Art on a Fire Hydrant and a Walk in the Park

Our condolences go out today to Loree whose aunt passed away yesterday and to Betty who is on her way to Washington to be with her mother in her final moments.

Eugene, Or may be many things but boring, it AIN’T!  You never know what you might see in Eugene.  From the natural beauty of our rivers, parks and lakes, to the Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza in downtown Eugene, there is always something to see.  If you’re here in late September you may even catch a glimpse of Eugene’s unofficial ambassador, the Slug Queen! (news file photo)

Today, we saw something we were not aware of in Eugene.  The story goes that in 2010, one of the neighborhoods near the University of Oregon wanted a project that would bring the neighbors together.  The South University Neighborhood Association applied to the city under the Matching Neighborhood Grant program and was awarded a grant of $750.  They used that money to bring the community together to paint the fire hydrants in a 48 square block area. 

But they had more in mind than simple yellow or red fire hydrants.  They wanted to make a statement and bring people together in a fun project.  These are a few of the “paint jobs” that we observed today.






And my personal favorite…



I think their project was a success and they even managed to RETURN over $100 back to the city. 

We also paid a visit to Hendricks Park, which is also in the Southeast area of Eugene.  This park boasts a wonderful rhododendron garden but it was still a bit early to see many blooms.  We need about another 2-4 weeks and some warm weather before the blossoms really start to pop.  The sad thing is, the March snow storm we had damaged many of the larger rhodies and many of the huge old trees in the park.  Clean-up was in full swing today and we were very careful where we walked.



Although most of the plants are not in bloom, I did find a few colorful blossoms.



We enjoyed our colorful day in Eugene and so did the dogs.  They especially enjoyed getting their leashes all tangled up behind Russ’s back!!



I hope you enjoyed your day wherever you are and whatever you may be doing.