G is for Gleaning

If you are like me and have a fruit tree in your backyard, reaping the harvest can be both exciting, and well… a major pain in the ass. Don’t get me wrong, I love waking up every morning to fresh tree-ripened plums, but the 85% of the harvest that I can’t eat or give away fast enough is quickly becoming a nuisance. Trying to keep Liam from eating the worm-infested, rotten ones is a challenge all on its own. After an afternoon spent trying to pick up and salvage as many as I can, it was time to call the “gleaners”. What’s exactly is a gleaner you ask? Well, from the content in this paragraph, I am pretty sure you figured it out. While the more traditional definition of a gleaner is someone who goes in after the harvest and picks what’s left, a more modern definition describes humanitarian organizations that pick fruit and veggies that would otherwise go unused, and donate it to food banks and other organizations getting food out to those who need it.

As people become more aware of thier connection to food in thier local communities, small scale gleaning projects are popping up all over the country. One such organization in Seattle is Solid-Ground.  While the scope of this organization is much larger than an annual tree harvest, it is just one of the services they provide that helps meet their larger goal to provide shelter, food, home care, transportation and other basic services to families and individuals in need throughout King County. By asking people to simply donate thier fruit that would otherwise go unused, they are able to help out a lot of families in the area who can’t afford local, organic produce. Being on the giving end, you end up with a much cleaner yard and on the recieving, a much healthier life. It’s a win-win for everyone involved and the community as a whole.

Another similar project in Los Angeles had taken gleaning to whole new level. Fallen Fruit, a lovalvore-activist art project, has taken on the large task of mapping out all the city’s public fruit trees. They believe that “fruit is a resource that should be commonly shared, like shells from the beach or mushrooms from the forest.” If you live in the area, you can simply log on to their website, check out where the local trees are, grab your basket, and start picking. Fallen Fruit is also involved in many other guerrilla-gardening projects and urge residents to plant food in as many public spaces as they can.

If you are sitting home right now with a fruit tree bursting at the seams with its bounty, find a local organization to help! If you find that you don’t have one, you can always pick the fruit yourself and drop it off at your local food bank. Even if you can only pick a bag full, if it will help one less person in your city go hungry, its worth it.

Animal Farm

A few weeks ago, Liam and I took a short trip up to Everett, WA to spend some much-needed time with friends. While we were there, my friend G introduced us to this vast toddler mecca that is Forest Park. Not only is there a 16-sprinkler water park for the kids to play in, the park also hosts a donation-only animal farm, a swim center, four-five playsets, and sports facilities! I think there is even more to do there, but that is what I was able to gather in the two hours that I spent there. What an amazing resource for the city of Everett! The best part about it was how happy it made Liam to be there. I have never seen him have so much fun in one location. A must-do for any mama in the Seattle area.

These goats were at the door ready to greet us when we arrived.

I think these two were Liam’s favorite. Watching him get the chance to play with such friendly little animals gave me somwhat of a glimpse into the future for a time that we may have a few of these little guys running around…..goats that is. 

 

The farm included rabbits, goats, sheep, ponies, horses, geese, ducks, pigs, chickens, and one baby calf. I have never seen anything cuter in my life.

After spending a good amount of time with the animals, we ventured over to the waterpark across the parking lot. The expressions on his face say it all.

I can still hear him laughing…

The Great Outdoors

After almost two weeks since the return of our family camping trip, I am finally beginning to feel the return of our daily rhythms. While I am still catching up on what was a living room full of dirty clothes and blankets, waking and naptime have returned to their regular times, weekly chores are getting done, and I am finding myself with a little bit of free time once again. Whew!

However hectic it was to return from the trip, I must say, it is always worth it. Besides a few setbacks, our trip couldn’t have been more perfect. Although initially setting out for Glacier National Park, our plans were abruptly changed when two nights before departure, I decide to check the weather. Outlook did not look good. Freak weather rolled into the park, creating thunderstorms, highs of 50 and lows of 27 (not your ideal camping weather I must say). While the thunderstorms were certainly no reason to change plans, sleeping in a tent with 27 degrees was. I don’t even like to sleep in my HOUSE at 27 degrees! Although disappointed, we turned to the internet in search of a no-too-far locale where we could spend the week camping. It didn’t take us too long to find what seemed to be a perfect site inside Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Nestled in between Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Adams, we found a remote campground located on the lower falls of the Lewis River; the Lower Falls Recreation Area to be exact.  The next morning, we got in the car and headed south about three and a half hours. While there were only 40 sites at the campground, when we arrived on a Monday afternoon, there were plenty of sites to choose from. The sites were large and private. Easily able to hold five tents. The only visible sight of your neighbors was a flicker of their campfire and the falls were loud enough to be heard form all parts of the campground. The so-called “no-smell” composing toilets were close, yet far enough not to smell them. Perfect!

Here is a shot taken when we arrived. It took us some time to set up camp and scout out the place, so we decided to just relax and hang out by the river above the falls.

 

The next morning, we woke up (parents of toddler’s lingo for “woken up”) early and started out on what we thought was a hike down south to Big Creek Falls. However, an hour into the hike, we realized we went the wrong way and decided just to make the best of it. After about 5 miles of hiking, we decided to rest up on a bluff at the highest point on the trail. At that point, Liam was ready to turn around. What a beautiful sight though. (For pictures sake, I think I need to invest in a graduated density filter so that I can capture both the foreground and the sky without the sky being so overexposed… the list never ends).

The next day, was a big day. We decided to take a little road trip (about 25 miles) to get closer to Mt. St Helens and to explore the Indian Wilderness. First stop: Mt. St Helens.  Here she is in all her glory. Absolutely breathtaking!

 

Second stop: The Trail of Two Forests. Very cool. It is basically a location in Mt. St Helens where the lava had started to cool. Because if this, the lava didn’t completely wipe out the forest, but instead went around the trees. When it cooled completely, and the trees eventually died, it left huge holes and lava tubes (for the dead trees on the ground) where the trees once stood. There were also caves from where the lava cooled and eventually the cracked. I will be posting more pics of this on my Flickr page as it was truly one of the highlights of the trip.

 

Here is a 30 foot lave tube that I crawled through. It was dark, cold, and scary. You never think you’re afraid of closed spaces until you climb in a lave tube.

Next stop: Indian Heaven Wilderness. This hike is supposed to be a haven for huckleberries in late July and August. Offering some amazing views of Mt Adams and Mt. Hood, it is one of the best hikes in Washington. However, I so wish I was warned about the first mile and a half of some serious incline. I guess the huckleberries and the vistas are your reward Here is a view of Mt Adams.

 

From this vista, you could see both Adams and Hood. However, my camera lens was not wide enough (and probably never will be after looking at the price of the lens) to capture both peaks. Below is Mt Hood.

 

The next day we decided to take it easy and do a 3 1/2 mile hike up to the Upper Falls of the Lewis River. Although almost losing our dog over a waterfall (the most panic stricken 10 minutes of my life), we managed to resuce her and make it up to the upper falls for a nice lunch.

After almost a week of eating really healthy, sustainable snacks and meals, we decided to stay longer and needed to restock at the local general store. As you can imagine, word of the food revolution has not spread to Cougar. Although I will say that there’s something to be said about eating canned green beans off a camp stove. Washed down with some diabetes-inducing homemade marshmallows, you feel like your…. well….. CAMPING!