Greg's Wanderings

Tag: #gardening

  • Orcas Island – Day 2

    Orcas Island – Day 2

    March 31 – Tuesday morning, we awoke to another beautiful blue sky. It was cloudy overnight, so the temperature was a little warmer than the previous morning.

    After a hearty breakfast, we headed out into the garden for another morning of earning our keep as Ellen’s house guests.

    I ran the rototiller while Pam helped lay out more of the garden. This is the fourth year that Pam has helped with the organization of the garden and her efforts over the years have turned it into a beautiful work of art that also produces lots of food.

    Pam adds wood ash before planting the shallots.
    After tilling, the potato boxes are put in place and eyes are planted. The adjacent wire fencing will having beans planted once the soil warms a bit more.

    We spent the morning in the garden and then ventured up to the marina where we met up with Pam‘s friend Linda; and Ross, who is Pam‘s partner in the ownership of the Island Gypsy.  

    We left Deer Harbor and headed out to Spieden Island, which is an uninhabited nature preserve. Back in the 1970s there was a failed attempt to introduce it as a wild game hunting preserve and to this day several non-native species roam the island.

    Our next stop was a sheltered channel on Stuart Island, where we docked and had a lovely picnic lunch. We’re just a couple miles from the Canadian border and our cell phones keep welcoming us to Canada as our signal catches  closest cell tower across the border on Pender Island.  

    Island Gypsy
    Pam and Greg on a cruise on the Island Gypsy.
    Moufon sheep at rest on Speiden Island
    Stellar sea loins basking in the sun.
    Juvenile bald eagle on Speiden Island.
    Having a picnic lunch on Stuart Island with Pam’s friends Linda & Ross.

    Once we got back ashore, we rushed over to Pam’s former nextdoor neighbors for a dinner party. Great food and conversation with two lovely couples. Our hostess, Sheila is an artist and made the sculpture below to share her feelings.

    Our dinner host created this sculpture. It was part of the No Kings Day event on Orcas.
  • A visit to the San Juans

    A visit to the San Juans

    March 29-30 – Not every adventure needs to take you overseas. And while my next epic hike is just a few weeks away, I wanted to share a delightful trip I’m on with my girlfriend, Pam, to the San Juan Islands and British Columbia. 

    Last year, Pam sold her place on Orcas Island and moved to the Oregon Coast.  She wanted to visit to the Island so I can meet her friends.

    Sunday, we got an early start and drove up from Portland to Anacortes to catch the ferry.  We stopped at a farmer’s co-op in Mount Vernon and picked up a whole bunch of vegetable starts for her friend, Ellen, who is hosting us during our visit.

    We caught the afternoon ferry to Orcas and arrived at Ellen’s beautiful place near Deer Harbor.  Her family has owned a huge expanse of land on this end of the island for nearly 50 years.  Her father built several houses, a large shop, barn, greenhouse and saw mill.  I should have listed the sawmill first, as all the buildings,, along with the fencing and other structures were built with wood milled on site. The property has numerous lakes and beautiful pastures for the horses they stable.

    Pam and I are staying in a guest log cabin on a little bluff overlooking the gardens, barn and one of the lakes.  We are going to earn our keep by helping Ellen get her garden going for the spring.  But first, we had to enjoy our first sunset. 

    View from the deck on our cabin.

    We got up Monday to a chilly, but bright and blue morning and enjoyed a hearty breakfast, thanks to the provisions Ellen left for us in the cabin.  Then it was off to work.  First order of business was to weed the 16 raised bed gardens and refill them with compost.  Having a horse stable, sawdust, last years garden clippings and a peat bog on premise means there are all the needed ingredients on site to make the most delicious soil blend for veggies to thrive.  A dozen or so wheelbarrow loads and all the beds were topped off and ready for planting.  Hungry voles have been a big problem in prior years, so every bed was first planted with various members of the allium family (garlic, shallots, onions, etc.).  Then, in went the colder weather starts:  broccoli, kale, lettuce, peas and celery.

    We took a break in the afternoon for a “forest goat hike,” which is exactly what it sounds like.  Ellen’s next door neighbor, Mike, lead us on a hike through Ellen’s property along with his two border collies, Zoe and Cooper and seven of his ten goats.  Ellen and her Bernese Mountain Dog, Oskar also came along.

    We finished off the evening with dinner at a local Irish Pub and then sat around the wood burning stove in our cozy cabin.

    View of the garden from our cabin. This shot taken before the start of our efforts to prep for planting.
    “Before” photo of the garden area
    Raised beds weeded, refilled and ready for planting.
    Real 2×12 timber frames. Thanks to the on-site lumber mill.
    Efforts wrapped up for the day.
    Goats on a forest hike
    Zoe the border collie and Cream Cheese the goat.
    A view of the cabin as sun sets.