by traffic, no doubt. And it's the same color as his jacket! Whoopee!

I took this photo on November 9, 2011, on my walk to work.

Neons are in! Street level matching colors--well, not on the street this time, but who cares! No. 4

Turns out that waiting for a bus gives me some of my best chances to get interesting photos. Like this one which I took at the corner of West Burnside and SW 2nd Avenue. Well, I was standing at SW 2nd, he was coming south from NW 2nd.

I took this photo on March 24, before the leaves came out, so there is no green matching item off the bicycle, but the green part of the frame matches the green back wheel. Can you find the other bit of matching green? It's the bicycle seat, peeking out. And the pink part of the frame matches the pink front wheel. Then there's the perfection of the handlebar grips! He knows he's a cool dude on one cool bicycle.

Neons are in! Street level matching colors, No. 3

Last Saturday on the way home from a fine lecture at the Architectural Heritage Center and a rewarding trip to Powell's Books, I got off the bus for the block and a half walk to my apartment building.

On the corner, I noticed these two stacks of orange traffic cones as I crossed to wait for the traffic signal to change at the corner of NE Sandy Blvd. and NE 20th Avenue. "Hmmm," I wondered. "Is tomorrow's Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon coming by here?"

Then I saw the man approaching on the bicycle, wearing, of all things, an orange knit hat covering,  I imagine, a head full of dread locks. I couldn't believe it--orange and orange, right at the same instant that I stood on the corner, camera on its strap hanging around my neck.

Yea for serendipity!

(And more about the cones later on in this series.)

Altered with Picnik, Vibrance Special Effect, No. 2

Altered by cropping, tinkering with the exposure, and using the Vibrance Special Effect to make the colors pop.

What do you think is going on here? Did the man on the bicycle squeak in pain after taking the curb, causing the man waiting to cross SW take a close look? They are in front of the United States Bank, architect A. E. Doyle, on SW 6th on the Portland Transit Mall.

The week before the end of Daylight Saving Time, when I could see

Wednesday, November 3, once again I'm at the corner of SW Washington and SW Broadway, waiting for the 15. Ah, the joys of being in the right spot at the right time. It certainly didn't hurt that this Dodge Daytona was thumping, so much so that I had time to look, get the camera out of my bag and turn it on, then point it for several quick shots. When the light changed to green, the driver slowly advanced for the left turn. I'm loving this blurred bicycle and rider. Those reddish smudges on the pavement are actually the blurred rims of the bicycle's wheels! What I want to know is where is the bicyclist's head? Even at the largest image, I can't say for sure, but I think he's lowered it between his shoulders. At least I think it's a he. And I can see that the driver of the Dodge Daytona is a man. Fun, I'm having fun with this photo!

Man-made instances of the secondary color, green.

The drums on stage with the Dirty Dozen Brass Band at Jimmy Mak's, a fine jazz club within walking distance of where I live--how fortunate.


Handlebars and the frame of this bicycle, man-made greens, as well as the cloth in the baby seat. By the way, I actually saw a lady standing near this bicycle with a baby strapped to her chest. I have to tell you that, while I am in favor of bicycling, I just can't get used to folks riding on busy thoroughfares, especially with a baby on board. It strikes me as dangerous, asking for trouble, irresponsible. To give her the benefit of the doubt, maybe she rode up to the Hawthorne corner on a side street. But, to tell you the truth, those particular side streets are narrow, often with vehicles parked on both side, and busy. But, I digress. Back to green, known for its calming impact.


The background of the signs at Kelly's, as well as the neon in the signs.


The trash can and these bike racks at Powell's Books, on another extremely busy thoroughfare, West Burnside. Hopefully these riders rode on side streets, too, but again to tell you the truth I've been in autos and buses going slowly along behind bicyclists riding along in the traffic, on the two-laned street which is often bordered with park vehicles.


The rolling waves in this fabulous mural with a terrific message: Practicing nonviolence is a way of life.


The green paint on the Pinecone. I wonder if the building is apartments or condos? I hope it's still apartments because surely that's what it was built to be.


1929 Ford Roadster, seen at the Cruise In at The Bomber.



Fireworks from July 4, 2010, as seen from the Willamette River, downtown Portland, Oregon.


A truck parked across the street from the Cruise In at The Bomber.

As I pulled to the stop sign, I thought, "Look! A sidewalk statue!"

Then as I grabbed my camera and pointed it, she moved! Startled, I couldn't focus before Leland had to move the car with the traffic, out of range. Still and all, I like the photo of the woman with her messenger bag and bicycle on a corner in the Pearl, Northwest Portland.

It's the ABC's of Portland, combining two favorites of lots of Portlanders

A bicycle with a coffee cup--close-up

A bicycle with a coffee cup--wide

I noticed this shiny little cup as I walked from my first bus to wait for my second bus. Gotta get the camera out and get a photo, I thought. What I really wanted to do was touch the coffee cup to see if it's a bicycle bell. I restrained myself, though, and only took the photos.

Waiting at the ready

February 12, while waiting for my second bus where I always change, in the block of NW 3rd Avenue between NW Davis and NW Couch, I saw this bicycle across the street. I happened to be on the phone with my Aunt Baker down in Puckett, Mississippi, as I am every weekday morning. I quickly asked her to hold on a minute, unzipped the rolling black bag and grabbed my camera. Click. "I got it!" I excitedly told her, just as my next bus came into view.

If I were inclined to ride a bicycle, I'm thinking that one with red tires would be much easier to ride. What do you think?

What's black and white and red all over, again?

How's this for another serendipitous juxtaposition of like colors? While there is a good deal of gray in this photo, look at the red lights and reflectors on the parking enforcement scooter (far right, going out of the photo), the man's bicycle helmet, the back of the trailer (or whatever you call these vehicles), the reflectors on the bike and on the trailer, the flag atop the pole at the back of the trailer, and the usual spots on the back of the Volvo, as well as the circle Smart Park sign on the pole.

It was the bicycle commuters that caught my eye. I've seen lots of these around Portland, always flying a tall flag to alert vehicles to the trailer behind the bicycle. And I didn't see anything else of interest until I downloaded the photo.

Someone commented on my first WRABARAO for more Ruby Tuesday posts. post that it would have made a perfect Ruby Tuesday photo, so when I saw this I thought, "Why not? I'll try this Ruby Tuesday thing with this photo."

Look at the Mr. Linky list at Work of the Poet for more Ruby Tuesday posts.

Here's to serendipity and creative fun for all.