Hobby farm doesn’t wait for winter

Posted on by Jen

While we have some big hopes for getting in some prime trail wandering this year, we also have plans to slowly expand our hobby farm. Add some rows to the garden, gates to the yard and chicken coop, and you know add some more chickens (with better rooster karma)? Maybe ducks by the fall?

Trying to balance our love of the trails with our love of growing a small farm can become difficult to maneuver. Trails can wait but planting and harvesting has to be carefully timed. I believe we can do both as long summer days give us expanded daylight hours to get it all done. Maybe.

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Trail Talk: Winter hike in Trillium Community Forest 

Posted on by Jen

Last weekend we set off to get some serious hiking in to prepare for some lofty outdoor goals we’ve set for ourselves. We got a late start on a Saturday, so we headed to Trillium Community Forest just a couple miles from our house.

The 7-mile trail system is protected by the Whidbey Camano Land Trust so a bonus for visitors is it is free to all. No park pass needed.

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Trail Talk: Rainy hike among the Saratoga Woods, DNR and Metcalf Trust Trail Systems

Posted on by Jen

When prepping for a climb of Mount St. Helens or potentially the Wonderland a Trail, the best preparations is simply getting out and hike no matter what the weather brings. It’s a great way to understand how to adjust to adverse weather conditions and test out and understand your gear. Much better to do a gear check closer to home than 10 or 20 miles in the middle of nowhere.

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Trail Talk: Panoramic views at Ebey’s Landing

Posted on by Jen

If there are blue skies on Whidbey Island and you aren’t skeptical of heights and high ridges, the Bluff Trail at Ebey’s Landing is the place to be.

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Island Eats: Losing our local watering hole

Posted on by Jen

Some of the challenges of moving from the city to a PNW island is that restaurants close generally by 8 or 9 p.m., you are out of luck if you yearn for delivery and, at least on the South end of Whidbey Island, it’s nearly impossible to find an open eatery on a Monday.

And if you live in Greenbank and need groceries or a dining option you are limited.

Island life struggles, I know.

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Eating, learning on local seasonal fare with a winter CSA

Posted on by Jen

While we still have some beets, carrots and chard in our own garden, I joined Farmer Georgie’s CSA at Willowood Farm. By supporting this farmer’s fare, I figured not only would we be well supplied in local veggies for the rest of the year but perhaps I could learn more about what grows well here. I want to learn how I can better rotate our own garden, so this winter CSA is just a little education, and a tasty one.

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Trail Talk: Kettle Trails

Posted on by Jen

I’ve mentioned how the PNW fall is dark and wet. As we get closer to December we lose daylight fast. Right now the sun sets around 4:20ish but soon we’ll be experiencing darkness at 4 p.m.

For some this is tough: the rain, cold and darkness causes Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). For me, I overall I don’t mind this weather. I really love the rain. But I do have my ups and downs this time of year, but the key to beating SAD is getting out in all the mess.

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