Tree-hugger, Pedal-pusher, Optimist!

Garden Update

2009-06-12T20:29:00.000-07:00

Our garden is really starting to take off! I had my first salad from the garden last week, strawberries are really coming on, and we'll have chard and peas in a couple of weeks. The beans, cukes, and squash are all off to a good start, and all but one of my new hop hills are thriving. For some reason, one of my vines is just getting hammered by aphids. I grabbed a handful of ladybugs from throughout the garden and placed them on the vine, but it may be too late. Hopefully the rhizome will be healthy enough to grow again next year.

Our potatoes are also doing phenomenally well (so far) and I cannot wait for fresh tomatoes, peppers and basil. Yum!

Midnight Visitor

2009-06-12T20:24:00.000-07:00

Last week I was cleaning up the kitchen when I heard a hollow thumping noise coming from the general vicinity of our chicken coop. I stuck my head out the back door and saw a dark form scurrying off the roof. I grabbed a flashlight and a camera and found this fellow staring back at me from the neighbor's oak tree. Thankfully, it would appear that our coop is in fact coon-proof. No chicken dinner for you, buddy!

South Whidbey State Park

2009-06-12T20:15:00.001-07:00

Two weekends ago we had a fantastic camping experience on Whidbey Island. Ordinarily, Seattle experiences the "June Gloom" all month, which (as the name suggests) is an entire month of pretty cloudy days with the occasional rain shower thrown in for good measure. It reminds of an old joke: "How can you tell when it's summer in Seattle? The rain feels warmer!" Har har. In any case, the June Gloom has been remarkably absent this year, and we benefitted greatly during our three day trip to the island.

South Whidbey is a great park--surrounded by magnificent second growth forest, with the last patch of true old growth, and easy access to a beautiful stretch of beach. I took the boys for a long hike through the big trees our first morning so Amy could sleep in, then we all spent the rest of the day at the beach, flying kites, tide pooling, reading, and doing beach stuff.

On our way back to Seattle we stopped at Fort Ebey State Park, about 15 minutes north, and the boys got to check out the WW II era gun emplacement that guarded Admiralty Inlet and the entrance to Puget Sound. It's remarkable; this fortification clearly suggest that we were very worried about a full-blown naval invasion from Japan. Now, the building is fun for young boys to explore and let their imaginations run wild.

Gojira @ El Corazon

2009-05-21T20:08:00.000-07:00

This year Amy bought me 2 tickets to see one of my favorite bands, Gojira (BEST. PRESENT. EVER.) They are a death metal band from France, but instead of lyrics fixated on gore, suffering, dismemberment, and other creepy stuff, they tend to write about environmental, spiritual, and social issues. I admit this sounds like a strange combination, but the energy, intricacy and intensity of metal actually makes the messages come through far more forcefully than if they were accompanied by a softly strummed acoustic guitar.

Their most recent album, The Way of All Flesh, is an exploration of life and death, but takes a surprisingly sophisticated perspective on mortality. The songs explore our connection to each other and to the planet where we evolved, the fear each of us feels when we contemplate the end of our existence, and what (if anything) awaits us when we die. The album came out just before my grandfather passed away, and I listened to it over and over during that time. Here is a passage from the title track that was particularly meaningful to me:

I find it hard to believe that this picture on the wall is everything
I do understand all the prayers, life is so sharp and hurts so bad
What does it mean to be dying, what if you take the guts and brain away
Is it this blood and heartbeat that you call life?

Every effort to ignore it is unavailing; we all have to die
Is it too late to dull the edges of the pain, I have to try
This is another dimension
You can scatter ashes to the winds and even buried in the ground I'm still here

Do not be afraid you are dying
and the four great elements of your body are collapsing one into the other
It feels as if you are being crushed by mountains
The light of this world has faded completely
But the light of the next world has not yet appeared

Your breath is now still, no warmth to your skin
Do not be afraid, there's no way that you can stay here
You are leaving this world
All lights are fading away now
Leave behind the loved ones and all you know
Do not be afraid and let yourself go

And another passage, this time from the song A Sight to Behold:

The way we all behave is not understandable
It is so sad to see the wealth of our planet fade away
We all behave like children, taking off the head of our teddy bear
to see what's inside, taking, not giving back
We drain the oceans and suck all the blood out of the soil
We spend the time we have left fighting and killing each other
Lust for comfort, entertainment becomes an obsession
And there is so much time to kill

The show was at El Corazon, a small venue across the street from the downtown REI. We were at the very front of the stage for the whole set, and it was an incredible performance. Excellent musicianship, fantastic stage presence (they actually smiled throughout the set!), and they thanked the Sea Shepherd Society for coming to the show to distribute information and spread the word about conserving marine life.

Best of all, Amy actually came to the show with me and I think she had a good time too!

Kids, Gardens, Chickens, and Co-ops

2009-05-12T22:58:00.000-07:00

Life has been extraordinarily busy in our household these past several weeks. The boys are doing well and growing like, ah, hop vines! (see below) Lochlan is three today and we had an exhilarating (but exhausting!) superhero training camp birthday party for him Saturday. Amy sewed a bunch of capes, and I drew templates for various superhero symbols--hammer, lightning bolt, cat, fire, etc so the kids could augment their own costumes. Some of the training activities included "speed" where I ran around the outside of the house until a swarm of caped anklebiters pulled me to the ground, flying on the swingset, fighting (punching bag), and agility (pinata).

Liam is finishing up at North Seattle 5s and will be attending KapKa next year--he attended his first 'orientation' day at the school on Friday and was so excited to meet the other kids and get his first KapKa t-shirt. Lochlan will continue attending Liam's 'alma mater' next year, Fremont Community School. We're a little nervous about paying tuition at two private schools, but we're getting some financial help from KapKa and we'll just find a way to make it all work.

We have spent just about every weekend this Spring working on expanding our garden--we rebuilt and/or expanded all of our raised beds and built three new beds, and installed a new flagstone path that runs about 180 linear feet from the entrance to our basement apartment to the front walk. That was a challenging project, but we are pleased with the end result. I also planted five new hop hills (three more Cascade, one each of Centennial and Chinook) and installed three new 16' poles with guy wires and twine to support the vines. The two hills I put in last year are growing exceptionally vigorously; in fact, one of them has already reached the top of the railing on our second story deck, about 15-16'. We should have enough cones for brewing a few batches this summer and fall, and next year I'm hoping for a bumper crop!

Elsewhere in the garden and yard, we've planted or sown broccoli, spinach, potatoes, kale, rainbow chard, lettuce, chives, carrots, peas, beans, thyme, cilantro, strawberries and 3 kinds of squash. We have enormous tomato and pepper starts, as well as a bunch of cukes and basil. Most of the tomatoes went in yesterday but it's been a cold cold May so I'm saving a handful as backups. We've also planted ten salmon berry bushes, a black currant, four raspberry canes, two kiwi vines, and one each of peach, apple and cherry trees. We bought some mason bees to help with pollination and it's been very gratifying to see those little critters working the cherry blossoms.

Our hens survived the amazingly cold winter in fine shape and didn't stop laying. I suspect this is due to the heat lamp we installed in their nest box; hens generally stop laying when daylight hours dip below ~12 hours. They are really enjoying the (relatively) warmer weather and we are getting 2-3 eggs every day.

The other big project we've been working on is the Seattle Urban Farms Cooperative. Actually, the vast majority has been Amy, my main contributiona thus far have been to design the logo and set up a skeletal website. It's been a huge effort, essentially starting a new business, and the response has been overwhelming. Since the first meeting on February 11, the co-op has grown to over 150 members and we'll receive our second shipment of bulk feed on Wednesday. We distributed the first one from our house, but that was pretty overwhelming so we've found another location that should work much better logistically. Ultimately we'll have a permanent site, or 'storefront.' Amy and I are both really energized by this project, because we feel it is so important to increase the amount of food grown within our city. To paraphrase James Howard Kunstler, there are numerous "converging catastrophes" swirling around us right now and it's easy to feel powerless. We feel that by making it much easier for Seattleites to obtain inexpensive feed, seeds, supplies, and know-how, we can help our neighbors and fellow citizens take some measure of control. They can increase their food security, cut down on greenhouse gas emissions, save money, get some exercise, and have a great time doing it.

Now that our 'crops' are in and the boys are winding down with school, I'm hoping to start posting here more regularly.

Arizona

2009-04-07T22:14:00.000-07:00

Light blogging lately, mostly due to our trip to Arizona and the bazillion trips to the doctor to deal with Liam's tonsils (he had them out on Thursday, along with his adenoids--he is recovering well). We had a great time, and the trip came right at the moment of winter when we feel we cannot take another day of 40 degree rain. It was sunny and warm, almost hot by Seattle standards, and we all had a great time. We spent lots of time in the pool, jumped on the trampoline, hiked in the desert, went fishing, found geodes, looked at dinosaur skeletons, even took a trip to a gold mine! We stayed a bit longer than usual, which gave us more time to catch up with everyone. It was a great visit, and we're already looking forward to our next visit in October: when Andy and Rhea get married! WOO HOO!!

Stevensons in Stevenson

2009-03-07T19:49:00.000-08:00

Last week the family and I went to the Wildlife Society/Society for Northwestern Vertebrate Biology conference at the Skamania Lodge in STEVENSON Washington. It was so cool to see our family name all over the place--in fact, the conference room where I presented is called 'Stevenson A'. To top it all off, I recently spoke with my folks and it turns out they stayed in the exact same hotel room at the lodge when they came through the NW several years ago. Amazing!

I had trouble learning very much about the eponymous founder of Stevenson, WA except that the townsite was purchased by a native Missourian named George Stevenson in 1893. Probably not related to us, but interesting nonetheless.

We all had a great time--Amy and I learned a lot about recent scientific developments in the field of wildlife conservation and management, the boys went swimming and hiking (and even saw a pileated woodpecker!), and we sampled the fine beverages on offer at the Walking Man brewpub. Fortunately, my presentation also went well. (For those of you who are really curious, it was about a GIS-based vegetation change analysis I did for the Nature Conservancy and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, looking at the habitat of the streaked horned lark on islands in the Columbia River. The analysis is being used to guide the US Army Corps of Engineers' timing and location of dredge spoil deposition resulting from their efforts to keep the channel navigable. Larks really like sandy nesting sites, but it turns out they don't like it so much when the sand is dumped directly on them and their nests).

On the way back we stopped in Portland to visit our friends Jen and Karl and their new baby girl Clare. She is such a cutie! Lochlan really wanted to hold her, and as I took the picture, I couldn't help thinking that he is almost exactly the same age as Liam when he (Lochlan) was born. I love our boys but the thought of having a newborn again is pretty daunting!

Bummer

2009-01-29T21:36:00.000-08:00

I met with a client on Monday night, and when our meeting was over I walked to the bike rack where my bike was locked, put my key in the lock--and it broke off. INSIDE THE LOCK. Well, this is pretty awesome, I thought to myself. I tried to get the broken bit off, but it was lower than the surface of the lock so I couldn't get any purchase on it. Fortunately I was not that far from my house, so I walked home.

The next day I called Kryptonite (the manufacturer of the lock) and they said they'd cover the locksmith's bill to get the lock off my bike. So I called a local locksmith and he met me at the bike. After trying all manner of lockpicks, pliers, etc., he said "it's time to get medieval" and he cut the sucker off. After profusely thanking the man (and paying $65) I rode straight to Recycled Cycles to get a new lock. The guy I talked to at the shop told me they don't even make the same model, and I was lucky to get 4 years of use out of it--apparently these locks are typically good for two years max, in our climate!

Two Boys in a Box

2009-01-22T21:09:00.000-08:00

They do cute stuff like this all the time. The box--any box--is one of their all-time favorite toys.

Inaugural Ale

2009-01-22T20:59:00.000-08:00

In honor of our new President (ok, actually the timing was strictly coincidental) I brewed up a batch of Extra Pale Ale. Six pounds of golden malt extract, one pound of Crystal malt, 3 oz Cascade hops, Northwest style yeast and the finest Seattle tap water = home brew. One month til happy hour.

Super Powerful Inversion = Awesome Snowboarding

2009-01-22T20:43:00.000-08:00

Seattle has been in the grip of an amazing inversion for nearly two weeks now. This results in Seattle being mired in a murky soup of fog, with temps in the 30s. Last Friday I caught a ride with our neighbor Nancy and helped out a group of kids from Salmon Bay (a local public school) as they learned to snowboard. When my duties were complete, I got to take a few runs. It was great! Almost completely clear and mid-40s at Snoqualmie Pass. This was my first day snowboarding in 2+ years and I had a ton of fun, but I am definitely not 21 anymore.

First Ever Polar Bear Swim

2009-01-11T22:24:00.000-08:00

This was the 3rd Annual New Year's Day Polar Bear Swim at Jen's house, but our first time participating. Jen is fortunate to have both an in-ground swimming pool (very rare in Seattle) AND a sauna in the basement. We sat in the sauna until it was 160 degrees, then jumped in the 30something degree water. Best of all, my 5 year old jumped in too! I've never felt a sensation quite like this before. It wasn't entirely pleasant, but at the same time, it felt really great to get out of the water and back into the sauna.

Lochlan Explains What's Outside

2008-12-22T09:21:00.000-08:00

For a 2.5 year old, the kid has a pretty good sense of humor.

The Pencil Missile Attacks

2008-12-22T09:19:00.000-08:00

Description from Liam: "The pencil missile from the bad base attacks the good ferry boat from the good base."

It is so Snowy in Seattle...

2008-12-21T21:31:00.000-08:00

...that we went snowboarding down our street. Really. Here's a clip:

A couple of hours after this I wanted to do a few more "runs", so I headed up one block and rode down NW 48th from Market (the very top of the hill), across 3rd Ave NW, then all the way down to 6th Ave NW. I don't think I would have shot straight across 3rd Ave were it not for some benevolent neighbors who were sledding at the time and spotted me as I zipped across what is ordinarily a very busy arterial street.

I love snow!!

Wintry Weather, Santa, and Ye Olde Yule Tree

2008-12-18T08:41:00.000-08:00

We have had exceptionally cold and snowy weather all week in Seattle. The boys have really enjoyed the snow, but school has been canceled every day this week (including yesterday when not a single flake of snow fell in the city) and everyone is going a bit crazy from being penned up in the house. This past weekend we played in the snow with the boys and helped our friend Jen (aka Antigen) decorate her first ever Xmas tree. That was great fun--lots of laughing, yummy treats, and a vigorous snowball fight in the backyard.

The previous weekend we took our annual pilgrimage on the Santa train to visit the jolly old elf. The Northwest Railway Museum puts this event on every year and they do a great job--they decorate the vintage passenger cars, lead carols on the train on the way to the depot, and upon arrival they serve hot chocolate and cookies on a WW I era kitchen car. The kitchen is amazing--it's got the most overbuilt stove I've ever seen, it is solid iron and coal-fired. I'd never seen actual coal being burned in a stove before, and it's pretty surreal. It literally looks like burning rocks! After the refreshments the boys had their turn with Santa. I think Lochlan was either a bit overwhelmed or freaked out because that is not a normal expression for him.

The day after the Santa train we drove up to Everett to dig out Xmas tree out of some lady's yard. This is actually not as random as it sounds; Amy found an ad on Craigslist.org for "you-dig" live Xmas trees. You see, another of our holiday traditions is to get a live tree, decorate it and use it for the duration of the season (doing our best to keep it alive) and then planting it in one of several ecological restoration sites around the city. However, live trees are expensive and this was a considerably better deal.

Just a few days left until the big day! The level of excitement in our house is approaching fever pitch.

Grandpa's Memorial

2008-11-26T11:57:00.000-08:00

Grandpa's memorial was this past Saturday. It was held at St James, the church he (and Grandma) attended for decades. The ceremony was organized primarily by my Uncle Tom, and I feel very fortunate and honored that I was asked to do a reading from the Book of Wisdom, particularly since I am not religious. Aunt Joanne also did a reading, and the eulogy Uncle Tom wrote and delivered was extremely well done--I don't think there was a dry eye in the entire church by the time he was done.

Grandpa's condo is literally right around the corner from the Church, so we walked back to the clubhouse in his complex for the reception. My cousin Jesse put together a very cool slideshow featuring Grandpa, all of his kids, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. My uncle Denny put together a DVD of footage from the 40s and 50s (in color!) which was really mind-blowing, it felt like time traveling to see Grandpa and Grandma, my own mother, and all of my aunts and uncles as infants and toddlers.

The biggest surprise of the evening was the arrival of nearly all of Great Uncle Roland and Aunt Monnie's grandchildren. A little history first--my grandfather Ray Reiss and his brother Roland Reiss married two sisters, my grandmother Margaret Lenahan and her sister Monnie Lenahan. The four of them lived in the same house in Solana Beach for years, and although my family visited them many many times over the years we rarely saw any of Monnie & Roland's grandkids. So, I met four of these cousins for the first time on Saturday! We managed to get everyone in a group shot, probably the first and last time so many Reiss cousins will be together in one place. They were planning on attending both the memorial and the reception, but unfortunately San Diego's airport was completely fogged in so their flight was delayed 4 hours. I'm really glad they were able to make it to the reception, it was nice visiting with all of them.

I also enjoyed catching up with all of my 1st cousins, Aunts and Uncles. This was the first time I had seen my cousin Danny Fitzpatrick in something like 12 years, and the first time he and his sisters were all together in nine years! Many stories were exchanged and there was a lot of laughter as we remembered Grandpa.

There were also a LOT of photos taken, and in an effort to make it easier to share them, I set up a photo sharing group on Flickr. There are currently 7 members but so far it looks like I am the only one that has added photos to the pool. I invited all of the relatives for whom I have an address, so if you would like to add photos to the group but have not yet received an invitation please let me know and I'll send one to you. I can be reached at mattstevenson.geo ( at ) yahoo.

Farewell, Grandpa Reiss

2008-11-02T19:50:00.001-08:00

Last Monday my grandfather Ray Reiss died. He was 96 years old, and although his health had been failing for the past several months, he was a remarkably healthy guy. He moved to Solana Beach with my grandmother, Margaret, about 33 years ago. My grandma passed away about 16 years ago and Grandpa continued to live independently in a condo just down the street from their old house.

He and Margaret had six children--Tom, Cathy, Joann, Nancy (my mom), Margie, and John; 17 grandkids; and 7 (I think) great grandchildren.

I have so many great memories of Grandpa. He was sharp as a tack, regulalry cleaning my clock at Scrabble, and was always learning new things. For example, in his late seventies he decided to learn how to use a computer and never looked back, designing custom birthday and holiday cards for all the grandkids, using email to stay in touch with everyone, and in his 90s making videos and slide shows with voice-over commentary that he would send to the family to keep everyone updated on his activities. He was a piano player (I remember asking him once if he knew Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2, and he of course just started playing it), an artist, and an excellent conversationalist. In fact, one of the things I liked best about talking with Grandpa is that he was far more interested in ideas--philosophy, politics, religion--than he was in gossip, celebrity, or any of the fleeting trends that seem to dominate our national discourse.

Grandpa Reiss was my last surviving grandparent. I grew up in Phoenix and my family would take several trips a year to San Diego, and consequently I spent more time with my G & G Reiss than any other relatives. I feel fortunate to have known all 4 of my grandparents; but I feel particularly fortunate to have known Grandpa as an adult, and to have spent so much time with him. A few years ago I was attending the ESRI conference in San Diego and I took the train up to Solana Beach to make dinner for Grandpa and hang out for a few hours. While dinner was in the oven, we sat on his patio, watched the sunset, and split a six pack of Moosehead (his favorite beer). It was great talking with him and just hanging out. I remember thinking at the time "Wow, how many guys get to drink a beer with their grandpa and have a conversation about foreign policy?"

He was a great guy and an awesome Grandpa. I will miss him.

(This picture was taken in early September, the last time we were in San Diego, and the last time I saw him)

Summery Summary Part III--First Triathlon and Spencer Spit

2008-10-22T20:25:00.000-07:00

As I wrote about earlier my friend Chris talked me into doing the Heart of the Sound triathlon with him. I trained throughout the summer, and when the big day arrived in late August, I kinda sorta felt like I was ready. The event started with the swim, and the water was 62 degrees. I am very glad I rented a wetsuit from Speedy Reedy! The 'old folks' (40+) started their swim first, and two minutes later we 'youngsters' started our swim. The water was shockingly cold but I warmed up pretty quickly. Visibility was close to zero; I had an excellent view of the plankton and kelp and the swimmers in front of me right before I crashed into them. Every fifty meters or so I would pop my head up to look for the next buoy, adjust course accordingly, and soldier on. Eventually I stopped passing people, and was worried that maybe I missed a turn or something. It turns out that I actually did pretty well on the swim, finishing 11th over all and first in my age group (!).

However, after stripping off the wet suit, changing into my cycling/running gear and hopping on the bike, I discovered to my shock and dismay that my rear tire was completely flat. I have no idea how this happened, as I triple-checked everything before the race started. Fortunately there was an attentive race organizer there who helped me set the bike on a stand, and I sprinted to my gear, grabbed a spare tube and changed the tire. I'm not sure how long it all took; maybe 10-15 minutes? Anyway, after I changed the tire and got moving the ride was awesome--Vashon Island is really beautiful. I was riding pretty well, and passed maybe 15-20 people. My time was not great because of the flat, but I finished 61st overall on the bike and second to last in my age group. On the bright side, if I do this again next year--and all my equipment works--I am almost certain to improve my time!

The third and final stage, the run, was the most challenging for me. I don't particularly like running and I'm not very good at it, and I was really tired. But I was so psyched to finish that I just kept plodding on, and came in 39th overall, 6th in my age group.

My combined time for all three stages was 1:52:59, putting me 42 out of 81 finishers. I had a great time, and I consider my performance to be pretty decent.

In retrospect, the most challenging aspects of the whole event were the mechanics and logistics--what to bring, what to wear and when, how to arrange everything in the staging area, how to change quickly, and how to change a tube with hands still shaking from the swim. I'm glad I did it, and might even do it again next year.

Spencer Spit is a State Park on Lopez Island in San Juan County. We went camping there with our friends the Moores and the Mahoney-Schafers--the multi-family camping trip has become a bit of an annual tradition, and this was a great place for it. The islands are always beautiful, and although we experienced a fair bit of rain during our stay, there were enough dry spells that we were still able to enjoy the park, the beach, and some kayaking. We brought our double, and took each of the kids out to see the crabs, anemones, and sea stars through the amazingly clear water of the Sound. And of course we enjoyed all the usual camping stuff--roasting marshmallows over the fire, singing songs, ghost stories, etc.

On the way home while we were waiting for the ferry our boys met two awesome little girls named Kelsey and Aubrietta. They are a bit older than Liam and Lochlan, but the four of them had great fun playing together and became fast friends in the way that young children often do (you know, catching garter snakes, coaxing free sodas out of the vending machine, stuff like that). Liam actually invited the girls to his birthday party the next day! Unfortunately they were not able to make it, but their dad got in touch and it turns out their mom has an excellent blog detailing all of their adventures together. Hopefully they will all have a chance to hang out together again someday soon.

Summery Summary Part II--Liam is Five, and the Block Party

2008-10-22T20:04:00.000-07:00

It is hard for me to believe, but Liam turned five this August. For the past several months he's become increasingly interested in insects (and invertebrates in general) so he chose 'bugs' as the theme for his birthday. After a quick survey of his friends, we decided to have the party on a Monday because the majority of them were available. Fortunately I was also able to attend--one of the best parts of being self-employed is the flexibility in my schedule.

So we had lots of kids, an awesome caterpillar cake that Amy made, a bug scavenger hunt, butterfly nets, and of course the wading pool. It was great fun.

The Block Party also happened in August, as part of the National Night Out. For the second year we (OK, actually Amy) organized and hosted the event, got the permit from the City to close our street to cars, etc. My contribution this year was to suggest we have some games and friendly competitions, and the favorite by far was the Push Lawnmower Uphill Sprint. The pictures pretty much say it all. We already have a pretty tight-knit community on our street, but it's always nice to catch up with neighbors we see less frequently and meet some of the recent arrivals.

Summery Summary Part I--The Garden

2008-10-11T21:27:00.000-07:00

So it's been two months since my last post. That's hard to believe. There are many reasons for this; primary among them is the two week vacation we took at the very end of August/beginning of September and the subsequent never-quite-catching-up onslaught of delayed work. Oh, and there's this little election coming up, which has taken much of my time (I've been the appointed PCO for my precinct for the past two years, but after the primary election, I am now the officially elected PCO. It was exciting but kind of weird seeing my name on the ballot for the first time ever). The financial-world-going-to-hell phenomenon is also fairly concerning, but for the time being I'm going to ignore that suite of issues.

Anyway, I will now attempt to catch up a bit on all of the exciting things the Seattle Stevensons have gotten up to these past couple of months.

This summer we planted our most ambitious garden yet: we grew spinach, lettuce, carrots, peas, beans, corn, broccoli, zucchini, peppers, chives, pumpkins, tomatoes, basil, eggplant, blueberries, cherries, apples, and hops. We didn't grow a whole lot of anything--except tomatoes and zucchini--but it was pretty gratifying to have a bit of everything. Between the garden and the 1/2 CSA from Oxbow Farms we share with the Moores, we had plenty of fresh veggies this summer.

Here are a few shots of the produce.

Barclay Lake

2008-08-11T23:32:00.000-07:00

Last Monday we hiked to Barclay Lake in the Cascades. The lake lies in the middle of a U-shaped glacial valley and Mount Baring looms above--the summit is 3,400 feet straight up from the surface of the lake. So we're sitting there, enjoying our picnic on the sunny sandy shore, when we hear this bizarre flapping noise. We look up and there's a guy parachuting down from the top of the mountain! He landed in the lake adjacent to the shore not too far from us, pulled his chute in, then craned his neck up to the summit. Couple minutes later, another guy jumps off the summit, chucks his chute open, and lands in the exact same spot. It was amazing. We chatted them up a bit and one of the guys said he has done the jump a couple dozen times, and that Mt Baring is probably the premier base jumping peak in N America. Who knew? Afterwards we prowled the wetlands along the lake and caught and released three red-legged frogs, that was good, muddy, slippery fun.

Tomatoes!

2008-08-11T23:30:00.000-07:00

This is the best time of year for fresh tomatoes and our cherry tomatoes and a few of the full-size varieties we planted are just now starting to ripen. Mmmm!

Tall Ships

2008-07-25T21:28:00.000-07:00

We went down to Tacoma to see the Tall Ships on Independence Day. It was awesome. I find it hard to describe how exciting it was being on these ships--some of them exact replicas of real ships like the Nina and the Lynx--and imagining what it must have been like for the people who sailed, fought, and immigrated on them. The ships were so beautiful as they headed up the Foss waterway for their cruises, and it redoubled my determination to learn how to sail. Just need to wait for the boys to get a bit older.

Chickens!

2008-07-08T22:56:00.000-07:00

In May we bought three day-old chicks--two Buff Orpingtons and one Barred Plymouth Rock (named Sunshine, Nectar, and Starla by the boys). They lived inside our house for about a month and a half. During the Kaplans visit in June, Dan helped us build a coop for the 'girls'. This structure is super-duper strong and will undoubtedly outlive many generations of hens. We're looking forward to getting eggs from our chickens within a few months. The boys really like having the birds in our yard, and I think it will be beneficial for them to see where their eggs are coming from.