Flat Stanley visits Aunt Erin

This week my niece Kiera sent Flat Stanley to visit along with a note asking that I help him learn about different places, landmarks, and people in my area. I am so honored. We have enjoyed his visit thus far, he has been to the Energy Trust Better Living Show @ the Portland Expo Center. I was very discouraged with the show at first, it was very commercial and I felt quite out of place until we came to the Opal Creek Booth (www.opalcreek.org) they made me feel at home as we shared favorite hiking trail info. They shared that Multnomah Falls was getting boring and had not heard of Moulton, Lucia, and Sunset Falls on the East Fork of the Lewis River by my home. We listened to the discussion on Sustainability which consisted of a panel of 5 people, one from the Sierra Club, one from Portland Mayor Sam Adams office, I will write in more detail about this later but I asked a question at the end, the only one to ask a question and was told "No one wants to touch that. The question of course involved the BPA and possible destruction of the important Environmental Areas that currently exist here in my area by a 70 mile 500Kv line. If we fail to seriously care about and consider these questions before destroying these rare diverse Ecosystems because they are out of sight out of mind now, what do we tell Kiera and Flat Stanley when they have no more clean air, water, biodiverse native plant life???? , and the people selling Sustainability books are long gone??? I could use some words but I do not want Kiera or Flat Stanley to hear them. Next I spoke with Oregon Wild and of course we connected they gave me a beautiful book Oregon Wild Endangered Forest Wilderness thank you my friends, visit www.oregonwild.org. I also met Tammy Weisman of the Lower Columbia Fish Enhancement Group www.Icfeg.org, bought some Willows to be dedicated they were caring anyway. visit www.Icfeg.org. And finally my favorite and most kindered Oregon Cougar Action Team ..Saving Oregon's Cougar and rich biodiversity they sustain. ( WWW.OreCat.org ) Here I met Jayne A. Miller of Grape Lane Poultry Farm (www.GrapeLanePoultryFarm.org) Best part of my day!! She is a Farmer, Herbalist, published Author and Artist fellow United Plant Savers gal. Look forward to helping OreCat and getting to know Jayne and her group better. Please keep praying for my precious Botanical Sanctuary, the plants, animals and watershed here in the NorthEast corner of Southwest Washington. Yes I am only 45 minutes from the Portland Expo Center so if you think big environmental changes here will not affect you you are sadly mistaken.

Below my daughter is holding Flat Stanley, and yes his ears are lime green one of my favorite colors, kind of gives him a magical quality don't you think.

Plant Nerd Night

I haven't posted in a while because life has kept me busy, busy, busy. Not long ago I was blessed to attend Plant Nerd Night in Lake Oswego, Oregon with my dear friend Debbie. She has an amazing Clematis Nursery called Silver Star Vinery. We have had so much fun getting to know each other. She is a fellow plant junkie like me. These pictures are from Nerd Plant Night which I highly recommend if you have never gone, and Silver Star Vinery which is beautiful and full of extremely healthy well loved Clematis. I picked up 5 yesterday and 3 at plant Nerd Night so I now have 10. Till I met Debbie I had no idea what variety Clematis had in bloom type, size, etc. I especially love this quote on the Tee-Shirt.