We’re Paige and Mason. The Bend Banner is our way of keeping tabs on this wild, beautiful place we call home. To the mornings that start with coffee and mountain air, the trails that somehow always lead to a brewery, and the kind of small-town stories that remind you why you chose to live here in the first place.

The Neighbors We Have In Bend

My car battery died and was all corroded last week. I didn't even have to ask. My neighbor P noticed it hadn’t been driven in a week, asked why, showed up with the parts already in hand, swapped everything out, and had me back up and running in 15 minutes.

That's just who P is. But the reason I wanted to write about him isn't the battery. It's what happened at the end of our street the following day.

There's a boy who lives down there, around 10 years old, raised by his grandparents. He's the kid you see biking up and down the block basically every day, the one who waves at everyone. P is a welder, and one day the boy worked up the courage to ask if he could watch him weld sometime.

P didn't just let him watch. He taught him. Showed him how to strike an arc, how to hold the torch, how not to burn himself. Then he sent the boy home with a welder of his own and a face shield to go with it.

Two days later, the boy was back at P's door. He'd taken some scrap metal P had given him and welded it into a frame, his first real project, done on his own. He asked P for one thing. A picture of the two of them together, so he could frame it next to the frame he welded.

I grew up somewhere I couldn't have told you my neighbors' last names. Living in Bend changed that for me, and neighbors like PK are a big part of why. He didn't have to fix my corroded battery. He definitely didn't have to hand a 10 year old welding equipment and a piece of his afternoon. But that's what he did, twice in one week, without making it a thing.

That's the kind of neighbors we have in Bend. Good people who want to help their neighbors, not because anyone's watching, just because that's what you do here.

Art is Everywhere

I went into Big O Bagels(South) for a jalapeño bagel and left thinking about foxglove. There's a wall in there covered corner to corner with prints, a dozen or so, each one a different flower that grows around here. Zinnia. Poppy. Echinacea. Sunflower. Shasta daisy. Every piece has the same hand lettered "Bend, Oregon" underneath it, like each flower earned its own little postcard.

It's the work of local artist Casey Alexis, who's been painting and lettering out of Bend since around 2013. Next to the paintings, there's a small wooden crate with prints and cards for sale, ready to go home with whoever wants one.

This is the thing about Bend that keeps catching me off guard. You don't have to go looking for art here. It's just on the wall while you're waiting for your bagel to toast. A local painter turned a shop's blank wall into a love letter to the flowers growing three blocks away. And now anyone in line gets to stand there and take it in.

This Week’s Conditions
☀️ Sunrise: 6:28 am
🌅 Sunset: 7:40 pm
High Temp: 74°F
Deschutes Central Library: Events
Local Artist of the Week: Casey Alexis

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🐾Bend’s Best Good Boys & Good Girls 🐾

🐶 Princess – 11 Months, Mix
She came in scared and undersocialized, but months of patient work from volunteers have paid off. She loves other dogs, leans hard into cuddles, and looks to whoever's on the other end of the leash for guidance.

🐕 Benson – 2 Years - Mix
Came in as a stray and took a while to come out of his shell. Now he's a total sweetheart, happy to take pets and treats from anyone. His adoption fee is already sponsored.

🐶 Bella – 9 Months, Belgian Malinois Mix
Young, active, and still figuring out the basics. She'd do best with an owner ready to teach her some tricks and maybe get her into agility or scent work.