Category: Street & Travel

Squares

Old wooden garages in Portland, Oregon

It’s too bad you can’t make a living photographing the old garages of Irvington. I didn’t pay much attention to them for years, as while I walked a lot, it was mostly on the same route to the train station. But then we adopted our dog Ellie and we started taking long walks through the neighborhood, and since I let her dictate our meanderings I’ve passed a lot of houses and apartments I wouldn’t otherwise and I’ve fallen in love with the variety of these old, small garages.

Marooned

On old red Honda Civic is parked in front of an old maroon house

This is not my beautiful house and this is not my small automobile, but I was drawn both by the old Honda and the abundance of maroon, one of my favorite colors. The Civic was red but on the damp day, and against the maroon house and maroon tree branches, seemed maroon in spirit. I never had a Civic this old but the first car I owned, and the first car I enjoyed driving, was a little red 1984 Nissan Pulsar that my step-father found for sale. Within a couple of years of buying that car I had earned enough to buy my first new car, a 1992 Honda Civic Si, that I loved and drove for many years and many miles.

And though the house isn’t mine, the neighborhood is, Ellie and I passed this scene on the far end of our walk as we turned back towards the general direction of our house. I’ve loved living here (we’ve been here 15 years) and this little scene reminded me both of my past and my present. An old car and an old house, both making me smile.

The Alphabet Machine

A close-up of a machine used to raise a house off its foundation

The machine I use to generate the letters and numbers that go into the posts you see here is an old one, full of knobs and dials and pneumatic valves. I’m a little jealous of the speed and convenience of keyboards I see on people’s laptops when I’m on the train, able to tap a key labeled ‘B’ and see a ‘B’ appear on the screen. But where’s the noise, the drama, the emotion?

A close-up of a machine used to raise a house off its foundation

It may be time to upgrade though. My machine can’t generate ‘@’ or ‘#’ signs, which is really holding me back on social media. I’ve been hoping the company would create an add-on (they call them Helper Outlets), like when Q, R, S, and T were added to the English language, but sadly that’s not going to happen.

A close-up of a machine used to raise a house off its foundation

I first came across this machine when I didn’t have my camera with me, it was being used to raise a house up several feet off its foundation. I kept forgetting to go and photograph it but finally got some pictures on a Friday when I had a few extra minutes in the morning, and took a few more on the way home at the end of the day. I’m glad I did, I next walked past two days later while walking Ellie and the machine was gone.

Fall Comes to the Door of Hope

The Door of Hope viewed through fall color in Irving Park

In early December, I wanted to photograph this maple in fall color in Irving Park with the Door of Hope church as a backdrop. Even though it is just a few steps from the dog park, I had to bribe Ellie with treats to even get her this far, as she was ready to head into the neighborhood. That’s not Ellie walking across the leaves in the first picture, she was by my side, fortunately another dog filled in as my model. We’ve had many great memories in this little park, the pup and I.

Fall colors in Irving Park

Urban Wildlife

A sculpture of a frog playing the banjo in a garden

One downside to living in an urban neighborhood is that I don’t see much wildlife near the house. But perhaps I just haven’t been looking closely enough, as while walking Ellie I noticed a frog, a bird, and some rabbits, all within a block of each other.

A colorful sculpture of a bird in a garden

They were clearly accustomed to not only humans but also dogs, as they didn’t seem to be bothered by either my presence or the faithful pup waiting beside me.

Rabbit decorations in a yard