Tag: Oregon

As Goes the MAX, Go I

A MAX train in the snow in Portland, Oregon

I take the MAX light rail to work most of the time, so during our winter storms I often decide to go to work or take vacation time based on how well the train is running. The day after our big snow the trains were running well so I went back to work, my hat’s off to everyone who made that possible. It takes me a lot longer to commute on the train than by car but it is much less stressful. I did take some time off later due to ice, typically our biggest problem in the winter.

These pictures are taken at the 7th Avenue station, where I board the train in the morning and get off in the evening. It’s about a 15 or 20 minute walk from our house. That walk is also the most dangerous part of my life, especially the busy streets near the station, I had to jump back on the sidewalk on Thursday when a semi blatantly ran a red light at high speed. I drove on Friday since protests were likely to shut down the trains during my evening commute (and they did) but when I got in the car in the morning, it hit me how much I miss the car but not the drive. I love driving but the traffic makes it miserable. I’m very thankful for these trains, I just wish I didn’t have to deal with cars to get to them.

Many of these posts are written on the train, but it’s a Saturday morning so I’m writing this one on the couch.

Snow surrounds the train tracks at the NE 7th Avenue MAX station in Portland, Oregon

Goodbye Sun, Goodbye Snow

Our dog Ellie at sunset in the snow at Irving Park

Ellie watches the last rays of the setting sun from a snow-covered hill in Irving Park. I thought this Sunday afternoon walk was going to be our last walk together in the snow after a week of walking in the white as I was back at work on Monday, but I stayed home on Tuesday when temperatures didn’t warm as quickly as predicted and a possible ice storm was approaching. Thankfully the ice just missed us but Ellie and I had one more long walk in the snow that morning before the great thaw started in the evening.

I treasure every moment with this sweet pup.

Fading Glory, Fading Use

An old wooden garage in the Irvington neighborhood of Portland

Many of the garages in our old neighborhood are too small to hold modern cars. Even our little Crosstrek is a tight fit in our old one car garage. I’ve wanted to photograph these side-by-side garages for a while, as they have seen better days yet still hint at their former glory, and on this day fortune smiled as Ellie decided to walk down this street and I happened to have my camera with me.

An old wooden garage in the Irvington neighborhood of Portland

Frozen Rain Garden

Ice surrounds rocks in a rain garden

We got a little bit of snow on the weekend but it was the freezing rain that followed that made a mess of things. It did make for some lovely patterns in our rain garden though, the ice was starting to melt when I took this picture, I liked the way the ice had slightly pulled away from the rocks with a bright white line etched in its wake.

Within a couple of hours it had all melted and I was able to take Ellie on her first walk after missing the previous two.

Snow Watch

Snow Watch

Our cat Sam watches the snow fall outside our picture window. This is the fourth time we’ve gotten snow this crazy winter but this is the first heavy snowfall. The other times ice was much more of a problem, but this is the lovely snow I had hoped to take Ellie out in the previous times. They’ve canceled work tomorrow so I’ll be able to take her on a nice long walk in the morning.

No Pikas

Snow-covered rocks

I was thinking of pikas when taking these pictures, relying on snow to insulate their talus field homes to survive the brutal winter, but I wasn’t expecting to see any. These rocks are part of the multi-tiered rock wall that we had installed this fall as part of a landscaping project. I’ll have more to say later but we absolutely love the work that Mandi and her team at Habitat Gardens did, the rain gardens have almost completely eliminated water from the basement and the new landscaping out front, replacing a wall of junipers on our front slope, makes me happy every time I walk past.

I must admit I’m tempted to try to find a little stone pika that I can hide in one of the crevices.

Snow-covered rocks