Winter Derailment, and News From the Landlord

So the guy that talked to me about the "free compost" from the City? You know, the leaves? Well I don't know if I'm doing that next year. I had ONE LOAD of leaves (hereafter called Huge-o Pile) delivered at the beginning of December--which only leaves two months to compost over the garden before you're supposed to be planting sugar snap peas (February). Hmm. Who thought that up? That's not enough time. Especially when two snow and ice storms come during the Winter, you have to borrow a wheelbarrow to haul the leaves because the pulling them through the yards on a tarp didn't work, and it takes you thirty minutes at a time to haul three miserly batches to the garden. Those huge heaps-o-waterlogged-leaves in the wheelbarrow don't cover very much garden space. About a 2X2 foot square I'd say.

Complete waste of time.

I still have an enormous mound of them in my driveway (making it so Ali can't park there), and it's the end of February. I've got two writer's conferences to get to in the next two and a half weeks, and my 40th birthday party to plan. Planting peas isn't going to happen anytime soon. And what am I going to do with pile?!

Move them to the garden, of course. BUT, it'll probably take me until July. No worries though, because it's looking like I'll be needing to move after all.

Landlord decided to sell, and I'm not eligible for a VA loan like I was hoping. Plan B is in force, and now I'm just at the waiting stage.

Which is my very favorite part.

Or, since I didn't do my Spanish practice today (or yesterday, or the day before): mi parte muy favorito.

This also means that, once again, I'll either be planning a move--or moving--during the planting/gardening stage of the year. Harrumph!

Ali says not to worry, We'll container garden.

Spreading the leaves seems superfluous now, but still needs to be done before moving, I figure. I'm sure the landlord would have something to say if I didn't move them. Plus, having the "garden" composting under leaves means that I don't have to weed-eat the area. Win!

Moving, or maybe not moving (probably I won't know for months--which is highly irritating because I can't pre-plan anything), prevents me from starting on the permaculture model I wanted in my back yard. I'm not going to work on the garden or chicken fence now. Nor get chickens. And I'm certainly not going to plant any fruit trees. Or collect rain water in giant barrels I haven't acquired yet.

I could still prune the roses and the blueberries and raspberries. And it's possible to get a $40 "green house" from BiMart and start tomato and pepper plant seeds. I can plant them in pots and give away the  extras I won't need. And I can plant annuals in my flower box in the front yard. I can plant herbs in the kitchen, too.

I'll keep it smaller than I anticipated (by a long shot), until I know where we'll be living. Then the garden/permaculture planning can start anew! Other ideas: if I can't buy a house, or find a rental that has garden space, I will container garden the whole way (a bunch of pots all together look really cool),

and/or garden in Ali's space (if he hasn't moved in with us by then.)

Yeah.

It's sounding like container gardening is where I'm going this Spring/Summer. I have a reference book on it I bought years ago. I guess it's time to check into it. Start thinking about, anyway.

Look back next week for a post on Mason Bees and Container Gardening Plano Numero Uno.

"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