From a population of 8 million to a population of 590,000 + me

I have in fact moved to Portland from New York City. A change- for which it was time- was desired and PDX has fulfilled this yearning for me. In case there's any confusion, the move was very much premeditated and not as abrupt as this post; I am now ready to officially officiate my move. 

Though I made the coast-to-coast move in early June, it took a bit of time to settle in, including settling into my Portland blogging mode. One can't just move to a new city and start blogging without acquainting myself with my new surroundings, right? And waiting has paid off- I now have a variety of photos, a handful of opinions and am developing a more localized environmental-perspective.

Friend's backyard chicken. After 5 long months
of coddling and constant feeding, this little hen has
started laying. Fresh eggs everyday, delish.
Speaking of, since living here for about two months, I can already confirm that the suspicions, stereotypes, generalizations and labels of the Pacific Northwest aka PNW (Yes, I love acronyms and PNW is one I've already overused) as super green and eco-conscious is completely... accurate. I have never lived in a city where topics of alternative modes of transit, recycling, composting, and other general eco-conscious behaviors, are so frequently discussed and in such prevalence. This is a sincere breath of fresh air, taking some environmental tension off my shoulders. Front lawns here are edible, and backyard chickens are a familiar sight and sound. Each house has a compost container, a plastics/paper recycling bin, and a bin just for glass containers. Plentiful bike lanes, dots, signs, and even bike fanatic billboards, too.

Friend's frontyard planter boxes. Made of found wood
and a sailboat from a "free box" down the block. NE Portland.
Alt. view of the planter boxes.

My own front yard planter box, overfilling
with multiple varieties of kale.
I live in a city where raspberries,
blackberries, and blueberries
grow wild. Who knew?? Pie: everyday.
Look at this zucchini! Also from our planter box- have you
ever seen one this big? Unsure of the variety...

Took an afternoon bike trip to the beginning
 of the Columbia gorge. Severely cold water,
 also severely serene.
View from a cliff somewhere south of Portland.
We stayed at a friend's grandfather's ranch an
hour south of Portland. Quiet had never sounded
so mute. 
We're swimming in fresh cucumbers! Our cucumber plants
are ready for harvest, and we're scrambling to pickle them away.
I'm definitely loving eating fresh, crisp front yard cucumbers
for lunch everyday. Cucumbers+sambal=*-*!! 

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