Winter in Portland

People often ask me how I'm adapting to winter in Portland - implying that I must find the short, gray, rainy days depressing. Au contraire. I am enjoying the mild temperatures and beautiful green foliage. It wasn't really raining, but the early morning fog leaves lots of condensation everywhere. I especially like the effect on spiderwebs

 and the bushes with berries that hang on throughout the winter

I was stunned to see trees that were starting to flower. Don't they know that it's only January? 

There were plenty of colorful characters in the park today. The tuba guy was practicing. His name is Patrick and he's been living in his car since October. (No room in the car to practice!) Right now he's preparing for concert that he'll be playing at the nearby old folks' home.

One guy was feeding the squirrels.

 
And several people were practicing tai chi or martial arts

The homeless guys were talking about the Superbowl. Go Seahawks!

As for me, I was just enjoying being outdoors.