Dirt Therapy

It seems like it has been months since I worked outside in the garden. In addition to work and the holidays, the weather has played a significant factor. It has been typical winter weather here - cold and rainy. I've always had an aversion to working in a wet garden but I am getting used to it and I know that there simply isn't an option.  2016 is ending and I think the general consensus is "good riddance!" A terrible year overall but one big bright spot - it started out with us moving to Washington and beginning a new life. For all the bad things that have happened this year, that one event outshines all the bad. I discovered a long time ago that when life gets rough, the garden offers lots of mental and physical comfort. So, on to 2017... I still have plants to go in the ground and I wanted to get some evergreens and trees established before next summer. I did manage to get the pots and tender plants in the basement. The new plantings have been pushed to the sid...

This is Fernando, who has come inside for the winter months. He is currently sitting in a pot of String of Hearts in our little mini greenhouse over the kitchen sink. I think he is ready for summer to return. Wednesday Vignette is hosted by Anna at Flutter and Hum . Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

This month the Cake Slice Bakers group had four cakes to choose from - a Coconut Rum Cake, a hazelnut torte, gingerbread and this recipe - the Coffee and Walnut Cake. I confess I chose the simplest sounding one and the one that had readily available ingredients. This turned out nicely and it was a breeze to make. The cake is very light in texture with a strong coffee flavor. It is a great breakfast cake. Again, like the recipe from last month, this required baking in a springform pan (although I am sure it could be done in regular cake pans). So, this is the second time I have made a cake in a springform pan that was not a cheesecake! Coffee and Walnut Cake (from World Class Cakes by Roger Pizey, Race Point Publishing, 2013) Ingredients: 3/4 cup walnut halves 3/4 (1 1/2 sticks) butter,softened 1 c. sugar 3 eggs 2 tbsp. instant coffee powder mixed to a paste with water 1 1/3 c. self-rising flour, sifted 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder For the Filling and t...

  Another round of snow came yesterday. I am not sure exactly how much we got but I am estimating around 2". It is beautiful and reminds me of my recent trip to Mt. Hood.  I really dodged a bullet yesterday when I got home from work around 3pm. This was right at the time traffic started to bog down and by the time I got home, the news stations were showing tangled traffic on the interstates. I think if I had left work thirty minutes later, it would have taken me much longer to travel those 5 miles. It was a traffic nightmare last night with some people taking up to 6 hours to get home.  Today is a day to stay inside - maybe do some baking or catching up on my reading (the new biography of Bram Stoker is quite good!). I am happy to be at home. I took a brief stroll around the garden. It is cold and the hummingbird feeders froze last night. "Van" (Michael named our hummer) was probably mighty miffed this morning but I took the feeders in and de-thawed them. Th...

  It started snowing yesterday around 1pm and continued for the remainder of the afternoon. Sleet and rain followed and is still lingering today. We did not have too many travel problems - I actually made it into work in Portland yesterday. My ice-encased vehicle was the most frustrating problem. It took forever to dethaw.  Although temperatures hovered around the freezing mark, it felt much colder. The wind was just ferocious. Someone previously told me that it is the wind that is more detrimental to plants than cold temperatures. I covered a few tender plants with pots and I put a plastic sheet over my new camellia with all the buds. It will be interesting to see how everything copes. These are some photos I took this morning. Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Salvia chiapensis Attempting to understand the weather here in the Pacific Northwest has been a challenge. You can watch several local weather channels or consult various websites and get wide fluctuations, especially when it comes to temperature predictions. Part of this is because the geographic range is so variable. Forecasters generally give their predictions for the coast , the Columbia River Gorge and the Willamette Valley which will have different conditions. Even the Wilamette Valley forecast isn't necessarily a reliable prediction for us in Vancouver, because it is often colder here (and technically speaking, we are not in the Willamette Valley). And of course, there are micro-climates... Several gardening friends have recommended Weather Underground as a good source and one that is better tuned for specific regions. So, Weather Underground predicts our low tonight at 26. Regardless of a freeze or not, most of the weather experts do predict that we are in for ...

We had precious little time to get to Cannon Beach but we were determined to make it before sunset. Cannon Beach is about a 30 minute drive from Astoria. These photos were taken at Ecola State Park and the place is simply breathtaking. I am afraid my photos do not do it justice. I had little light and no tripod so they are a bit soft and grainy. I will have to make a trip back again. We braved the elements and a risky pathway to get to this cliff but it was worth it. Paul & Cindy enjoying the spectacular view. The first thing we saw upon entering the park were elk. Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

Paul, Cindy and I drove to the coast today. It was a rainy start but cleared up soon and turned out to be a sunny but cold and windy day. Our first stop was Astoria where we stopped at the Maritime Museum then had lunch at Baked Alaska. We regretted that we did not have time to do and see everything. They loved Astoria and hope to return on a future trip and spend a night and an entire day here.   The maritime museum was fascinating and I feel like I learned quite a bit about the shipping trade as well as the geographical features of the Columbia River. I especially enjoyed reading about the trade routes and the items that we ship (and receive) to and from other countries. There was so much to see and read about here that we simply did not have time to view it all. Oh, and the gift shop was pretty fabulous too! We had lunch here at the Baked Alaska restaurant.   The view from our table.   I had fish and chips and actual Baked Alask...

I visited Mt. Hood back in late August - what a difference it is now! There was barely any snow and now it is piled thick along the sides of the winding road leading up the mountain to Timberland Lodge and dripping from the forests of massive conifers. It is so beautiful. Our friends Paul and Cindy are visiting from Alabama and we drove up there today before another storm hits tonight. We enjoyed some delicious corn chowder inside the cozy Timberland Lodge and had a magnificent view of Mt. Hood outside the window. There were many skiers out enjoying the day. It was cozy and warm inside the lodge with blazing fires going and Christmas lights twinkling. The view outside our dining room window   A view outside the window of a stairwell. Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy