Waiting for Spring

Bush Pasture Park.

The Cow and the Cat

Near the children's play area in Bush Pasture Park.

Autumn Doorway #5

A beautiful display of color from last week when it was still nice and sunny. The forecast for this week is rainy weather, which has already knocked so many leaves off the trees.

Autumn Doorway #2

Autumn Doorway #1

A cheery front entry on a gray day.

Autumn in the City

Lovely sights while strolling around an older, central neighborhood.

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.

Rose Corner

Driving through the Highland neighborhood, I spotted this gorgeous display of roses wrapping around a corner lot.

Pet Beds

I found these adorable pet beds at the Salem Saturday Market, held in the state 'green parking lot' (the paved one), corner of Summer and Marion Sts. (free parking in the 'yellow' lot across the street--the gravel one). These were made by Debbie Dougall of West Salem. She has sizes for larger cats and small dogs, even for tiny "teacup"-sized dogs in many delightful colors and patterns. See her website - Jonah's Pet Beds. Cats that we've had in the past always preferred any cardboard box I brought home, but these sure look cozy.

Patti plays the flute

The Salem Saturday Market was a lovely setting for Patti C., a recent graduate of North Salem High School. Her flute sounds floated about like the breeze as she played with a black top hat at her feet for tips. I was so busy taking her photo, I neglected to do so. Hopefully she will be there again and I will make amends. She is headed to the University of Oregon in Eugene this fall. The best to you Patti as you embark on this next chapter of your life.

Historic Deepwood Estate

The gazebo gardens behind the historic Deepwood Estate on Mission and 12th is in gorgeous form right now. Well worth a stop to enjoy. Next Sunday July 20 the House is open free from 12:00-4:00PM and there will be antique cars on display.

See their website Historic Deepwood.

Court St. Footbridge

Thanks to a reader, Stephanie, for mentioning this bridge after seeing a previous post. I have driven past this area just one block over thousands of times and didn't know about it. This footbridge spans Mill Creek where the creek splits Court St. leaving it dead-ended on either side to motor traffic.

June is Rose Month

This is a great time to visit the Rose Garden in Bush Pasture Park. The display of vintage roses right now is exquisite. The one thing I wish I could capture and post is the incredible fragrance that fills the air. The garden includes Mrs. A.R. Tartar's donated collection of old roses that survived the journey over the Oregon Trail in the mid-1800s.

Beginnings

Located where Mill Creek flows under Broadway NE. The brick building mentioned is across the street and is more recognized as Boon's Treasury (a tavern, now McMenamins) named for John D. Boon who served as Oregon Territorial Treasurer and as Oregon's first State Treasurer.

Here is a photo of the house referred to as the first built in Salem, before it was moved to the Mission Mill Museum.

Footbridge

I found this nice little footbridge that crosses Mill Creek at the end of 1-block-long Knapp St. and connects to Church St. between D and Union. Both the bridge and Knapp St. are pretty well hidden when the trees are in full foliage.

Octopus Tree

I am not certain what kind of tree this is, but I found a similar-looking tree (same bark, trunks and needles) on State Street in front of the State Department of Forestry building. A gentlemen in the office there said that one was a Cedar of Lebanon. This one is located at the corner of D and Church Sts.

Church Street Bridge

The Church Street Bridge has character. Built in 1929, it obviously was designed with the philosophy of Oregon's famed bridge engineer, Conde McCullough, who said that "bridges should be built efficiently, economically, and aesthetically." McCullough designed many of the beautiful bridges along Highway 101 on the Oregon coast (ODOT brochure in pdf). This bridge is above the Shelton Ditch featured yesterday. Standing between the lampposts looking west, you will see the confluence of Shelton Ditch and Pringle Creek.

Shelton Ditch at Pringle Park

The Shelton Ditch as it runs along the north side of Pringle Park, just west of Salem Hospital. It is man-made and was constructed as a drainage channel in the mid 1930’s to help relieve flooding in the lower reaches of Mill Creek. A pedestrian walkway runs along the north berm from Winter Street to High Street. The Church Street bridge seen here was built in 1929.

Guard Cat?

Walking along Winter Street NE, I spied this sweety spying me.