It's Truly Incredible...

...how unbelievably quickly the tiny little specks of nothing you put in the ground grow into full fledged plants. Just a few short weeks ago we finally transplanted all the little starts from the greenhouse into the garden. And since this picture was taken they've tripled in size. It's really pretty amazing.

 

What's also amazing (-ly difficult) is that we (by that I mean ME) have had to come to terms with what it means to raise and be responsible for the lives of little farm animals. In an attempt to give our chicks and ducks as much roaming room as possible we've let them become easy prey for the hungry raccoons and coyotes that make these woods their home. Even since putting them up every night in an enclosed pen, they still get snatched. It seems the daylight brings only a false sense of security. So we've resorted to building  a very large, fully enclosed pen where they will live day and night. It takes away their unlimited roaming capabilities, but at least they'll keep their feathers.

 

*I promise to bring more pictures for you the next time I post. It's been a little hectic here with E getting on a boat every other day, but I'll try to be better about having the camera with me!

Under the Washington Sun

1. seriously dope kitty

2. magical baby plants in the greenhouse

3. seriously, the greenhouse is covered

4. gypsy in the sun

5. a big fat hen where she shouldn't be

The Light and the Dark

In lieu of photos this rainy Saturday evening I thought I'd offer you words. So I wrote a poem just between me and you. Happy Saturday.

 

In days it seeps like the stiff wind beneath the sails

on a rising tide.

In the offing the light fails.

Of a crevice, murmuring in the distance

crawls forth the darkness.

Shadows emerge, taking advantage of the instance.

In what hollow, on what dimly lit shore

does the light retreat to?

But waiting ever still, it breaks like a candle's flame behind a door.

 

Adventures in Dog Sitting

For the past week and a half I've been taking care of Chad's - a friend of ours' - dogs. They are all three very large, but the most loving scary looking pups anyone could ask for. They'll give you a good howl if you want - thanks to their mother being a bit wolf-y, they'll rub against you until they knock you over, but then they look at you with these really golden, sharp eyes - and you know that they love you...or want to eat your face.

 

Gypsy has grown up with these guys and has nestled into a very nice annoying little sister roll. Even as a tiny pup she never once quavered at these mighty beasts or shied away - she walked right up to them and started barking at their noses and gnawing on their feet - and it's been as such ever since.

Time to Spare

With E's job, time is both your friend and your enemy. As of right now - it is a friend. E has not had to set foot on a boat since got here; therefore, we've had a lot of leisure time. For me it means time for cooking and baking, jaunts to Astoria with him, and a sense of peace. For E it means he's running around all day every day like a madman - trying to squeeze every ounce of enjoyment out of this down time. For days he's been getting up seriously early and going fishing on the Columbia River with our neighbor. He's been brewing beer, helping me in the garden, kayaking, and generally having a grand ol' time.

 

In an effort to actually see my husband while he's on land I went with him disc golfing at a newly discovered place in Skamokawa, Washington. It's called Lucky Mud. I highly recommend it if anyone is ever in the area. It's quite a place. We ended up spending all day there because they had a little trouble deciphering the order of the disc golf baskets, and even where they were half the time. Well, you can probably see why.

Gypsy - in Transition

Folks usually ask us how well Gypsy (left) adjusts to our constant state of motion, traveling, and new places every few months. Truth is, no one, animal or person, adapts more quickly than this kid. At home wherever you put her.

 

This is her and her new neighbor friend, Bud, who is younger than she is, and she lords it over him everyday.

To the Moon and Back

E and I have been thinking a lot, as of late, about our friends. Probably more than our friends think about the philosophy of us, for sure. It seems, over the years, that we've lost the connection to a lot of our friends. While I realize that is a normal thing for people when they get older, I think our case is slightly different because even our friends in Astoria have distanced themselves slightly from us.

 

Now, while I would like to believe it's because E and I are so wild and crazy that no one would like to lead their lives in our direction - but alas, I have a theory. Surprised? I didn't think so. I believe we move from one place to another so often that we expect, when we come back, that our friends be the exact same person, same state, same situation as when we left, but that's not fair. We're gone for so long, and no time at all - our lives are suspended while our friends' move on, do things, live their lives without us. Pretty much, like one would expect. I likened it the other night to space travel. It's like E and I travel to the Moon, no - further, like Mars, then we come back, and we're the same but everyone else has aged twenty years, forced to forget about us, and moved on. 

 

Don't get me wrong; it doesn't make me sad. Just slightly wistful. Sometimes I forget - believe me, I know how self-centered it sounds - that our people don't put their lives on hold until we get back, but it's a bit gratifying in a way, I must say. E and I seem to be in our own little space capsule, sailing through time, always and forever each other's friend 'til the end. Comforting - despite our earthly compadres.

 

Pictured:  My very pretty Earthly friend Sarah, who, by no means, has lost contact. One of the few.

Striking a Balance

When you're renting a growing space on someone else's land as well as caring for and getting to know another person land, trees, animals - what have you - you're not sure how far to go to care for said growing space, land, trees, and animals. On your "own" land, for instance, if your tiny walk-in greenhouse gets blown down like the first little pigs house you do whatever you must to get up back up and going. Use the best and most sturdy materials, because you want it to be around a long time. You might even start from scratch. But when you're only planning on living in the space for a matter of months it gets a little tricky. You might try, still, to make the old frame work. Duct tape every joint. See if it holds. In the end you'd probably get your roommates and dear husband to go it halfway and build a sturdy, albeit temporary stick structure that will still hold the old plastic to get you through growing season. : )

Bits & Pieces

1. why we come back here year

after year, Gypsy and E walking

the Columbia Gorge.

2. our new home.

3. me in the salvaged greenhouse.

4. the front pasture of the farm.

5. E helping to till the garden space.

6. a few of the residents chickens.

7. view from the back of the house.

Too Strong a Hold

Well folks, we're back on the Pacific Northwest Coast. Not really following the original plan laid in this post, but back again nonetheless. E got offered to return to his observing job out here for one more year and despite all our plans for van-traveling-the-country we couldn't deny our desire for another eight months in this wet wonderland. So we ditched the year-long travel idea, decided to do some shorter trips on the road during our Winter break, and hightailed it back up here before we changed our minds.

 

This Winter has been quite a whirlwind. We suited up the van, now named "Mamacita," and hit the Florida Keys few a week, traveled through North Carolina to visit some friends, and Kentucky for some family time then made it back across country to Washington - to a farm on which we now live with a few nice cats (read roomates.) Now I will proceed to bombard you with pictures from our travels this Winter, cross-country trip - yet again - and some randomness to get you back up to speed.

 

Essentially, we just got back to the coast a few days ago, adjusting to life in the country instead of Astoria (which is about thirty minutes away) and preparing E for yet another contract out here.