Down on a different funny farm

Here's our friend Lisa on the banks of the mighty Snoqualmie River (that would be the beautiful river pictured to the right).

Today Lisa and I worked with the Helping Hands group out at the Full Circle Farm's Ames Creek site in Carnation.

What did we do? We worked with WA Conservation Corp guys to plant trees and shrubs (Douglas fir, Red Cedar, Willow, Dogwood, Snowberry. and one tree type I can't remember).

Why? We're replanting the river bank with native species in order to help stop the invasive species and to provide a more optimal environment for the river's salmon run. The fish need shaded, cool water. First we had to dig holes through the matted reed grass and then stop the soil from dropping through the reed grass while we planted the tree or shrub, all to the aroma of a nearby dead and decaying coyote. It sounds grim, but we had a great time! We also harvested some beets (not me!) and red kale (yes, please!). Full circle also gave us some celery and leftover lunch pears and apples.

It was a great win-win-win-win effort. We had fun, got some exercise, and a bit of produce. The farm got some volunteer labor. The local food bank got lots of veggies donated by the farm, and the salmon got a much improved habitat. We also had a great time chatting with the other volunteers, a diverse group including honor students from Newport High School, two former cheese guys from Whole Foods, a writer, and many fine other folks.

In other news, we swung by the Redmond farmer's market on the way home. (Lisa needed hazelnuts.) In a strange cosmic consequence of "It's a Small World Afterall", it turns out that the hazelnut farmer's family is from Colchester, Essex, England. Perhaps his relatives know my aunt and uncle???

Today's dinner selection was inspired by all our local goodness. We made an Italian parsley (CSA) and hazelnut (farmer's market) pesto over organic penne and served it up with the last of our cherry tomatoes (garden). For dessert, Alexander made a delicious applesauce cake with the applesauce I made the other night, yum!