Bees

Skep plaque outside the Portland Museum of Art.   Bees/skeps images on architecture and in design were used to show industry/cooperation/teamwork.




 Found this while wandering last weekend. There was no identifying signage visible, but this was from a series of architectural plaques that looked like they came off a masonic hall - probably one that was torn down to make way for a new structure.  They were rough edged, sitting above the grass by a few inches, some it was clear what they were of... (bees, sun and moon) while others were more abstract (lodge emblem). They were alongside the sidewalk in a narrow elevated garden about four feet off the ground.  Context, people, context.  What does this have to do with Portland? With the art museum? What do these images mean? More crucial to the passerby... why are they here?  Sometimes I cannot turnoff my museum public education and outreach training, since I have seen the spark people get from having that knowledge, enthusiasm, sharing.  (Maybe not this skep info per se, I may be the only one that loves such stuff) 
   I did have a point to choosing this picture to post. I took it because I am going to bee training class for 5 months so I can get bees down the road at B.S. Farm.   Maybe then I will have to change the name from Blue Shoe to Bee Sting Farm. 

Getting geared up for college visits

My daughter is a bit of a ham. A smart ham, but a ham nonetheless. Univ. of Portland.

 Cricket at Oregon State. 

 Communing with the coyote sculpture at the Portland Art Museum.

 Our only officially led tour - Portland State University.  Rose was getting sick by this time so we cut out early. This was before she fell out of the chair when we were waiting for the chemistry dept. talk. She was fine, no one was there yet, but we both got the giggles.

Reed College.  Rose's favorite campus on this tour.

We spent the weekend touring Oregon's colleges.  Or more specifically, six on the west side of the state.  I didn't have much more stamina than that... having woke up Saturday morn with one whoppin' cold.  A friend asked :why drive down when you can do all the research online nowadays?  I explained... online will give you the physical details, attendance, location, price, student demographics, main focus and grant monies received.  Visiting will a) a very small, almost too quiet campus in a suburb of Portland (Lewis and Clark) b) everyone walking by you either swearing their heads off (Willamette) or smiling and saying "hi" (University of Portland) c) whether there are impromptu cricket games in the main square or informal study groups in the library on weekends (OSU), and what their libraries are like.   Rose and I were particularly drawn to these buildings... frequently the largest on campus, and a visible sign of what was/could be important to the school.  Rose would wander and check out the chemistry section and I would sit in the cushy chairs and try to breathe normally through my plugged nose.  Oh, and always grab the student produced newspapers.  These quick views we took were not an exhaustive viewing of any one college, but just to get the college hunt juices flowing.  Her cousins went to MIT and Stanford so she maybe is thinking a wee bit out of our price range.  We have a couple other states to visit, and at least a dozen schools.