Is that a *wetland* in the parking lot??

Indeed! It is! Imagine my surprise as I was driving around a parking lot looking for a closer parking space, to be stopped by a fence around a small "wetland" complete with stream, marsh grass and trees! At first I was annoyed, but soon thought "how cool is that!" It made for a good distraction as I walked into the building and it was nice to see the birds and wildlife in that small area of wild-ness in an otherwise unexpected location. Portland is so cool.

(a not-inclusive list of) Things I like/miss about Portland (I used to live here after all)

1. the gorgeous view of Mt Hood
2. Powells Bookstore. And all of its iterations. Especially the big main Powells and the Powells Books for Cooks
3. Sprawl is kept to set boundaries
4. Environmentally friendly outlook
5. Farmers markets and fresh produce
6. there are an awful lot of yarn shops up here!
7. mmmm...lots of ethnic food restaurants!
8. walkable downtown
9. mmm....seafood!
10. autumn complete with color changing deciduous trees