my little portland pony

[zenithblue]

Drawgirl, Spacecowboy, and I were out for a walk last month to get a bubble tea when we saw the first one. It was right in front of the Plaid Pantry on Woodstock, perched on the curb. A small plastic appaloosa horse was tied to an iron ring with wire rope. I stopped in my tracks. I stared at it. Drawgirl, always quick on the uptake, looked cooly at me and said, "What? Can you see a better spot to hitch up your horse?"

A few weeks later we saw another one, this one outside the Coffee Cat. And another near the Delta, and another up by the library. Every time I saw one I just stopped and reveled in the perfect weirdness. It reminded me of the random "Kommunal Shit Collective" sort of thing I loved to see back at Reed. You know, you go to sleep one night, and the next morning someone's made a sculpture out of shopping carts on the front lawn, or has covered the roof of the health center with furry multi-colored tribbles. That sort of thing. Random acts of absurd art. These horses improved my quality of life more than you probably want to believe.

Turns out this is part of something called the Portland Street Pony Project. These people are like ninja, disappearing and leaving a small plastic pony instead of a log. They've been encouraging community members to participate, hitching plastic stallions all over town. To which I say: fuck yeah! I'm on it!

Check out their gallery on the above link. Seriously, it will make your freaking day.