Whose idea was it to move from Eugene to Portland while I am seven months pregnant? Oh, right… it was my idea. As stressful as a move can be, things went smoothly and we had tons of friendly hands helping us lift boxes, chicken coops and duck houses. That little yellow house was good to us, but it was never “ours”. (Yikes – look at all that lawn!)
The birds did a great job on the move! They can’t see in the dark, so when we closed the lid on their carriers they all just assumed nighttime came early and went to sleep. We’re planning to build them a permanent shared run enclosure later this month. For now though, everyone gets to free-range during the day and gets tucked in (i.e. locked up securely) at night. They are having a ball exploring their new digs filled with unsuspecting bugs.
My nesting instinct is taking over and I have a list of improvements now for every room. My friend Ben recommended Yolo Paint as a great non-toxic, no VOC paint option to spruce up our house colors. Safe for me to use while pregnant and their colors are nature-inspired = awesome! (Portlanders, if you need a painter with a sharp eye for color he is your man.)
There is lots of work to be done outside, although our most recent renters took loving care of our home. But trees and vines need pruning, the compost needs turning, and I’m planning hoop houses over the raised beds to get some winter crops growing. It’s kind of a frosty looking mess right now.
It feels great to be home despite the all the boxes in our tiny house and the clean up needed in the backyard. Honestly, I can’t believe we pulled all that off: Jay finishing his doctorate in NYC, me doing this graduate program in Eugene, both of us making it work. We’ve come full circle now and look forward to the permanency of life in Portland.
