SE Portland Creeks and Bridges

(We did this walk with a few other homeschooling families yesterday.) The walk started at Westmoreland Park and went south along there until we hit the Springwater Corridor. We walked on a small part of that and then turned around to continue the walk through the very different neighborhoods in this area. Eva was relieved that we weren't going to walk all the way to Gresham and we remembered that we have actually been for a walk on at least part of the other end of the Springwater Corridor with friends of ours who live in Gresham.









One of the neighborhoods had pink flamingos in all of the yards along one section.








Eva wrote her name on the community board.



The walk ended shortly after we hit these food carts for ice cream. I loved the flowers planted in this grill.

2011 upick chronicles

Tuesday we went to Sauvie Island to pick blueberries with friends. I have so many blueberries now I really should make some jam. We picked a few pints and then went to another farm for popsicles. (Well, we really went for snow cones, but the snow cone machine is only open on the weekends. Maybe Thursday evenings. But not Tuesday afternoons. So popsicles.)




The second farm has this converted bus with magnets that we all had fun with.



The flowers are gorgeous this time of year.



Berry fields emptying out and I loved the colors of the corn and the blue skies.

2011 upick chronicles (x2)

There has been a definite shift in the angle of the light in the last week and a half and the quality of the wind, which corresponds nicely with Lammas (half way between the summer solstice and the autumn equinox). This seasonal shift has been noticeable in the berry fields as well. We picked raspberries a few days ago and then picked a pint or two each of boysenberries, marionberries, black raspberries (black caps) and sylvan blackberries today. There are still a few berries on the vines but rather than sharing space with flowers and honey bees, they are surrounded by unpicked drying berries and yellow jackets enjoying the sweetness of the season. The rows, once easy to walk through, are now overgrown.

The weather was overcast and cool when we first arrived at the upick late this morning. There were also so. many. blackbirds flocking. By the time we left, a little over an hour later, there was sunshine with fluffy cumulus clouds filling the sky.







Our upick on Wednesday was cut short by the hot dry weather. I had us there much later in the day than I normally would have, had I known how hot it was supposed to get.

Before going to the upick on Wednesday, we went to the farmers market in downtown Portland. It was a quick trip to pick up my first tomatoes of the season. It was also a reminder that peach season has begun! (After the market, we walked up to the food carts for tacos and frozen yogurt. And this it was off to the upick. A summer-food-filled day.)