Flora and Fauna

When I moved into this house back in March, I told myself that I wouldn't do any major landscaping or planting until I lived through all the seasons here. I wanted to watch the sun, and see what volunteered to grow on it's own. There hasn't been any big surprises - mostly weeds or woodland plants that you might find just about anyplace that's been allowed to be wild. 

My friend, and realtor, Dennis brought me a raspberry vine. I probably got about five berries from this little vine. They were really tasty! 

I couldn't resist buying a couple of blueberry plants at a nursery sale.  They yeilded a few berries this season. Not so sweet, but maybe next season, once the plant matures a bit, I hope to have some sweet little berries for my cereal. Nothing better than fresh blueberries on a bowl of cereal.

There were some volunteer tomato plants that popped up in the front planting beds next to the yew. They didn't really taste that great, so ended up in the compost bin.

This is the one and only pear from my pear tree. The tree hasn't been taken care of in years - so I'm not too surprised that there isn't much fruit. I had my friends from Ascent come over and cut out all the dead wood and open up the canopy of the tree. I will give it a good fertilizing, and hope next season gives me some edible fruit. I want to try to make pear brandy. I've seen folks put a bottle over the fruit when it's just forming - letting the bottle act as a mini green house for the pear to grow in, once it's matured - they brew up some brandy in the same bottle with the pear. Sounds yummy!

This little moth stayed on my window for a day or so.. not sure why it didn't move. Maybe it kept thinking it could get inside to the orchid.

Or, maybe it was trying to figure out what kind of creature the oragami swan was. The orchid was a gift from Froelick Gallery. They gave it to me in April, it is on it's second round of blooms! The current bloom has looked just like this for almost two months. 

Love it!

I have not idea what in the hell kind of bug this is. The skin on the left is what the creature on the right crawled out of. I haven't seen another one since. 

This is a conjoined Black Eyed Susan. Weird, huh? I think it happended because it was super root bound in the pot that I rescued the plant from. I dunno.. maybe not .

Roses from my rose bushes. They weren't very well taken care of either, so I am grateful for the small bounty they gave me. I will have to prune them way back this year. The yellow roses aren't that pretty, but smell lovely. The others look cool, but don't have much fragrance. I will have to move them eventually. I plan on having a proper English rose garden in the back yard one day..

This is Henry. He is a caterpillar. I found him on the fern. I bet he will turn into something beautiful.

I puchased this Magnolia tree for $10 at another nursery sale. I hope it grows fast! I want it to fill in the whole corner of the side yard. It's supposed to grow to be about thirty feet tall and spread out to about fifteen feet - someday... 

Lastly, yesterday, Lucy (see her lil' paw leaving the shot..) and I came across this little grove of mushrooms. I wonder if that's where the faeries live?

Garage V.2

It's been a while, and life has been busy, but I have a finally have a homework free moment on this rainy cold autumn eventing - so, I'm going to attempt to update this blog with the more important happenings. 


I finished knocking the down the wall in the garage, and put away all the stained glass supplies. The garage has natural light and it doesn't feel quite as dark and dank in there. 

ready to work!

I also started to remove some of the paneling on the walls. I unearthed a vine of some sort, and some old newspaper clippings apropriate for a garage of the 1940's.

 

hmm.. wonder what kind of plant this was?

old cars.

I still wasn't sure if I could fit the wagon in here - but as you can see - she fits!

But... only by about inches. You have to pull her in backwards and line the door up with the stairs that go into the house in order to get out of the car. But at least she doesn't have to be out in the cold!

Good Bye Wall

There is a wall in the dark, dank, brown paneled garage between where the car goes and the laundry/mud room. I'm guessing this wall wasn't part of the original plan as it is blocking off the only window that would allow daylight into the whole garage, and who would wanna do that?! The laundry/mud room also has the only door that goes to the back/side yard. The laundry/mud room used to have the same dark, dank, brown paneling as the garage plus some big dark, dank cabinets that were way to tall for me to reach. I removed the paneling and the cabinets in that room a month or so ago revealing white bead board underneath. Although there are many imperfections in the walls and ceiling - removing that paneling and cabinet in the laundry/mud room has made it much brighter and, I'm not scared to go in there to do my laundry anymore. 


I started removing the paneling on the garage side of the wall that divides the two rooms and found there was ship-lap board, painted white, underneath the dark, dank, brown paneling! yay! This gave me hope that if I could remove all the paneling in the garage, I may have the beginnings of another room I wasn't scared to go into - but I still needed to get natural light into the garage - so the wall that divided the garage from the laundry/mud room had to go away. 

the wall between

The dark, dank brown paneling was easy enough to remove. It pretty much just rips right off, once you find a starting point. The ship-lap, however was not that easy. I'm sure it was the original material used when they put together this little 1945 house because the nails were super strong and the boards were tongue and groove, which made it hard to start. I really wanted to save as many of the boards as possible. One board edge was stamped with a mill stamp from Oregon. I wish I could've save it but as soon as I started to pry it loose, the board split.The bead board on the laundry/mud room side was a lot easier to remove. I was able to save a few panels of it, I will keep it to patch up some of the "imperfections" mentioned earlier. 

starting to see the light

I removed what I could until I had to get the ladder out. It became apparent after almost knocking myself out while trying to pull one of those nails made of super metal out, that I wasn't going to be able to do the rest on my own. I learned pretty quickly how important having your feet firmly planted on the ground was for leverage. Good thing I have friends with height. I called in the aide of the Linman's! Eric is 6'2" (or more.. seems like more to my 5'2" frame), and Maria, well, she's vertically challenged, like me, but is very powerful when she needs to be. Eric was able to bust out almost all of the upper wall in a about half an hour. (It took me three days to do the lower part...) There were some boards that continued on past the door that we were going to have to cut with a Sawsall - so those were left behind for another day. Maria and I figured we could handle that part ourselves, and I was pretty excited about the idea of using a power tool. A couple of days later, after a wonderful brunch at Autenica, Maria and I rented a Sawsall at Park Rose Hardware. I could wonder around that store for hours. I have no idea what most of the stuff in there does - but it's kind of fascinating. The guy at the rental desk fitted us with the proper equipment, and said that he didn't see many ladies renting Sawsall's. He kept trying to sell me the additional insurance - I don't think he had much confidence in us... After a stop in the clothes isle looking for real denim jeans (which we didn't find in ladies sizes - bummer), we headed back to finish the task at hand.

Maria demonstrates how effective the sawsall is at cutting twine. (not really!)

Maria and I pondered why they named it "sawsall", and posed for a few "oh no you dint' it'" pictures for Eric's benefit. 

I wonder if the sawsall will go through electrical wires?! (not really!)

It was a little scary using, what I consider to be a big power tool, but we did it! After I got the hang of it, we were able to cut the remaining wall boards, and then cut up some boards to fit in between the studs to serve as shelves.

done! for today anyway.

It took us about three hours (some of that time was spent laughing hysterically as we came to conclusions  of how hard we had made the measuring and inserting of the boards in between the studs - that's another story) but we had totally reached the objective of bringing light into the dark, dank, brown paneled garage! When I returned the sawsall to Park Rose Hardware, the guy seemed shocked, but delighted that we had managed to return with all of our fingers, and more importantly, the sawsall was still in operating order (I only dropped it once!).

Thanks for helping me bring in the light, Linmans! 

Early Morning

I've been up since 3 am. Yesterday was a wonderful sunny summer day. I had breakfast with the Linman's at a local diner (it was just O.K... pretty basic). I added weather stripping to the front and back doors, in hopes of detouring the slugs that seem to think they can just slide on in overnight. Lucy and I went for a long walk to the dog park, and stopped in at a couple of neighborhood garage sales. I took a short nap, watched a little bit of a movie, then got ready for the western themed fund raiser for the I Have A Dream Foundation. This is an annual event put on by my friend Dennis and his partner John, and a couple of thier friends. The foundation supports a group of under-priviledged youths, guiding them from third grade all the way through their second year of college. It's a wonderful event and draws all kinds of folks to Dennis and John's gorgeous Alamea Ridge home (it's been featured in magazines!). This year they had a wonderful western band, and BBQ. I had a great time dancing and chatting with folks I hadn't seen in a while - a very genrous and thoughtful group, and I feel very fortunate to be invited to that event each year. I hope they raised enogh money to keep those kids going for another year. Go class 10! After that shin-dig, I drove out to Gresham to meet up with the Linman's again at thier friends place. They had made a big paella! I was really late in getting there, but a few late nighters were still hanging out in the back yard, under the fir trees and the stars by the fire. The paella was delish, and sitting by the fire with Jasmine (a sweet little bull dog puppy) on my lap and chatting with everyone was the end to a perfect day. Got home around midnight, hung outside with Lucy while she did her bid-ness, then went to bed. But... as mentioned in the random beggining of this post, I woke up at 3 am. I couldn't stop thinking about all the little things I needed to get done to my wee little house before fall. I finally decided to stop thinking about it, made a list, and tried to go back to sleep. Nope! It just wasn't going to happen. So, Lucy and I got up around 5:30 a.m. and went out side.

fluffy little morning clouds

It's a gorgeous morning, watching the sunrise, checking on the status of all the berries. (lots of potential crops but only one almost ripe raspberry, and one blue berry for possible havest in the next couple of days). 

keep your beak off my berries!

As I type this, I am sitting on the couch looking to the east, watching ths sun rise through the plum trees , sipping on cup of coffee - no radio, or music, just the silence of the morning, and the chirping of few birds.

...here comes the sun (do do doo do)..here comes the sun...

plumb filtered sun light

orchid filtered sun light

I'm a lucky girl. Tired, thinking too much about stuff that doesn't really matter, but feeling grateful for it all. 

Sunbeams

Early morning sunlight shines through the leaves of the plumb trees. The breeze disperses sunbeams down the cobwebs of garden spiders.

Cherries

The new house has a cherry tree. It's about 40 years old, but still produces - and I bet if we had had a proper Spring, and Summer would show it's seasonal face, I would have quite the haul of plump red goodness. Alas, the following photos will show the minimal fruits of my old girls labor.

yesterday's harvest

today's harvest

I go out a couple of times a day and pick up the good ones that have fallen to the ground. Although, there seems to be a critter that gets to them in the evenings. 

little critter bites 

I'm going to leave a little sign out there asking it to please stop eating only half of the cherry. I don't mind sharing, but I'm going to attempt to explain that two halves make a whole, and that if they would just keep eating the one they started with until they were finished, it would leave more whole ones for me. 

Tree views at Dusk

Summer is here and the it's nice and breezy tonight. Lucy and I hang out in the side yard and stare up at the early evening skies.

sequoia to the south

walnut to the west

Summer Term

It was almost exactly one year ago that I went on my trip to Europe. While I was away I thought a lot about my life and changes I wanted to make when I returned to the States. I've put some of those changes into motion, not knowing, really, if they will work or not - but figuring I, at least, needed to do something different than what I was doing before. I wasn't totally miserable in my pre-"three months" life, but I wasn't all that happy either. 

One of the changes I knew I had to make was where I was living. The condo had been a great idea while I was taking care of my Mom, and staying with her through her death - but I was itching to get back into a house with a yard. As seen in previous posts, we can place a check mark next to that item.

Another change I wanted to make was to my career. I have always been a bookkeeper. I wouldn't say I chose that career as much as it chose me. I've been fortunate to have some really great jobs and mentors, and I'm proud to say that I'm a good bookkeeper, never having much formal education around it. I don't mind it given the right work environment (a creative environment!), but it doesn't really make much of a difference in the world, does it? 

Wandering around the beautiful countryside of England, Scotland, and Ireland - I realized I love green! Green trees, green grass, green plants. Green is important to humanity. We need green! I've been a novice gardener and I enjoy growing plants, and, I live in one of the most fertile states in the nation. Could I make some sort of a living, make some sort of difference in the world doing what I had always considered to be a fun hobby? Could I have a farm? The Earth is such an important part of our existence is there something I can do to make sure we don't ruin it?

I don't know that I can answer those questions for myself yet, but I did enroll in college to try and figure out if I can. So far, I can only afford to go part-time - so it's slow going - but, at least I'm going! I figure it will be years before I can place a check mark next to that item.

This summer term will be my third term. I'll be taking Spanish, and Algebra. I think the Spanish will be fun. The Algebra, I dunno...

The Summer Cut

I took Lucy to the groomers today to get her summer doo. Not that you would know we are in the mid month of June or anything. Portland is rainy, grey, and I don't think we topped 70 degrees today. But, non-the-less, Lucy's coat was getting long and matted, and in hopes of warmer days to come - needed to be cut. I took her to a new place called Zimmers - they were recommended by another Doodle owner, so I thought I'd give them a try. The shop was small, and nice, and some really sweet ladies were there to greet us. My only requests were to not cut her ears, tail, or eyelashes. I figured they would have to shave her pretty close because of a few really gnarly matts, but the ladies seemed to think she wouldn't have to go too short. Well, below are the results, and a conversation that I'm sure Lucy would've had with me, should she be able to form words. 

poor 'lil thing

Is this not the saddest face you've ever seen? The ladies at the shop gave her that scarf, which is really made of some cute material. (I may steal it for a scarf for myself) Poor girl. She was basically shaved to the bone. It's always shocking to me how skinny she is underneath all that hair. I love the way she sits with her turned in hind leg.. so cute.I guess she feels humiliated, and probably wonders what in the hell happened to all her hair. I know how she feels, I've had a bad hair cut or two - but she will thank me in July when it's 90 degrees and all we have is a fan to cool us off. I took the scarf off, and I think she felt a little more normal. 

really?!

I kept telling her that her hair would grow back. As the look above will attest, she doesn't believe me. 

hmmm. maybe..

I told her she looked super cute! (which she does, in a weird bobble-head dog way) Maybe she feels exposed?  I told her she has gorgeous gams (she has nice lean, long legs) and she should show them off a little. 

harumph!

Nothing I say seems to help at the moment. Buck up little camper! Your hair will grow back sooner than you think. 

Land of the Dinosaurs!

I experienced something super fun tonight! A "B" movie shown with live actors, live foley, and live music. 


It was amazing! Here's the link  - check it out!


http://filmusik.com/

Yard Finds

Because I moved into this house in the winter, I really have no idea what kind of plants and trees I have purchased. Here are few pictures of the plants I have found so far, plus a few other things that I have come across. I told myself I was going to wait through all seasons before doing any major landscaping, just to see what pops up. I don't know if I can wait that long...

plumb tree with ewe tree branch in foreground

The view from the kitchen window is of the street lined with non-fruiting plumb trees. They are pretty in the early spring, but I'm not too impressed with them otherwise. 

pear blossom

There is a pear tree, and a cherry tree in the side yard. So far I haven't seen any fruit, but both have pretty blossoms, so I am hoping they will develop into something. The neighbors say they have seen fruit on them in the past. Fingers crossed!

yellow rose of Portland

I have three rose bushes in the beds next to the driveway. They are all fragrant and in need of a hard cutting back this year, but, I will enjoy the flowers until that time comes.

pink

This pink rose will last up to 2 weeks once cut. I think they will be good for drying out.

deep red

These rose bushes will keep the house smelling sweet all summer long. There's nothing like the smell of roses on a hot summer day. I always keep some next to my bed - it's a nice smell first thing in the morning.

 the view if you are lying down on the picnic table 

My neighbor to the west has a black walnut tree (the tree on the right hand side) and the neighbor to the south has a giant red wood (the top of it is to the left). The side yard of my house is mostly open, all the trees are on the perimeter, so there is lots of sky to view.

night view

This picture was taken of the full moon just after a full eclipse (again, from the picnic table - the center of my universe at the moment). The space ship didn't stick around too long. I think Lucy scared it off.

moles or armadillos

A not-so-good yard find... If I were in Texas I would say I had armadillos - but I don't think they have those here. I'm guessing it's a mole. They are cute, so I won't go "Caddyshack" on it. Yet...

egg shell

I found this sweet little egg shell out by the laurel hedge. There are tons of Robin's that live in there, so I think this lil' thing belonged to one of the fledgelings. I will keep with my hummingbird nest that I found at another house. 

Bloggity Blog Blog

I haven't posted to this in a while, I guess I've been in facebook land. Facebook land is starting to be too much propaganda from "friends" I have not chosen - So, I am going to try this platform again to ponder and muse and post stuff about my life. 


Since my last post in December, Lucy and I have moved to a house. It's a small home built in 1945 on a big lot. Both the home and the lot have lots of potential and I plan to slowly make that potential materialize over the next several years (that's how long it will take me to afford it all). 

the front

I bought it in March, so the trees are leafless. There is lots of grass, which will eventually go away to make room for planting beds and meandering pathways. I also plan on building a rock wall - like those I took many, many, pictures of on my European trip. 

the original kitchen

I kind of like the kitchen like it is. I will eventually get rid of the formica counter top, get a new sink, and refinish the cabinets, and get a gas cook top. I may keep the oven, I mean, how can I get rid of the Harvest Gold?! The rest of the house is pretty normal - two bedrooms, one bath. Nice windows and light. But the best part, and one of the main reasons I bought the place was the fireplace. I LOVE a good fireplace!

fireplace - Lucy's bed next to it!

I had a fire on the second night we were here. It needs to be cleaned - but I had to make sure it worked! This little place is a fixer, but Lucy and I are slowly getting settled. I've got the living room and kitchen/dining room done and the bedrooms are coming along. Between school and work, I'm pretty beat. But I figure I've got nothing but time - so my time I will take.