Taking Stock

In the previous post, I shared a photo of the weedy yard… but not everything has been lost during the long vacancy of this house.

There are two three or four big hazelnut trees providing a partial noise and privacy barrier along highway 20. (By the way, I am often teased for saying “the 20″ or “the 5″. Apparently this is a very California-ish thing to do and everyone here says “highway 20″ or “I-5″. Well, what can I say. When you have to take three freeways and part of a highway to get to work, things tend to get abbreviated when you’re talking!)

Ahem. Anyway. I can’t wait to learn about harvesting hazelnuts! Of course, hazelnuts are pretty plentiful around Oregon, but still, it’s fun to have your own.

We transplanted our blueberry bush — fingers crossed that it survives the move. We plan to plant a few more.

Mr. Wolf tells me there’s a Roma tomato plant in the yard somewhere. Needs water, but it may survive. I am only tangentially interested in tomato plants as they lead to sauce or salsa, but I do not otherwise eat tomato. Pardon me while I shudder.

*shudder*

And, finally… blackberries! I know a lot of people hate the blackberry vines on their property and they DO tend to grow out of control, but I don’t mind these so far. They’re growing under the hazelnut trees along the highway and in the back corner. We’ll just have to be aggressive about keeping them cut back. Yesterday I picked our first berries, though, without leaving the yard, and they were delicious!

On Saturday, our neighbor across the street brought us a zucchini and a plate of peanut butter cookies. What a nice guy! He and his wife have been in the neighborhood more than 20 years, so I’m looking forward to hearing stories about all the changes around here. He has a pretty big lot and it’s immaculate — we have a lot to live up to!

Oh, that reminds me. Apparently there used to be a cherry tree in our yard. More than one neighbor has let us know this, and all seem very disappointed that the prior owners removed it. So am I! Well, we’re planning on a few fruit trees and cherry will definitely be one of them. I wonder how long before they mature…

Have I mentioned I’m not much of a gardener?