City Daily Photo Theme Day: My City's Skyline

I can't get this here any other way. Sorry, you'll have to copy and paste it to get to the gallery of Theme Days posts. They're great! Enjoy! http://cdpbthemeday.blogspot.com.au/2016/07/august-2016-theme-day-gallery-my-citys.html


Portland's downtown skyline west of the Willamette River, seen and photographed from the building where I work on the east side of the Willamette. I always enjoy these flowers on our 5th floor rooftop garden.

UPDATE and Portland's newest bridge over the Willamette

UPDATE: The appointment went fine with Dr. Da Graca. We talked about the fatigue side effect and how it is having more of an impact than it did between the other rounds of chemo. We've got a plan in effect which I will share later on this week; suffice it to say that I am pleased with what he decided. I got home, ate my leftovers and am headed to the recliner in a little bit. I hope that I am able to stay awake for all of Dancing With the Stars, but, if I don't, no skin off my nose. Thank you for your continued prayers, love, and concern.



I got to my work building early this morning so that I could rest a while before starting work. I sat outside on the rooftop garden for a few minutes and took a few photos of the Tilikum Crossing Bridge. I have yet to ride over it, but once I get back some stamina, I'll be riding over it on either the TriMet MAX Orange Line or the Portland Streetcar. I'm excited at the prospect!

Here's some info about the bridge that I'd like to share with you: Tilikum Crossing, Bridge of the People is a cable-stayed bridge across the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon. It was designed by TriMet, the Portland metropolitan area's regional transit authority, for its MAX Orange Line light rail passenger trains. The bridge also serves city buses and the Portland Streetcar, as well as bicycles, pedestrians, and emergency vehicles. Private cars and trucks are not permitted on the bridge.

Construction was begun in 2011, and the bridge was officially opened on September 12, 2015. In homage to Native American civilizations, the bridge was named with the local Chinook word for people.

Tilikum Crossing has its western terminus in the city's South Waterfront area, and stretches across the river to the Central Eastside district. In the 21st century, these two industrial zones have been evolving into mixed residential and commercial neighborhoods, and new transit accommodations are required by the growing populations. Both districts, however, are limited by antiquated road infrastructure that was deemed incapable of handling the increased traffic that could be expected from a conventional automobile bridge. The primary rationale for the bridge was thus "first and foremost as a conduit for a light-rail line."

The bridge is south of, and approximately parallel to, the Marquam Bridge. The west "landing" is mid-way between the Marquam and Ross Island Bridges, and the east landing is just north of Southeast Caruthers Street, with the east approach viaduct reaching the surface at the west end of Sherman Street, which the tracks follow to a new Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) MAX station located near an existing Portland Streetcar station and the Oregon Rail Heritage Center.



I cropped one of the photos so that you could see this MAX light-rail train, the MAX Orange Line, as it heads east--look toward the bottom of the photo at the right edge. The yellow truck you see above the MAX is on the Ross Island Bridge which is south of the Tilikum Crossing Bridge. The blurry bar across the photo is the guard rail around the rooftop garden at my work building.

The crossing opened for general use on September 12, 2015, becoming the first new bridge built across the river in the Portland metropolitan area since 1973. The first public access to the bridge was given on August 9, 2015, in the morning for the 20th annual Providence Bridge Pedal and in the afternoon with a three-hour period in which the bridge was open to everyone.

UPDATE and view from the rooftop garden at my work building

UPDATE: Well, I've not felt very well today; slept in the recliner and the bed last night, but never could tell if I had really been sleeping because I came aware so frequently. Today, tired, tired, tired. Took a long nap in the recliner in the afternoon, but thankfully Lamont called at around 5 p.m. and woke me up, so that I hope I'll stay awake until a reasonable bed time. We'll see. Also, I have a red rash patch on the inside of my right calf--not itching, thank goodness. Plus, the occasional peripheral neuropathy and achy all over feeling. Not been a good day, but, since there is no nausea, I'll take it as it is.

Thank you for your continued prayers, love, and concern.



Whenever I go back to work, I want to be sure to go to the rooftop garden and take a look around the city from that vantage point. This is one of my favorite views because it includes the neon Portland Oregon sign, over on the west end of the Burnside Bridge. I've always believed myself to be blessed with the job that I have, that I will be able to return to one of these days. It's the people that I work with who make it so great, not just the view!

More of this side of the coin--winter in Portland.

Yep, more ice hanging this time from an informative display sign on the rooftop garden. I took these photos on Friday, November 14, before work hours began. I enjoy going up there some mornings to experience the weather and the view of downtown. That day, though, my focus was much closer.



I haven't checked on the status this kale since that icy morning, in particular, but in the corner of my mind, I don't remember seeing it when I was on the roof this week.



Some of this Swiss chard in this row was still in the ground on Wednesday afternoon, November 19. It appeared to have made it through the icy conditions robustly. I wonder how yesterday's hard rain and blustery wind impacted it, if it's still there.



It's interesting how pretty ice can be when you think about its destructive impact.

Tomorrow, another side of the winter coin in Portland.

One side of the coin--winter in Portland. Come back tomorrow for more of this side of the coin. Soon, we'll flip it.

Before work began last Friday, November 14, I walked out onto the rooftop garden and took these photos just to document the only winter-type weather I saw in the period of time in which it had been predicted that possibly four to six inches of snow could have ended up in Portland, starting around 9 a.m. on November 13. Thankfully, no snow in the metro area--I saw one snowflake from my cubicle window large enough to be seen from across the street. There was some iciness on the streets and sidewalk for my commutes, but I wore my Yak-Trax on my shoes and made it just fine.



I took this photo and a few more, then rode the elevator to my floor and got settled in for work.

Seeking inspiration?

Here's some, in the form of a busy bee.

Rooftop garden at work, May 29, 2014, at 3:14 p.m., my afternoon break time.

Rooftop Garden Friday, No. 5

Bee at work, tip-top of the lupine.



Bee be gone, to find the next blossom.

Rooftop Garden Friday, No. 4

For me, the light in this particular photo that I took last Friday, May 26, represents some of the best I've ever been lucky enough to photograph during. I'm sharing it with you straight out of the camera. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Rooftop Garden Friday, No. 3

Through the camera lens, I witnessed the wind's whimsy. Thankfully, I captured a split second of it to share with you, the blurred blossoms and the still blossoms alongside the sunlit buds on their impossibly slender and tall stems.

This rooftop garden is on the fifth floor of the six-story building where I work, the Multnomah County building. I found online that the garden covers 11,893 square feet as planted area, with a total square footage for the green roof that includes a patio and some raised beds of 15,420.

One more thing--this photo is straight out of the camera. Serendipity, brought to you by a Nikon D5100. Yea for me that it's mine to enjoy!

Rooftop Garden Friday, No. 2

Near some more of those purple flowers, I saw these golden ones. I plan to return to the rooftop garden tomorrow or the next day, depending on the weather and my allergies. I want to see if more of the golden flowers have bloomed. I hope they have!

Rooftop Garden Friday, No. 1

Flowers bloom, making shapes with their stems and blossoms. In the background, the newest bridge across the Willamette River rises. I liked the juxtaposition enough to try to get a decent photo. A blustery wind got involved, too.

While cold and blustery weather lingers, I'm dreaming and knowing this too will come, No. 5

I took this photo at 6:43 p.m. on June 14 2008, as I walked across the Morrison Bridge towards Southeast Portland. Look at that blue sky! I hope that I can remember to take a similar photo this year, just to document any changes in the buildings. And I hope that the sky is just as blue! Can you see the people walking on the Eastbank Esplanade? They know how to enjoy the Willamette River's east bank. When I got there, I walked down that spiral ramp and along the esplanade until I came to the Hawthorne Bridge. Then I walked across it and began my homeward bus rides, taking a couple of them to get home. I lived in Northwest Portland then, in the Alphabet District. My little Mama and our miniature dachshund Duncan were still alive then, and we totally enjoyed our lives in Portland. We'd been here two years, almost to the day.

P.S. I work in the brick building with the flags on top. When I take photos from the rooftop garden, I'm on that lower part of the building, very near those windows, the ones half visible due to the angle of the photo.



There's a nice patio there, a neat place to go outside at break or at lunch, to enjoy whatever the weather has to offer. Here it is after a rain had marked the edges of the tiles. I took this photo on August 23, 2013, at 7:13 a.m.