Greetings from Alison Wiley here in Portland, Oregon. I'm a writer/doer/thinker who lives happily by putting people, nature and God ahead of accumulating more stuff. Read more →
Our chickens have laid their first three eggs! Light brown, diminutive in size (like many beginning efforts), and delicious. These are the very first chickens we’ve ever raised, the ones who were teensy chicks when I brought them home at the beginning of March, the ones we built the coop for with more clumsy care [...]
I’m writing from Chicago, where the BlogHer conference I’m attending will start tomorrow. My run on the lakeshore last night took me to Millenium Park, where I had another of my little ecstatic, falling-in-love experiences, between the gardens, the symphony orchestra playing in the outdoor pavilion, and most of all, the unique fountain and wading [...]
Tags: Bill McKibben·BlogHer conference·carbon footprint·Chicago·chickens·climate change·culture·Deep Economy·Detroit·fun·global warming·happiness·Millenium Park·papalars·urban farming
Xeroscapes and drought-resistant gardens can be vibrant, colorful and beautiful. They can also be less work and create lower water bills than needier, higher-maintenance lawns and gardens. Water is increasingly dear in the world in general, and using it with care is smart and forward-thinking. As an admitted biophile [lover of life-forms in general] who [...]
Tags: catmint·conservation·drought-tolerant·gailf548·green living·Oregon·outdoors·sage·urban farming·water·water conservation·xeroscape
I spent an idyllic Friday evening at home, outdoors, with Thor last night in air so warm it felt like it was cradling me. We had dinner on our back patio, which is surrounded by strawberry plants, espalier pear and apple trees, blueberry bushes, tomato plants, basil, our raised-bed salad garden, raspberry and marionberry canes, [...]
Update on May 7, 2013: Our new housemate who is gardening in exchange for rent, Dan, is a total keeper! On a separate topic, I’m giving away a free copy of my novel, Revelle. 21 Amazon reviews have given it an average 4.2 stars. You enter the drawing by subscribing to this blog (to your [...]
Tags: carbon footprint·fun·happiness·housemates·urban farming
We spent our weekend outdoors in the dazzling sunshine building our chicken coop and interacting with our neighbors. (The first activity nicely fueled the second activity). About $400 and 25 person-hours later,we have what my housemate Evan cheerfully terms one expensive, half-assed chicken coop. (None of us claim to be highly skilled carpenters.) How did [...]
Tags: chickens·choir·church·Farmer Jon·green living·relationships·urban farming
Ah, Saturday morning. I’m writing and drinking coffee at GiGi Bar on SE 60th and Division here in Portland. My husband Thor and I have been happily watching a little strawberry-blonde tyke who flirtatiously holds fistfuls of blueberry scone out toward us, then scampers away. Her father looks on fondly. Kids are great fun while [...]
Tags: food security·fun·green living·Hanmi Meyer·hazelnut tree·Oregon·urban farming
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