Adventures of an urban homesteader growing greens, preserving the harvest and tending a backyard barnyard
Where is my Indian summer in Portland this year? It feels like summer is long gone, but the autumn equinox isn’t even here yet… I think we missed out on summer this year in Portland all together. I remember one week in July that was hot and sunny, but that seemed to be the end of that. The rest of July and August were fairly
The girls are molting! I noticed tons of feathers inside the coop over the last week or so, but I assumed there had been a skirmish of some sort within the pecking order. Saturday I was cleaning out the coop though and noticed the ladies are starting to shed their feathers to grow new ones for the cold winter days ahead. Are they going to
My childhood home was a 1930’s farmhouse situation on 3/4 of an acre in SE Portland, which as a child seemed like an endless plot of land. For someone living out in the country, that probably doesn’t seem like much. Being within the city limits though, I had the biggest yard of anyone I knew growing up. Much of the property was devoted to an
Apparently I am a huge procrastinator. Who knew? Okay, I actually knew that already, but maybe you didn’t? A little off topic, but the headlight on our car has been out for a month, I’ve been pulled over and given warnings twice, and yet it still has no new headlight. An auto parts store is six blocks away. It’s a lovely summer day for a
I have been a bad blogger lately. But I start to feel too guilty, I start realizing most gardening-related blogs I read have slowed down a little in the posting department. This is the time of year we all work for hard for, so we should be excused for keeping on top of blogging. Yeah, that’s it… Soon to come will be more status of
This is not very gardening or permaculture related. Yeah, not at all actually. I just wanted to mention I added a new link on the right-hand column to Post Secret which is an awesome webpage. I feel like it was in an article in the NYT at some point… Anyways, people mail in annoymous postcards that they create. The postcard has to contain a secret
We are now 6 months into our emerging garden and it seems like a good time to take a step back and observe the progress. There have been some disappointments, but overall not too many. Here are a few thoughts so far… Nasturtiums are a multi-functioning flower that I hope to always include in the my gardens. The flowers are edible, they shade soil to
I have this weird notion that I should not have to pay real money for certain things: rain gear, wicker, shelving, baskets, plastic storage bins, etc. It doesn’t really make any sense, and I recognize that. But it doesn’t make that feeling go away and so I avoid to great lengths having to spend real money on these items. And often times, they do end
This morning was one of those mornings that we all work so hard outside for, and I owe it in part to the Portland rain. It started raining last night and my garden is bursting alive this morning. I took my cup of Stumptown coffee outside in my muddy clogs and took a survey of things. It’s like the entire garden let out a sigh
Be warned: This is not so much a gardening-related post as it is a home ownership-rant. You have been warned… This is our first house and I know some of you readers are in the same boat because I have read your blogs too. It’s hard getting into that first house, especially in Portland. Jay and I value living as close to the city center
