Garden Volume II

I can barely believe that I am starting my second garden-year here in St. Helens. Last year I began from nothing and created something that lives on to grow again. Today was, thankfully, sunny and warm. I spent the entire day working in my back yard. I actually thought that I would just get the weeds pulled today and perhaps be ready to amend the soil and plant on another day. But the weeds came out faster than I thought, even though I filled my 5 gallon bucket three times with just Bindweed and Bindweed roots! I had poured 4 bags of mulched compost into the vegetable garden area and turned the soil before I realized that I could actually plant stuff today.

The sole break I took was to drive to Hi School Pharmacy's garden area, muddy jeans and all, to purchase lettuce, spinach, pansies, cosmos, cilantro and more compost. I planted the plants I purchased as well as 4 potato "eyes," 2 dozen garlic, 3 rows of red onions, and 10 strawberry starts. The strawberries went into the planter on my deck that already has 8 or 10 strawberries that survived from last year.

I have never grown potatos before and I have never been successful wtih spinach. This will be an experiment for me that I hope will yield edible goodies. I really enjoy eating veggies from my garden. I still need to plant tomatos, peas, cucumbers and tomatillos. And, if I can find space, some zuchinni. In past years I would have already planted my tomatos, but, perhaps I am becoming more of a Pacific Northwest gardener. I hesitated to purchase tomatos today, even though they were available, since I do not trust the weather just yet. I have time and I don't want to see them killed with a frost or have to wrap them in plastic bags as I did last year due to my zeal to get them in the ground.

I have a small, deck-sized greenhouse left over from my Orenco Station apartment life. I will use it to start some radishes, cucumbers and zuchinni seeds in biodegradable pots to be transferred to the soil when they sprout. I am coveting a larger greenhouse at Fred Meyers that sells for $99. I have a place on the south side of the stairs to my deck that seems to collect only mud and water and grow nothing. I think that would be a great spot for a wee greenhouse. I have enough bricks to make a floor after I put down several bags of bark. It would be fun to start plants there and I could anchor it to the deck and the fence so it could withstand the winds.

My list of wants far outweighs my list of needs. For this I am exceedingly grateful. I stood on my deck this evening watching my garden in the sinking sunlight and said thanks for my being in the beautiful state of Oregon, for my little house with its, thank goodness, little yard and for Mike and all my good friends that I have made here. This is really the very best part of my life!

Exploring at Home Again

Driving home from Scappoose this afternoon, the view of Scappoose Bay from Old Portland Road drew me in. I had my camera with me and pulled into the parking lot at Scappoose Bay Kayaking. At first I snapped some photos of the green pasture on the bay and the birds that so often accompany the grazing cattle. There is a sort of campgrounds and park-like area that adjoins the parking to the north. I made my way that direction, thinking I might get a better view of the water. A path lead towards the river and I followed it. Much to my surpirse I came upon a beautiful wood sign that said "Clackstar" with a carved scroll of words beaneath. The words explained that this is an interpretive trail commemorating the historical sight of a Clackstar Indian settlement. There is a somewhat extensive trail system through the copse of trees and along the bay. It seems a work in progress as there are posts that promise more signs and things that look like future markers on plants. There are benches along the trails, many facing the water. Though it was raining lightly, I spent the better part of an hour enjoying my trip along the trails. I disturbed the reverie of a large Blue Heron, who lazily flew about 30 feet further ahead and then simply watched me. I lost the attentions of the Heron when a small boat of fishermen returned to the bay to dock their boat. Making my way down to the water's edge, I watched some geese float along near the boathouses. I doubt they even noticed me.

The rain kept all but fishermen from this lovely and peaceful area today, but later in the Spring and into Summer, I have no doubt that many families will enjoy what is being created. There are so many, many places similar to this right where I live! What a wonderful place to be. I enjoy my little mini-explorations and can't wait to share some of these places with friends and family.

Blooming

My plum tree is growing and blooming! I bought my, at the time, little Green Gage Plum tree about a year ago at Home Depot for $19.00. It has far more than doubled in height since then and it is blooming very beautifully. I am thinking perhaps I should cut the tallest branches back a little bit so the tree will branch out more and not be such a giant. But maybe it's destined to be a giant anyway. I am hoping that the prolific blooms will fortell some fruit this year. I'm not sure if plum trees bear fruit this soon, but I hope so. Even one or two plums would be nice.

The first day of Spring was yesterday. Previous to then we'd had some very Spring-like weather. But yesterday morning brought 28 degree temperatures and a very cold, somewhat rainy day. Seems to me that was a sort of in-your-face thing. But today, at least until about 4pm, the day was fairly nice. I was able to run my 48 blocks in the sun during my lunch hour. The trees and flowers in NE Portland are so very beautiful in Spring. All the venerable old homes are very majestic and stately with their old and beautiful landscaping. I love to watch the season unfold as run. Tomorrow I will be escorting a possible new Doc around the facility. I'm invited to "lunch with the bunch" at the Rheinlander. If it's not raining, I will likely run again rather than try to pretend I enjoy the heavy German food available there. I sure hope it's not raining!

The sunset was awesome tonight. There were just enough clouds to create color and contrast in the sky. The temperature was mild - about 50 degrees - so I was comfortable watching the show for several minutes. Nature is a never ending source of pleasure to me. I often wish I had more time to simply enjoy the show and take more photos. Perhaps I should play the lottery more often. I've heard you need to enter in order to win.

A Little Visitor

I had a wee visitor at my house this afternoon. After Mike left, about noon, the sun came out and inspired me to pull the weeds out of my driveway. Four days ago those weeds were just a minor thought in the soil. With the few days of warmth they grew almost visibly. I brought my 5 gallon bucket and my forked weeder and began to pull them. As I worked the little white kitten that I've seen around the neighborhood plopped down among my daffodils and gave me a hopeful stare. I called to her; she bounded over, landing directly on the piece of grass I was wresting from the gravel in my drive. For the next hour she helped me pull each and every weed and piece of grass. She chased my tools, my hands and chewed on the ties of my sweatshirt. What a wonderfully affectionate kitty she is. When I finished and went into the house she sat on my doormat (Which says "Wipe your Paws") and looked hopefully into the living room. Cuddles came to the door; they sniffed and sniffed one another through the screen and seemed to come to some sort of detente. The white kitty laid down on the mat and Cuddles went back to the couch.

After the weeding project I drove to Home Depot to look at tile for my woodstove project. I was very disappointed as they had very few samples of tile and almost no colors but black & white. Yuk! I will need to make a foray into the tile showrooms of the Industrial section in Portland. But, that sounds like fun and a day off work!

Returning home with only detergent and bleach (alas, no tile), I found my pretty white feline friend asleep on my doormat. She meowed faintly, as if she were hungry, so I brought her a some dry kitty food. She ate and then seemed to disappear. But when, a few minutes later, I went out to my shop to do laundry, I found her on the hood of my truck where the motor vents near the windshield. She was curled up in the warmth of the recently driven engine and very soundly sleeping. I couldn't resist another photo with her reflected on my hood.

Along Highway 30

As I drive to work each day along Highway 30 towards Portland, I am rewarded with some beautiful sights. I shared with you, last Fall, some photos of very beautiful trees turning yellow and orange. Not far at all from those same trees are perhaps a dozen waterfalls this time of year. They vary from very thin streams pouring out from the basalt cliffs to the one I have included here. These particular falls are almost directly across from Rocky Point Marina just North of the weigh station. For all you Hood-to-Coasters, that is the exchange point for Leg 15. Except, that in the summer, it is barely a trickle, so we don't have the pleasure of enjoying this sight. Between this area and the little town of Linnton there are a constant supply of really picturesque falls on the landward side of the road. I enjoy them so very much on my way to work. I am trying to stop and take photos whenever I can of the sights I see every day. I hope I never take them for granted. Being from the arid area of Southern California I don't imagine I will. Some folks marvel that I would willingly make a 45 minute drive twice a day to commute from Saint Helens to NE Portland for work. These waterfalls and trees are many of the reasons I am willing to do that.

Sometimes, when I don't go to the coast on a weekend, I take myself on a tour of places near where I live. I have explored the town of Rainier 17 miles north of here. Rainier is a cool town that crawls up the hill and overlooks the Columbia River and all the mills on the Longview Washington side. I have found a great beach on the river just north of Goble. (Goble is a funky town 13 miles north of St. Helens and the Goble Tavern is a subject for another time) The beach is called Prescott Beach and has fire pits, swings for children, fishing areas, a park with restrooms, a Ranger Station and a killer view of the main shipping channel of the Columbia River. Seems like a great place to go in the summer when it's hot. Two weekends ago I explored Columbia City. Columbia City adjoins St. Helens to the north (that is downriver here, towards Astoria and the ocean). I really didn't expect much. From the highway it didn't look much different from my town, except smaller. Boy, was I surprised!!! The homes are certainly not ostentatious or especially large, except for one totally humongous one. But they are immaculate and every single one has an awesome view of the main channel of the Columbia River. I drove every street in the town. There was actually one street that was obviously rentals and a little run down, but there wasn't a single For Sale sign in the entire town. They have their own schools and a beautiful park/museum area. What a pleasant surprise and a delightful area to explore.

I hope to continue to share my explorations and photos of this area with you. I beleive I am getting better about stopping to take pictures rather than focuing on "being ontime" everywhere. That is certainly my goal. Time is relative and I want to make "time" to do things that have meaning for me and enhance my life rather than just create stress. I hope you all do the same.

A Little, Tiny Bit of Spring

There were finally little pieces of Spring to see today. There is a wee Crocus that has come up in my lawn. It is totally not in the "right" place, but it is so right that I will not move it. What a pretty little harbinger of the season to come! My daffodils, planted in November 2005 just after I bought my house, are in bloom again. They look so cheerful against the bleakness of the bare soil and leafless roses.

I started some tulips early in my bedroom window. They are beginning to bloom now so I've moved them to my living room. The sun shone today and highlighted them against the red couch. Cuddles found the perfect spot to sleep, finally, in the sun. It's funny how cats can always find the one little spot of sunshine in the house to curl up and sleep in.

From about noon on it stopped raining today and the sun managed to burn through the cloud layer. I took the opportunity to plant some bulbs in the pots on my porch. Later, when it's warmer, I will plant Geraniums in these pots. But, for now, they will have red tulips coming up to provide some color. I also put Sweet Pea seeds all along the planter in front of my porch. I hope they climb up the lattice this summer with those wonderful fragrant blossoms. I realize they should be "mudded in" in February, but I only missed by 3 days and today is a full moon! I can't keep track of all the requirements for planting but I usually have good luck with my garden anyway.

I weeded in my back yard today and the rose garden. The roses seems to have survived the snow and freezing temperatures. Little buds are forming on the branches and I don't seem to have lost a single rose, even the fragile miniatures that I planted between the larger roses. Many plants seem to be returning from last year. It will be interesting to see which ones come back and which I need to replant. My plum tree has thousands of little buds on the limbs. I wonder if it will soon be in flower. That will be exciting. It has certainly more than doubled in size since I planted it.

I could hear birds twittering and calling today. That sound is so welcome after the silence of the winter. Each season has it's time here and I do so enjoy that. I even find myself perusing the flower and seed catalogues that come in the mail and conjecturing as to which new plants I will try this year. What fun!