EARTH & US — Oregon Spring
Happy Earth Day!
Does the landscape transform from gray, black and white into bright colors overnight, like going from Kansas to Oz, or like a Jacquie Lawson spring greeting card? Not here in Eugene, where the spring is a long season. There was snow in mid-February, I am told, but when I arrived February 25, the crocuses and snowdrops were up; then came great swaths of glorious golden daffodils while the temperatures still dipped down into the mid-30’s at night. Next arrived tulips of every color, some striped red and white or gold and orange, plus the trees began their extravagant flowering in pinks and whites: magnolia, cherry, plum, apple, redbud. Then suddenly, came some days reaching the high 60s, even up to 74 degrees, and all sorts of flowers blooming. Full-on spring, at last!
These Oregonians are out in their tank tops and shorts even when it’s barely 55 degrees and I am still wearing 3 layers! It’s taking me some time to adjust from Barichara’s low of 60 and high of 82, year-round.
Dumá, the beautiful old community house where I’m lucky to be living, has a front yard now filled with forget-me-nots, purple money plants and tulips in bloom. The backyard garden has many raspberry and marionberry bushes, some thornless blackberries as well. The irrepressible strawberries have multiplied into some of the pathways; they’re filled with white flowers promising lots of tasty berries. Fruit trees abound: a mulberry tree, some apple trees, pear, plum, fig, quince and persimmon. Above the hot tub are a trellis and grape vine. There are perennial herbs such as oregano, rosemary, thyme, sorrel and mullein. And I’m sure there are more I’ve forgotten!
In the annual beds, there’s already garlic, a few old mustard plants, red chard that seems to have wintered over, several calendulas, evening primroses, and a thick mass of violets. The sugar snaps that I planted April 1 are just starting to push up a few little shoots, and there appear to be some cucumber, potatoes and other volunteers, probably coming up from the compost. Digging into the black soil, I was cheered to see earthworms at work!
The master gardener and permaculturist here, Allen (the owner), has delegated the annuals to some of us newer housemates (including me), as he has enough to do maintaining the perennial plants — not to mention all the other household responsibilities he carries. We’re planning on kale, chard, lettuce, arugula, green beans, cucumbers, tomatoes and basil.
Plant Spirit
I recently watched a talk on Plant Spirit by Tara Lanich-Labrie. “Plants want to connect with us,” she said. “Don’t think of them as merely pharmaceutical.” Plants have their particular songs, which are known by shamans; plants tell the shamans where they are, what is needed for a certain ailment, how to prepare them. We live scattered lives, filled with technology and often out of touch with the earth; this “dis-members” us. Being in relationship with plants “re-members” us (puts us back together) and also re-members the plants, according to Tara. She says it’s important to offer gratitude to any plant we wish to know better, to honor the land, to greet the plant as a friend. When making a tea from a plant, hold the mug of tea to your heart, breathe deeply, and invite your heart to perceive the plant. Sip the tea, give thanks, and notice what the plant may communicate.
Bicycle friendliness
Eugene is a wonderful place for bicyclists! There’s a free map showing all the streets with bike lanes. Even one-way streets often have bi-directional bicycle lanes. I love being able to cycle everywhere from Duma house; since I bought my second-hand bike, I haven’t even taken the bus once! All buses have bicycle racks on the front. I can cycle to practically everyplace I want to go: the University of Oregon campus, several parks, the Y, bicycle stores, used clothing shops, several grocery stores, Office Max, Friends Meeting House (where I enjoy singing layered harmonies led by Karly Loveling), Unity Church, the post office, coffee shops, restaurants and bakeries galore, Ya-Po-Ah Terrace (where my friend Dennis lives), the library, the main bus terminal, REI…the list goes on! And there are lovely greenways along the Willamette and Amazon rivers.