|
August 2008: An Evening Visit to the Portland Japanese Garden |
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
January 2008: Winter at the Portland Japanese Garden |
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
November 2006: Exploring Portland, Oregon USA... |
||
The Portland Japanese garden was alive with autumn colors. |
||
This is one of the most-photographed trees in Oregon. In fact, at this time of year, there can often be a short line of photographers looking for this famous shot. However, it's interesting to see the varied approaches others take to framing the scene. |
||
Sunlight illuminates layers of colorful landscaping at the Portland Japanese Garden. |
||
This is a man-made waterfall, but it's done well enough that it's easy to forget. It's funny how much effort is put into making an artificial space like this garden appear to be natural, when truly natural places require no human intervention at all. Perhaps that's not an accurate assessment however... a place like this is more like a sculpture made from elements of nature, picked and placed for maximum enjoyment. What is beauty? Perhaps the designers of this garden know the answer. |
||
Another view of "the tree". This is just a few days after the above photo - notice how the leaves have turned redder and begun to fall off. |
||
The pond below the waterfall is filled with fallen leaves and Koi. Both of these colorful ingrediants make colorful strokes in this long exposure. |
||
This is a photo from the springtime - a pileated woodpecker allowed me to snap a few shots while he hammered away at a rotten log. This was truly a rare thing to witness at such a close distance, and amazingly, the 2nd such encounter for me in a 2 week span (the other was in Hillsboro). |
||
|
Various times: Exploring Portland, Oregon USA |
||
This large chimney used to be the exhaust of the boiler at Chapman Elementary School in Portland, OR. But, now it's most famous as one of the largest and most visible roosts of migrating Vaux's Swifts. Each evening in the late summer, tens of thousands of the small birds funnel into this chimney. How do they fit? I have no idea. The event has become quite a spectacle, with hundreds of eager birdwatchers arriving each evening to witness the ritual. |
||
The Wildwood Trail through Forest Park passes a number of memorial benches along the way. I was particularly drawn to the imagery at this one, partially covered by a fern. |
||
Skunk cabbage grows in wetlands all around the northwest. The single large yellow flower is floowed by a number of enormous leaves. When the plant rots, it's said to emit a foul odor, but frankly, I've never noticed the smell. |
||
The Trillium is named and known for its groups of three leaves and three flower petals. So, I guess this would be called a Quadrillium. It's probably as rare as a four-leaf clover - I've never seen another. This one was growing in Tryon Creek State Park. |
||
Crystal Springs is a park in southeast Portland known for its abundance of flowering plants, primarily Rhododendrons. |
||
The flowers bloomed a bit early this year (early May, 2004). |
||
A self-portrait under Rhododendrons in Crystal Springs park. |
||
This is a view of Mt. Hood over the Columbia River in Portland. |
||
The Vietnam memorial in Portland honors Oregonians who died during the war. |
||
An autumn view from under a Japanese Maple in the Japanese Garden. |
||
Mt. Hood is an 11,239 foot volcano located about 50 miles east of Portland, OR. On a clear day, it makes a dramatic backdrop to the buildings downtown. |
||
As one travels toward Mt. Hood, the buildings slowly receed and the forest takes over. Sometimes, it looks like a plague is slowly eating through the green. |
||
The Willamette River runs north through the length of Oregon. Just north of Portland, it meets the Columbia River. |
||
Portland is known as the "Rose City". The Rose Garden in Washington Park explains why. |
||
The Japanese Garden, also in Washington Park, is one of the finest anywhere. This is a man-made waterfall in the park. |
||
Where is it? Portland is in the northwest corner of the US state of Oregon. Oregon is in the northwest of the United States. |
||
Before you go... It can get pretty rainy from October through April. May & June are sometimes nice... July, August and September have the most reliable weather. |
