I was 15 feet from the hands!

[olivermoss]

I decided to take to the internet and Hidden Portland comms to see if anyone else had a picture of the hands and maybe a clue to the location. My shots were from like 4 years ago. I remembered the general area, but not the specific place. I found a shot of the hands with an address listed. I went there and, of course, the address was a lie. There are three main reasons I find my shots on foot rather than sitting at my computer and that is one. But I went back to my grid search of the area and I was on the wrong side of Belmont.

Sadly, they are on a stone now and not reaching out of the dirt. They've also been painted. I assume they were breaking down too fast in the dirt or something. Still, pretty cool.







The lighting was perfect to see the detail on a Monkey Puzzle Tree:



One of Portland's quirks is a large number of these trees native to Chile. 150 were given out in 1905 at the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition. They were gifts from the Chilean representative.

There were a lot more of these trees a decade ago, some are reaching the end of their lifespan. The wood is very valuable and sadly some Portlanders get taken for ride by paying for removal of these trees. I know someone in The Substraction who had one of these trees and it was starting to lean and become a safety issues. They got a few thousand bucks splitting the wood sale with the arborist.

Anyway, I am just starting work on a gallery of pics like this. Money Puzzle trees, lichen on dogwoods and other things specific to SE Portland neighborhood flavor.

Comments

[dine]

I do love these PDX pics - the little bridge scene is charming

[olivermoss]

Thank you!

[gingicat]

I really enjoy your photos.

[olivermoss]

Thank you!

[mistressofmuses]

I love these! I would have had no idea about the surprise-rare tree, but that's a pretty fascinating bit of history.

[olivermoss]

Thanks!

Monkey Puzzle trees are endangered so Portland having a lot of mature ones is very random and cool.

[smilingslightly]

I have more than once seen the remains of a Monkey Puzzle in the greenwaste pile at the dump, and it's not as though I am there so often. Truly had no idea the wood was of value. There's a vocal subset of locals - PNW, CA - who find them loathsome, though I'm unclear as to why - aesthetics? their size? But, yeah, perhaps also the tree trimmers are demanding a high price for removal.

[olivermoss]

I doubt any tree removal service volunteers that the wood is valuable. The ones in Portland tend to be huge because they are about 116 years old now? They do look weird and distinctive. Honestly, those branches would not be out of place in a horror game. They are spikey spirals that flare at the end.

I think it's the wood from the trunk, not the branches, that is valuable. It's got a unique look and pattern. I've got some more pictures of the tree, but I need to play around with cropping it and see if I can get a decent composition. They are very strange trees. I like them, but I can see why most homeowners wouldn't want something so highly distinctive crowing their yard. The tree I shot made the whole yard unusable.