Red Cedar
More apocalypse, less angst
Breitenbush is beautiful!
Despite the long drive, the rain and snow, and the many washed out footbridges impeding hiking – we just had the most amazing week of holiday at Breitenbush Hot Springs in the Willamette National Forest. Four whole days of hot springs, an incredible sauna, three vegetarian meals a day (that I didn’t have to cook), lots of book-reading, and even a cranio-sacral massage treatment. Heavenly!
Breitenbush retreat is an old hot springs lodge from the 1920s that has been run by an intentional community dedicated to service since the early 1980s. In addition to the historic lodge building, many sleeping cabins, workshop/yoga spaces, an incredible sauna, a gift shop/office and a massage house spread across the forest site along the Breitenbush River. Think sleep-over camp for grownups – with bunk beds in some of the cabins, shared toilet and bathing facilities – but a whole lot quieter than your Camp Thunderbird experiences of the past! There’s a definite sense of being cared for in this environment, as staff are friendly and helpful – while at the same time lots of space to just be on one’s own. While we were there, two structured retreats were also taking place, which meant that during sessions the hot springs were empty except for us and sometimes a few others.
For $70 per day, per person (offseason rate) we got a very cozy cabin (rustic, heated with geothermal radiators), all meals, access to the hot spring/sauna/lodge and other physical spaces, plus yoga and other wellness classes offered on a daily basis. We felt like this was a pretty good deal for the level of service, relaxation, privacy, and beauty we were afforded in this gorgeous spot… and we will definitely be making another stay (or more) here in the future.
The only downside from Vancouver is the long drive (9 and a half hours) which is mostly on the I-5. Having looked into things, I now realize that Amtrak offers a continuous service from Vancouver to Portland (first offered during the Olympics, now on as a trial service) and I’m thinking that next time we’ll just take a train to Portland and then rent a car from there. This is something we’re going to try in June when we meet my parents in Lincoln City for a family holiday – since the driving issue there is the same (about 9 hours from Vancouver). As much as I used to not mind driving that much, I’m finding the I-5 a real drag these days, not to mention the fact that going as far as we can by train is the far more ecological option.
I’m back at work now which is a real shame if you ask me, but at least it’s a short week!
On holiday…..
Gone on holiday – back on the 15th!
Eternal green onions…..
A friend showed me this trick and I think its too cool not to share. Supermarket green onions (and any other bulbing scallion) will put out new green onion when immersed in water. And it happens remarkably quick — less than a week from immersion to more usable green. Which means one bunch of onions can last you a very long time if properly tended…. water should be changed in the jar every five days or so. I am pretty sure that the bulb can’t be forced eternally but this technique certainly does stretch out their edible life!
Three things I love about spring.
In honour of the sunshine, I’m cramming a whole bunch of things I’ve been thinking about lately under one heading. Things I love about spring:
1) Worms! Over the past few weeks I’ve been turning beds and planting seeds in my raised boxes and beds out back – and I am proud to note that I have a very healthy worm colony happening – indicating healthy soil! Honestly, I have never seen worms as big as some of the suckers turning up on the end of my shovel, and all the little babies in their worm pockets are an indication of a continuing trend. (Unfortunately, this also means it’s slug and snail season – this year looking particularly active).
2) Alley-snooping: This is when you get to see the real bones of people’s yards, and there is nothing better than peering through and over fences to see the new spring plans on the block. This picture is from a block and a half down and clearly indicates some nice raised-bed veggie action with trellises and seating areas. Now that’s a nice refresher! While poking around on Sunday as I headed towards the Drive, I came across a carport greenhouse, replete with a lemon tree growing actual lemons! 
As much as I get inspired by reading books and looking on the Internet, it’s actual examples in my neighbourhood that show me what’s really possible in the very specific growing conditions of East Vancouver. My yard is merely a collection of ideas that come from the gardeners who surround me – and I am so grateful to live in a ‘hood that is full of such creative growers.
3) Yard planning! No matter how full the backyard gets, I have new plans each year…. and this year we’re going for the front yard as well. I made up new yard diagrams last night and present them here for info purposes in case you are making your own yard plans right now. Essentially, I make a drawing using photoshop (earlier ones were made by hand) and then print multiple copies off for writing on. That way – both B. and I can scribble all over the place while working out different ideas without worrying about it too much. This year I splurged and went with colour layouts which are also a way of 
helping me define how much of my yard is active carbon-sink, and how much is not (like the gazebo and the studio). I include extra blank copies in my gardening binder so that I can use them throughout the growing season to determine changes or make notes of ideas. Best thing of all? The white space in the frontyard diagram is all blank canvas….. Nothing more inspiring than seeing that warming in the morning spring sun, just waiting for us to go at it on our return from holidays.
Presently busy planting.
Tis the season for a lot of blogging over at my house and garden blog Among the Weeds as gardening, sewing and other housey stuff entirely take my mind away from my more intellectual and political pursuits. Even this morning as I sit down to write this I’m thinking about what to do in the front yard – greenhouse vs. polytunnel – where our new pond is going to go – what plants I can grow given the shade trees that line our street. Nothing that I would write about here – hence the silence of the past few days.
Besides thinking obsessively about the house, plotting my next book review, and spending as much time as possible with spring doings – I am eagerly anticipating our vacation to Breitenbush Hot Springs next week. I’m not sure the weather will be any better than it has been here, but we will be without telephone and internet for a whole five days, meals will be cooked for us, and we will have access to as much hot springs and yoga as we could possibly want. (In Brian’s case that is *no* yoga, and lots of hot springs.) I’m looking forward to the downtime in particular, especially as after we get back we are into six weeks of solid activity again and I need a little recharger before that happens.
Red Cedar 