I LOVE to grow my own food. Gardening is one of my favorite hobbies. Nurturing a seed into a beautiful thriving plant that produces food for my family to eat is so rewarding. I usually end up with too much so this year some friends and I planned our gardens together so that we could share the harvest and didn't have everyone growing the same things. I always layer local compost in the soil and my plants LOVE it! My son also loves to "help" and really enjoys checking in on the plants and picking cherry tomatoes when they are ripe.

This is the hardest one for me. We have a lot of handwash and I don't like to put dishes in the sink after they're washed but before they're rinsed. It doesn't feel "clean" enough for me so I put a clean bowl in the sink to hold the washed items ahead of rinsing. It works ok but then I have a bowl out all the time which I don't like. I really want to be mindful of water use but this will be a hard habit to reform since I don't have a process I like yet. I've been doing better though!

I love fruits and veggies - raw, cooked, alone, in a big salad - I'm a fan of all of it! I need to set myself up for success though or the produce will sit and go bad. I wash and prep my produce every week that way it is grab and go. One more month until the farmers market starts and I can start getting fresh, local produce - the BEST!

Our office adopted a stretch of the Willamette River beach 2 years ago, which involved four cleanups during the 2-year commitment. Frist of all, it was a great way to build friendships and enjoy each other's company! Working together on a community project gives you a different view of your co-workers - turns out we all have real lives and aspirations outside of work! 😊
But secondly, we felt good working for a common goal - the health of the riverbank.
We found the most ridiculous items in the water and on the shore, including a 2'x4' solid piece of Styrofoam. We found and bagged lawn chairs with pads, boxes of spent bottle rocket fireworks, tires, lots of clothing, hundreds of needles, needle caps, silverware, pieces of paper, plastic, bottle caps, pieces of glass, hundreds of cigarette butts - just about anything that you can think of.
We learned how careless humanity can be (that's for sure!) but we also learned that working together, we could make a definite difference in caring for the environment. More hands make light work - and also pick up more trash than one person alone!

I joined the local "Adopt-A-Block" program two years ago. I adopted my block and the block behind me. They supply you with a grabber and bags, along with other items if needed. I can go out as often as I want to pick up trash but usually get out about once every two weeks for a complete walk around. I also grab trash that appears in the meantime - it is amazing how much trash people just casually toss on the ground as they drive or walk by. My route includes the library next to me, and it can be really frustrating to pick up trash that was dropped less than 20 feet from their outside trash bin. I have to confess to some "under the breath" swearing!
My 8-year-old grandson joins me on occasion too. He has his own grabber and bucket, and we make quite the team. His favorite thing is to jump into the stormwater swales and grab all the trash that accumulates in the plants.

Last year I planted a heritage apple tree in my front yard. A local group was giving some away as part of an effort to restore some of the apple trees that were originally on this land when it was first settled. This year I have arranged for it to have a friend. I contacted the same group and asked for whatever fruit-bearing native or heritage tree they wanted a home for. Excited to see what I get! I won't have it until early May though so a little late for a pic.