Adventures of an urban homesteader growing greens, preserving the harvest and tending a backyard barnyard
How did it get to be September already? Is someone playing a trick on my calendar? Here we are in the thick of tomato and squash season. I feel like it all happened overnight! I have been volunteering intermittently at the Urban Farm between summer vacations and it is just bursting there right now. I probably consume more food while I’m working than I help
The two runner ducks we raised from ducklings this past spring have both started laying! Those first few eggs are always a little goofy looking. I went ahead and cracked them all in a cast iron pan to fry up for breakfast. You can see how the smallest egg doesn’t even have a yolk! They get a little bigger with each laying. Our adopted ducks
Plum season is finally upon us! I found a wild plum tree around the corner on an abandoned lot. Turns out the university owns it and one of their maintenance guys told me to help myself. Awesome! I began plotting what I would make them into as I plucked them from the tree. I have dabbled in brewing hard cider and thought plum wine sounded
We planned our meals pretty carefully during our week vacation in the high desert country. We wanted things that used produce in season and were easy to prepare. No one likes to be standing over a stove during their vacation time. The place we rented had a grill, which was kind of amazing. We never really understood why people love grilling so much. Now we
We just got back from spending a week roasting ourselves in the high desert country in Central Oregon. The area around Bend, Oregon, is a popular vacation destination in the northwest in summer and winter, in part due to it’s high elevation and dry conditions. Fly fishing, hiking and cycling are all popular summer activities. Wintertime brings excellent powdery snow on Mount Bachelor and plenty
Some old friends came out to visit the northwest recently and we enjoyed giving them a quick tour of the city we love so dearly. We were not sure if the agenda would include hiking through the majestic Columbia Gorge or heading into the city, so we recommended they stay at the McMenamin’s Edgefield to keep both options open. McMenamin’s is a local chain of
In addition to friends in low places, I am also fortunate to have friends in all the right places when it comes to growing food. I recently spent an afternoon at the Courthouse Garden here in Eugene, which is a re-entry program for ex-cons and also a class on urban farming through the University of Oregon. They were blessed with a huge donation of tomato
With three chickens and four ducks, we have no shortage of eggs at our house. We have friends watch over our flocks when we vacation and usually give them some eggs as a thank you. Aside from those few occasions, we have given hardly any away this season because we have integrated them as a staple into our meals. There are a few recipes in
Oh my goodness, I am almost getting buried in the harvest this summer! The garden in our little rental house is productive, which is surprising considering how little work it has been. The broccoli has all come on at the same time and I’m barely eating it before it completely flowers. Often I get asked to help people plan their vegetable gardens and I always
In Other Words is a great shop in Portland specializing in feminist literature and I am proud to have an event there this weekend! They are the feminist bookstore featured in Portlandia, which is a hilarious show in case you haven’t seen it yet. I will be there at 4:00pm this Saturday July 30th. I will have a few copies of the book to giveaway!
