A Walk in the Neighborhood

We live in Aloha, Oregon - or maybe it's Beaverton, Oregon. The house address on the deed is Beaverton but the post office is Aloha. Aloha is a "census-designated unincorporated community" in Washington County http://www.alohaoregon.com/ . Beaverton is the closest "city". As you can guess, it got the name from that dam-building animal.

We haven't actually seen any but we have seen their work. We live near a watershed and park with a stream that is continually being dammed up by the critters.

That doesn't affect us but their sourcing of their dam materials does. The road behind our house was nicely landscaped with maple and oak trees about 6" in diameter. One day we went out and about 2/3 of the trees were gone and just pointed stumps left.

When we walked down to the creek area we saw that a large number of similar-sized trees had also been harvested for their dam project.

A few days later, one neighbor noted that a large tree just behind their property had been dropped and another was partially gnawed through.

The county came and cleared it out and cut other trees that might have fallen on their house if dropped by the beavers. I think the beavers were intimidated by the chain saws because they stopped work.

There are many easy to walk trails around our house, most are paved and maintained by the parks department.

Neighbors walk their dogs regularly and are encouraged to "pick-up" after the dogs; they even supply plastic bags for "waste removal".

They are very friendly and whenever they pass they pull in the dog or call it to them so as not to bother anyone. People who live along the walking trails even put out water dishes for "man's best friend".

There are playgrounds along the way for children to use

And picnic areas with tables and grills for public use

The houses lining the walk all have large decks overlooking the wooded area. You usually can see someone sunning themselves or preparing a BBQ supper

There are fruit trees all along the path; apples, pears, and a lot of blackberries

There are public tennis courts also maintained by the parks department

We try to remember to take along some stale bread to feed the ducks that are in residence at a pond along the way. They have gotten so smart that they post lookouts on a nearby fence to watch for anyone approaching

If they see any food being distributed they call the others to come, no need to waste that trip out of the water if there's nothing to eat.

They aren't scared of people and will gather around you as you are feeding them

After you've finished feeding them thay follow along for a while to be sure you don't have anything else for them

Sometimes they are joined by other feathered friends.


One day we even saw a gaggle of geese taking a rest on the local elementary school softball field during their migration

Sometimes the things observed are inanimate, like this "iron cowboy" silhouette leaning against a tree

There's obviously some meaning here that I've yet to discover

We observe all types of flowers and other growing things along the way.

A camellia that can't decide which side of the fence to grow on

Oregon Grapes that you can't eat

and Concord Grapes that you can eat - except they are in a neighbor's yard and they picked them later.

Sometimes the air takes on a yellow tinge as the pine pollen blows through the neighborhood

But later there are pine cones of all sizes and shapes to pick up for decorations and craft work

There are colorful crab apples, that taste surprisingly sweet

And "ordinary" apples, so plentiful that no one stops to pick them up

A single chestnut tree that doesn't get pollinated so the seed pods are beautiful but empty

And hazelnuts that never get a chance to mature before the squirrels eat them

Spiders of all shapes and colors await their prey

And I hope you are awaiting the next chapter in our introduction to our neighborhood.