winter – Page 9

Winter at the Door of Hope

When we got an unusually heavy snowfall earlier in the month, I wanted a picture of the Door of Hope church in the snow. The church sits at the edge of Irving Park and Ellie and I used to pass it as we walked around the path that circles the park, but these days after a quick visit to the dog park she wants to head out into the neighborhood instead of going further into the park.

I had thoughts of making her go up to the church as the snow continued to fall, it isn’t much farther than the dog park, but I just couldn’t do it. This theme continued as we walked, on the one hand I knew this was a historic storm and it was not something I’d have the chance to photograph again, but on the other hand this was also going to be my only chance to enjoy this much snow with the pup, and I chose the pup. I did take pictures on our walk, some of her and some of the neighborhood, but only on streets she chose to go down. An hour and a half later I dropped off an exhausted Ellie at the house and went back out alone for more pictures. The snow was still falling as I reached the Door of Hope and took this picture.

A few days later I bribed Ellie with treats to get her up to the church on our morning walk, now bathed in the morning light, every inch of snow trampled underfoot by families enjoying the unusual snow. I had thoughts about making her sit in front of the little utility building from the previous post, it’s just a little further up the path to the left of this picture, but she wanted to go and I couldn’t say no.

I Could Live Here and Be Happy

Well, except that it’s just a little utility building at the edge of Irving Park. Fremont Street and 7th Avenue are a bit to the right and behind, basketball courts immediately to the left. The walking path around the park goes past here, I’ve walked by many times with Ellie and never thought about taking a picture, but I was struck by how completely the snow transformed the scene and made it seem so peaceful and lovely, like a little cabin in a snowy forest.

Winter Advice

Never walk without your beloved dog when the snow falls heavy and deep, for if you wake a hidden dragon she’ll lull it back to sleep.

Winter Sunrise

Before taking Ellie on her morning walk, I snapped this picture from our top steps of the snow that had fallen overnight, an unusual sight in Portland. The sun was rising, not that I could tell, clouds covered the skies and the snow was still falling.

The Happiest Dog in the World

The snow was still coming down as a tired but happy Ellie waited to go inside after a long walk through the deep snow. Despite my best intentions I didn’t take too many pictures over the hour and a half we walked as it often felt like it would intrude on the fun we were having. So after getting her settled inside I went back outside for more pictures.

The Saddest Dog in the World

After an unusually heavy snowfall hit Portland one night, Ellie and I were working our way back home on our morning walk when I noticed a massive snowman in front of one of the houses, the kind you see in the movies but never here since we rarely get much snow, so I wanted a quick picture. Ellie was starting to tire after our long and joyful walk through the tall snow so I left her on what I presumed was the sidewalk and told her to stay and walked a few feet over and got my picture of the snowman.

I had to laugh when I turned around and saw the saddest dog in the world, all alone in this desolate landscape, looking for someone to love. Her droopy jowls when she sits still make her look so sad, but I knew the mental calculation she was making. She gets a treat if she sits still when we’re near a street and I give her the stay command, and she gets a treat if she sits still while I take a picture, so what she really wanted to know was, “Am I getting one treat or two?”

She got two.

You do make me laugh, pup, you do make me laugh.

Frozen 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.

Night Falls, And So Does the Snow

I took this picture from inside the house as an unusually heavy snowstorm blanketed Portland. The snow was still falling when I went to sleep, I measured 10 inches of snow outside the garage in the morning.

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.

I’m Dreaming of a White 3 Days Before Christmas

Our winter wonderland continued into today although the snow finally tapered off this afternoon, the official snow total so far for the month of December is 14″. I took this picture shortly before shoveling the steps and sidewalk yet again and, for the first time, the shoveled parts were still clear by the end of the day. Tomorrow is supposed to be cold but cloudy so things shouldn’t get any worse, with Christmas Eve on Wednesday a possibility of rain or snow or both, so there’s a good chance we’ll have a white Christmas.

I had thoughts about walking down to the Rose Garden for pictures of the city in the snow but then I realized just how much snow and ice was weighing heavily on the roof of our back porch and storage shed, so I hauled out the ladder and got as much off as I could. Maybe I’ll head down tomorrow and ride the MAX into downtown.

All things considered I’ve really enjoyed the snow. I’ve been off work anyway so I didn’t have to worry about commuting in this mess, although it also means I haven’t been able to go hiking during my time off. We’ve not lost power or had any damage (knock on wood) and the blanket of snow is lovely. We’ve had many people skiing down the street or dragging their kids on sleds, and I had a chance to play a bit with the neighbors in the deep snow.

Ridgefield will just have to get by without me until the weekend when things warm up again. I’m sure there are many great photo opportunities of wildlife in the snow that I’m missing, and probably a yeti or two, but I don’t want to risk it until the roads are better.