6-29-10

YOU SAY TUH-MAY-TOE

I SAY TUH-MAH-TOE

CARROTS GONE TO SEED

LARKIN MAKING COMPOST TEA

SALMONBERRY JAM

Sure our day was filled with farm activities, but we had salmonberries on the brain. After working we took a bicycle ride to the beach, which is only a few minutes from here. But we never made it.

There is a creek that runs along the rear edge of Larkin's property. Sunday, as he was giving us the grand tour, he showed us this area and we spotted bright orange berries of goodness. Unfortunately, there were only a handful, and the steep slope into the creek made them inaccessible. Crossing a different part of the creek was in the back of our minds as we rode to the beach and we hoped we might come across other salmonberry bushes. Aaron spotted a few orange orbs and we stopped short to grab them. Although there were salmonberry bushes aplenty, only a few berries were ripe enough to eat; but we were delighted to have a snack. Back on the road, we headed again to the beach. And again, twenty feet ahead of our last stop, we screeched to a halt. This time, we happened upon more berries than we could count. We got to picking and immediately realized there were many more berries than we could hold but we had no way of transporting them. Pockets were too risky, as the berries would surely squish and become juice. Quickly Aaron sped back to the house and immediately returned with containers to store our foraged bounty. SImilar to blackberry bushes, salmonberry bushes are full of thorns. Scratch us as they may, the thorns could not deter us from diving into the thick of it.

Berries in hand we abandoned the prospect of the beach, too fearful the berries would "melt" into juice in their plastic, non breathable containers. Peddling home elatedly, we managed to spot two more small patches where we filled our containers to their brims. Back at the house, jam was in order. We considered baking a pie, but we decided to make jam today and forage for more berries tomorrow and hopefully make a pie then. If we can't find any more, we'll be able to enjoy the salmonberries slightly longer in jam form.

After talking about wild crafting for months and having to wait out the winter, and trying our hand at finding edible mushrooms yet discovering only poisonous ones, it was incredibly satisfying to find edible berries today. We were positive they were safe before consuming them, and we knew it was only a matter of time before they were ripe. Sure, we are craving fruit, fruit, and more fruit. But somehow finding a new fruit in the wild was so much more invigorating than purchasing it from the farmer's market.

6-28-10

THE ANSWER IS BLOWIN IN THE WIND

BUCKY

BERTHA

MOE

BEACH BUNGALOW

At roughly 3am, we woke up with an eerie yet magnificent moonlight penetrating the lone window in our bungalow. Clouds wafted past creating gorgeous light, which was strong enough to cast distinctly larger than life shadows on the wall behind our bed.

Several hours later we woke to see the meandering clouds from hours ago had been joined by a fleet, and we set in for an overcast, drizzly beach day. After breakfast we met Shelby, the intern here. She is roughly 24 and will apprentice here for one calendar year. She's quite nice, and we look forward to working and learning with and from her during our time here at Green Angel Gardens.

This farm is on the Long Beach Peninsula in Washington, and the climate here is costal. There is a constant sea breeze, and the soil is very sandy. Everywhere we've been so far has had mostly clay soil, and we've been in mountainous locales, so this farm is markedly different. With the sandy soil, weeding is far easier, as is digging. But what the soil has in softness it lacks in nutrients, so a goal here, like everywhere, will be to add compost and fertilizers to the soil to make it nutrient rich.

Our final first full day impression is this: avoid the nasty rooster here. His talons are sharp, and we've been warned to walk past him with a stick or shovel for protection. Larkin has expressed his reluctance to slaughter him, but he knows the rooster is dangerous when school children come around on field trips. Shelby regaled us with a tale when the rooster tried to attack, and she was forced to smack him in the head with a pitch fork...on two separate occasions.

6-27-10

PURVEYORS OF PRODUCE

FEELIN KINDA SUNDAY

THE EVERGREEN STATE WELCOMES US

Yesterday's market was a figurative curve ball and we struck out. Today's market was a figurative meatball thrown right over the plate and we socked it out of the park for a grand slam. At the farmer's market we purchased incredibly delicious organic bing and rainier cherries as well as seascape strawberries. All we wanted was fruit this morning and we happily got it.

Fruit in hand, we departed Portland, drove up the coast and entered Washington State. Our newest host is Larkin, who owns Green Angel Gardens Sustainable Living Center and Organic Farm. He runs and operates a CSA and also an unattended roadside food stand that is based on the honor system. It's nice to see genuine trust in our great nation. He has three greenhouses, loads of outdoor beds, over 10 chickens, composting toilets, a solar water heater, and a wind turbine which is powering the one bedroom cabin we're staying in. But the best part is salmonberries are growing on the riverbank here! Salmonberries (Rubus spectabilis) are native to the west coast of America and resemble the raspberry, but instead of being dark red are pinkish/orangish in color. We learned about them when we stayed at Myrtle Glen but the wet cold spring has delayed their ripening. Larkin has a bunch growing on his property and we hope to get to them before the birds do.

6-26-10

PORTLAND'S SATURDAY MARKET

DRINK RESPONSIBLY

COME THIRSTY, LEAVE HAPPY

YOU NEED AN UMBRELLA IN THIS STATE

THE CITY OF ROSES

We were super stoked to check out the Saturday Market today; we'd heard good things about it and it seemed like a fun way to spend our morning. We knew there would be crafts, jewelry, and unique clothing, but what we didn't realize is that there was no farmer's market. We were so excited to eat some local, organic, fresh fruit for breakfast and we were horribly disappointed when there were no farmers in sight. Getting over our dissatisfaction, we enjoyed walking around the market perusing the goods for sale and eating a breakfast burrito.

With the US/Ghana World Cup game on at 11:30am, we left the market and headed to a bar across the street to watch. We got there at 11:20am only to realize about 300 other people had the same idea. The first bar we tried wouldn't let us in because they were filled to capacity so we found a place across the street we could squeeze into. It ended up being a blessing in disguise, as we were able to sit outside and enjoy watching the game from their back patio. The sun drenched patio was filled with people and we sat cross legged on the asphalt, eyes glued to the oversized TV screen. Sarah is a big soccer fan and we're pretty sure we were the only two people in the bar who didn't really care about the match. We can't help but wonder: with a ten year war still in progress with no end in sight, with a crippling recession, and with the biggest oil spill in the history of civilization, why is it that games are usually what brings Americans to rally together? Why are people fanatics about sports but apathetic to the most pressing issues of our time? Of course, it's much easier to ignore the problems that we cannot single-handedly solve. But there does seem like something wrong with a society that worships sports stars; we need to realize professional athletes are not usually the people we should be looking to set our moral standards by.

After the disappointment of the US loss, we headed to Overlook Park for the 2010 North American Organic Brewer's Festival. There were over 40 breweries pouring organic beers to a bunch of thirsty Portlanders, many of whom got sunburned. Although more and more people are becoming aware and concerned about consuming organic food, most don't stop and think about organic booze. We must admit, it's not the highest priority on our list, but if organic grapes are grown to make organic wine, shouldn't we consider using organic hops, barley, wheat, and malt to make organic beers? Drinking alcohol may not be the healthiest for your body, but if you do choose to drink maybe it's worth considering ingredients' source. Is organic beer good for you? Maybe not. But it's gotta be better than Miller.

6-25-10

ARE WE HUMAN, OR ARE WE DANCER?

COLUMBIA GORGE

ARMS ARE FOR HUGGING

VISTA POINT

JEN IS ONE LUCKY GIRL

UTTHITA HASTA PADANGUSTASANA

MULTNOMAH FALLS

THIRSTYYY!

FREE FALLIN'

BEER ME

POWELL'S BOOKS = THE STRAND

Porland offers so much in the city and surrounding areas and we wanted to take as much advantage of everything in our short visit here as possible. This morning we headed off for the scenic drive through the basalt-lined Columbia Gorge towards Mt. Hood. En route we passed several waterfalls, with Multnomah being the largest. At 620 feet, this waterfall is one of the tallest in the world. Standing hundreds of feet from the falls, we still felt the mist of the water spraying on us. We hiked up to the bridge and caught a different view before heading off. We wanted to explore Mt. Hood further and hike there, but feeling pressed for time we returned to the city instead.

In town, we spent a good chunk of the afternoon at Powell's Books, which also came highly recommended. This enormous book store reminded us of being at The Strand back in NYC. Both are bookstores we have now spent hours in, and could spend countless more. Sadly, we were disappointed not to find two books at Powell's we've been on the hunt for, for months: Tofu Tollbooth, and Agriculture Course. Tofu Tollbooth is a travel book written by musician Dar Williams, and chronicles vegetarian restaurants all over America. Agriculture Course is written by Rudolf Steiner and is the Biodynamic Bible. We can find them online, but somehow there is something thrilling in locating books in person. Holding one in your hands and getting the feel of the pages and being able to pick the edition that best suits you is a very personal and pleasing experience. Despite not having these books in stock, we managed to purchase seven others and we're keen to get reading.

Feeling like we haven't enjoyed live music in forever, we made it our quest to listen to some this evening. We scanned the local Mercury, similar to the Village Voice, and searched venues online to find what we thought would be best. Three folksy bands were playing at Ella's Stone in the NW, and we went hoping for the best. We stopped for food along the way at Melt, a sandwich/cupcake/bar on 21st place, where the parmesan fries were excellent. Wish we could say the same about the music back at Ella's. The atmosphere was good, the crowd down to earth, but the first band, Michael Hurley, was just ok. The second band, Armadillo Speedtrap, sounded great from their description: guitars, banjo, and a mix between bluegrass/folk/rock, but in practice they incorporated the worst elements of each. We were left wanting so much more, but we left the bar because they went on late and we were too tired to stay for the last band. Maybe they were better, but not starting until after 1am, we can't know for sure.

6-24-10

MOREL MIRACLE

EATIN' BERRIES IN THE HOOD

SARAH SANDWICHED BETWEEN PATTAPS & MEEGANS

MOUNT ST. HELENS (OR MOUNT HOOD)

CATCH THE WIND

IF A SEAGULL FLIES BY THE SEA, WHAT FLIES BY THE BAY?

HAYSTACK ROCK

WHICH CAME FIRST, CHICKEN OR EGG?

We decided it was about time to take another vacation from our vacation so we made our way out of rural America and back to city life. Sarah flew out to meet us for a few days in Portland, which Jen had been eagerly looking forward to since she booked her flight. Coincidentally, two of the Meegan brothers were on a road trip driving through Portland so all of us east coasters took a trip to the Pacific Ocean. We drove to Cannon Beach and admired Haystack Rock, the third largest monolith in the world. It was a enjoyable day and even though it was sunny, it wasn't quite bathing suit weather. But that didn't stop Pat from swimming in his wet suit, or Mike from going in the sub 50 degree waters with only a bathing suit. Brrrrrr. We strolled through the small community, which looks identical to all other beach communities, and had some lunch and ice cream. In case anyone is wondering, every good piece of beach front property in the US has been discovered and real estate prices are through the roof. Overall it was a lovely afternoon with some highly disputed and controversial lunchtime conversation.

The Meegans parted ways from us, heading down the coast into California, while Sarah and we headed back into the city. Portland, like so many large US cities, has many neighborhoods, and if you don't know which ones to visit, you'll have no fun. We did some research and discovered The Hawthorne District on SE Hawthorne Blvd was a hot spot. To us, it has a similar feel to Williamsburg; it's right over the river, there are a lot of hipsters and restaurants and BARS. It seems people in Portland only drink liquids, and rarely eat food. There are a billion breweries and coffee shops, and the restaurant scene is sort of slim pickins. People seem to just eat bar food here, and finding a restaurant proved to be a real challenge. But we found a diamond in the rough: Chez Machin. We whetted our appetites with hot olives, a mango citrus salad, a savory crepe filled with mushrooms, spinach, and cheese topped with a pesto sauce, and finally a sweet crepe filled with berries and chocolate covered in whipped cream. Each dish was better than the previous. Sarah also ate vegetarian french onion soup (typically it has a beef broth) and she thought it was marvelous. To boot, the restaurant featured local ingredients and cage free, free range and grass fed meat and dairy products.

After dinner we window shopped at all the cute boutiques on SE Hawthorne and since all the stores were closed, it was Aaron's favorite kind of shopping. We were all pretty exhausted after the full day so retired to our hotel for the night.

6-22-10 **VIDEO INCLUDED**

SISKIYOU COOPERATIVE CSA

6-21-10

STRAWBERRY RUNNER

WALDO, MATT, & JEN WEED RUNNERS

TALIA, TARA, & OCEAN RACE TO THE POND

STRIKE A POSE

LOW RIDER

COCK-A-DOODLE-DO

It was a pleasant surprise this morning when we spoke to Matt and he told us he didn't really need us to help until the afternoon. We didn't get back to the farm until nearly 1am last night, so the extra sleep this morning was much needed.

After lunch we all weeded the runners off the strawberries. The runners are the strawberry bushes natural way of spreading. From the strawberries' standpoint, the bush wants to grow as big as possible and slowly spread and take over. From a farmer's standpoint, these runners are hinderances because the plant puts more energy into producing these runners and new leaves and less energy into producing fruit. In order to maximize fruit yield the runners got the axe. The only time you'd want to keep the runners is if you are trying to grow more strawberry plants; if this is the case, you allow the runners to grow, then remove and replant them elsewhere as new, independent plants. Raspberries were next on the weeding list, followed by blueberries and grapes. The fruit was getting the royal treatment today, and all we can do is hope and pray that one day really soon we will be harvesting and savoring strawberries, followed by raspberries, blueberries, and grapes. There is a whole lot more to farming than just harvesting. But boy, we cannot WAIT for fruit to be ripe!

With three kids under the age of six running around all the time, we are not only learning farming skills here, but we're also honing our parenting skills, which we'll need in the future. It's fun to have kids around and trying to explain things in a manner they can understand can often be a challenge. Today, Joe and Rosie were trying to get Ocean to drink green juice for breakfast but she didn't want it; instead she wanted to eat simply bread and cheese. Joe tried explaining that she needed fiber in her diet in order to remain healthy, but fiber is a foreign concept to her. We're pretty sure we know why fiber is important for our health, but thinking of ways to explain these benefits to a five year old is really tough. It's really great to be around kids and their parents and see how they interact and learn for ourselves what works and what doesn't. Hopefully one day we'll be able to teach and explain lessons to our kids effectively. Just saying, "Because I said so" is not a good enough answer. Ever.

6-20-10

OREGON SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL

ASHLAND CREEK

THE ART OF DR. SUESS

GOTTA GOOOOOOO

BEER SAMPLER

LISTEN TO THE MUSIC

STANDING STONE BREWERY

WHAT'S ON TAP?

LOCAL ORGANIC MICROBREWERY

WE BOUGHT A COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES
WRITTEN BY FLANNERY O'CONNER HERE

COOL, COOL RIVER

I HEAR A SYMPHONY

One of the most wonderful things about WWOOFing is how it allows us to travel inexpensively from city to city. Rural life is awfully inexpensive, but once in a while we treat ourselves to some local culture in town, and today was such a day. We drove into Ashland, which is less than 10 miles from where we are staying, but it took over and hour because there is a great big mountain in the way. We made the big loop around it and cruised into town late in the morning. The main draw of Ashland is the Oregon Shakspeare Festival. The OSF is celebrating its 75th anniversary of theater in Ashland, and it puts on thousands of performances every summer. We purchased tickets for the comedy, The Merchant Of Venice at 8:30pm and so, had an entire beautiful sunny day to kill.

We walked the streets visiting local shops and looking at art work. We also stopped in several book stores, and left with River Jumper/The Traveling Library even more packed to its gills. We read some short stories in Lithia Park while getting our behinds soaked from the wet grass. With wet tushes we walked around and visited to Co-Op, and two local breweries for a pint of IPA, while we listened to live jazz. We found a nice dinner spot at a river cafe serving Thai food where we enjoyed some noodles. A fellow patron at a nearby table had the worst face lift and hair dye job imaginable. Note to all readers: PLEASE NEVER GET A FACE LIFT! But a day in a local town wouldn't be complete without a visit to the local chocolate shop, where we indulged on dark chocolate thin mints, dark chocolate coconut haystacks, dark chocolate covered salted pretzels, and milk chocolate covered macadamia nut chunks. The coffee went down nice and warmed us up...we would need it.

The performance at the Elizabethan Stage was al fresco, and in our balcony seats the whipping wind chilled us to the bone. We mutually agree, in an ideal situation, we would see a Shakespeare show, then read the play, then re-see the show. In theory, this way, we'd have the most complete understanding possible. In reality, we mostly understood the story line, but were a bit confused by some of the details. Neither of us were familiar with the story, and some of the take-away messages made us scratch our heads. The princes who chose the gold and silver boxes chose so based on what one desires and based on what one thinks one deserves. Falling victim to the trap of desire, or thinking you deserve anything, is risky business, for greed looks unattractive on everyone. This message was fairly easy to decipher, however, the fact the Jessica abandoned her father and religion but still ended in love and with lots of money was peculiar. What message should we take from this? And the outcome of the bond between the Jew and the Merchant was most confusing; in the end, did they truly get what they deserved? We're not sure. Regardless, we're glad we attended the performance.