~stumptown, literally~

A little local history....Stumptown was coined in a period of phenomenal growth in Portland after 1847. The city was growing so rapidly that the stumps of trees cut down to make way for roads were left behind until manpower could be spared to remove them. In some areas the stumps remained for so long that locals whitewashed them to make them more visible. They also used them to cross the street without sinking into the mud. Captain John C. Ainsworth commented that there were "more stumps than trees" in Portland in the early 1850s.

Today Paul, Lily and I took a little drive to the Columbia Employee Store. Although we are not employed there, I happen to have a little connection and can go when ever we want. So thanks to a sweet and wonderful woman name Gert, I now own a new raincoat that may change the whole way I see the weather in Stumptown!

On our way back we stopped under the Hawthorne bridge at a fire station that sits right on the water, so I jumped out for a few quick picks. I chose to use sepia for the treatment, but because of all our rain and flooding the look of the is pretty true to color, YUCK! I was also lucky to have this massive log float by just as I was standing on the dock snapping away.

Fog, clouds, rain and stumps! Portland in January (or 9 months out of the year), gotta love it! Not!