Autumn

Autumn is beginning to knuckle the sleep out of it's eyes around here. Summer is still around, yesterday became bright and sunny, but for the preceding two days we had cool weather, goosebumped mornings, and fingers clasped around steaming mugs. It will be my first season change here on the west coast, and I am eagerly looking forward to each and every sign of it's arrival.

Here in Portland, signs of Portland-ness... like the seasons... come and go, rise and fall. For weeks now living here has been no different than other places. Well, some other places. A few. But several nights ago I was heading off to slumberland when hearing a mysterious singing. My window looks out over the street where a young man drove by on his bike, a headlight flashing, singing in operatic bombast, "I'm riding my bike in the neee-bor-hooood, out on the neeee-boor-hoooood watch!".
Evidently this man is keeping me safe at night.

Last week a member of our neighborhood community stopped by with literature regarding a tree planting project the city funds that plants a tree in your yard. Sweet! And that same day, on the bus coming home from work, I had been sitting in front of a little 6-ish year old boy and his mother discussing his ideas for a solar-wind-electric powered vehicle... maybe a bus? It was hearing this child say the words "carbon footprint" that really blew my mind and reminded me, yes, we're certainly living in Portland.

Here, in closing, are some adorable pink tiny toes:

Shoghi (right?) and his mama