A break from the Nature's Beauty series--rain has returned

Never mind that I took this photo last February, it perfectly portrays our current weather. Through the rainy Portland Streetcar window, the PICA building looks cool to me. PICA equals Portland Institute for Contemporary Art--it's located at 415 SW 10th Avenue in downtown Portland.

To me, this vintage stepside Dodge pickup looks short.

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A somewhat worn paint job still shines when wet with rain. What year is this Dodge pickup truck? I'm thinking somewhere in the 1960s, but that based on a feeling, not knowledge. Has it been chopped?

Cooler air outside, warmer bodies inside, large windows opaque as a consequence of those differences--the 20 bus on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

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Wearing a quilted black satin brimmed hat, my multi-colored polka-dotted black rubber boots, and with my thigh-length raincoat completely zipped up and the hood pulled up over my hat, I boarded this 20 bus Sunday, September 29, at 12:49 p.m. on my way to a fundraiser tour for the Architectural Heritage Center. I had my Nikon secreted inside the upper left side of my raincoat and my over-the-shoulder black, rain repellant, many-pocketed handbag hanging outside my raincoat on the right side. I left my backpack at home because I had no idea how much turn-around space I would have on the tour. I certainly didn't want to knock anything off of someone's table or wall.

Seeing folks dressed in coats or hoodies, some with their belongings wrapped in plastic bags, didn't surprise me. All of us knew that it had been raining and blowing for hours and hours and would continue to do so.

On my way home after the tour of an intriguing vintage apartment building that had gone condo at some point in the past, the 20 bus filled with thoroughly wet Portland Timbers' soccer fans who gave no clue as to the outcome of the game. It wasn't until I got home and checked Facebook that I learned the team had beat the LA Galaxy 1-0. And that 20,000 filled the stadium in the rain. Guess those who managed to quickly fill the 20 bus felt too water-logged to be excited about the victory. The hordes left on the sidewalks waited for the next bus in the downpour.

Seen on the street, February 16, 2013, No. 8

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The man's hooded jacket has not been streaked with watered-down white paint. Those streaks are the falling rain, better visible after I altered this photo with PicMonkey's HDR. I wanted you to be able to see the rain. I took this photo downtown a block east of Pioneer Courthouse Square.
 

This is the unaltered image--very little rain visible. Rest assured, at its original size at Flickr, you can see rain drops in more parts of the image than his jacket.

Seen on the street, February 16, 2013, No. 6

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Sweet scene, this daddy and his two children patiently waiting for the MAX Green Line--I'm on the Yellow Line, so I know they didn't want it, or they would have been standing up as we approached. The rain stopped, the sun came out, a chill remained.

Mr. Statue, on a rainy Saturday

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Photo taken at SW 5th Avenue and SW Morrison, downtown Portland, on February 16. 

Mr. Statue, a popular mime in Portland, set up beneath the glass overhang that protects the door to Pioneer Place, a multi-story shopping center. I took quite a few photos and had a difficult time deciding on just one. Once I had altered this one at BeFunky dot com, I liked how it turned out, so I decided to share it with you. I may post another one or two later on, just because I like them so much. Oh, by the way, this spot is the first place that I saw Mr. Statue--I'm not sure which year, but it was quite a few ago.  

Rainy autumn in my neighborhood, No. 6

On Halloween, I took the photo of the street beside my apartment building through the windshield of my Zipcar. I was stopped at the intersection, nothing dangerous going on with the camera and the car. The other three photos are ones that I had taken last Sunday on my short walk.

Rainy autumn in my neighborhood, No. 4

From nearby fully-opened blossoms, the scent of roses wafted in the wind. But not from these rosebuds. Possible late-bloomers? My guess, they'll become never-bloomers. Hmmm. Can you become a never?
 

The red door and white trim at Albertina Kerr's headquarters becomes the best background possible for this red rose bud.
 

I like the peachy orange and bright yellow rose bud contrasted with the dark green leaves and maroon stems. No color alterations here. These photos are just as they came out of my iPhone.



A fading pink rose bud seems the perfect lead-in for this poem I found on the Internet:

When the Rose is Faded by Walter de la Mare

When the rose is faded,
Memory may still dwell on
Her beauty shadowed,
And the sweet smell gone.

That vanishing loveliness,
That burdening breath,
No bond of life hath then,
Nor grief of death.

'Tis the immortal thought
Whose passion still
Makes the changing
The unchangeable.

Oh, thus thy beauty,
Loveliest on earth to me,
Dark with no sorrow, shines
And burns, with thee.

Rainy autumn in my neighborhood, No. 3

When I decided to take a short walk Sunday afternoon, I couldn't hear any rain from inside my apartment, nor could I see any falling when I looked out the window, so I walked from my front door and across the hallway to the building's side door in my Crocs and socks. All it took to hear the rain was to open that side door. Went right back to my apartment for my rain boots, pulled the hood on my raincoat up over my cloth hat and walked on outside into a shiny, colorful wonderland of autumn leaves.

Rainy autumn in my neighborhood, No. 2

Friday a week ago, the day that my brother arrived in Portland for his visit, we walked from the bus to the apartment; we'd had a full afternoon out and about in Portland, either on mass transit--MAX, bus, and Portland Streetcar--or on foot. As you can tell from the amount of water trapped at this corner, it had been raining hard earlier. In fact, the two of us got soaked walking from the Oregon Rail Heritage Center to the Portland Streetcar stop. Everywhere we went, we managed to avoid puddles in our path.

As we approached and I noticed this man engaged in a regularly occurring autumn activity here in Portland, I grabbed my camera from inside my raincoat and took a few photos. I didn't realize I had the bicycle in the shot until I had downloaded them to the iMac. Yea!



The bicyclist made it through the puddle, while the man with the rake diligently continued his work. We crossed the street out of view to the left where there was good drainage, avoiding our final puddle of the day.

Rainy autumn in my neighborhood, No. 1

Near my apartment this afternoon, water stands at the junction of a sloped driveway and a street. Brightly colored leaves float in the water until wet through and through--then they sink.

The first of a few moments that I witnessed during the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon on May 20, 2012, at the intersection of NE Sandy Blvd. and NE 20th Avenue, right in my neighborhood!

A woman on a bicycle cautiously approached NE Sandy, heading north on NE 20th Avenue. Since there's a police officer stopping traffic from the center of the intersection so that runners in the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon can continue on their way, she crosses the street. I like how the red hand on the traffic signal looks as if it is attached to her bicycle helmet like the comb on a rooster!
 

Here comes the next bicyclist crossing Sandy behind her. I have to say that I am shocked somewhat to see that the two of them are bicycling the city streets in flip flops. Thank goodness they're wearing helmets. I'll bet they're together--the flip flops give them away.

 

The two of them wait patiently on the corner, searching for a break in the runners. You can tell how much rain the man's been riding in when you take a look at the discolored front of his shorts; her pants are wet, too, but the difference in color is not easy to discern unless you click on the huge original size of the photo which I cannot put here on the blog--sorry. On that original size, it's easy to see drops of rain here and there, too.



Just about made it, threading the needle all the way across NE 20th, heading west.
 

Yep, home free now. What cracks me up is that when I looked at this photo as I cropped it, I wondered what in the world is that woman doing with the toes of her left foot? The dark spot caught my eye, and I had to see for myself, so I clicked on the huge original size of the photo to take a look. She's got those two outer toes crooked upward like she's trying to keep them from hanging off the edge of her flip flop as she trots along beside her bicycle. How many of us do something similar, unconsciously? I used to do that back when I wore flip flops.

My March Madness continued with a trip to, then a wait at, the Rose Garden Arena

My NCAA Division 1 Men's Basketball tickets for both of Thursday's sessions. I'm on the MAX light rail train, making sure for the umpteenth time that I actually have them with me, safely tucked into my wallet which is ensconced in my purse when I decide to take a photo to the two of them. Love how the holograms turned out, especially the one of the left.


Portland's picturesque Union Station, seen from the MAX train window through the rain.

I got off the MAX at the bottom of the slope and walked up towards my goal--the set of building doors closest to the intersection, where there existed a somewhat narrow overhang which I planned to stand beneath for the the 40 minutes until the doors opened.

As I neared the door, I stopped to ask an employee who had just stepped outside the building, "Is it true? What I heard on TV about everyone exiting the Rose Garden after the first two games and then coming back inside for the last two games." The man said, "Yes, but you can just get back in line once you exit." What a relief. And if the rain had stopped then, it would be nigh onto perfect. I figured that the line would be a packed crowd, but I also figured that since I had to do it, I surely did hope that the rain would be gone by then.


After a little while, the rain slacked off, and the wind kicked in. While I waited beneath the overhang at the doors near the fountain, which thankfully was not on because one thing we didn't need was more liquid in our lives, I noticed the trash bag blowing almost parallel with the courtyard. You can see a little water standing here and there, too. I proceeded to watch people in the wind.

A scene you won't see in Portland today

On a September Saturday, these two women stood talking on SW Broadway. The woman on the left had been to the PSU Farmers Market, filling her navy blue bag with untold fresh goodies. Maybe the woman on the right had been there, too, and had stored her goodies somewhere in the scooter. Can you guess the reason that scenes like this won't be repeated today? It's pouring rain and blowing, blowing, blowing wind. I can hear it hitting the windows of my apartment right now. And after work yesterday I had to hold my hood shut, or it would have blown right off my head! On my way to the basketball game and hours later after the game!

Here's what KGW Channel 8's meteorologist Nick Allard has to say about the weather online: This morning it is mild, wet, breezy and will be all day. Another round of heavy rain is moving in to the area and later today it will be really wet again. The winds are staying pretty active this morning and also will for the rest of the day. There is a High Wind Warning in effect for the central Oregon Coast until this evening. Winds will be sustained between 30-40 mph with gusts that may approach 50-70 mph especially right at the coast line. The rest of the area will be breezy at times with moderate to heavy rain. In fact anywhere from half an inch to an inch is possible all over the place. Highs will top out in the mid-50s. The snow level will stay high today in the 7-8,000' range.
Tomorrow another round of rain will push in, but the heaviest rain will stay south of our area. So overall the rain will be much lighter. However into Friday another wet and breezy system will move in for rain during the day and some decent mountain snow by Friday night.

No. 3, May 16, 2011

Right about now good-sized raindrops begin to fall. She moves her right arm in advance of opening her umbrella. She scrunches her eyes shut. I'm across the street, thinking, "Rain, rain, go away!" I am lucky to be standing beneath a narrow strip of roof attached to the Fred Meyer's outer wall.

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Walk #7, neighborhood sidewalk surrounded by lush greens

OK, so it rains a lot here in Portland. But look what the rain brings us. Beauty in all shades of green, plus in the distance another flowering tree. I am blessed. And that's the tallest hedge I've ever been around, there on my left. Tall, well-trimmed, healthy hedge.

Vacation, Day 11, 10/31/2009, Part 1

Halloween morning at Talladega Superspeedway, and we're having Cafe du Monde beignets courtesy of Kay! Way to go, Kay!


And pancakes courtesy of Betty! Way to go, Betty!


Having never really been around golf carts before this trip, I found them endlessly fascinating.


Here's another one.


Tinkerbell's ready to go outside. It had rained during the night; rain and/or mist persisted. She's a well-dressed cutie pie, thanks to Kay! Way to go Kay!


Mike and Milton, searching for the weather report on the TV.


Off to the race! The Mtn Dew 250 of Talladega fueled by Fred's Hometown Discount Store!


Don't forget the tickets!


See what I mean? Fascinating. Lots and lots of folks park their golf carts at the edge of the campground and walk on over to the Superspeedway.


Here's how lots of other folks arrive at the track. See way off--all of those white things? Those are travel trailers, motorhomes, all sorts of RVs, camped between Speedway Boulevard and I-20.

Early morning walking the dog

Almost two months ago, March 10, the weather started the day a bit wet and warmer. I saw this man walking the dog in downtown Portland, around 7:30 a.m. We can assume that most everyone else in the photo is headed to work or headed home from work. I myself was on my way to work. I walked from one bus to another bus stop, enjoying myself, the sights and the weather.

Saturday's Weather Surprises

First, a close-up of the sweetest surprise, as seen from our kitchen window. I hope lots of Portlanders got to see this beauty which hung around for a few minutes. Looking from inside the arc, I see purple, blue, green, yellow, orange and red. Maybe the seventh color, indigo, is there, but I can't say for sure.


Now, a close-up of the rain and hail that arrived with a shocking swiftness and well before the huge rainbow.


Not long before 4 p.m., looking out the window beside Mama's recliner where she sat taking a nap, I noticed it had started to rain, so I stood up to check the open window there and in the kitchen--not raining in either one. Then I walked into the bathroom to check that window. Pulling it shut against increasing rain drops, I turned to head back to the living room. Before I could get out the bathroom door and into the hall, I heard hail blasting the windows, blasting with sound but not breaking the glass though I have no doubt that if it had been larger hail, broken glass would have resulted. When I stepped back into the living room, the screeching had woke Mama. In a matter of minutes--Mama and I estimate four at the most--the rain left us surrounded by quiet--until lightning and thunder that must have been nearly right above us jolted us. Then a few minutes later the TV broadcasted a severe thunderstorm warning for all of the metropolitan counties. We later learned on the evening news that trees were down across the area, and 30,000 were without electricity. On Sunday at 5 p.m. 1,800 still did not have power. This is not Portland weather--its' more like what we were used to in Mississippi.

Not long after the severe thunderstorm warning, I noticed darkening skies in the distance, first out a living room window ...


... then out the kitchen window. Wistfully, I said to Mama, "There must be a rainbow somewhere."


An hour and a half later as I walked by the kitchen window, I glanced out and hollered, "Oh, there's a rainbow!" Quickly I grabbed my camera, sat at the window and took picture after picture, hoping to get a good one of the widest rainbow I can remember.

It disappeared behind the Rose Plaza on the north ...


... and another apartment building a block away to the south.

Paradoxical Footwear

Merriam-Webster Online defines paradox at "a tenet contrary to received opinion." To me, the raindrops represent the received opinion in this photo--February in Portland can be rainy. The brown boots also represent the received opinion--February in Portland can be cold. The black flats with the gold emblem are the contrary tenet.

I know I couldn't go out with my feet that naked. I don't believe I could have done it even when I was much younger, which you can tell by the feet that the person wearing the black flats is, a young woman. Not that I'd wear the boots, either--I don't think they'd go up over my calves. Back in the day, maybe, but not now.