Happy Earth Day

It's a beautiful day here in Eugene, Oregon. Sunshine peaking through the tall trees and azaleas and rhodedendrums beginning to blossom. Daffodils and tulips spreading their special white, yellow and pale pink loveliness all over town. Such sweet beauty. It is easy to love and respect this beautiful place on a day like today. Oregon has really opened my eyes to the drop-dead gorgeousness of the natural world and how very lucky we all are to simply be alive and be part of this magnificent earth.

Now that I can finally go outside and soak up some of those honey rays from the sun, I'm unfortunately soaking up honey tea and theraflu. First cold of the 2010-2011 year and boy, it's a beast. Ah well... Good time to read, I suppose and rest.

Love you earth.

Save a bite of your spring cake for me, won't ya?

Wintering

March.

This is the time of year when I get the most hopeful and excited for what "may be" just around the corner. New Year resolutions really mean very little to me until March. For it is in March when the seeds are planted - literally and figuratively for me.

I'm a true optimist and is in late winter/early spring that the big dreams resurface for me. Every year.

I work hard on my dreams. I'm the industrial type and I'm always working on a new plan or approach to success. I've seen good results and many of my dreams have been accomplished. The big ones are harder, but like I said, I'm an optimist.

It is after a long winter like this that my hope resurfaces in a major way and the the big dreams seem more possible. Even (especially) the one that is completely and so cruelly beyond my control. Yes, I am ready for my spring. This winter has been too long and too heartbreaking.

Deer Attack

I knew this could happen. But it was just so heartbreaking to return home from a vacation (The Comforters went on a mini CD release tour) down south to see that the deer had snacked on both the front beds AND made it into the enclosed back patio for a feast. I lost all the strawberries, all the pole beans, beets, cabbages, raspberries and peas. Hit hard were the tomato plants, sweet potatoes and squash. Hope to have something to harvest after all is said and done. Favas, squash, hot peppers and one or two tomatoes may be possible...

Bummers.

Beets and strawberries no more...

Bye Bye Beans!

See ya sweet peas!

Raspberry Ruins!

Salt Creek Falls

love that lavendar

Nature Finds A Way

It is truly amazing that so much can come from so little. My first real veggie garden (not just a container garden) is doing really well despite the slow start (due to a very wet spring and major surgery) this year. It looks more like a late spring garden at this point, but I'm very pleased. 

About 60% the garden came from starts (both from local growers and my green-thumbed mom), and the rest from seed. The pole beans seeds were planted about 3 weeks ago and they are growing like crazy. Every day they have managed to climb higher up the trellis. It is wild that we still have lettuces in mid July after 90 degree temps last week. And the pea transplants have decided to come to life - They spent the first month and a half doing nothing (and I really thought they were goners) and now they seem to be ready to produce. The eggplants, squash and tomato plants are flowering and the berries are ripening.

In addition to the veggies, all the blooms and dark greens make me so happy. Come summer this part of the world has got to be one of the prettiest places on earth.

Little Veggie Garden in the Woods

Pictures are from mid/late June. My first raised-bed veggie garden.

Our wet and cool Oregon spring meant late planting, but I think the sun is back for a good while now and I'm looking forward to some late summer harvesting.

The deer haven't messed with the beds...keeping my fingers crossed! Walrus has attacked my blueberries though...

In beds:
strawberries
lettuces (red romaine, leafy green, mesculin mix)
spinach
peas
chard
beets
lavender
fava beans
pole beans
eggplants
peppers
summer squash
cukes
winter squash
baby carrots


Backyard container garden:
blueberries
raspberries
tomatoes (4 kinds)
zucchini
delicata squash
arugula
sweet potatoes
more peas