April 4, Astoria: The garden, before and after

This little patch of garden near our front door isn't very big, and that's probably a good thing. When we moved in two years ago, I was too busy to tackle it, then last year I started planting some things and the owners followed through with their plans to renovate the entire outside of the building. It looks great now, but for the duration I couldn't even get to the garden, let alone do anything. It had tarps on it, equipment, lumber, ladders, and work boots trampling on it all summer. A few things survived - the peppermint on the left, some purple sage in the middle, lavender on the right, and (surprise to me) a couple of small stands of chives were coming up and smelled really good. I didn't remember that they were there last year. After months and months of rain, I decided to take part of this sunny Saturday and dig in.

Here's the "after" shot. It's hard to photograph in the mixed light and shade, but I got most of the weeds and grass out. Oh my god, was that hard; my muscles are screaming at me tonight. Four and a half (or was that five and a half) laps on the treadmill last night were only about a quarter as hard as this. I had fun, but "ouch." Some of the plot has nice potting soil, and some is the worst rocky subsoil. Then there were the huge chunks of grass with roots that infiltrated like molars. I moved the rocks out around part of the border to take in the whole dirt area. Maybe tomorrow I'll get some more plants and finish filling it in.

Here's another photo of it after I finished today. I left in everything I could from last year, and addd new things. The plants I bought last night were Siberian wallflower (yellow), carnations (light pink), Tuscan blue Rosemary, fuchsia (babies), cyclamen (purplish, I hope), variegated rockcress (blue/purple), columbine hybrid ("swan pink and yellow"), heather (bright purple, right front), ranunculus (deep red-purple), anemone Mona Lisa (the big red flower; I may need more in that or other colors). I tried to get mostly perennials, but I have some annuals, too. I like it when they get big year after year, and it's less work and expense. My most recent experience trying to keep a garden taught me that some of the "annuals" actually last a few years, depending on what they are. There are a couple of sucker trees or big bushes around the backlog that will need clippers.

I bought the flowers at Freddy's last night, and they looked nice in the sun this morning.

I think I'd like to put in a more ambitious planter here on the outside of the building. Other businesses have them down the River Walk and in town, and they look so nice. These pots came from my apartment, planted several years ago, and I've neglected them badly for two years. They're herbs, or they were. I bought some bush beans and things to try in pots this year, and also some herb seeds. Yeah, I'll get to the dandelions, too. They're pretty, but you look at them and your mind says, "weed," so I guess they have to come out.

This area is between the garden and the front steps of the business. I want to do something about that grass, because it's not mowable. I put the pots there for the moment, but I'll plant something else - maybe spearmint and purple sage. They do really well and shouldn't need much maintenance. I hope the fern rejuvenates. I like it, and it came with the place. If not, the spearmint will probably take over anyway.

March 25, Bend, Oregon: Winter's fading, trees are glowing

It's still cold enough that I'm wearing a down-stuffed jacket outside most of the time, but green things are coming up through the brown, and branches are turning color from the inside out. The best pix are near the end.

This bush and the grasses in the next few photos are just outside of Nancy P's bakery/cafe, where I photographed snow and frozen plants not that long ago. Inside there is quiche. There are lots of other goodies, too, but I usually get quiche and ice water for some reason.

Grass turning green from the roots up.

I love these colors. I don't know what the plant is actually called.

Beautiful long grasses.

We did that thing again where we went out for drinks and appetizers. We hadn't tried The Blacksmith yet, and thought this would be a good time. They didn't have Margaritas, so I got something tasty with rum in it. I like this photo of Lee.

Yumm. I forgot what they called this, but it was sooooo good. I felt bad because Lee didn't like his appetizer as much as I liked mine. We like trying things. I gave him some of this. I think it's a very tricked-out West Coast Yuppie Tex-Mex sushi. Whatever. It was great, not too hot, and the crispy things were so edible I ate them.

Bend has better cloud formations than Astoria about 9 times out of 10. It's a saving grace, because I like Astoria's climate much better.

Lee's having some remodeling done on the house.

As we got back from happy hour, the trees down the street were just catching the final glow of sun. They're getting red in their branches anyway due to the season, but set against the leaden sky, I found the colors remarkable and flamelike. What a nice sight to end the day!

A Guzmania bromeliad comes to my office on the Columbia River

Lee's gift to me before his trip to Bend this week was a beautiful jungle plant for my office here in the (nearly) frozen north. It reminds me of the bromeliads we saw in Panama. Nice memories of an amazing time, and a splash of color on a gray day. Astoria is actually in a rainforest, but not of the type this plant would call home. Here it looks out the window over the Columbia River. There is plenty of water here for a bromeliad (billions of gallons, nonstop), but the heat rises only on the occasional day each year. The pamphlet says I should pour purified water into the leaf pockets (oops, I hope it will forgive me for drowning the soil at its feet an hour ago) and I should let it dry out between waterings. I can do that - ask my other plants. When in doubt, I can go to Kent's Bromeliad Nursery Inc. according to the brochure and get further hints on keep it comfortable. Eventually, if I'm good to it, it will have puppies, or pups, which you replant when they're half the size of mom. Hmm. That could be interesting. Check back next year and see if the jungle has flourished.

Sabino Canyon Hike

Sabino Canyon, Arizona (near Tucson) ~

December 30, 2004

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

June 19: Tapirs and candles, settling in

I'm getting some of the important things arranged in the apartment - my tapir collection and plants, and some other comfort pieces like candles. I've never been very good and deciding where to put things and how to arrange rooms, but some areas are coming out nicely. Remember the big stack of boxes I packed my stuff in for moving? They were efficient, but little did I know they would also make good furniture after the move! It looks like I've used some of them under this fabric. Later I moved those boxes elsewhere and put plastic bins in their places by this window to store my collage and other art materials and supplies. I hate blocking the access to windows, but it was basically a good compromise. I had stacks of fabric-draped box furniture in various places. They made a great headboard for the bed, too. On the left you can just see the corner of the wooden racks I used to store cassette tapes. I love music!

These tapirs are part of my personal collection and have come from many sources. Some were made for my online tapir gift shop, and others from tapir contacts who wanted to send something nice. I brought my work with me: The Tapir Preservation Fund and its Tapir and Friends gift shop. I had to make the adjustment to a new town and state, but I didn't have to look for a job.