It's Fall

Welcome to autumn, that time of the year that isn't quite cold enough to pull out the heavy coats, and not quite warm enough to put on the shorts. Autumn is the last hurrah for us wimpies who refuse to bike in the rain. So on this day, we biked in absolutely fabulous weather on a paved path in Vancouver, Washington. I took a picture of the trees just beginning to change. You really have to look closely to see the changing trees, but they are changing. I forget how fun it is to get out and enjoy this fabulous Northwest weather and surroundings. We are so fortunate here to have a mild climate and drop dead gorgeous landscapes.
We biked all the way to the end of the trail, a 16+ mile trip. Not much for Portlanders, who normally bike that amount every day to work, but a good run for us. At the end of the trail was a pond. There were some geese and ducks floating around. That pond made the trip worth while. It was completely unexpected. What a treat. We felt as if we had the place to ourselves.
On this day, which was a Friday, there weren't a lot of people on the trail, so we basically had the route to ourselves. Except for the paving, it was really a back-to-nature experience.

A Full Bowl

When is enough, enough? I mean when do we really have enough, and the rest is overflow? Here in Portland, that statement has been going around. A lot. Consider the size of the house we live in. Our house is over 1700 square feet. There are just two of us. How much room do we need to be protected from the elements and get a good night's sleep?

And in that 1700+ square foot house is a lot of furniture. Most of which is not being used. I mean in the living and dining rooms we never use the furniture except when we entertain. Is this a waste? Some are seriously considering the size of our human footprint on the planet, and thinking of that size, we could all go on a diet.

There are houses which are being built that have shared living spaces. Cohousing is the term that is used. The idea is that a family unit purchase a smaller-sized home, but share the "living room" part of the house with others. It's like have a rec room at a condo. The garages would be reduced in number, and each house that did have a garage would only have a single space, again reducing the use of the automobile.

We have two cars. We need two cars because we drive in two different directions. But in Portland there is also other choices for transportation. We could use the excellent public transportation, or we could bike. Hey, we could even walk if we were so inclined. But we drive.

Clothing could be recycled. I have never worn something until it is completely in tatters. Instead of going to new clothing stores, we could drop our gently used items at a consignment store for reselling. While there, we could purchase some, too. But not too many because we shouldn't be clothes hogs, either.

This gets me back to the bowl of overfilled cereal. I was reading in the newspaper today that the city is considering the way manufacturers present items to us. How many times do we go to the store and find something that is encased in something? Why should this be? Our friends at Trader Joes are selling reusable shopping bags to bring into the store to hold our purchases. Why can't manufacturers think about all the trash they are producing just to get something from their plant to our homes.

The bottom of this rant is that we are a wasteful lot. And maybe we sould consider this waste before we consume.

No Place Like Home

While most of us are sitting comfy in our homes watching TV or listening to cool sounds, an unknown number of people in Portland are just surviving. Kinda like a fish, or in this case, a crayfish, out of water. We side step them, or don't go near where these homeless people hang out.
I see them wondering down the street, or in this case, sleeping along the Willamette River. They don't want to disturb anyone, they just need a place to call home.
I guess we could rationalize that these people aren't us, and thank God we have some place to live that is safe and covered. I look at the person lying asleep on the grass and I don't stop to see if I can help, or to find out if there is someone who can help him. I am just like all the rest of us, I walk by. Only I did stop long enough to take a picture.
Portlanders are know to be kind heart and tolerant. There are organizations and individuals who go out of their way to do what they can to help the homeless.
All I did was take pictures.