Riona Abhainn

Welcome to permies Jessy, thanks for sharing your project with us.

So I listened to part 2 first haha, that's how the alexa sometimes plays them, out of order.  Going to listen to part 1 sometime soon.

I know next to nothing about substack, I think one or two people on here have it but obviously it needs more more more of what is happening here, I bet we'll see an increase in people here too as a result of cross-platform efforts

Welcome to permies Anthony.

So the gathering is tomorrow, there's a facebook event which I just called Barter Circle and Permaculture Meetup, not very original I know.  I'm Riona Abhainn on facebook if you live in OR or WA and want to be friends on there, hoping to see folks at the event

Other than that: singing, growing things, survived my most recent colonoscopy, walks, I write more about things in the homesteading section in a thread over there with a similar title.

Welcome to permies Nicole!  I haven't heard of your community yet so its neat to learn about  it.  This can be a good place to find right fits.  Also consider posting at ic.org, another place to connect with potential intentional community members.

So I'm not someone with lots of allergies, so when midway through summer last year I started having trouble with calendula it was disappointing and unexpected.  We'd been using it in salads (leaves and flowers) for a while, with at least one other green in each salad, we weren't eating it every day.  So when it got to be where my throat felt tight and dry whenever I ate it I was perplexed.  Like it never was unsafe, just kind of uncomfortable.  So I kept eating it for a couple of months since we had plenty of it, but eventually I was like okay this isn't a good idea.
It being the self-seeder that it is we have plenty again this year without me having planted it.  Though its pretty, probably pleases pollinators and I harvest the seeds to seed save and sell, I feel frustrated that I don't get to eat it this year.

Another weird thing, I tried making it into tea last year to see if that was better, the flowers I mean, and that worked.  So I guess I can make tea with it, but I'm really bummed that we can't eat the leaves and raw flowers in our salads anymore.

So why?  What causes someone to be allergic to something?  I know sometimes it can go away eventually but often it doesn't.

Tim It grew from the pit of an Italian plum tree, which they say is self-pollinating, but I guess when you grow fruit from pit maybe its crossed with something else so it will need a buddy even though one wouldn't think it would.

One Year Progress Report:
We've been in this house for a year now!  The yard is much more to my planning and liking now though there will always be room for improvement, not literally though because its so small haha.
I'm trying to think positively about how much I've accomplished here and I'm so thankful to have what I have.  I made sure to observe the sun cycle for a good long while before putting anything anywhere perminantly and I'm so glad I did.  The raised beds didn't get placed and filled until early March when I'd observed how the year progresses with sunlight and positioning.  Everything last year was in containers and, while some things still are and still will be, I now have my 2 raised beds placed and I've planted some things into the ground.  We'll see how that goes, my ground is clay and rocky.
Well it turns out I've got one spinich that actually happened, though the seeds were too old, apparently most of them were.  Its looking like my cucumber seeds might be too old though, but I'll try again just in case, if something fails I try it one more time.  Speaking of which it looks like my peppers are indeed growing, at least some of the seeds are anyways!  A lot of things have grown slower than expected, especially since we've had a nice sunny spring so I don't know why the slowness.

Finally got a new spiggot for my hose, last one didn't make it through winter and I was still using it until recently, since I didn't have to water much until this month.
I got some locally native plants to plant along the fence, shade-lovers.  My day lilies are looking very good though no buds yet.  My blueberry plant, planted into an old pile of barkdust, is in the process of making me some berries, somehow I missed its flowering time, but I'm glad for berries.  There's this bird that loves my yard, I hope it isn't hungry for blueberries, if so I'll have to buy some tool netting because the other stuff I got has too big of holes.  It was so cumbersome though so I'm glad I don't have to use it much, now that I know to put a pile of grass bits where I plant any new seeds to throw the squirrels off.

So I had my husband look at the mason bee cacoons, he says they did indeed hatch but he never saw them flying around, which means they must have taken off and all flown away to somewhere else.  I'll send the block back though as that's how one does it, the leafcutters are all set up and ready for hatching.
My sunflowers have started out, still waiting for the pumpkins but I know from last year that they take longer than I think they do.

Tomorrow I'm hosting a local permaculture gathering and barter circle, this is my first time trying this, hoping it will become a monthly thing.  If you're nearby me, 8pm, 11714 SE Fuller Rd. Portland OR 97222 (right on the border of Portland and Milwaukie in Clackamas Co.)  I post more about such locally relevent things in my thread in the Cascadia section.

Because I have Crohn's disease I have to have a colonoscopy every 3 years, even though its under good control and I rarely have flares anymore and when I do its like one time and not a multi-event anymore.  So I just got done with that whole thing this morning.  This time around I got so much hungrier when I couldn't eat in the prep. process.  Thankful its over, admittedly its a miserable endeavor..

Welcome to permies David.

The more you post here the more people will get to know you E!  I think this is really cool and I think you'll have some fun adventures and help some folks out along the way.