Fingers-Crossed-Snow-Days

So I got my leaves delivered from the City of Eugene, and it promptly snowed six inches on top of the pile. It's eight degrees here today.

Needless to say my garden is under snow, too, and I won't be mulching it with leaves today. Next weekend is full of parties, and Ali will be back from India by then, so I'll be slobbering all over him.
The following weekend is Solstice, with all the celebratory plans that come with it.

Maybe I can get to spreading leaves on the last weekend of the month.

And one other update: I have an interested party biting at the Osa Mountain Village lot for sale. It's been three years since it's been on the market. It sure would be nice to get it off our hands. The couple thinking about it has not yet made an offer, so it's still really iffy, but we'll wait and see.

Thank God for Small Favors and Wet Leaves

On Saturday, a couple of young acquaintances came over for lunch and a walk-through of my backyard. Our mission? To come up with a five year permaculture plan for the space.

I'll even get Base Maps for each stage! One translucent page after another, all falling in on each other and creating a layered plan encompassing all five years.

At the end of the five years, I want to have plenty of organic gardening common sense, and a thriving eco food forest and homestead.

Let the planning begin!

In our short two hour meeting, my visiting Young Friends (hereafter referred to as YF or YFs), and I toured my property (which I should remind you is rented), and poured over catalogs of flowering and fruiting trees and shrubs. I am in awe of all the cool thing that can grow in Zone 8 (Willamette Valley in Oregon.) We're talking: aronia, pineapple guava, seaberries, thornless blackberries (!), figs, grapes, kiwis, peaches, and asian pears. Our list was longer, but apparently Google hates me and I can't get into the Google Doc that Young Friends created for me AND be on Blogger at the same time. So we're pulling from memory here, Folks.

Late Fall, before it gets all frosty, is the time of the year for planting said trees and shrubs, but with limited income right now, I may have to suffice with drooling over catalogs and entering it into my five-year plan, for later.

It's also the time for the City of Eugene's Leaf Retrieval and Delivery Program. Hooray! Free compost! Here's what happens: two weeks out of the year (one week in November, and one in December), the City comes by with ginormous suction hoses and picks up all the leaves that people rake into the gutter. Actually, they prefer if you don't leave them in the gutter. More like side of the road leaf retrieval. They want you to leave a space for storm water draining and not to block the bike lanes.

During that same week, you can sign up on the City's website for a load of leaves to be dropped off. So not only do I have the leaves from my yard, but I'm getting a whole truckload of them delivered in a couple of weeks. 'Tis the season to mulch your garden with wet leaves from your neighbors! By Springtime, I shall be merrily follicking in leaf mulch compost.

And it's free.

Thank God for small favors and wet leaves.

Even though we didn't have time to come up with a delineated plan of action (checklists are best for me), I think I have enough to go on. I'll need help for part of it, but more in the form of moral support. I do know how to make a chicken run gate; I just don't want to do it by myself.

Since I didn't get a checklist from my Young Friends, I'm going to make one myself, because frankly, I don't feel comfortable without my lists to tell me what to do.

1. Get leaves delivered from City.

2. Smother garden area and flower beds with leaves (including leaves raked from my own trees.)

3. Get a few straw bales for gardening (just found some YouTube videos on Straw Bale Gardening and it sounds easy and cool.)

4. Make a list of trees and shrubs to put in next Fall.

5. Start looking for a rain barrel for water catchment system.

6. Design gates for the garden and chicken run and install. (Must be dog proof.)

7. Re-do garden fencing. (Must also be dog proof.)

If you come over and help me, I'll make you a hearty, home-cooked meal.

Projects

Indoor and Outdoor Projects 

I'm feeling like culling out some things in my house, or re-decorating on the cheap. Nothing new, of course. More like re-arranging. I have some art I want to put up, and some gadget-y things I don't want anymore.

And I'd like to get some more indoor plants for this winter. The ones I have are all dead, or looking pretty sad, and without the windows open to the summer sun and getting my blast of nature that way, I want to have some more living things inside this winter.

I'd like to have a winter garden, but friends have said that it's a little too late to plant for that now. Which I was totally surprised at. Now that I think of it, it's not though. The plants need to be in the warm ground long enough to establish a root system, so the the cold doesn't kill them off. This is our first week of Fall in Eugene, Oregon. It's cooled off enough for the heater in my bedroom to kick on a couple of times, and for my mind to start shifting to the chopping of firewood and kindling. But perhaps   our local Backyard Farmer shop still has some starts that I could put in the ground.

Other outside projects weighing on my mind these days are trimming the trees, shrubs, and rose bushes. Everything is overgrown and looking pretty gross. I can't even take out the compost without bending over in half to shuffle under the plum tree branches to get to the outdoor compost bin.

The other thing I really need to do is pick all the plums I have left on the trees and try to process them best I can. Dry them into prunes with the oven, and maybe even try my hand at plum jam, or even just freeze them after pitting them. That would take a long time to do though because I don't have a chest freezer.

This morning I felt inclined (on this rainy day) to make a pot of bean soup, and some fresh bread. Maybe I'll still have the gumption to do it. It's 2:30 p.m. I'd still have time to start a project that size, and then I can get in some furniture rearranging, and dog hair vacuuming.

Kombucha and Other Brews

My kombucha brewing is going well. I like the taste of it. I'm trying different brewing times and different teas, different bottling times. I'm not keeping any records except for one or two details, like I write down when I start brewing a new batch so I know when to bottle it up, and I label the bottles with when it was brewed and when it was bottled and what kind of tea it is, or if I've added juice to it. The rest I file away in my head -- which is dangerously apt to be forgotten.

Here's what I know:

1. I let it brew one week at least. The last batch I did for two weeks, so we'll see what that tastes like. It certainly fizzed more when I bottled it than any other batch.

2. I bottle for about a week before I refrigerate and drink it.

3. The first and last batch I made tasted the best. Remembered factors: I used decaf black english breakfast for the the last batch, and oolong tea for the first one. The yerba mate tasted good, too, just a little lighter. Less zing.

4. I don't like adding juice when I bottle it. I've tried cherry juice -- which was terribly sour. I gave it all away, couldn't drink any of it. Apple and pear juices made the kombucha too sweet for me. Perhaps I could use less juice and try again (current recipe I use is one quart of juice to one gallon of kombucha). But aside from the sweetness, it really seemed to mask the bite of the kombucha, which I like.

Maybe I could make both kinds though. Make some of the plain hard cider-y tasting kind for me and Ali, and make some for the kids with added juice. Probably they wouldn't like it anyway though.

Jun is another thing to try brewing. As I understand it, it's made the same way (with the scoby) but only using green tea (instead of black) and fermenting with honey (instead of sugar.)

I also found a recipe for making ginger beer (alcoholic and non) that I wanted to try. Maybe I'll turn my office pantry into shelves of brewing concoctions.

Homesteading Classes

Ali and I are going to take a soap (and maybe candle) making class at Glory Bees. And if I ever see a cheese-making class again, I'll get us in.

Spanish

In January, I'd like to get us in Spanish classes, too.

I personally am content to pick it up half-heartedly over the next six years and get a tutor once we are in Costa Rica. But this seems to be Ali's main concern. Not deciding what job to focus on there, not solidifying our land purchase, and not on becoming farmers now so we'll know how later, but speaking Spanish.

Yes, he's concerned about all those other things (and lots more), and we talk about them all periodically. But the conversation always seems to end with,

"But we don't even know Spanish yet."

As if none of the rest of it is relevant until this one Herculean task is accomplished. Like none of the rest of it is really real, unless we can speak the language first.

It's sweet actually. In a little boy sort-of way. And I'm happy to do things in this order if it brings him peace and order.

"I pride myself in my ability to communicate my ideas," he says.

 I don't mind learning Spanish now and it makes such a big difference to him. <3

Gardening Calendars and Brown Grass

My grass is brown and crunchy. I'm mildly embarrassed about it, but not enough to waste the environmental resource to water it. I wonder if I should start a rain barrel. You can attach them to your gutters now. I could use the rain water to irrigate the garden in the summer. The chickens could probably drink it, too.

The chickens. Yeah. That'll have to been next Spring. Unless I can get a gate made for the chicken run. It's hard enough to water the garden and pick produce before it goes bad. The gate is on temporary back burner status.

I've been traveling this past week, had a festival to attend the weekend before that, and the weekend before that I went camping at the Country Fair. Needless to say, my garden is looking a little ragged. Weeds, you know.

I'm recovering from travel this week, and catching up on some work, and there is a slight chance that I might spend this weekend on a house boat. So, garden work still seems grim. I have managed to have the dog sitter to water the garden while I've been gone, and Ali did it while I was gone this past week. The garden is therefore alive, but that's all. It's not thriving, if you know what I mean.

I think what happened was this: I direct-planted seeds, some too late in the season, and then didn't thin the plants when they came up. The result: small, stunted plants that have bolted already. I need to just plant some more plants. I can still get starts from the Farmer's Market probably. I'll pull out the spinach, broccoli, and lettuce. Thin the carrots, move the cucumbers, and hope for the best.

The plums are all in, ripening swiftly. I'd love to borrow a food dehydrator and dry them.

My indoor plants are suffering. I forget I need to water them more in the summer. I repotted them in the Spring, but one in particular is not doing well at all, and I killed the fern. I love ferns -- so lacy and green. And they seem so hardy, but I've killed every single fern I've ever purchased.

Once again I am RESOLVED to follow the Month by Month Gardening Book for Oregon. Also, this website has a great gardening calendar for Oregon.

"Brews and Books," Brainstorming, and *Surprise* Its a Garden!

In Eugene, I've been harvesting raspberries almost every day! They are PROLIFIC this year. I've already made jam, given some away, eaten some, given more away, and frozen some. And they are still ripening on the vines.

The blueberries aren't doing so well. I didn't fertilize them while they were flowering this Spring. And I only just un-choked them from the grass and weeds two days ago. They are fruiting, but not many.

The plums are going gang-busters. I have four or five trees, all with green fruit on them. By summer's end, they'll be dripping off the trees.

Blackberries are coming, and the strawberries have ended. The cherries are right now. But I don't know what variety they are. A tad too sour to eat for me -- though Ali likes them. And very small in diameter. Not worth pitting and making into jam.

Ali disagrees.

He picked a bag of them yesterday and promises to pit them by hand, if I will only please make him some sour cherry jam. His favorite.

Of course I said, Yes. And not only because I don't think he'll actually pit them.

Our relationship is deepening, and we're having lovely days filled with Spotify love song DJ nights, dog park excursions, BBQs in the backyard, laughing at private jokes and Facebook one-liners, and watching peculiar Netflix movies on the couch. We still massage feet and sore muscles every night we spend together, and we continue to make plans for the future.

Despite our concerns about moving to Costa Rica (missing Oregon's climate, our friends and the social life we are accustomed to, and snuggling without being sweaty), I think going there will bring us even closer together. We'll have even more time to spend together, as the cost of living -- and subsequently our work hours -- will be far less. When we are working, some of our businesses will be joint endeavors. We'll be working together, in both the secular world and on our small farm.

We still have a few years to try on some new job ideas and see if they fit. Bee-keeping, beer-brewing, mushroom farming, cheese-making, and running healthy living retreats. Weight loss is a big industry, and while we may not have anything new to say about it, we can offer a retreat space and an itinerary to inspire people to change their lives.

I'm in the blue bikini, front row.

Would you attend a Holistic Health Retreat in a tropical paradise with offerings of: permaculture tours, outdoor adventures, healthy cooking classes, organic produce, yoga classes, introduction to ecstatic dance, journaling, art classes, and access to the beach, mountains, and bio-diverse views every day? Plus, we could sell the cookbook that Ali and I are thinking of creating. We are formulating an eating plan that sounds unique, kitschy, AND doable for the modern person, with modern concerns and time constraints.

We also thought of hosting a library at Serenity Gardens. We wouldn't make any money off of it, but it sure would be fun. And we could combine it with a hobby store, of sorts. Like, Brews and Books. We could have a small beer and kombucha brew pub, with espresso cart (Did you know that it's really hard to find DECAF Americanos in Costa Rica?), mixed in with couches and cushy chairs and foot stools amidst our shelves and shelves of art work and books. People could buy a drink and sit and read, and/or check out the books. I can see an outdoor section with a hammock, too.

Without the actual deed on the property, my Costa Rican news is scant. I did, however, get a rather positive sounding email from Jim Gale, the land-developer of the Serenity Gardens and Osa Mountain Village properties. He said that he was down to two extremely unique custom lots (one that's four acres, and one that has a difficult-to-imagine shaped lot) and while those, of course, will be his top priority to sell, he thinks that the re-sale lots will go pretty fast from now on. There will be some new people coming next month to visit the Village; hopefully my lot will intrigue them! And then, next stop, solidifying the land purchase at Serenity Gardens.

I was thinking the other day that the next time we visit, (if we have a deed) I'd love to do some work on the land. Perhaps we can have the permits and supplies ready for our arrival, in order to build an outhouse, or deck, or something while staying there. At one point, Ali had the idea to build a platform for a tipi we'd purchase to use camping during our visits. A platform could be easy. Something to put potted flowers on. And a lawn chair. We could build an outhouse next. I bet the workers would love an outhouse while they are building the houses on our street. :-)

While nothing much is changing on the Costa Rican front, we are still thinking about our future move every week. I plan on incorporating a COSTS label on this blog in order to tally up the actual costs involved in moving out of the country for those of you thinking about doing the same. Look for those posts as they come up. Also, my kombucha-brewing (and Ali's beer-brewing) successes, recipes Ali and I develop, and our permaculture efforts here in Eugene.


Questing for the Pura Vida in the Place That I Am,
Valerie

A Costa Rican Vacation Wrap-Up

The one day it rained while we were there was the day we went to the beach. Of course. But the cool thing about rain forests near the equator is that when it rains, it's still 80 degrees outside.

Beach at Dominical

rain forest right up on the beach

My love reading on the beach

Just before the rains came...

After the beach, we walked up the hill (and when I say hill, I mean gargantuan mountain like thing) to the Osa Mountain Animal Sanctuary. We met the owner and he gave us a little tour and introduced us to some of the tenants. Mike wasn't officially open yet, so we gave him a donation instead of an admission fee.

This is Bubba. He can't be released into the wild, so he's been Mike's pet for something like eight years. Bubba bites his paw when he's content and happy.

baby parrots

spider monkey

This is Sophie.

a VERY young parrot

Then we went back to my Osa Mountain Village lot and took another photo. This is the last lot that has ocean views. I'm really hoping it will sell soon so I can finalize my Serenity Gardens lot.

On one of our last days in Costa Rica, Ali took the threaded bracelet he'd been given in India (at a temple), and went to release it in water, as per the custom in India. We took a short hike behind some villas and found a suitable place. We brought along a doggie friend.

On the night before we left, we attended the Easter celebration at the community center. We dressed up a wee bit -- neither of us being Christian, but still wanting to join in on the pig roast festivities.

We watched the sunset at the pool.

Had a drink.

And then stuffed ourselves.

Everything was delicious. And. I'm sorry to say ... that the dish on the end there, is Charlotte. (From a previous post.)
This was a first for both Ali and myself -- meeting and petting the animal we'd eat the next day.

The evening capped off with some fire dancing, courtesy of Eric and Brando.

On Monday morning, I taught the community yoga class one more time, then Lisa and Mark drove us to Palmar Norte's bus station for the first leg back of our trip.

Me and the luggage, waiting for the bus to San Jose.

My cutie at the San Jose airport.
The first time we'd worn jeans in ten days.

Unfortunately, I don't know when we'll be going back to CR. We'll most likely travel to India next (A LONG TIME DREAM OF MINE), and quite possibly to Turkey after that. And then back to Costa Rica. I also really want the land at OMV to sell pronto, so that I can finalize the sale of our Serenity Gardens lot. Once that is done, then we can put a yurt on it, and stay on the land. 

I'm looking forward to the time when we can travel to CR and not pay lodging.

Maybe in two years, I reckon.

Vegetarianism, or Not -- "I like it when they stay standing up."

Robert, my twelve-year-old son, after being forced to help in the garden a wee bit on Saturday -- truly, it took him longer to find SOCKS and put them on, than the amount of time he helped -- asked why we were even having a garden. I said, "So we can eat."

"What?! We're not eating anything else but what grows here? No meat?!"

"Well. Not everything. We'll still buy meat and things we don't grow from the Farmer's Market."

"Oh. Whew. I need meat."

I chuckled at the time. But since then, I watched an inspiring (and a little bit heart-breaking) YouTube video.

You see, just last week I had decided (and discussed it with my partner, Ali, and my son, Robert) that I didn't want to eat meat with un-known origins anymore. If I don't buy it from a local farm here in the Eugene/Springfield/Junction City/Lowell/Dexter/Veneta/Elmira area, I don't want to eat it. After all, "free-range" just means that they aren't in a cage. They could still be shuffling shoulder to shoulder in tight quarters. And "organic" meat is just animals that were fed organic feed; it tells me nothing about their living conditions, and whether they were treated humanely, or not.

I was feeling pretty great about my decision, until I watched this:

Now I just feel lame for not being a vegetarian.

(sigh)

On another note: I'm determined to process/can/dry/freeze as much fruit as I possibly can this Summer and Fall. All in my quest for sustainable living ... I've even started knitting my own dish cloths again! So, on Sunday next, Tamara and I are going to go strawberry picking -- if I can find a farm open on Sundays -- and then make jam. Mmmm. Probably just freeze some, too.

Little baby steps.

So, yes. Today, I may not eat octopus, but I'll still consume the beef from a Junction City farm (that I've visited personally) which I purchased at the Farmer's Market on Saturday.

Maybe next year I'll go veggie.

Let the Planting Begin

Yesterday I spent a few hours on the garden and finally planted something. First though, my friend Tamara graciously reminded me that garden work isn't just time spent planting starts and watering; it's the travel time to your friend's house to bag up compost and bring it to your own, because she bought too much, and you desperately needed it but didn't have the money to get any this year because you're so tight on funds from starting up a new business, that you don't know how you'll pay rent this month.

So, even though I didn't get any plants in the ground on Saturday, I still brought the straw and compost home, dug it into the soil -- stirring it -- dug trenches around each "raised bed" area, weed-eated an already overgrown section of the garden that I'm calling "the container garden," and laid straw down in between the beds and around the cherry tree where I'm trying to discourage weeds. And, as Tamara put it, that was still gardening, and I'm proud of the work I did.

The next day, after volunteering at the Country Fair site on our various crews, we napped, and when I awoke, I felt a little bummed about still not getting the plants in the ground -- so I geared myself up and spend another 2 1/2 hours in the garden. I started weeding the raspberries -- which are loaded with unripe berries -- and attached the rest of the garden fence so the dogs couldn't get in and dig up stuff. That nice soft dirt is so tempting. Then I finally transplanted the local starts I've been accumulating.

16 strawberry plants -- we already have a strawberry patch! -- 3 pepper plants, one chocolate cherry tomato plant for Ali, (I don't like tomatoes -- raw ones anyway) and one lavender plant to replace the one that mysteriously died.

Ali spent his time clearing the ubiquitous blackberry vines.

Speaking of mysterious plant death, all of my started basil seeds sprouted beautifully, so I moved them outside to get rain and sunshine with the other herbs I've got potted in the front yard. They seemed to be flourishing. Or at least, you know, staying alive. I was quite pleased. And then I went away for Memorial Day weekend and came back to no basil. It didn't die; the containers were still there; no dirt spillage; no dried up stems. JUST GONE. As if nothing had ever been planted there.

I have no idea what could've gotten it. Birds? Squirrels would've dug in the soil and knocked over the pots, and they don't strike me as the basil-eating type anyway. Snails maybe. I didn't think they would've climbed into the plastic starter pots with those sharp rims, but I guess they could have.

Anyway, it's a mystery. But, I'm still happy that my garden is started.

Up Next: planting seed potatoes; fertilizing and weeding the blueberries; weeding the raspberries, too; and planting seeds!!!

My sustainable garden has begun.

What if I hate it?

So, the next step was to sign, scan, and email the purchase agreement to the lawyer in charge of all the Serenity Garden Eco-Village lots.

That required ink in my printer, so it took several days to get that project done.

The cost of the lawyer's fees was $250, but thankfully he suggested that I just tack the fees to the end of the balance of the lot. Sweet!

Next, Ali and I went to the library and checked out books on smaller living, and house plans. We've been talking about what we want in a house.

This morning I woke up slow and relaxed next to Ali, and started imagining us waking up together in Costa Rica. What it would be like on our land, what we'd do for fun and work, and then ... I thought, "What if we hate it?" What if we spend all our money and end up not liking the place? What if my kids think that I've abandoned them? True, they'll be graduated from high school (at least one of them), and old enough to come with me if they wanted to, but still. A mama worries.

I guess the only safeguard against that is to continue airing those concerns, and not let them get to fantastical proportions. For instance, Ali's concerns are making money while we're there, being stimulated intellectually and socially while there, and missing the Oregon weather. The weather doesn't change much at the equator. And we do so like the Fall -- the crispness cider hot chocolate scarf wearing dog walking with your breath in little puffs weather.

We'll talk about what concerns us, feel heard when we do, and put a yurt on the property for the first five years. We vacation there (as well as other places, too), and get a sense of what life will really be like there. It's one thing to stay for a week and go to the beach and eat at restaurants, but it would be a different trip altogether to stay for a month and feel what a regular routine would look like there. If all goes well, we'll live in the yurt while we build our eco-house, and be proud to live in an eco-village.

Serenity Gardens - Lot 21

This is a short visual of my homesite in Costa Rica!

Ali and Christian standing at the top corner of our land. Behind them (and down) is a year-round creek, too!

I claim this land!

The view off the street (side of the house).

THE view.
Hopefully most of our windows will be pointing this direction.

This is Bob Crosby, checking wind measurements to see if we can use it for one of our off-the-grid energy sources.

This is the first of the community gardens.

A whole slew of trees to be planted on the properties. Each lot will get one tree in each corner.
Ours will be: a cinnamon, mango, avocado, and sour orange.

Waiting for the ride back to Osa Mountain Village ... and a beer.

Days Four and Five -- Waterfall Hiking

 Fig tree.

 We could see and hear the zip-line going above us on our hikes.

 Walking trees shoot down another root in the direction they want to "walk," pulling themselves across the jungle floor.

Dogs must always come on hikes. Especially if there's water involved.

 An older version of that walking tree we saw earlier.

The hiking is gorgeous. I loved being out in the jungle. And we actually -- though sweaty -- stayed cooler during the exercise because of the shade and elevation. And the water. That was nice, too. I liked walking through the creek. Felt good on dusty, sore feet.

**

Next post will be on our Serenity Garden tour.
Pictures of our land!!