iBike WW36 & WW37

Another double weekend, woo-hoo!

Saturday was the standard ride to the market, just Simone and me this time. We got some fruit for Simone, russian fingerling potatos for Mary, and a watermelon for me. Oh, and the best corn on the cob we've had all year, yum!

Today the three of us went on the Passport to Healthy Garden tour of gardens in Corvallis. We got to 4 houses last year (all of which were pretty slick), and this year we improved to 7 gardens (one wasn't a house). The first was probably the best, it was older and established - they had a large lot with a big ornamental area and a beautiful food garden. And, as a bonus, it was right next to a friend of Mary's - so we poked our heads in and I finally got to see the straw-bale house they've been building (it's very pretty).

The rest of the tour was so-so. The gardens were impressive - lots of food packed into small, residential lots, it's just that they were pretty young (most were 2 years old), and mostly focused on just food (and not ornamental plants). There's a limit to how many times I can gaze at other folk's bounties w/out thinking, "gee, if we just put a little more time into ours..." so it ends up being a little bit of a guilt trip (I'm that self-absorbed).

Anyway, the last garden we hit was a research project at OSU on green roofs and how they respond to different irrigation (rainfall levels). It's pretty interesting, the plants are just getting settled, the research doesn't really start until this winter.

I'd have to see a lot more information on a green roof, but it does sound interesting. Some even go as far as to have goats on their roofs.