Doing

As I’ve gotten involved in the Bremerton Farmers Market, I’ve been asked pretty frequently “what do you DO?” Well, I’m not a vendor. I’m the president of our board of directors, but what that means is that I’m really just a big time supporter or our market, similar to lots of other folks in our community. I’m a lover of all things good for Bremerton, and the market just so happens to embody a lot of the things that I think will make Bremerton a better place. The BFM involves supporting local small businesses, healthy food grown by Washington farmers and the overall sense of COMMUNITY that comes from being at our local market. 

 What is the best part of being president of the Bremerton Farmers Market? Working with truly incredible people. Some of these are our market members and vendors, or our amazing manager, for example. These are people that spend countless hours creating or growing their products, making displays for their booth, often managing a website to market their business and then additional hours managing their both at the markets each week. These are the people that put in the hard hours and show up each week to vend for you and bring you a fantastic market. 

 I’ve also encountered people that have supported the market from the outside as community participants – people like City Council members Leslie, Nick, Greg and Roy. These are people who pick of the phone to have a call about a market issue, or have even joined our committee meetings held at board members homes to connect about how to make our market better. Or take Bremerton Mayor, Patty Lent, for example. She has far surpassed my expectations in terms of communicating with us regularly and also jumping in to support where she can. I can remember being at a Washington State Farmers Market Association strategic planning meeting earlier this year, and I got multiple calls from not only City Council members but from Mayor Patty Lent regarding a hot topic affecting our market. These are people that care and people that are making a difference by being deeply involved and showing up with action to support us. These folks go above and beyond in supporting market initiatives, responding to our questions and encouraging us along the way. 

What do all of these people have in common? They DO. They show up, they put their words of support into action. That being said, although I am pleased with the support from community members, I can’t say that I’m surprised. You see, I grew up in a family of DO-ers. I grew up with parents that volunteered in my elementary school, that coached soccer teams and lead Girl Scout troops. I grew up with grandparents that volunteer at libraries and manage county political campaigns, and give their love and artistic talent back to their community. I grew up in a family where it is normal to give and DO, to enrich the lives of others and our communities.

 So, what do I DO at the market? I join the others and I give – my time and energy to an organization I care about. I DO this market, because I believe in this market, and the good that it does in our community. I encourage each of you to give – your own time and your own energy to the things you care about. What do you want to make better and what do you want to give back? Don’t just think about it, DO it. I tell you this not only because its fun and it feels good, but because our community needs it. It needs help! We need people like you to step up, to volunteer, to make a difference, to make our community better. We need more people to take action on the things they care and talk about, we need more people to DO.

Summer Garden Updates

Does it seem like summer has hardly began, but it's already almost over? Sheesh. That was fast.

Here are some photos of our summer garden. Our tomatoes have been a huge success (just starting to ripen now - love fresh, ripe tomatoes!), same for our lettuce and squash. We also grew pickling cucumbers, which haven't had much success yet.

For herbs, we've had basil, rosemary, dill, lavender, cat nip and cilantro. Next year, I'm going to skip the dill and maybe even the basil. I love basil, I just don't seem to have much luck growing it. However, the cilantro and cat nip were a success - Sophie loves fresh nip!!

Our artichoke plant and brussel sprouts plants are still growing - but they are so pretty!

My biggest lesson is to grow what we eat most often. There were a couple things I thought would be fun to try, but because we don't eat much of a particular vegetable already, I almost felt like we were a bit wasteful.

I also have learned to really space out plants appropriately and watch EXACTLY which spots of my garden bed get the most light for future planting and planning.

I am starting to think about whether I need to do a cover crop for the winter, does anyone have suggestions for what works best?

Commuting Humor

As a ferry long-distance commuter, I had to share this silly photo via A Cup of Jo.

This is a Dutch subway slide that they encourage people to use when they are running late to catch a train! Check out more here. I wish it could be so easy (and quick) for me when I'm running late in the morning - which is frequent for me. Thank goodness I work for a coffee company!

P.S. I thought this was an interesting article (also via Cup of Jo) on commuting.

Cafe on my mind

I spent a beautiful day in Bellingham yesterday. It was fantastic - spent with people I love and lots of sunshine. We started off at the farmers market and got some lunch, spent time catching up there, and then went on a walk to the park.

There is something about Bellingham that gets me more inspired than other places. Orcas Island is the same way for me. It gets my creative "juices flowing" and day dreaming of creating my own cafe some day.

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As I sit here with my cup of coffee this morning, it makes me wonder what it is about a cafe in particular? Why am I drawn to creating one in our community?

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I think my time as a barista at Cafe Destino gave me the taste of what I would love to create someday. A place where I see friends from my community every day, and help make their day a little more special. Where I could serve things that I love most and share them with the world. To create a cozy little spot in Manette is a dream for me.

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As the next week starts at work and life picks back up, I know this little bit of inspiration will float away again. But I can count on it to always come back, until I'm ready to take that next step and make that little dream come true.

P.S. Thoughts on a Manette cafe with chickens in the backyard?

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Outside Our Window: A June Boat

A couple of days ago I saw something really odd in the water. I was inside the house, upstairs, and noticed a little boat floating by outside our window.  When I say little, I mean child size - check it out:

So I went outside to take a closer look. It was actually a beautifully carved little boat, and there was a note of some kind inside. I tried my hardest to get it, but it was just too far out in the water, the tide was out, and it was way too cold to go swimming after it (I admit - in the moment, that thought briefly crossed my mind!).

I am curious who eventually got the boat, or will find it some day in the future. It sure was a fun little surprise outside my window this week!

The Importance of Being Neighborly

We are so blessed with amazing neighbors, I really don't think we could have it any better.

Our home is pretty close on both sides of the house to our neighbors, so being neighborly we've learned is so important! We had neighbors from a few houses down drop off flowers, wine, and post cards when we first moved in with nice little notes with our neighbors contact information.  We've had numerous neighbors check-in after Kyle's health incident earlier this year.  We've also exchanged ideas on anything from keeping the ants out of the house to yucky bugs out of the garden. I'm learning that neighbors that have lived here longer than us not only have fantastic advice for us as new homeowners, but as gardeners, as community members in Bremerton, and to help keep watch over the neighborhood.

We have a very sweet couple on one side of our house, who have helped a bit with our otter situation. When the otters started coming, they helped us construct the make-shift fence to keep them away. That same couple recently left a bucket of these amazing peonies on our patio this week - aren't they beautiful?!

We returned their bucket with fresh cut flowers from our garden - yellow and pink roses. It's fun being friendly with your neighbors, and makes our life in Bremerton that much sweeter.

Right now we're enjoying these in our kitchen and dining room - love the look of these beauties in our home.

Do you have any tips or examples of being neighborly?

Outside Our Window: June

We saw a submarine outside our window last night!

It was fantastic. We were both surprised to see an odd wave in the water, with no big boats in sight. It was bigger than a ferry boat wave. We wondered if it could be a submarine... and knew that something had to be going on under the water we couldn't see.

Soon enough, we saw a submarine emerge from the Puget Sound! Now that is an amazing view from our window and backyard!

Outside Our Window: May

I thought it might be fun to start posting about some of the things we see out our window. Would you enjoy that?  Living on the Puget Sound has some fun perks of seeing some pretty cool things outside our window. So, here is the first edition of the new series, Outside Our Window!

We've had some odd weather lately. One day when I had to walk home in the pounding rain, but I was greeted with a ferry going by under a rainbow in my backyard.  It was beautiful! So, what did I do? Run back outside in the rain and snap some photos, of course!

Have you seen any beautiful rainbows, lately?

Sunday Sunshine

Wow, what a weekend! This is what living in Washington is all about - these beautiful days full of sunshine, working in the garden, putting my toes in the Puget Sound and having a cozy BBQ and fire at the end of the day.

Kabobs on the BBQ - Yum!

Putting our new fire pit to use.

Our roses are popping out like crazy! I love it, this is a photo of some yellow roses. We also have a couple different shades of pink and red.

Beach finds: sea glass in different colors and pretty striped rocks.

What did you guys do to enjoy the sunshine this weekend?

Garden Vandalism: The Verdict

Kyle and I have determined the invader in our garden that is making a mess is a River Otter. We spotted it one night when we left our outdoor lights on, about 30minutes after sunset a few weeks ago. I did find some helpful information on the Fish & Wildlife website, and also on this Washington River Otter Facts site, but ultimately we were not up for building a fence just to keep the thing out of our yard.

Both River Otter images via WA Nature Mapping Program

Our neighbors created a few barriers that seem to be helping, though, with a combination of bricks, boards and wire. Check it out:

At this point, I've cleaned up the area, but haven't done anymore planting or sprucing up. I tried planting new things when I thought they were gone, and the next day they came back and dug around some more, so I'm just going to leave that area of our garden alone for a while. In fact, just last night they came back again. Dangit!

Some people we've talked to think it's fun, or cute, that they are coming into our yard. I love wildlife and wouldn't trade this for living on the water, but to paint a clear picture for you - we're dealing with their poo, urine and vomit, all of which are stinky with sea food. Catch my drift? Yucky. Don't get me started on how they're digging up my newly planted flowers and plants....

Want to know the difference between a River Otter and Sea Otter? Check out these quick tips here.

Somehow when I used to imagine an otter, all I thought about were the sea otters like these cuties (via this site found on Pinterest). Anyone else?

Our Damaged Garden Investigation

So... we have an issue over here in our garden at Our Sound Home. It's a weird one, so stick with me, folks.  The other day I was out in the garden, looking around at our progress. I try and get out every other day to at least check out how our plants are doing. I'm learning things can change pretty quickly in the garden during the spring season!
So, on my walk around our yard earlier this week, I saw that an area of the garden closest to the water was damaged. My tulips were totally torn up, squashed, and the area was just really messy. What the heck?! Kyle and I were thinking maybe it was a dog, or possibly a raccoon? It didn't look like anything was dug up, it was mostly just torn a part:

I was really bummed out, because these were tulips I had planted and as a first time gardener; I was annoyed that my work was ruined! Fast forward a few days, and it happens again! Only this time, it looks so much worse:

I hate to go into the messy details, but just because I really want to hear your thoughts on this, I am going to get into the gross part. There was vomit on the ground - in the grass, patio and garden bed - that had shells and bits of crab legs. Not like a little bit from a bird, but something much bigger.

The shape of the area that is damaged, the accessibility to our yard off our bulk head, and the messy gross stuff that was left behind are leading us to believe it's a seal or sea lion. Only, I thought they were more fish eaters than shellfish eaters. Do you have any other guesses?

We're tempted to get a camera and motion light to see if we can capture it on camera, because right now our suspicions are just a hunch. But, we're also trying to figure out how to keep whatever it is out of our yard in the future. I think our best idea as a short term solution is getting a few inexpensive solar lights to line the garden bed. Maybe the light at night will keep it way? We're also doing some research on the Washington Department of Wish and Wildlife website to see if we can narrow it down. I am super curious what you think. Let me know!

Puget Sound Spring Events 2011

Hi friends!

There are a few events I am very excited about this Spring in the Puget Sound area, so I am passing these event dates along to anyone else who may be interested. There is nothing like an antique show, plant sale or farmers market to get my inspiration juices flowing for my home and garden!

Check out more information about each of these events by clicking on the links below:

• Kitsap Antique Show: April 2 - 3
• Bloedel Reserve Plant Sale & Open House: April 16 - 17
• First day of Bremerton Farmers Market: May 5
• Kitsap Master Gardeners Plant Sale: May 6-7
• Seattle Tilth Edible Plant Sale: May 7-8

Looking forward to seeing you there!

P.S. I just have to share this very random photo I saw today,  it's too cute and fun not to share! His name is Herman, and he is a German Giant breed of rabbit (big bunny!). Happy Wednesday!

 

Herman

Tea for Two

Since Kyle's health incident, we've both had a small change in our beverage choices.  We've both been enjoying hot tea lately, especially anything minty. In fact, some friends brought a few boxes of tea for us when he was in the hospital, and I would have a cup or two every night.

I am normally a coffee gal, and I still enjoy a cup (or two!) in the morning. But, in the evening and especially right before bed time, there is nothing like a hot cup of tea to relax us both. Although Spring is here, it's still chilly here in the Pacific Northwest and this minty hot tea makes me feel all cozy inside.

Cheers!

Here Chick Chick Chick!

I had the pleasure of visiting my aunt and uncle's home in Eastern Washington during a long weekend in early January, and I was in for a treat!  I have been interested in getting chickens of my own someday, especially now that they are legally allowed in Bremerton, but my long days in Seattle for work currently keep me from doing so. I know that someday I will have chickens of my own, but for now, seeing these wonderful chickens at my family's home was sure fun.

My uncle recently built a chicken coop, shown in the below photo. The area where the chickens eat and sleep at night is on the right, and there is an enclosed chicken run on the left. There is also a little door they open up when it's warm enough for the chickens to roam around outside, and then they simply go back inside at night.

While we were there for our visit, my aunt showed me the chicken feeding routine. I was also able to pick-up a younger chicken, they were quite friendly and I would even say pretty snuggly!

More photos of the inside where the chickens eat and sleep at night:

  A couple eggs we collected, different sizes and colors from the different bird breeds:

Here are some chicken resources for those of you that are interested in learning more:

• Seattle Chicken Coops - a local man in Ballard (Seattle) who makes chicken coops to purchase. He also has a blog with photos of his designs as inspiration.
• The book Keeping Chickens with Ashley English - I got this book for my dad as a gift for Christmas, because they are interested in getting chickens this summer. It's fun to get ideas, but also gives practical advice of things to be prepared for and how to care for chickens of your own.
• We Want Urban Chickens in Bremerton Facebook Group - This is the group that helped to make having chickens possible in Bremerton, and they have a lot of great tips, articles and classes regularly posted on their Facebook site that are helpful and fun to read.
• Seattle Tilth Classes - Seattle Tilth often has great classes available if you're up for the ferry ride to Seattle. Currently there are a few great chicken courses lined up, including City Chickens 101, City Chickens 201 and Starting with Chicks.
• Backyard Farming Blog - this blog is a good resources for lots of tips on farming, including chickens! Here are some places to look for Backyard Chickens 101 Part 1 & Backyard Chickens 101 Part 2.

Have any of you found any great resources for keeping chickens? Or already have some of your own?

2011 Bremerton Farmers Market - Coming soon!

I know I’ve been going on and on in previous posts about being excited for warmer weather, because Kyle and I will experiencing the great Pacific Northwest spring and summer in our first home. But, one thing I have yet to mention, is that I am the newest board member for the Bremerton Farmers Market this summer! Woot!

My girlfriend, Sarah, has a coworker that is a board member, and she said they were looking for new board members that are interested in helping with the market this year. I decided to check out the meeting last month, and sure enough, it was just the right thing for me. I started thinking about it, and I’ve got lots of good reasons to be involved in the market. Lets break it down, list style:

• I  worked at Café Destino years ago when the market first began
•  I love local food and supporting our community
• Kyle and I just moved to Bremerton and we're excited to get involved in making it an even better place to live
• I got my degree in Advertising, let’s put it to use!
• Summer time + live music + good food + crafts + community = LOVE!

Photo via Bremerton Farmers Market

We’re still looking for people to get involved for special events, play live music and other activities. If you’re interested in volunteering your time and getting involved in the market, please reach out!

• You can “Like” the Bremerton Farmers Market on Facebook for updates
• Keep checking the market website for additional updates and applications to be a vendor
• Lastly, they will have a booth set-up at the Small Farms Expo tomorrow (Saturday, March 5th) - check it out! It's at the Bremer Center at Olympic College

So, fellow Bremertonians, MARK YOUR CALENDAR for the first day of the market, MAY 5, 2011! Looking forward to seeing you there!

February Commuter Sunshine

I know I just posted about how this sunshine is giving me the gardening itch, but more than that, it's making me really thankful for my commute. I know, it sounds crazy to be thankful for an hour long commute to work. Trust me, there are days the commute is long, cold, there are weird people and it smells. But, days like this make it completely worth it, and dare I say, make me feel really blessed to have this commute!

I'll keep the text on this post short - here are a couple sunrise photos from the February Bremerton - Seattle commute this week (these were taken at about 7am):

And a few photos leaving Seattle, going back home to Bremerton (at about 4:30pm):



No complaints here!