June 23, 2015

Repairing the leaks on the Willamette View ponds.

Last year the ponds leaked and were repaired. They are leaking again, and this time a new ore sticky formula is being tried to try to stop the leaks long term. First the bottoms of the upper pools had to be drained, and now they are being power washed.

Previous post - the Willamette View deer






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The lower pond.





Purloined raspberries: A deer up close and personal

Going to the store I decided not to bother taking my good camera. Hence as I drove by the resident gardens here at Willamette View all I had was my iPhone when I saw this deer munching on raspberries. It was unafraid as I walked closer and closer, getting within 20 feet before it walked a few steps away from me. I assumed this was the critical distance, so I followed it taking pictures as it went from one succulent item on this bountiful garden buffet. When I finally left, it was still in the gardens.




This morning (Weds., June 24) the deer came to me at about 10:30 AM, for a better photo op with my good camera. It was just across the street munching on shrubs. It seems emaciated to me, as I could see its ribs, though his belly seems full.






June 8, 2015

View from the 16 story OHSU building on Bond St. - Downtown Portland and the tram

This blog is devoted to my photos... 
before moving here I was using a Nikon D-90 with a 18-200mm lens,
here I have been using my new D-7100 with the Nikor 18-300 lens.
To see previous pages, click the link "Old Posts" on the bottom of the page.
To contact me, email halbrown100 at yahoo.com

Below: I took a friend downtown to the 16 story OHSU medical building for an appointment. It is connected by the landmark tram to the clifftop medical school itself. I used the opportunity to take pictures of Portland and some of its dozen bridges, including a brand new public transport, bicycle and pedestrian Tikkum Crossing Bridge (open this fall), which is similar in design to the Zakim Bridge in Boston. 







 Mt. Hood












May 31, 2015

Buzzards and Bins from Portland, Oregon

The buzzard photos (scroll down) were taken from the roof of the Court building where we were having wine the other evening. The bins are at the humongous central Goodwill warehouse. This building is in nearby Sellwood and is so long it looks like it could house an aircraft assembly line.
. This was an instance where even my camera with it's telephoto lens wouldn't allow me to avoid being noticed. All of these were taken with my iPhone as I was pretending to read text messages.

Click to enlarge.
 On the window of an SUV in the Goodwill parking lot,
also says U.S. AIR FORCE - RETIRED
 The way it works: Diehard shoppers, especially for clothing,
line up on each side of empty rows in a patient, orderly fashion,
and wait for new full bins to be wheeled out.




 Your trash, his treasures: the stuff in most bins like above
was considered unsalable in the regular Goodwill stores
(where items are displayed on racks or shelves).
Note the plastic box labeled "fat clothes"

 Some mothers shop for there children. This woman
had a variety of items in her overflowing cart,
including a perfectly usable kids bike which only needed
a coat of paint. One man bought a three foot tall Star Wars
figure that was only missing one hand for his delighted daughter.
Oh, and see the man checking out the woman's derrière.

 Very few of these shoes had a mate, at least not one
that was easy to locate. In this photo I can see a two red
womens shoes a few feet apart. A find!
Of course it wouldn't be Goodwill bins unless a completely
unrelated item was in a bin - here the video cassette.
 This man is checking out his balls.
Serious shopped wore gloves.
This man may be planning a trip.
 The back of the hearse was packed with Goodwill items.

"Each day 80,000 pounds of used items are either sold or recycled at this location. Spread out over the 14,300 square feet of retail space are enormous blue plastic bins. Customers step up to a bin and begin to sort through clothes or sift through bins of electronics or household items...."

Read more about this amazing Goodwill location:
http://portlandtribune.com/sb/74-news/66560-sellwood-goodwill-outlet-is-ultimate-recycler

Click to enlarge

The buzzard

Our favorite beach in Massachusetts was Little Harbor in Wareham. It was on Buzzards Bay. We probably went there a thousand times. We never saw a buzzard. Most likely for the following reason:
"The name was given to this bay by colonists who saw a large bird that they called a buzzard near its shores. The bird was actually an osprey..... "
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzzards_Bay
Actually, to be ornithologically correct, the bird here isn't really a buzzard - it's a turkey vulture.
http://www.oregonzoo.org/discover/animals/turkey-vulture
However, Buzzards and Bins makes a better title.









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