Hip Chick Digs

Before leaving our house in Portland, I took a few snapshots of projects that have been allowed to grow. Remember when I found that ugly old brass dog kennel fencing? I took it apart and hung it on the outside of our house, hoping to the train the rose there to climb up the fencing. That post was written last Fall.

After a few months of the growing season, the fencing has been completely covered. After taking this picture, I did spend some time taming the crazy rose into a neater climbing pattern while wearing some heavy duty gloves. But this goes to show that ugly free stuff can still be cool free stuff if you have some time and creativity.

Also, here is an update on the container herb garden I planted this Spring. I used a black plastic container that was leftover from a tree purchase and I took divisions from existing herbs and transplanted them. Other than occassional watering, the plants have been somewhat ignored. Despite the neglect, I have this fabulously healthy portable herb garden right outside my kitchen door.

Foresight and time are the best conditions for gardeners to work within. These are a couple examples of that in action!

A couple weeks ago, I wrote a brief blog post about having dinner with Ruth Reichl, the editor-in-chief for Gourmet magazine. I then went on to get distracted with moving, wrapping up my job, etc. and never wrote my intended post. Here it is my friends!

As I mentioned earlier, this opportunity came up through my old job and I have to say it was highlight of my job perks. Ruth was in town promoting her new book, Not Becoming My Mother, and a small group of us went to dinner afterward at Beast in Portland.

In the world of food, Ruth Reichl falls into celebrity status. If you don’t know her, here is her link on Wikipedia where you can learn more. Her background was as a food writer for the LA Times and later the New York Times, where she was famously a food critic. She would dress in disguise when she went out to review a restaurant to ensure she received the same service, food quality and overall experience that other diners would receive. She then went on to become the editor-in-chief for Gourmet magazine. She is an active participant on food issues and is perhaps the most brilliant person I have ever broken bread with.

To me, Ruth is my generation’s Julia Childs. I recall a story she shared once about Julia Childs. Ruth was reviewing a restaurant in NY, in disguise, when Julia Childs walked in with a group of friends. She somehow recognized Ruth and with her loud, deep voice hollered across the room towards Ruth to say hello. Needless to say, that kind of blew Ruth’s attempt at an anonymous review.

I sat next to Ruth at the table, which made me feel like I won the lottery. We talked about women’s issues and the feminist movement. From what I gather, the food industry is still a very male-dominated one - especially on the restaurant side. It made me realize how much I take for granted that I have equal opportunity in my career and work, and I assume everyone believes the same. In some circles, it is sadly still not so.

We also talked about the American food movement in general, with people like Michael Pollan and Alice Waters making revolutionary changes to the way we eat and how we see food. As someone who gardens in the city, and wants to teach others the importance of providing food in the city, these are the people who have laid the foundation for my future work. We talked about canning marinara sauce, my flock of chickens, drank wine and talked about food and culinary travels. It was a really magical evening.

I would love to try Beast again on another night, when Ruth is not at the table. The staff seemed incredibly nervous, but the food was fabulous. It wasn’t the food that made the evening though. It was the experience of a lifetime to dine with Ruth. In case I haven’t said it yet, she really is the most brilliant person I have ever met in my life. And she has this very smart twinkle in her eye when you say something interesting that seemed to just shoot a bolt of energy right through me. She is an amazing woman.

Me, Ruth Reichl, and my friend Stephanie

Our move to Eugene was a bit more frantic than moves from the past. It was challenging to juggle moving boxes and unpacking with the strong desire to plant seeds in this new patch of dirt. The most pressing piece of business, above all of these other pressing tasks, was building a temporary chicken coop for the girls.

The chicken coop in Portland has been great - it’s nice and roomy and does the job. A carpenter would certainly do a finer job, but the chickens were happy and so was I. Unfortunately, that coop is not really movable. That meant that the girls needed a home here in Eugene, but with school starting this week there wasn’t much time to build something well-thought out.

This August/September I plan to build a nicer, permanent coop that can also be portable. I will most likely move to a new spot in a year when Jay returns from NYC, and it would be great to come up with a design that can move easily with me.

It took a day in Portland to build this 2′ x 3′ hen house, which we moved to Eugene. Once here, we spent a few hours shopping at the local lumber yard to build the frame and run. It took a full day to build the completed project. The hen house is raised because it keeps the overall structure efficient - you don’t lose the space from the hen house because the chickens can roam around underneath. The run is approximately 4′ x 5′ in size and fits neatly right outside our back door.

The chickens made the journey south in a very large box, which kept them in the dark. They can’t see in the dark, so this kept them relatively calm during transport. Although we did get eggs the first day they were in their new digs, we haven’t received eggs yet. It’s typical for chickens to take a few days off when they undergo stress, and moving to new surroundings puts them through some stress.

They seem happy as can be digging up a new patch of grass and attacking new, unsuspecting bugs. I have heard rumors of a raccoon living nearby, so I am keeping a close eye on things at night. It’s funny how I have boxes and boxes piled in the house, but knowing the chickens are happy outside makes me feel like I am home.

We said goodbye to our old house this weekend, as we packed up all of our belongings and moved two hours south to Eugene. My graduate program in landscape architecture starts next Monday and there looks like so much to do between now and then!

I have a bed and most of my room unpacked. The kitchen is getting there, but I have about thirty boxes to unpack for that room. I guess that shows I love to cook? Hopefully by the end of this weekend we feel at home and ready for some fun bike rides through Eugene.

Today I will make a trip back up to Portland just to load my plants and a few stray boxes. The tomatoes will go in the ground, the portable herb garden will find a resting spot outside the kitchen door, and some new seedlings will go in the ground. It’s funny to think I will be planting vegetables before I even know where my clean socks are!

Most posting soon, but know that I am alive and well. I made it! I am really doing this! Holy crap!

My mother is a self proclaimed “black thumb” and has a never-ending battle with weeds in her yard. One large section in particular used to house two dwarf cherry trees, which she eventually gave to Jay and I for use in our landscape. The spot has sat bare for a couple years now and the battle with weeds raged on.

I finally convinced her that if she planted something in the space, it may help with the weed problem. Open spaces equals an open invitation for weeds to go crazy. She agreed to pay for the plants if I designed the space. She generally shys away from fruiting plants, loves grasses, enjoys watching hummingbirds visit her bird feeders, and would benefit from drought-tolerant plants. Although we are in the middle of moving to Eugene, I couldn’t turn down such a fun project.

I began by scouting out ideal plants at my local nursery. She didn’t want to spend more than $200, so I needed to ensure the plants were thrifty and practical. Here is what I selected and why:

• Ceramic birdbath - on back order from the nursery, this cobalt blue bird bath will create a focal point area and bring in more birds to her backyard, which she really enjoys watching from her back windows
• Lavender - I choose a variegated variety planted around the birdbath. They will provide long-lasting blossoms throughout the summer, bees love lavender, they are evergreen, and they are also drought-tolerant
• Daylily (Hemerocallis)- yellow and pink flowers bloom from May-August in our zone and are a favorite with hummingbirds. They are very low-maintenance plants, which can be divided in the fall and replanted for more spring lilies
• Festuca Glauca “Elijah’s Blue” - this is an evergreen, blueish-grey grass that is drought-tolerant. It is also fairly low growing, so it won’t block her view of the retaining wall
• Moor grass - I choose a variegated dark green and white variety for added interest. This evergreen grass requires very little maintenance.
• Blueberry “Sunshine Blue” - this is an evergreen blueberry bush! It only grows about 3′ tall and will provide my mom a few berries to add to cereal, and berries to share with local birds
• Euphorbia “First Blush” - this variety has lovely pink edging to the leaves, is an evergreen and is also drought-tolerant. The addition of this plant adds a nice texture to the landscape.
• Crocosmia - these bulbs require little to no maintenance, but lovely red flowers emerge every summer, which are favored by hummingbirds

There were a few other plants that didn’t make the final cut, but in the end my mom has a landscape she doesn’t need to maintain. After the first year, her plants should become drought-tolerant and not require additional watering. Next Spring I would like to add in some flowering ground covers and perhaps some additional perrennial flowers. This was a great start though and we only ended up spending $150 on the plants, plus the birdbath which was my gift to her (currently the glass jug is a placeholder until the birdbath arrives).

I will try to take pictures this Fall when things have grown in more, but I am really pleased with the turnout. Everyone can enjoy beautiful landscapes - you just need to find the one that fits your needs. In this case, it’s low-maintenance, she gets flowers and birds, and maybe even some blueberries next summer.