Reasons to Love PDX

It might be that last weekend of gorgeous weather, but I’m really loving on Portland right now.  Things going on unique to place and time that I’m thrilled with, in no particular order:

Community Gardens — Pay the Parks Dept. a nominal fee and you get 400 square feet to dig up and plant as you see fit.  I’m thinking snow peas, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, onions, chives, basil, red currant tomatoes maybe even some melons.  The plan is to plant as many different kinds as possible and see what survives my tender loving care.  Stick with what you’re good at, right?

Territorial Seed Company – Kick ass font of all things seed and plant related for your garden. 

Sustainability — Part buzz word, part marketing campaign, part legitimate social relevance.  Since being less wasteful and more efficient is always a good thing.

Vegetable Christmas — Once every other week Santa Cauliflower comes to my door and leaves a box full of delicious vegetable and fruit goodies from sources as local to the metro as possible.  It changes every week.  I plan on leaving out milk and cookies for the delivery sleigh next time.

I’m hoping this will spark an answering homage to the Twin Cities from my co-author.

I could go on and on.  And on.  But that will serve for now.  I’m feeling the nesting/growing instinct coming on with a vengeance this year and I’m apparently powerless to resist.  Still renting with no end in sight, so I’m trying to channel the energy in productive ways that don’t involve owning a house.  I may even sweep.

Affection for my home city and the fine spring weather is also making me itch to get some important things done:

• Locate and buy a refurbished vacuum.  Vacuuming two floors without a carpet brush in a house with a German Shepherd is just stupid.
• Transform lumber pile and 24′ of greenhouse film into a mini starter greenhouse for the backyard.  Soon.  Make that ASAP.
• Purge my trashy romance/fantasy book horde.  To make room for new ones, of course.
• Begin 500 book sustainability/business theory reading list.
• Go for a ride on the beach with my dad in his new old Jeep.
• Cut JUNK collection by at least 50%.
• Start compiling my favorite recipes for all my summer produce.
• Load my little Shuffle for optimal gardening entertainment.
• Finish my sister’s lovely and very soft cabled cap.
• Re-hang the hammock and take a nap in the sunshine at my earliest possible convenience.

So far, so good.  I may even accomplish most of the above by the end of the summer.

 

~ by Hillory on April 17, 2008.