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Portland Blog: This Week in Portland April 7 - April 14 2012
Happy Easter weekend Portland! We are happy to bring you the 200th edition of this Portland blog! While the PortlandNeighborhood website has been running since August of 2005, the weekly blogs didn't begin until several years later. We've had a lot of fun writing these Portland blogs and have encountered so many cool people and Portland businesses along the way. A most sincere thank you for your readership, Portland- we are humbled to have over a hundred-thousand regular readers in a month. I continue to find myself drunk on the happiness of Spring and somewhat child-like as I've found myself going to bed at night wishing the sleeping hours would fly by as fast as possible because I'm dying for the sunrise and the singing of the birds. Waking up to this beautiful, sunny, crisp morning was exactly what I needed. Having lost my good friend Rooster, an old Basset Hound of 15 years this week, this sad old heart is in need of beautiful things and to delight in the miracle that is nature. Luckily, my garden does not disappoint and neither does this incredible song that I hear all day long.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. ~Albert Einstein I am also enjoying the song of my neighbors frogs-- yes, urban pond frogs! They are happy as clams, singing the whole day and night. I adore them and so do the neighborhood kids. You'd think they'd never seen a frog before the way they drop their bikes mid-pedal and run to the pond at the sound a 'ribbet'. I do admit to some serious urban pond frog envy and that I am making plans for my own frogs. I know they'd love our pond- I can't wait for a nightly froggie chorus. This same neighbor is the chicken keeper of the neighborhood and it recently dawned on me that he has nearly single-handedly made our neighborhood interesting and cool. Keepin' up with the ole Jones' is different round these parts. His beautiful yard is colorful but its not flowers that catch your eye- its the brightly colored lettuces, kales, mustard greens, tomatoes and half dozen variety of apple and pear trees. He doesn't have the largest yard either-- its actually a postage stamp yard just like most in Piedmont. He's just found a way to make good use of every square inch. So with that, our next blog is inspired by Brian, my amazing neighbor and gardener of all things, and will cover what has been called the phenomenon of urban chicken keeping. We'll look at his coop, meet his chickens and learn how you can do this yourself, if you so desire.
The Portland Photo of the WeekThe Portland Photo of the Week is by Jeannie Needham. Doesn't this candid shot of girl and dog make you want to get out and hike, like, immediately? That's why we love it. Thanks, Jeannie, for sharing this wonderful moment. "Latourell Falls is a waterfall along the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon, within Guy W. Talbot State Park. The Historic Columbia River Highway passes nearby, and at certain locations the waterfall is visible from the road. Latourell is unique among the best-known Columbia Gorge waterfalls, in the way that it drops straight down from an overhanging basalt cliff. Most of those falls (even the famous Multnomah Falls) tumble to some degree." Source
Our Portland Photo of the Week winner gets a $20 gift certificate to a local Portland business of our choosing. Jeannie will receive a $20 gift cert to one of our favorite local restaurants, Miho Izakaya. Miho's menu is creative and incredible and the service is excellent in every way. We lovelovelove an evening at Miho and so will you. Come and upload your Portland photos to the Photo Gallery for your chance to win each week. Check back to see if your photo is selected for a spotlight in the weekly Portland blog!
A Clean BreakWritten by PortlandNeighborhood Guest Writer, Rob Creighton Garrison An aspect I love about Portland: there are plenty of reasons for me to leave it.
“Oh no he DI’INT!”, I hear you sputtering, your fist clenching in rage, sending the frothy crest of your latté spouting over your knuckles. Tut-tut, you misunderstand me. I mean to say that I’m not just a big fan of the city, but of the state in which it resides as well. How lucky are we that we have pretty much any and all manner of topographical wonders no more than a couple hours’ drive in any direction? Although my missus has a narrower criteria for acceptable landscapes (she’s partial to trees), I love it all, mountain, desert, and sea.
It had been too long since we last walked on a beach, and as if we needed another reason to motor our way to the coast, up popped a reminder of the SOLV Beach Cleanup. Ever since we moved back to Portland we had it in mind to participate in volunteer opportunities; this was one, and so armed with the appropriate weather attire, gloves, and a few plastic bags, the missus and I and our friend Juli (without whose timely reminder I would have totally spaced the event because I need notes to remind me to write notes) reported for duty at Rockaway Beach.
Turns out we didn’t need the bags or the gloves – those were provided by SOLV. Neither did we really need the rain gear, as the skies merely sputtered and fumed overhead like a schoolyard bully whose Spongebob underwear just became public knowledge. It was chilly, but pacing the beach in search of trash warmed us up quickly. Other groups of varying numbers made their ways up and down the beach as well, white plastic bags billowing in the breeze until weighted by debris.
Weird stuff ends up on a beach, and not just man-made detritus left behind by thoughtless humans. I was collecting yards of some odd tubing I couldn’t identify…until I was informed it was seaweed. (The stuff looked like something from one of those awful monster movies on SyFy. One lengthy piece protruded from under a log and I admit to skirting it warily before picking it up – yeah, you go ahead and feel superior over there, but people like me hardly ever get eaten in those movies, so yuk it up.)
We also found quite a few shotgun shells, pen caps (?), firework casings, and the obligatory bits of plastic and food wrappers. Annoying as this junk is, it’s inevitable wherever we humans choose to rove, and sometimes it isn’t really even our fault; although our party didn’t find anything identifiable that day, residents may be finding tsunami artifacts from Japan washing up on the coastline for months.
Of course, you don’t need to wait for an event to do your Mother a good turn, and neither do you have to leave town. Take a bag along on your next park hike or urban stroll. Enjoy the air and the scenery, reset your head, and leave a clean trail in your wake. Read and comment on the original post here. Like this article? Check back weekly for a peek into Rob's world.
Featured Portland Events this Week
The Pub Presents: Tuesdays with Morrie by Jeffrey Hatcher and Mitch Albom. Produced by Public House Theatre Company. A young man, an old man, and life's greatest lesson. The Pub presents the true story of sports writer Mitch Albom’s weekly Tuesday visits with his former professor, Morrie Schwartz, during the final weeks of Morrie’s life. After a lapse of 16 years, their rekindled relationship teaches Mitch lessons he never knew he needed to learn about life, love, and letting go.
Free- Sack Lunch ConcertsFebruary 29, 2012 at 12pm to May 2, 2012 at 1pm –Old Church downtown Sack Lunch Concerts (Free Concerts every Wednesday) LOCATION The Old Church1422 SW 11th AvePortland, OR 97201 Map It! PHONE (503) 222-2031 RUN TIME 45 minutes DATE/TIME Wed 29 Feb 2012 12:00PM - We…Organized by | Type: free, music, event
Emerging: New Photography AcquisitionsMarch 10, 2012 at 10am to June 17, 2012 at 5pm –Portland Art Museum Emerging, a selection of more than 50 works, celebrates the diversity and breadth of a set of 500 recent gifts and purchases. Included are images by such exceptional photographers as Adolphe Braun, B…Organized by Portland Art Museum | Type: museum,exhibit
Shakespeare's Amazing CymbelineMarch 16, 2012 to April 8, 2012 – "Portland Center Stage, Gerding Theater at the Armory "Based on legends about early Celtic kings, Cymbeline is one of Shakespeare’s most fantastical creations—familiar Shakespearean themes of jealousy and innocence wronged are joined by a piano-playing w…Organized by PCS | Type: theater
" Here Come The Clowns " Art ExhibitApril 6, 2012 at 6pm to April 28, 2012 at 6pm –Milepost 5 Building “Here Come The Clowns !!!” Art Exhibit FAMILY FRIENDLY ART OPENING PARTY April 6th at the DENIZEN GALLERY located on the first floor of the STUDIOS building at MILE POST 5, 850 NE 81st Ave.…Organized by Melody Chord | Type: clown, art, exhibit,featuring, paintings, poetry, games
Brewvana’s One Year Anniversary/Easter TourApril 8, 2012 from 2pm to 4:30pm – Portland We begin sampling new and usual beer styles at Hair of the Dog, a very small 4 barrel brewery in the inner SE that is known for bottle conditioning beers that improve with age. We then head to Widmer…Organized by Brewvana - Portland Brewery Tour | Type:brewery, tour
Healthy LivingApril 9, 2012 at 9am to June 4, 2012 at 9am –Beaverton Hoop YMCA Join us for this free 8 week workshop on Healthy Living. Participants will take part in group discussions focused on goal setting and healthy behaviors. Participants will also take part in a weekly g…Organized by Vickey Foster | Type: workshop
Portland Opera Studio RecitalApril 10, 2012 from 7pm to 8pm – The Portland Art Museum, Whitsell Auditorium On April 10, come enjoy an evening of vocal chamber music at a Portland Opera Studio recital. This recital is the final Artist Recital of the season, and will focus on mezzo soprano Caitlin Mathes.…Organized by Portland Opera, Portland Art Museum | Type: music
PIR Automotive Swap MeetApril 12, 2012 at 7am to April 14, 2012 at 5pm –Portland International Raceway The 8th annual PIR (Portland International Raceway) Automotive Swap Meet will feature more than 1,500 vendor stalls and more than two miles of automotive-related gear located on the racetrack at 1940…Organized by Portland International Raceway | Type:swap, meet
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