Sour Cherries

Is that anything like sour grapes?  NO!  Pretty much the opposite, in fact.

Sour cherries are the fruit that delicious cherry pies are made from.  Also the fruit that sour cherry jam is made from.  And all sorts of wonderful baked treats.  If you like cherry pie I can guarantee that you will like any pastry made with sour cherries.

And here's the big news: I found a source for sour cherries!  I have been searching, every spring, for several years for a local grower of sour cherries.  I couldn't find one!  I even tried the grower's cooperative in Hood River, for crying out loud.  Any growers that I found only sold to wholesalers.  But, hallelujah and pass the pastry, I've found one in Yamhill county!

Fruithill, Inc sells 4 gallon pails of sour pie cherries - with or without sugar - to the public.  I contacted them yesterday and had my name added to the database of customers so that I will get an alert when the cherries are ready.  Then it's just a pleasant drive to the country with money in hand and I'll be returning home with some future baked deliciousness.

Of course, you know what this means.  I'll have to buy a freezer.  And, even more important, I'll have to start baking.  You might want to show up around my house when that happens.

So. Damned. Excited!

Summer

Just in case you're following along, it's summer in the Pacific Northwest.  What does that mean?


The high today is expected to be in the mid-60's.


I'm still wearing corduroy --  comfortably.  And a sweater.

Waterfront Park

Governor Tom McCall Waterfront Park sure takes a beating during the summer.  At least, the lawn does.  And, if Pioneer Courthouse Square is Portland's living room, Waterfront Park is Portland's backyard.  We spend a lot of time there!

It starts with Cinco de Mayo in the spring and then gets a month reprieve.  Then we have the Rose Festival, followed immediately by Gay Pride.  These two events pulverize the grass.  I rode along the waterfront this morning on my way to work and the city crews have already been out aerating the lawns, just a day after the event.

There is some smaller event setting up right now, down at the Saturday Market area of the park.  It is some kind of bicycle event, but I can't remember what it is ~ I know, bicycles in pdx, go figure!

In a couple of weeks we will have the Waterfront Blues Festival at the opposite end of the park.  Boats are already being anchored just south of the Hawthorne Bridge for the Blues Fest.  It's quite the party!

Not too long after that is the Oregon Brewer's Fest.  Mmmm.... beeeeer!  The best craft beers that you can't even imagine are available for sample.

Not into the beer thing?  How about The Bite?  That goes down in August.  It usually draws a huge and hungry crowd.

The Oregon Symphony has an outdoor concert towards the end of summer.  It's free (because you can't charge people on the sidewalk for listening!) which is nice.  It typically ends with the 1812 Overture complete with fireworks and canons.  We can hear that across the river and in the neighborhood!

There's more, oh so much more.  Oddly enough, the Portland Parks and Recreation department doesn't have a comprehensive event calendar on line.  These are just the things I could remember off the top of my head.  At any rate, large and small events are happening at the waterfront all spring, summer and fall.  The people who maintain the grass have good job security.  We love it to death!

Bumpersticker

I drove past a car that was covered in bumper-stickers yesterday afternoon.  It was at Freddy's.  One of them caught my eye.  It said:

God Is Not Christian

Quite possibly one of the best bumper-stickers I've ever seen.  I parked and walked back to read the rest of the car.  Second favorite?  "Lesbian Mafia, Portland Oregon".  Now, that just makes me lol!

Things are Happening!

Too bad you don’t have a more assiduous blogger to report on them… sorry!

·         ROSE FESTIVAL!  How could I go so long without mentioning it?!?!?  The rides are whirling around on the Waterfront, the Starlight Parade was last weekend (good stuff: the weather was awesome and there was a huge turnout; Darcelle was the Grand Marshall!), the Junior Parade is today.  The Grand Floral Parade is this coming Saturday.  Also on Saturday, the Dragon Boat races begin.  Our niece is paddling in the Grant High School junior varsity boat – Go Generals!  The milk carton boat races might be today… if not, then they are sometime this week.  The fleet will be in next week, but it’s possible that not all the usual ships will be able to make it because of the high water level on the river.  Let’s see, what else… well, there’s lots and lots of stuff.  Go here if you want more info:  http://www.rosefestival.org/

·         Safeway on Hawthorne – GONE!  The block between 27^th and 28^th is now filled with rubble and it looks like they are digging a giant hole.  Not sure if a grocery store is going back in there, or if we will see another version of the ubiquitous ‘ground level retail, condos above’ meme.  One thing I will say for this piece of property, it’s got to have tremendous views!  It’s at the crest of a hill and has a spectacular view of downtown, the river, AND Mt Tabor to the east.  Will the upper floors also have a view of Mt Hood? 

·         High water.  See above, Rose Festival.  We have had plenty of rain this fall, winter and spring, and more importantly plenty of snowfall in the mountains.  Now that the weather is finally starting to warm up, all of that snow (well, much of it) is melting and heading downhill.  The people who control water in these parts have been drawing down the reservoirs to make room for the expected influx.  The Columbia is over flood stage right now, but not really threatening any human construction.  The Willamette is near flood stage, which is considerably lower than the height of the sea wall.  It is most noticeable if you are at Waterfront Park, or riding your bike over the Steel Bridge.  Oh, also, the Eastbank Esplanade is closed until the river settles down.

·         GAY PRIDE!  Is coming our way!  It’s the weekend after Rose Festival, as you all surely know.  This year, instead of standing around watching the parade with beverages in hand, my lovely partner and I will be walking in the parade and handing out swag.  At least, I hope there is some swag!  I got roped into working on my employer’s pride committee this year and walking in the parade is de rigueur for the committee.  My big contribution to the event was the idea of printed grocery bags as a giveaway.  Our logo is too busy, but the bags will be useful.  I’m definitely scoring one for my household!  Leave me a comment and I’ll get you one too!  Two colors – royal blue and lime green!   

The Floral Report

Yes, it’s true!  It’s the long awaited, and oft asked for Floral Report, direct from the Rose City!

And, here’s the thing, this report is late.  Very, very late.  But, not too late!  No, there are still flowers everywhere.

Spring is the season of petal carpets, of petal storms, of sidewalks and gutters running with pink.  (Why, oh why is my camera broken?!)  The early blooming bulbs are long gone.  The crocus and snowdrops were a couple of months ago, the daffodils last month, the tulips are nearly finished.  The earliest of the cherry trees already bloomed, and the glorious parade of cherries in the Japanese American Historical Plaza was spectacular, as usual.  Right now, in my close-in Northeast neighborhood, the very pink double-blossomed, Kwanzan Cherry trees are in full regalia.  They are so LUSH!  I have to write it in capital letters because they are so ridiculously floral!!!

What else is blooming?  Plenty.  The lilacs are just getting started.  I was worried because I have two lilacs that grow in the fence line between my yard and my neighbor.  Three years ago these lilacs were cut way, way back.  It was necessary, as they had gotten to be around 20 feet tall and were bending over into a ‘U’ shape.  They were cut back to about 4 feet tall.  Now, I don’t know if you know this, but lilacs bloom on second year wood.  That means that there would be no flowers the following year.  I knew I could tough it out, but then the neighbor hired some idiot who was pretending to be a gardener to do some yard work and he butchered the lilacs yet again.  That means that my lilac blooms were still two years away… argh!  But, this year they are beginning to bloom.  There are two varieties, the standard and the very fragrant “French” lilac.  Both are lovely. 

Amelanchier alnifolia is blooming right now, also known as Western serviceberry.  The birds are supposed to love the berries, but they don’t seem to eat the ones on our shrub.  That’s ok, the flowers are pretty.  The ribes sanguineum (western red currant) that we planted in the backyard last summer had a glorious display of deep pink flowers. 

A biggie that is just getting started is the flowering dogwood.  Oh my goddess!  They are so beautiful!  The great thing about the dogwood is that those pretty pink and white petals are not petals but bracts.  That’s why they last so long.  Bracts are modified leaves that serve the purpose of petals in attracting pollinators.  Everyone knows a couple of plants that have bracts  instead of petals: such as that winter favorite Poinsettia, or if you are currently hanging out in the southlands, Bougainvillea.  But, around here, the best example is the dogwood.  Some genius in my neighborhood, actually on my street, planted a series of dogwoods, alternating pink and white in the front yards of about twenty houses.  When you realize the scope of that kind of urban landscaping, you appreciate that there are people who see farther than a yard full of grass and one rhododendron. 

Whoa, did I say rhododendron?  Yes, they are starting to flower as well.  The sturdy, plain, natives are not ready yet, but the fancy, fabulously colored ones are starting to show off. 

Related, in that they are flora but not floral, is the greening of the deciduous trees.  Right now the alders and the cottonwoods, the oaks and the maples, are all putting forth their tender green new leaves.  It’s that time of spring when the leaves are pale and chartreuse.  Later they will be darker green and sturdy looking, but right now they are bright and contrasting with the dark green conifers.  The alder and cottonwood catkins are hanging in clumps, and really they are flowers so I guess they count in the floral report!

It’s a beautiful time here in the Pacific Northwest.  A lovely time for walking and seeing and sniffing.  Especially sniffing, if you are an allergy sufferer.  We were sitting in the back yard a day or two ago and the cherry blossoms were drifting down to cover us in a white blanket.  The air was mild and soft, perfumed with fragrance, the dappled sunlight shining through the mock orange cast a pale green light around us.  And, for that moment, all was right with the world.

Behind the times

Alright.  I'm behind on blogging, I know that, you know that, I'd guess both of you who read this blog know that.  It's well known.  Be that as it may, I am putting fingers to keyboard in an attempt to catch the hell up.  I'll have to resort to bullets.

• The Edith Green Wendell Wyatt Federal Building.  This 1970's era high rise is getting a green make-over. Actually, make-over isn't the right word.  This is a full re-do.  They have taken the skin off, taken the walls out, the plumbing out, the electrical out, in fact, they have taken this building down to studs - or steel girders.  It looks odd, that's for sure, when you realize that it used to be a fully functioning building a couple of months ago.  I'll try to keep up with the progress of this one...  Oh, and if you are having trouble placing it, it is right across from the cop shop on SW 3rd and Madison (approaching the Hawthorne Bridge from the west side.)

• To spin your orientation around, next is a building going up on the long vacant lot in front of the Greyhound bus terminal.  It's right at the foot of the Broadway Bridge ramp, across Broadway from the main post office.  I don't know what it is slated to become, other than a high rise.  I'll check it out and keep you posted.

• Remember that long defunct Burger King on the corner of Broadway and Burnside downtown?  It's finally been torn down and yep, you guessed it, a high rise is going in there, too.  Most likely ground floor retail and condos above, don't you think?  Because, for god's sake, we don't have enough vacant condos downtown right now.  Jeez!  But, again, I'll check it out and let you know.

• The parking lot conversion to a plaza-style urban park went very well ~ I'm referring here to the lot on the South Park Blocks between Taylor and Yamhill.  It's called Director's Park and I don't know if that is because it is in front of the Fox Tower movie theater or if someone named Director footed the bill.  Zoe and Rob stayed in the Paramount Hotel on Taylor recently and I had the opportunity to enjoy the view from the 8th floor.  Very nice view, with one of my favorite buildings on the left, The Pythian.  

• That bloody damn streetcar!  The streetcar has come to the close in east side and roads all over are torn up.  Detours abound, delays are inevitable.  The funny thing about this (to me) is that if you dig down under many streets on the east side, you'll find cobblestones and streetcar tracks.  I observed this on NE 28th, right by Freddy's when they were doing some sewer work a couple of years ago.  There are streetcar tracks all over, from back in the day when hardly anyone had a car.  An ironic thing is that buses are far more practical, cheaper, and more flexible in terms of changing routes and responding to growth, but buses don't have urban sex appeal.  Streetcars and light rail are hip, therefore they get the funding.

• Interstate Bridge decision.  Naturally, the governors and mayors and federal transportation pooh-bahs have chosen the plainest, most boring, least attractive bridge option available.  We could have had something really beautiful spanning the Columbia between Portland and Vancouver, but instead it will look like a freeway.  I know, I know, it's the economy, stupid!  Still, opportunities to build something spectacular and special don't come along every day and it's a shame when the outcome is so... bland.

Well, that's all I have time for right now.  Plenty to follow up on, and report back on.  I will let you know what is happening on the streets of PDX!  Stay tuned!