Lavender, garlic and other random growing things....

We have just returned home from a five day trip to Montana.  It is amazing the growth in the garden and the beds in just five days.  

Lavender drying in a basket that I made eons ago.

I've been picking a lot of lavender.  I mostly use the lavender for sachets and drawer liners to keep moths away. Also, a nice addition to gift baskets.  Haven't jumped into making lavender food yet.  Not sure why.


 Nice to have fresh garlic.  Last year's was getting a bit tired and bitter.

Garlic drying in the sun

While I revel in the beauty and productivity of the Willamette Valley, I can't help but be concerned about the agricultural conditions across the country.  A recent CBS newscast said that over 80% of the US is suffering from a drought.   Ranchers are selling their cattle at a loss because they cannot afford to feed them. The Iowa corn crop is pretty well decimated. I read Bill McKibben's article about global warming in the August issue of Rolling Stone Magazine this afternoon.  Depressing, but worth the read.  

No more complaining about the Pacific Northwest rain, I am oh so thankful for the abundance it brings.

Every year we try a couple of new vegetables in the garden.  This year we are testing leaks and cabbage. Last year we tried kale...a success.  The year before that we tried garbanzo beans...not a success.  That same year we planted black beans and peregione beans. They have become mainstays of the garden.  We retain seeds to replant the following year, and every year the beans become more productive  We also grow kidney beans to dry.  We often hear that dried beans can be had for a song, so why bother to plant them, dry them, sort them, etc.  The answer is simple. We know where they came from.  We know how they are stored.  We know that we are not contributing to Monsanto.  Perhaps growing a garden is an act of civil (corporate) disobedience. 


Flowers and old rusty old bikes seem to go together.  This bike is at least 60 years old.  It had three bike license plates on it.  One from The Dalles, Oregon 1952.

1950's Montgomery Ward Bike

 Another bluebird clutch is on the way!

Three bluebird eggs

I took this picture this afternoon.  There will probably be a couple more eggs laid in the nest.  The first clutch had 5 eggs.  Four of the five have survived and will now help raise these babes once they hatch out.  I will peak back in a day or two.


Thank you for peaking in! 

Scumbags, heroes, and peas

Wow, it has been awhile since I posted.  So here are some snapshots in words and pictures of what has been happening in the last few weeks.


Four bluebirds fledged.  I don't have any pictures. Parents have hid them well.


The rest of the hay has been cut, raked, baled, sold and hauled away.  For the first time someone came in and stole a big pick-up full of hay, a couple of tons.  SCUMBAG!!  A good hay year, but for that.


We took the dogs overnight camping to Mary's Peak, the highest peak in the coast range, to see wild flowers.  Coming back, the clutch went out on the pick-up. Libby and I were attacked by savage dogs.  Jackson came between them and us. He fended off their attacks until  their owner could get them under control.  It was really frightening.  I hate to think what might have happened had Jack not come back to protect us.  He was definitely hero-dog of the day.

Jackson Hero-Dog

Our peas were doing great.  We really enjoyed walking out and munching on them.  But not thinking, I gave Jackson a pea pod, and then the next day, Sid gave Jackson a pea pod.  And then the next day when no one was watching, Jack went out and gave himself all of the peas.  He ravaged the plants.  I was so pissed. Hero-dog has lost his glow.


Two years ago we were given a variety of native seeds and plants.  The Oregon Sunshine is in full bloom right now.

Oregon Sunshine

I went up the hill on the 4-wheeler looking for native wild blackberries (not to be confused with Himalayan or Evergreen blackberries) yesterday.   I found only a hand full, certainly not enough for blackberry pie.  However, I did find a little white flower that I had never seen before.....a Scouler's Harebell.  Native to the west coast, it is very small, looks like a tiny white lily.  Of course, it was surrounded by poison oak, so the picture isn't as close as I had hoped for.

Scouler's Harebell

We have had a pair of neurotic swallows nesting by the garage.  We tried to dissuade them from nesting there, but their persistence finally wore us down.  So for the last few weeks every time we walk out the back door the adult swallows attack us.  This morning the three babies finally fledged.  Their first venture in the outside-of-the-nest-world was to the truck-the one without the clutch. They stuck to it for about 45 minutes, afraid to venture further into the world.  Finally, with a lot of pleading and parental fly-bys, they took off.  Their flights were pretty good, their landings not so much.  I will be happy to get rid of the nest and the poop.  The lesson: Being more persistent than the swallows is best for everyone. No more swallows nesting close to the house!

Baby swallows traded in their nest for the pick-up truck.

And lastly, here is a picture of this year's snapdragons.  They are all volunteers.  I love their vampy brightness.

I will be better about posting regularly.  I will be better about posting regularly.  I will be better......