Home Grown

My wife Jacinda is a magical doer. I don't post about her often because she is shy, and likes her privacy. However, she is most boast worthy.

I found a photo I uploaded to facebook in 2010. Our entire yard was grass and two rotting 100 year old trees. Now just two years later it's been transformed by one very diligent lady. It's completely landscaped and includes clover, gardens, flower beds, fruit trees, rock walls, chicken pens, broken cement walkways, and a very cozy fire pit/social area out back. We're even hosting a wedding for some dear friends at our place in a couple months!

Our Garden:
We are up to 11 raised beds now. The triangle one is my favorite! Jacinda figured out an extremely inexpensive method using cedar fence boards, and has been teaching our friends to build them too. (I plan to work with her and illustrate a 'how-to' for sharing at some point.)

I asked Jacinda to write a list of the things we are growing (so far) this year in our yard. We live in the city - but it's a mini urban homestead for sure...complete with pet chickens and all.

The Perennials...
Fuji apple tree, gala apple tree, fruit cocktail tree (graft of plum, plumcot, nectarine), vanessa grapes, frontenac gris grapes, raspberries, rhubarb, horseradish, marionberries, asparagus, willamette hops, mount hood hops, aronia berry, goji berry, strawberry, jerusalem artichoke, lavender, and mint.

The Regular Garden (and she's not finished)...
German butterball potatoes, sweet potatoes, french filet beans, broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprout, artichoke, kale, peas, red onion, yellow onion, walla walla onion, hard neck garlic, lettuce, spinach, sunflowers, early girl tomato, roma tomato, zucchini, acorn squash, yellow squash, tobacco, carrots, beets, sweet corn, and a cornucopia of herbs for cooking and drying.

I can't even tell you how delightful this year will be - sneaking out to harvest fresh ingredients for homegrown meals.

She amazes me.
...And now has properly been boasted about!
♥

Art House Submissions

As a lot of you probably already know - The Art House Co-Op has been doing some really fun free global art projects recently. If you didn't know - you should go check them out. Just this past week I've done two of them...

The Adventure Project: Can you capture an adventure in 30 seconds?

Last Saturday we had a small breakfast party - which was definitely an adventure (our stove even blew up)...but I also shot a little stop motion that afternoon, featuring not only my delightful friends - but also my docile little chicken, Butternut. Art House will be making a channel on YouTube with everyone's adventures.


For the second project:

The 4x6 exchange: A worldwide community art swap

I made a little drawing with pen, sparkly ink, and watercolor pencils. I'm dropping it in the mail today and can't wait to see what I get back!!! 

Have a lovely weekend!!! ♥

Chicken update

The ladies are at a month and a half now....

Lady Rene is getting quite the chub face - so cute! She is a grasshopper fiend. The neighborhood children sneak over and catch them to feed to her through the fence. Mimolette is such a little fatty, and only getting fluffier. She is a digger after discovering worms in a hole I made while transplanting clover into their pen.

The coop is dubbed the "Co-op Mansion". It is fully insulated with tin roof and a wall that opens behind the nesting box. It has a porthole window for light in the winter and a cleaning door (facing front).

Parades of children now come by to see them...it's as if we created a zoo in our neighborhood! We will be sitting in our kitchen with the windows open hearing little voices calling "Oh Lady Rene!"

♥

Meet the Hens

Introducing Mimolette and Lady Rene (completely adorable pieces of work). This photo was taken a couple of days ago and it's unbelievable how much they have grown since. I have a feeling you shall be seeing more of them, and our giant backyard chicken pen we're building. I can't wait to show you the free vintage door I found for it too. Viva la Craigslist.

♥