On the offensive

So it was time to really get down to business out at the garden. Linda had put in some seeds about a week ago and with the sunny, balmy weather we've been having, they are about ready to sprout any minute. Which means, of-course, that our friends the deer will be coming back soon to see what's on the menu this summer. It was time to install our fence.

Linda found some deer netting from one of the seed catalogs that was seven feet wide so we ordered a couple of packages and spent Sunday afternoon tacking it up to the ten foot fence posts. It's not real strong, but at least it might make those deer take a look at it and go, "dang". And maybe, just maybe they will think that jumping over it will be too much work and they will move on to another garden down the road. Can you tell I'm the optimist in the group?

Now, because it looks slightly trashy, I should explain the orange tape. First of all, it reminds us that there is a fence. The netting is so tiny, it pretty much disappears against the trees. Secondly, it's all about creating the illusion of height. The netting is only seven feet high so the netting around the top is about two feet higher.

So, deer of Clackamas county, are you listening? Bring it!

Model Release

A couple of shots from my latest modeling endeavor: trail running along the Angel's Rest trail last weekend.

Beacon Rockers

My friend Dacia and I have a similar problem. Well, I guess "problem" is not the right word. We both share an "interesting situation" with our significant others. She is engaged to a triathlete. I'm married to a tennis fanatic.

The "interesting situation" plays out like this: the triathlete spends long hours on the bike, in the pool and on the running course. The tennis fanatic spends long hours on the court. Dacia doesn't train for long hours. I don't spend long hours on the tennis court. So if you do the math. . . Dacia and I have lots of free time on our days off.

We took advantage of one such situation yesterday and spent a freakin' gorgeous morning hiking up Beacon Rock in the Columbia River gorge. Beacon Rock is the remnant core of an ancient volcano after ice age floods carved away the sides. The trail is only about a mile to the top at 848 feet, but the engineering needed to get one up there should definitely be appreciated.

And the top and the trail up offer beautiful views of early springtime weather in the gorge. Happy Spring everyone!

Equinox

I had a friend in college who used to call the first day of spring "Boobie Day" because when the weather got warm and sunny, all the girls would wear their boobie shirts. He liked to then ask them to play frisbee with him in the campus greenspace. He loved the first day of spring.

In Oregon, we don't really measure spring days by what shirts we wear but rather, by our footwear. So in honor of spring, I pronounce today, Chaco Day.

One of those days

"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade."

Charles Dickens

I have been practicing with PhotoShop more this spring so these are some of my latest attempts from shots I took on our hike up Angel's Rest on Sunday. A chomped up Trillium, a mossy tree and the goofiest self-portrait on record.

Wow, I am really talented.

Crap Snow

Forgive my offensive language, but that is exactly what our snow has been like this year: crap.

We can thank our friend El Nino for this. He has been pushing the jet stream directly into California and then pulling all that warm air and water up the coast so we get really nice weather, warm rain and no snow. (At least I think that's how it works. We watch the weather almost every night and watch the ocean storms swirl around the California coast and then never make it to us.) Which has left us with the worst snowpack in a long time and now there are very real concerns about our summer water supply.

"Well, doesn't all the rain fill up the reservoirs?" Well, yes, it would, if it would just rain. Or snow. Or do anything but be partly cloudy all day. But you know what they say, "It doesn't have to be good snow to ski on it." OK, maybe they don't say that, but the Hoybooks do.

Sophomore Year

Spring is in the air! It really is. Birds are singing, trees are budding out. Spring is here people, just a tad bit early. And, spring means that it is high time I visited the garden and did some winterization... oh dang.

The truth is that I haven't been to the garden since early October. I didn't even pull up my pepper plants or take down the "deer fence." My beds just sat there, neglected all winter. So, imagine our surprise when we showed up on Sunday to see a row of lovely green onions just as happy as can be. Do you think it is a bit strange that the veggies that grew the best in my garden were the veggies I completely ignored?

B and I met my garden mates, Linda and Michelle, at our plot for some spring cleaning. We pulled up the dead peppers, weeded a little, turned over the soil, pulled up grass in the walkways, etc. Linda and her dad finished installing the 10 foot fence posts that will soon become our new deer defense and Michelle was building some raised beds to increase her slug prevention this year. We have a lot going on!

Currently, my sophomore year status is: Planning & Orientation. I'm waiting on a little more fill dirt and then we can put in greens (spinach, arugula, butter lettuce) and, cross your fingers, I'm attempting broccoli this year. Woo hoo! Yes, I know you are excited too.

P.S. The green onions are delicious. Not too many recipes that call for a whole truckload though. We did find one solution--see the recipe to the right.