Beaver Family

The delightful sculpture "The Capitol Beaver Family" was created by Kenneth M. Scott and sits in Willson Park just west of the state capitol under a beautiful Sequoia Redwood tree.

• "The American Beaver (Castor canadensis) was named Oregon state animal by the 1969 Legislature. Prized for its fur, the beaver was overtrapped by early settlers and eliminated from much of its original range. Through proper management and partial protection, the beaver has been reestablished in watercourses throughout the state and remains an important economic asset. The beaver has been referred to as “nature’s engineer,” and its dam-building activities are important to natural water flow and erosion control. Oregon is known as the “Beaver State” and Oregon State University’s athletic teams are called the “Beavers.”" [Oregon Blue Book]

The Autumn Leaves drift by my window...

The first tree I planted when we moved here from the mid-west was a Sugar Maple. I so love the autumn leaves, but alas, they don't stay on the tree for long.

Sternwheeler

Take an autumn cruise down the Willamette River aboard the Willamette Queen Sternwheeler.

Gatke Hall

Gatke Hall is on the northeast corner of the Willamette University campus. It was built west of Willson park as Salem's first post office building in 1903 and in 1938 was moved on rollers down State Street to its current location. Sources say it took six months.

Wikipedia has a wonderful photo of the west side of the building which I couldn't get because of the construction project going on next door which was surrounded by a chain-link fence.

• Gatke Hall west facade (Wikipedia)
  
• Gatke Hall being moved (Salem Library)

We don't have many buildings like this one. I love the sandstone exterior.

September Sunset

Governor Tom McCall

The statue of Former Gov. Tom McCall was hoisted into place today along the Willamette River in Riverfront Park. The sculptor Rip Caswell fashioned the bronze statue after a photograph taken by John Daniel Callaghan of the former Governor wading from the North Umpqua River with his flyrod in one hand and holding a very nice steelhead in the other.

Gov. McCall served 2 terms (1967-75) and, says son Tad McCall, "his administration was neither "red" nor "blue." He is remembered among other achievements for the 'Beach Bill' which granted the state government the power to zone Oregon's beaches, thus protecting them from private development, and the 'Bottle Bill' which was the nation's first mandatory bottle-deposit law, designed to decrease litter in Oregon.

The dedication is planned for Friday September 26 at 10:30 am. Gov. Ted Kulongoski and former Gov. John Kitzhaber will be at the ceremony.

Inviting Porch

Many well-kept older homes grace the streets in the center of town. This inviting front porch in the Grant neighborhood caught my eye.

Plaid to the bone

The Kilt & Thistle Scottish Shoppes retail store with over 2000 different plaids available is in the lower level of the Reed Opera House mall. Here along the sidewalk I found a display of various tartan plaid scarves.

Autumn Leaves

The first day of Autumn and the beginnings of gorgeous autumn color from my yard. This photo is of my Sweet Gum tree after a little misting rain. Sweet Gum is not native to this area, but is a popular ornamental tree, used for it's form and beautiful fall color. A long row of them are planted along the south side of Mission St. between Airport Road and I-5.

The last rays

It gets quite chilly on the coast at dusk this time of year, but the warmth lingers with the last rays of the day. It's been beautiful.

Enjoying the view

This couple relaxing, with the sound of the surf and the warmth of the breeze makes for a perfect picture!

Coastal Break

Only a little over an hour away, the Oregon Coast is a refreshing place, especially on a warm, clear but windy autumn day. This is just south of Lincoln City.

Polite Orders

Household hazardous waste disposal is available in Marion County at the Salem/Keizer transfer Station located on Deer Park Dr. SE, just east of the state Corrections on Highway 22 east. This is the place to dispose of leftover oil-based paints, thinners, used motor oil, etc. if your local trash collector doesn't provide the service. There is no fee. You enter the drive-through, pop the trunk and they take care of it. These kinds of products should never be dumped down a storm drain or in open ditch, or flushed, or put out with the regular trash that ends up in a land fill. Proper disposal--it's a good thing!

Up close

The center of this flower is amazing. [If this gets posted, I'm still away from internet access.]

Electric Apartments

This historic building on Liberty Street downtown in the process of renovation, used to house Anderson Sporting Goods and had the ugliest front covering the upper floor. When removed it revealed the original 1920 facade. In the 1940's it became the 'Electric Apartments' when acquired by Portland General Electric.

This building renovation is part of the city's Vision 2020 downtown revitalization plan.

Scenes of Salem

Another mural, this one showing scenes of Salem and surrounding areas. Clockwise from upper left - the State Capitol and Charles Sprague Fountain; rolling countryside and Christmas tree farm; South Falls at Silvercreek State Park; Riverside Park; and in the center, official state symbols-the Western Meadowlark and the Oregon Grape.

This mural is just inside the Lancaster Drive entrance to Lancaster Mall.

Elevator Art

These paintings liven up the elevator doors inside the Reed Opera House, depicted in the painting (the red brick building) in Salem's downtown historic district. The building in the painting on the left is of the Capitol Center.

Sketch of CNB Building

This mini-mural drawing adorns a wall on the lower level of the historic Reed Opera House. It is of the historic 1880 Capital National Bank Building which I posted previously. The interesting thing is that is shows the original street-level front which unfortunately was 'modernized'. Some interesting history of the building is provided by the Salem Public Library.

8:46 a.m.

At the south end of Riverfront Park, overlooking tranquil Willamette Slough, this humble plaque states a simple message.

Salem Boccé

Like Boules and Pétanque, the game is played here as well, and called Boccé. Jilly of Menton DP, Virginia of Birmingham DP (and I know I just saw one somewhere else/can't remember) have posted so here is mine. Actually the 'tall man' came wandering through the gardens with his equally tall wife during the fair. He obviously had to develop his own technique.

Dahlia Farm

Strolling through Frey's Dahlias near Turner. Field still looks good. Blooms will last until the first frost.

• Make a Smilebox slideshow

Beaver Dam

Not really. Just a pile of branches and twigs stacked by our considerate neighbors that took a dead tree for firewood.

Autumn is on it's way

Not a campaign promise, this is a sign of change that you can absolutely count on happening.

A Break in the Shade

Letting my tired ole' lawn mower cool off. (And me, too.) Actually it's never seen a real lawn, nary a level surface, just rough, rutted, uneven former pastureland. For me mowing is an 'extreme sport'.

Country Roads take me home

Along Olney Road, a lovely pastoral scene east of town, near Aumsville.

Hotel de Paris

A long way from 'home' this mat was for sale at the French Unicorn, corner of Liberty and Court Sts. See Eric's Paris Daily Photo for candid photos and interesting commentary every day.

Corn Festival

The 40th annual Corn Festival took place in nearby Aumsville. It's just for one day. The best part--buttered sweet corn-on-the-cob--is free. This year over 20 tons were distributed! Another favorite feature of the corn festival is the old-fashioned games for families including the keg toss (though they don't wear kilts), a raw-egg toss, and a corn-eating contest. These kids were ready to go at it for 4 minutes. The event is sponsored by the Corn Festival Committee, the City of Aumsville and many contributors. See a few more photos below.

Oregon State Fair #8

Lots of purple and red at the fair as ladies of the Red Hat Society had their special day. The Red Hat Society celebrated its 10th Birthday this year. This world-wide sisterhood has nearly 40,000 chapters across the U.S. in all 50 states and in more than 25 foreign countries.

What do they do? According to their website -- "Nothing"!

Theme Day - Sister City

Gimhae, Korea is one of two sister cities to Salem. Gimhae is located at the southeastern tip of Korean peninsula. It borders Gangseo-gu, and Changwon on the southwest, and the Nakdonggang River divides Gimhae and Milyang on the north. As I haven't attended any city council meetings, I do not know just what having a sister city entails. The only reference I could find concerned the minutes from the April 2007 meeting:

Support for the Sister City programs will continue; approved the
transfer of $3,200 from General Fund contingencies for the Mayor and
one Council Member to travel to Gimhae, South Korea; and join Sister
Cities International in the next fiscal year at a cost of $877.

From photos on the Gimhae website, it looks like a beautiful city with similar weather and seasons to our area. I hope to learn more about Gimhae and it's relation to Salem.