This morning I hiked to the lower bowl of Punchbowl Falls in the gorge. Pretty “beginner level” hike although the trail is pretty rocky. I also would be wary of small children or dogs on this trail since there are some pretty narrow portions of the trail the border on a very high drop.
I’ve recently moved and Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge is near my apartment. 
how do people plan these things? 
When the magnolia grove was in bloom a few months back, Stephanie, Brian and I visited the trees in the park.
I adore this time of year here in Portland.
Easter morning, I hiked Beacon Hill by myself. It was beautiful. 
A few weekends back, Brian and I hiked up Wind Mountain.
Recently, Alyssa visited Portland, and we made a special trip to the International Rose Test Garden. Thousands and thousands of roses are in bloom all at once. It’s absolutely intoxicating and brings me back by scent to a special time in my life. It may be cllche, but there is something I adore about roses. Their elegance, the thorns, the soft velvet of their petals. My favorites are red or yellow.
The rose below was especially striking due to the black edges.
I want to know who is running for president.
I want to know where they stand on the issues.
I want to know who are the candidates that are not republican or democrat.
I want the media to actually cover these other candidates.
Here is the best list of candidates I could find. (I found a more extensive list, but the candidates did not all have complete bios. It did list their party affiliation–did you know there are some crazy parties out there? Check out the United Fascist party or the Light party.)
took some photos of Chris and Heidi’s baby Emma…
