An Eccentric Field Guide

Musciglyph

2011-03-06T21:20:00.000-08:00

Green graffiti: renewable, sustainable. Topiary in moss.
NE 38th and Wistaria

West Bearing

2011-01-19T22:01:00.000-08:00

I'm glad these vestiges of the past still grace so many walls in town.

West Bearing sign, NW 12th between Flanders and Everett.

le HAPPY

2011-01-14T22:14:00.000-08:00

An evening oasis on NW 16th Ave., under the I 405 ramps.

Utility Covers

2011-01-09T22:30:00.000-08:00

Altered by wear and weather, these two are in the Pearl District.

Dolphin

2011-01-03T21:32:00.000-08:00

Used for mooring, and beautifully sculptural in its solitude.

Willamette River, Riverscape Esplanade, Northwest Portland.

Shooting Hoops, Sunshower

2010-07-19T15:51:00.000-07:00

Spring weather on the North Park Blocks

GASCO

2010-07-11T20:39:00.001-07:00

The brooding melancholy of the old Gasco headquarters
seems a memento mori for an industrial age.

Highway 30 near the foot of the St. Johns Bridge.

Fire Hydrant, Enveloped

2010-07-03T21:58:00.000-07:00

Decades from now, will a tree cutter be surprised
to ruin a chain on this hydrant?
NW Thurman Street between 24th & 25th Aves.

A newer hydrant in the early stages of being engulfed.
NW 23rd Ave. at Marshall.

Public Stairs

2010-06-27T21:55:00.000-07:00

(First of an intermittent series)

Like small, steep, narrow parks,
public stairs cut interesting cross sections
through Portland hill neighborhoods.

http://www.portlandhillwalks.com

Hitching Ring

2010-06-20T16:15:00.001-07:00

The curb, like all boundary conditions, is a zone in flux.
These little plastic horses come and go, but the charming intervention has
re-animated long obsolete rings all around town:

www.horseproject.net

(side view)

Even at the turn of the last century, who among the urban
population knew how to properly hitch a horse to a ring?

Graffiti Caboose

2010-06-13T21:23:00.000-07:00

The vandalism is perhaps redeemed by the abstract complexity,
softened and harmonized by weather and rust.

NW St. Helens Rd., near NW 35th Ave.

Standpipe

2010-06-06T19:01:00.000-07:00

Has this 4 coupling manifold ever been used in earnest,
or is its variegated patina the product of a century of quiet neglect?

Standpipe at SW Taylor and SW 2nd

Waffle Window

2010-05-28T20:44:00.001-07:00

Nearby residential gardens are perfumed with the fragrance of warm waffles.

In warm weather, the wider aperture is even more neighborly.

If no one is here, please ring doorbell for service.

Waffle Window, SE 36th Avenue & Hawthorne Blvd.
www.wafflewindow.com