Skip to main content

What You Can Find When You Explore Your Neighborhood

Ann Again... and again Starting The Week Off

This week I'm "Starting The Week Off..." With A Walk In A Park

Summer's sunny days are a great excuse to explore new paths with your pup. Dog Fence DIY encourages exploration beyond the fence!  Benny and I have a pattern; after we take the girls to school, I stop by a park that seems to call to me on that particular morning, and we have a stroll.  We live in such an incredible town, it's full of parks and dog-friendly off leash areas, that we have plenty of places to choose from.  Over the 7 years since Benny joined our family we have visited just about every park in our area.  But, on this particular morning, I decided to see a park that we frequent from a new angle, to see what was "beyond the fence" that I had created with our pattern.  What a difference a few blocks can make!


Ann Again... and again Cathedral Park Portland OregonInstead of beginning our journey in Cathedral Park in St. Johns, Portland, OR from our usual spot, the sweet dog park (just driving down the street Benny starts whining because he knows exactly where we're going) I thought of beginning on the opposite end - an area we rarely even walk to - to see what we could find. 


Ann Again... and again Cathedral Park Portland OregonI saw a beauty in Cathedral Park that I had never noticed.  I felt like I was in a completely different place.  The way the sun was lighting the trees of Forest Park across the Willamette River I was transported to another part of Oregon. I was reminded of Central Oregon, funny enough, which is considered our desert.  Hard to explain why, senses are odd that way.

Ann Again... and again  Benny and Cathedral Park Portland Oregon
And oh boy, Benny was sniffing every-single-blade-of-grass as if he'd never seen the stuff before.  He's a Chocolate Labrador
but I feel there's a Bloodhound in there as well.  I think he'd make an excellent tracker dog :-> 


Ann Again... and again Cathedral Park Portland OregonSquirrel!  Of course, there's always a squirrel.
Ann Again... and again  Benny and Cathedral Park Portland Oregon

Hey Benny, it's time to head home











Ann Again... and again  Benny and Cathedral Park Portland Oregon
Up the stairs, under the St. Johns Bridge we walk to our van.  Since we parked in a different area of the neighborhood I was able to see the structural beauty of this bridge from underneath.








Ann Again... and again  Benny and Cathedral Park Portland Oregon
The St. Johns Bridge was designed by David B. Steinman and Holton D. Robinson and was completed in 1931.  It is the tallest bridge in Portland, OR.  

Ann Again... and again  Benny and Cathedral Park Portland Oregon
It was a very good morning discovering a park that was beyond our fence.  Have you discovered parts of your neighborhood lately?  Did you have your trusty pooch with you? Walks are always entertaining when you have your dog by your side.














This post is joining the Friday Flash Blog over at The Jenny Evolution.  Care to join? Click the button.


Friday Flash Blog on The Jenny Evolution














(* I am a happy participant in the Beyond The Fence campaign by Dog Fence DIY.)

Popular posts from this blog

Miss Poodle Perm, That's Me!

Jill of Scary Mommy is doing a linky post about school pictures. You know the ones, possibly you didn't smile a sweet smile, just the smirk of panic. Or you didn't know it was picture day because you had been out sick for a week and you show up in your most comfortable shirt and bed-head. (Yep. That happened to me. The smile was good though!) Well, my scanner isn't working or else I would post a particular picture from Freshman year. Since I don't have a visual, here's the story: I remember my first day of High School. Actually what I remember is the picture taken of me leaving for my first day of High School. I'm wearing a brave smile, but the hair, the hair , my hair style was a nightmare. My two best friends and I were going to be attending a High School out of our district. That was stressful enough. To add to this new-ness we wanted new looks as well. K. was going to sport the Argyle and Alligator shirt look. W. was going for 'All Monogram

This Is Quite The Blog Party! Add Your Blog To Turn It Up Tuesday!

Ever dream of having a day when you receive breakfast in bed, not one lick of housework is done - by you! - and the weather matches the mood of the day, which is 'lovely'.  Well, I had such a day on Mother's Day and I am so grateful to my family.  ( Could we do it again soon?  I vote 'yes! ')  How was your weekend?  Do tell.  I'm so happy to be a guest host for the blog hop Turn It Up Tuesday.  Add your blog link and meet some terrific Bloggers! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Happy Mother's Day!!!! What did you moms out there do today? We'd love to hear it! Share it here on Turn It Up Tuesday! Welcome to the 34th week of Turn It Up Tuesday! Thanks so much to everyone that joins us each week and makes this blog hop the best that it could be! As you may know, Turn It Up Tuesdays is all about being happy, excited, energetic...and having fun! Link up your favorite posts and meet some awesome b

My Questions Answered By Chef Pati Jinich - Video

Rob and I have been focusing on finding foods and spices that will help us take some weight off.  I've been slightly obsessed with staying on my exercise track (on week 8 now :->) and hope to get rid of this jiggly belly that has become wa-a-a-ay too comfortable on my body.  The older you get the harder it is to lose weight.  What I would say to my 40 year old self - 'See that pouch starting?  Do your crunches and planks now!  7 years from now it's going to get ugly !' I've found that spices cumin, cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes and turmeric are noted to increase metabolism.  ( Yes please !)  After a good workout coconut water is more beneficial in regulating your electrolytes, and lower in calories, than sports drinks.  It also contains more potassium than other drinks which is an important component in helping to build muscle which, in turn, helps you burn more calories. And my most surprising discovery - eating avocados help burn belly fat! I&#