My neighborhood is something between suburban and rural. It’s a far cry from the urban San Francisco and the sub-urban Alameda Island. This is a land with backyards full of broken RVs, unfinished construction, and streets without sidewalks.

Dawn, with the contrails of the first jet I see today:

I’ve shown you photos of my walk. Today, after work, I swing by the local well-known grocery store, Fred Meyers. This is a huge place; really huge! Like four Costcos under one roof. I’m not sure the following two panoramas convey how far into the distance the roof recedes.

Under this roof is a Safeway-sized grocery store mixed with a Walmart-sized grocery store, with sections that include something like a Bed Bath & Beyond, a liquor store, a deli, and a few others. Insanely convenient, and I’m grateful to have discovered it not far from the office.

Now it’s time to walk on back home. As I pass a one-story factory office space I see something that requires a real double-take: we’re not in Kruger National Park in South Africa, but there seems to be a baby elephant in their parking lot!

It’s a cement statue. I shake my head and wonder about its backstory.

This four-lane thoroughfare signals the end of my walk: SW 185th Avenue is the major north-south path from Beaverton through Aloha into Hillsboro. I’ve gone south from this spot, into Aloha. Soon I’ll head north; pictures will follow.

As I turn off 185th into our street I call to your attention the creek drainage greenbelt at left. Every street seems to have some integrated bit of nature visible. The houses feature lots of driveways long enough for work trucks or RVs.

Every house is different in style, but somehow the color palette of reds, whites, and beige somehow work together.

The yellow house just left of center is where I’m staying. It’s comfortable.

In front of our house are some receptacles bearing the name and logo of the Aloha Garbage and Recycling Company; I’m such a sucker for palm trees.

Before I head inside I wanted to show you the other side of the street, literally the end of the road as can be evidenced by the red barriers. That wooded dead end are the trees that shade my backyard.

This photo of the maze of backyard fences, and the same trees we just saw, is taken from the same vantage point from which I took that first picture (of the jet contrail). I love the weathered wood; so soothing.

The toll of the first half-week of work at a new place has taken its toll on me: I am falling asleep early in the evening. I’m going to sleep through this Friday night, and perhaps we’ll see new things on Saturday.

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