Sunday, November 30, 2008

I Cannot Stop Marveling


I cannot stop marveling
at how tall the trees grow here,
like my true self
that family and other bullies
have tried so hard to suppress, to murder.
At last I have found a place
where growth and healing happen.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Portland in Autumn

Bamboo on the Fanno Creek Trail

I actually took these photos about three weeks ago, and it's high time I post them. Since then, the trees have fewer leaves and the sky has more rain. The ducks are happy.

I don't want to encourage people to move to Portland, simply because many people have been moving here lately, and it's hard to get a job. Very hard.



Holly on the Fanno Creek Trail


Ducks in the swimming pool at my apartment complex (they like the heated water)
The parking lot is under construction on the other side of the pool.


View at the Hoyt Arboritum, where trees are labeled so you know what to call what you're looking at.



Hoyt Arboritum.


Astonishing tree with fluffy red leaves at the Hoyt Arboritum


The photo doesn't do it justice; the bark on this tree is as green as the leaves, but with some red stripes. It's also shiny and looks as if someone painted the trunk, and yet it's natural.


Hoyt Arboritum


View of downtown Portland, from the Hoyt Arboritum