More on Portland

The odd behavior of the common teasle was my first real clue that things were different here.  I'd noticed the laid-backness of the people, the minimal calm traffic, the mist, oh the great beer, the myriad bikes, but the way this plant was reacting to its environment was woah, weird by my midwestern standards.  Teasels grow all over the states, and are brown spiky lovelies in winter, awaiting regrowth in the spring.  The teasels in the Pacific Northwest  however do something different:  the relatively constant winter moisture along with the occasional bright sunshine and moderate temps encourages the seeds in the dried head to sprout right there in the seed head.  Their numbers indicate this isn't detrimental -- perhaps gives them an early start?  It's quite lovely.

While on a hike, Steve noticed these mist-frosted trees.

This statue is of Portlandia -- she's perched atop, looking down at the town.

This is our current home, in a condo on the Willamette River, right near Pearl District and downtown.   There's a jogging/biking path that follows the river for miles.

Voodoo Donuts is very popular in Portland.  Delicious, clever stuff.  There's a coffin available for purchase, filled with donuts.

This red-goo filled donut has a pretzel stake in her heart; she'll ooze/bleed upon being bitten.

Bad photo, but this donut has a poo-appearing dollop of peanut butter in the middle.  

A chess game that Steve and I left in process; these guys took over for us.  The pieces are put away at night.  

The giant outdoor holiday tree was being dismantled.  Branches at the base, except for the few at the top.

The benches and lots of other fixtures grow winter coats of moss.  

A sunny day, Mount Hood in the background.  There have
been lots of sunny days here.

Sweet 8' sculpture.

All our traveling lives, we've taken the opportunity to go on brewery tours when we've been near them.  They've mostly been big affairs, with miles of conveyor belts, lots of fork lifts, hundreds of thousands of bottles.  In 1984 Oregon changed its brewery laws to allow small scale brewing, and a whole new industry appeared.  We toured the little Bridgeport Brewery one day and gained a whole new perspective and appreciation of craft brewing.  Just Steve and me on the tour, led by a brewmaster -- went all over, cameras allowed, all questions addressed, we saw and tasted hops, saw the yeasts bubbling (below) in their lab, up close, the small batch approach.  It all happens in one city block -- all the fantastic stuff they brew and ship, obviously not much, but such a different approach and outcome.  It was fascinating.  And one small dumpster of waste -- they are so environmentally conscious -- recycle, reuse, feed pigs, fertilize with the byproducts.

These varieties of hops are grown specifically for Bridgeport.

Y-Es hiking in a nearby forest at Christmas.

Icing on the cake:  we went into the Multnomah County Library on our second day in town, and walked out laden with books an hour later, proud card holders.  Nice library, great staff, familiar patrons.

Also, I went on a tour of the Portland Mounted Police facility. It was the most in-depth, equine-conscious and -aware horse tour I've ever had, and have a new-found respect for urban-employed horses.

To be on the force (of  only 10), a horse needs to be at least 1/2 draft horse, and that means shaggy  fetlocks and legs, so  to keep them safe and clean, they're shaved weekly.  You can see his shaving lines above. They're also all geldings. 

The horses play soccer with this big ball, while learning the skill of pushing with their noses.

The PMP horses aren't shod, but wear these comfy, no slip sneakers when they work the streets.