Wonderful Surprise!

I have not been into blogging due to all the moving and yard sale activities; that is winding down now.

I have been whinning about moving and been exceptionally tired. This is not where I wanted to move. I was hoping to move to a house in the country, not an apartment. I love the outdoors, so I wanted to live in the country not the city. But with the economy the way that it is and my husband and I among the under-employed, my dreams were the first to go. So, an apartment it is.

The manager of this complex told us there was a "path" down by the creek. We were not lucky enough to get a creekside unit, and I had never seen the path. We've been too busy to investigate. So, when we finally got time, this is what we found:

I had envisioned a little dirt path snaking along the creek, but what we found was such a surprise, as you can see! (You can see some of the apartments, in the upper right.) My grandson enjoys it for feeding the ducks and birdwatching.

At the end of the "path" is a "park" with a picnic table. All of this is for the residents and guests.

Well, the apartment and it's wonderful amenity of a private creekside park where we can feed the ducks, stroll, and have a peaceful gaze at the squirrels, woodpeckers and Canadian Geese is the greatest surprise of all! We have been so blessed!

Destination? On an Afternoon Stroll?

[Fourth and final installment]

Destination? On an afternoon stroll? We weren't heading for any destination, just passing the time on a blustery day. I guess the end of the path is a destination. What was at the end of the path, you say?


Well, the path ended at another parking area. A circle area to turn your car around adjacent to a concrete pumping station and an abandoned steel bridge above the river. Exploring the bridge, we found it to be, mostly probably, an old rail crossing. The railroad ties were no longer in place, but it wasn't wide enough for cars to pass. If we made an 180 degree turn from the bridge, we looked back down the main street of Gladstone, a sleepy little Portland suburb. This street, called Portland Avenue, if I'm not mistaken, has a rail car track of a bygone era down the middle of it.

Back at the bridge, high above the Clackamas River, the painted green steel was an interesting but cold and stark deviation from the lovely Autumn scene we had been experiencing. We decided not to scramble down a well trodden rut to the river. We really didn't have the energy to try to get back up the hill. Besides, this was a leisurely stroll, not a strenuous hike! So, we spent a little time picking up seed pods from the trees; throwing them up in the air and watching them flutter down like helicopters. I felt like a kid again! As we tired of the pitching and fluttering, we turned around and headed back to the car, retracing our steps and taking one last look at the little park, the river and the autumn color. The end to a perfect stroll!

Thrice Upon an Afternoon Stroll

I'm an asphalt path edged by a sliver of a grassy park on one side and a bark covered barrier on the river side. I provide a nice, wide walkway for several friends to walk together, arm and arm if they like! Plenty of room for that family with their large dog. They are having such a good time. Better than that last boy that allowed his dog to leave it's deposit on my tufted edge!

Here comes a cute couple, hand in hand. She's clutching her jacket tight around her neck; her hair is flowing around her head. I wonder what causes that action? Hmmm . . . Leaves fly upward as the man kicks them from my surface. Is he the landscaper to take care of me? They slow their pace and stand next to the barrier, don't they know that a path is for walking?

Now they are sitting on a bench. Have they abandoned their destination? Don't they know that a path is for getting to ones goal? Well, maybe a change of heart. They are moving again. They sure aren't intentional, walking from the grassy side and pausing, then to the barrier side. They will never get to the end of the path with their casual style! Oh well, they're enjoying the stroll.