this picture is me with janis, who is holding an egg i found laid on top of an oil drum. i was wondering where these chickens like to lay their eggs. probably lots of other funny places too.
i was served a nice breakfast of eggs and oatmeal(with raw goat milk!). i got to help with washing algae out of the animal's water containers and i milked one of the several does that are in milk currently. here is my tally of the animals living on these couple acres:
60-70 chickens (at least)
7 ducks
5 guinea hens
3 geese
2 turkeys
3 pigs
around 50 goats (10 kids) la mancha/alpine/oberhasli/
15 sheep shetland/black welsh mountain
10 cats
3 dogs
a miniature horse
a jenny (female donkey)
a hinny
a miniature zebu (kind of cow)
and "some turtles and birds" in the house
this is achieved by feeding them a lot of hay and other feeds. i wished so much that these folks could have more land to keep their animals on in a healthier way. they were intending to put a fence around the back, forested part, where the treehouse is so that the animals could browse there. it just takes a lot of work. marianne had planted grass seed in one paddock that was growing nicely, and she intended to rehabilitate other areas, applying composted manure to the trampled soil.
these folks were so kind to me and i left feeling invigorated. they had told me about a spring where folks in this area like to get their water. for those travelling through this area, check it out. it is on a gravel road, just off of apiary rd, on the left near a red barn that reads 'TEEN TREES'. i filled my water bottle there even though i was still climbing. i especially enjoy this riding through forested areas. many loaded logging trucks passed me, headed for the mill on the columbia river. i might have been less comfortable if i'd been going in the same direction. as it was i felt safe even with a fairly narrow shoulder much of the way. thimble berries continued to provide nourishment and i found some good salmon berries too!
at vernonia i got on a bike trail that is built on an old rail way. it was a really nice 21 mile stretch. i met a chef from portland on the path i had seen him in vernonia and he caught up to me when i stopped to stretch. the second half of that bike path went by a lot more quickly with the conversational company. he then gave me a ride 6 miles down a boring section of highway to the city of forest glen. i gave him some peppermint a woman had pulled out of her garden by the roots for me. he doesn't have space to grow a garden where he lives, but i thought this mint would be a great potted plant!
in forest glen i was feeling kind of low. the library was closed. i wasn't sure whether to ride on and seek a place to stay near one of the smaller towns. but then some pleasant experiences lifted my spirits. i happened upon a cool little school-garden project nestled in a space between two ugly warehouse buildings. it metal gate made by a local artist and a double cob bench with green roof! a girl was there harvesting some wildflower seeds. she told me a bit about the garden and i told her a little about what i was doing. she recommended checking out a couple permaculture gardens there in forest glen. one of them happened to be on my way out of town. it is called 'B st. gardens' and it sure looked cool from the gate. but it was closed, so i headed on out of forest grove, feeling satisfied.
as i rode on i was thinking i would be okay with sleeping under some bush by the side of the road, or in a nook of some building in a town, but i could also find another place like i did the night before. so i opened myself up to that. i turned my intuition up to high and kept riding.
four miles before the city of yamhill, in yamhill county, i rode by a small home where a couple were sitting in lawn chairs at the mouth of their garage. i thought i noticed some signs of garden in the back... but anyway i felt compelled to stop and do my pitch, which in my head was something like, 'i'm travelling around the country offering my help in folk's gardens and on small-scale farms, and i'm in need of a place to stay tonight.' it came off alright, though a little clumsy, and they said i could use their guest room for the night!
at their place i was able to do justice to the kale i had carried from blue dog farm. i also enjoyed fresh mint/lemonbalm tea (mint from a woman i stopped to talk to in vernonia, LB from blue dog). they baked me a potato for the next day's lunch.
it is just the warmest feeling to be hosted so graciously by folks i just dropped in on. they seemed grateful that i had shown up too. there is something magical about relating this way.
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