Perennial Herb Patch: Day #5 + Tools and Supplies

Neil started very early in the morning dragging all the blackberry refuse from the bamboo area all back to where we have the cut up branches from starting our perennial patch. Potted up lots of the ultra early Stupice Tomatoes into 6" pots. Then he mixed all the compost and older potting soil we'd rounded up into perennial each bed. More bamboo was transplanted and the huge, amazing old grape vines were tied up on stakes to bring them out from the bamboo and the blackberries. The grape vine has also been discovered to be sunning itself on our bedroom roof. It did use the bamboo to climb to the roof and the blackberry is out, so it should have much better sunlight from the west this year. We have been told it produces delicious red seedless table grapes by the bushel full.

I went on a mission with a precise route I plotted with mapquest to Biggie greenhouse to water, Steve at Dos Sequoias to pick up our lime and feathermeal, the doctor, the social security office (replacement card), Home Depot for a gutter, misc and manure fork, Target for first aid things and baking items, 7 Dees Nursery for rooting hormone and innoculant and Trader Joe's - where I strategically priced out prices per pound on our staple items and bought a lot in serious quantities. I am getting good at quality, price per pound, shopping. We can't get to People's co-op very often and don't have our own stock pile of tomato sauce and other canned goods yet.. so we end up at Fred Meyer's, New Seasons... but we are working on a healthy economical pantry filled with more of our own things over time. Apparently not that many women shop in carhartt overalls and the cashiers seemed pretty entertained. One of them said she hadn't seen anyone in them since she came down from Kodiak and mentioned they seemed bulletproof.

They are sooo comfortable and handy.


In Target I had heard a woman on her cell phone talking about how Hawaii just hadn't seemed to be the right place and for now she was trying Oregon, but maybe it would be Seattle and that people said, that's so Scrubs and that she didn't watch tv. But I figured out she is a nurse and the Scrubs show based on nurses in Seattle.

Alaska, Hawaii. Another clerk had moved here from Arizona. It was just interesting to be out and absorbing people a bit, over hearing the context clues. Remembering, oh yeah, people go to and from these places because we are on the west coast. People in NY clearly go all over, but it's a very different context than here. Here it seems a lot of people are seeking out this Oregon climate over another that is maybe more severe - hotter, drier or colder and that this one is just right like goldilocks. I don't think that is any one's reason for living in NY. Yes please! sporadic temperatures, short spring, intense hot humid pollution summer and spiky odd winters. The climate is not the reason. People with money who can, flee in the summer. And other times of the year, you instead you live indoors. You have drinks in a climate controlled environment that is not your home, with whatever decor you can dream up, whatever food you can imagine. It is available. The world, inside, in a one small surface area. And if you are really deluxe, you go from home, to car service, to your indoor locations for shopping and eating. Climate is a consideration for travel and vacations.

I digress. I got home, the sun was setting, I had lots of supplies and Neil had really worked hard. I found him in the greenhouse and we looked over all our plants and then enjoyed a bit of the sun setting over the mountains before heading up. We really do love living here.