Garden of Eden-Willamette Valley

When I was small, I remember hearing stories from my mom and dad about the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. They both were small children, but these two historical incidence had a huge impact on their life. My mom is from Nebraska, my dad from Kansas. They probably never went hungry themselves, but their parents went hungry in order to feed their children.

My mom and dad both came to Oregon in the mid to later '30's. They both told the story about when they saw Oregon and the abundance of fruit hanging from trees and vegetables in the fields. It was beyond their wildest dreams. My husband's mother was born and raised in Oregon. She said people suffered here during this time, but she did not think many went hungry. It is no wonder.

Oregon, the Willamette Valley in general, has the nickname "The Garden of Eden" for a good reason. Almost anything grows here. And grows well. With the exception of tropical fruits, you can find almost anything locally grown here. Berries, Apples, Peaches, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, clover, wheat, on and on and on. My family grows strawberries, Marion, boysen, blackberries. Various vegetables. My uncle raises cows for meat and makes his own sausage and pepperoni sticks. Even with my VERY restrictive diet, there is no way I will ever go hungry.

Besides the various foods, we have the ocean an hour away, and the mountains an hour away.

Because of our great hops available, Portland is one of the biggest areas for microbreweries.

And they say our grapes rival Napa Valley and has been given the nod from vineyards in France and Italy. The pinor noir for the Willamette Valley is especially loved.

Spending time in nature is not hard to find here. This is Max and I last weekend taking a walk.



This month I am concentrating on buying less packaging, bulk and getting rid of plastic. But I am also enjoying the abundance of food at my disposal. In July, my focus will be on producing what I can in my yard. Taking advantage of the wonderful produce my family has to offer, and gleaning the leftovers from the farmer friends I know. I will be canning, freezing, and thoroughly appreciating the Garden of Eden that I live in.

This is my lunch from today. I didn't take this picture because of the culinary brilliance, obviously.. I didn't take this picture as an example of my great art of photography, also apparent. I wanted to show you how lucky I am. My diet is very restrictive. I can't have much fiber, whole foods, dairy, meat, on and on. But the bread is homemade, the jam is from my uncles berries, the eggs are from my chickens, and the juice I made from the apples here in Oregon. I am looking forward to blogging over the next few months about the wonders of Gods natural foods. I just hope the rain stops soon so the cherries and berries are not ruined for the year. But I am blessed to live in The Garden of Eden.

By the way, this is another product of this area. Everclear is from this area, and my son's band has played the same venues that Nirvana did. Goooood Music.