Another Group Walk in Everyday Ramblings

This is from yesterday morning’s group hike. Because it drizzled on and off we had 18 hardy souls this week, about half of us were different from last week. Mrs. Sherlock was tired so we bailed at about 3.5 miles. We got our aerobics in, as there was a bit faster pace and incline.

Mrs. Sherlock had been out here with the group before and then taken me out for the first time last year but the garden on the farm has a no dog policy and we had Frida with us.

This time as she was the only dog, we were keeping her close and there were many of us we brought her through what I now know is this world famous clematis garden.

Who knew? There is a large chicken coop (with a rooster, not allowed in the city) and a marvelous community garden, all this run by the local park service.

They had beds of a number of different kinds of strawberries wintering over too as well as a big collection of roses. We will need to go in the spring without Frida and do some serious lingering. I bet the vibe is completely different. They have a giant copper beech that is over 100 years old just like the one up the block from me.

I feel blessed in so many ways. It got me all excited about my little garden plot for next spring.

We had a fish tank once, built into a wall of a place we moved into we thought we cleaned it and got some cool fish and they all died. We cleaned it again and the same thing. Finally it turned out that the people before us had saltwater fish in there. I think we bought a new tank and everything worked then.

So I need to think about the soil that is in the bed I get assigned. One of the women on the hike told me that there are community gardens here in Portland that have a 7-year wait list! It is super cool that I have an underutilized community garden 5 blocks away.

Mrs. Sherlock says that she has a number of tomato cages I can use and I have a forlorn one myself that the feeder birds hang out on next to the birdbath.

We found a mystery tree with dark red berries that the birds were feasting on so figuring out what it is will be fun. I took Mrs. Sherlock by my local arbutus shrub because I was surprised she didn’t know it.

Next week the group is going back to the arboretum. I am onboard for that.

Last week on the last leg of our much longer hike as we were coming off the new pedestrian bridge one of the women right in front of us fell. She didn’t have poles and the trail was littered with leaves. It turns out she fractured both her elbow and wrist. We hiked out with her and I offered to make a sling with a scarf I had but she was having none of it.

You know, there are limits to where pride is useful. She drove home before she went to the hospital.

Diego is all back to normal. What a relief! I am truly not in the mindset to be caregiver cat mom right now. Fingers crossed both cats can stay healthy now for a good long while or at least until I get my pension determination and know what my income is going to be.

We have a heavy fog advisory so I will be staying home this morning. I suppose I could go to the gym…

But I have baking to do. :)

Last updated November 16, 2019