GroveAtopia's gardeners could save the world

I get to work on something pretty and fun.   I get to visit gardens.  Lots of them.  Right here in GroveAtopia.

That's because I'm helping with the Town & Country Garden Tour.   Lucky me, I get to do the fun part - visiting the gardens and gardeners who will be on the tour.

And oh my.  Such lovely gardens they are.  Some are big.   Some are small.   Some are fancy.  Some are not.  Some are in town.  Some are in the country.  

But they are all - every single one of them - beautiful.  And such happy places.  The gardens are happy.  The gardeners are happy.  The very day itself is happy.  When your only job is to look at gardens and share them with their gardeners, you cannot be grumpy.  You cannot help but smile.

GroveAtopia thinks that if everyone gardened, the whole world would be happy.  And maybe, just maybe, the fairies would once again reveal themselves.   And who knows?  Maybe the unicorns would return too.  

And the whole world would be one big garden.

A little sign of bigger things to come

See that little sign?  It says "Stewart Park."  It's a hopeful little sign, isn't it?  So tiny compared to the trees and grassy field behind it.   

That sign wasn't even there last fall.  That's because this field, which has been sitting there in the middle of this neighborhood for almost 10 years, is actually a park.  And it has a name, only no one knew it until a group of people got together and decided to turn this grassy field into what it was meant to be.   

Their first step was to put up that little sign - the little sign that could.

Things stayed as they are in this picture for nearly 9 more months.  But soon, very soon, big things will start to happen in this park.

Under those trees there will be two heavy duty concrete picnic tables made by Job Corps cement mason apprentices.   A bit further back there will be a small playground.  There will also be trash cans.   And a new sign.  A bigger sign that instead of whispering "Stewart Park" will proclaim it "Stewart Park."  

But, no matter how big the new sign is, it will not reflect the amount of good will and good energy that has gone in to finally turning this field into the neighborhood park it was meant to be.  

Welcome to GroveAtopia, Stewart Park.

Not just a pretty pattern

Such a pretty pattern.  What is it?  A piece of cloth?  An extreme close-up of the eye of some insect?   A tire tread?

No, it's pavement.  Well, to be more precise they're pavers. So what?

This picture was taken at the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge near Sherwood.  And if you had been there when GroveAtopia took the picture you would have been able to see the whole scene, not just this piece.  

And had you seen the whole picture, you would see this is actually just a tiny portion of a very large entry way to the Refuge's Wildlife Center.

The big deal about these pavers is the way the are laid out.  See those spaces between them?  They have gravel in them.  That gravel absorbs the rainwater that hits the pavers.

That's different than the way pavers are usually laid out.  Usually they are laid tightly up against each other leaving little or no space between them.  So guess what happens to the raindrops that hit those tightly packed pavers?  They run off it big sheets.  And where do they go then? 

The raindrops join together and  flow wherever the downhill slope takes them, joining with other rainwater flows and often ending up in a gutter that carries them to a storm water system of pipes that carry them into the nearest creek or river.

That's what happens to rain water in GroveAtopia.  And it isn't good for the creeks and rivers because, through absolutely no fault of its own, that rain water takes with it whatever is in its path - motor oil, animal waste, fertilizer and whatever else is in the gutter - and washes it into the nearest creek or river.  

The creeks and rivers don't like it.

But leaving those little spaces between these pavers allows the water to be absorbed down into the ground beneath them.  That keeps the water from flowing somewhere where it can do harm.

It's a simple thing really, but it makes a big difference.   

GroveAtopia does not have any pavers like these.   But you and I know that GroveAtopia's creeks and rivers would be happier and healthier if we did have them.

So when you get around to laying some pavers, try this method.  It'll help save our rivers and maybe, just maybe, one day we'll have happy, healthy creeks and rivers again in GroveAtopia.

Thank you

These people have been vigilantly reminding GroveAtopia every Friday for the past 6 years about peace.   

While you and I go about our Friday afternoon business they are on this corner with their beautiful rainbow flags doing what we all should do in one way or another - publicly and peacefully stand for something.

So when I happen to drive by them, I feel grateful to them for being there - acting as my proxy - doing for me what I don't do myself.  

Stand for Peace.  Thank you.

Perfect fast food: Burgerville

Awhile ago I mentioned I love Burgerville.  I said I would post about it another time.  

GroveAtopia knows you have been waiting for that post, patiently enduring all the intervening posts, giving them a skim or perhaps even going so far as to read them just to be polite, wondering when this post would come.

Your wait is over.

This picture shows the two latest additions to the Burgerville arsenal of cool and list of reasons why I like the place.  

See that straw?  The wrapper says "Made From Corn."  See that cup?  The top says "compostable."   The rest is recyclable.   

That means that if you throw the top and the straw and its wrapper in your compost pile, it'll be gone in a few short weeks.  If you recycle the cup, you'll meet it again someday most likely in another form of plastic.  So once you finish your milkshake, it is really finished.  After a few weeks there is literally nothing left of it.

Contrast that with the dinnerware and cutlery offered by most other fast food restaurants.  At those places, once you finish, your food may be gone, but the stuff it came in will live on and on and on.   GroveAtopia knows this because I meet this stuff on the side of the highway when I pick up litter there.  Try to pick up a plastic drink top or straw after it has been sitting outside for a few weeks.  It crumbles into a million tiny pieces, each of which will live on indefinitely, none of which you think are worth the effort to pick up.

So if Burgerville can do all these cool things – the compostable straw and drink top – plus serve good fast food with fresh ingredients produced in the Pacific Northwest – plus use wind energy to power their restaurants – plus offer useful toys such as seeds, bowls and plates with their kid meals – plus use recycled napkins – plus offer milkshakes made with real ice cream and have a cool motto: Serve with Love, but not be hippies, then why can't all the fast food places do this?

Don't we wish we didn't have to drive all the way to Albany before we could eat at Burgerville?  Don't we wish there was one right here in GroveAtopia?

Which one?

Guess which one our elementary school cafeterias serve for lunch?  

You want to believe it's the locally produced nutritious one on the left.  Please, oh please let it be the nutritious one.

But it's not.  

Our kids get the other one. And they can choose it as their main entree. 

That means a kid could have Trix yogurt and a cookie for lunch.  Wonder how that kid feels a few hours later.  Wonder what that kid's test scores are after having this for lunch.

Just to make the story more interesting, it turns out someone from the Kesey family, the one that's been making Nancy's Yogurt for the past 40 years just up the road in Springfield, works right here in Cottage Grove.  At the high school no less.

It should be easy to serve this locally produced, nutritious yogurt to our kids in our school cafeterias.  But it isn't.

Know why?  Money.  I was told it all comes down to money.  Apparently Trix yogurt is cheaper. Apparently it costs too much to ask if it is better for our kids.  Because if we could afford to ask this question, we would be serving the more nutritious yogurt to our kids.  

Instead  we serve them the other yogurt.  The one with flavors like "cotton candy" and "watermelon burst."  The cotton candy flavored one does not have cotton candy in it and watermelon burst does not have any watermelon in it.   

Now which one do you think the children of GroveAtopia deserve?

There for 80 years, gone in 2 days

This doesn't happen very often in GroveAtopia, but over the past few days a whole house completely disappeared.  

Well it didn't really disappear.  It was stuffed into two dumpsters.  I always wondered how many houses would fit into a dumpster.  Turns out to be about half a house.

GroveAtopia is lucky to be full of old houses.  They are here not through any planning, nor are they the fussy kind of old house.  Our old houses are the real kind.  Many of them bear signs of their age.  They are not showplaces.  They are just regular houses that once, about 80 or more years ago, were brand new.  Over the years people just kept living in them, selling them, sometimes restoring them, but mostly just tending to them with various degrees of attention.

And now, not through any conscious effort, and thanks to the fact that our town was spared of any of the major fires that seemed to strike many old towns, our old houses are emerging as our community treasures.   Some started out glorious, fell into dilapidation, but were then restored.  A few are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, but most are just there being lived in.

So when one of them disappears we take notice.  One of our treasures, or potential treasures is gone.  What happened that demolition was the best choice?  What will take its place?   GroveAtopia drives by this – well a few days ago I could say house, now it's just a patch of dirt – everyday.  

And don't worry, I will keep an eye on it for you.

The Lovely Season

Most places call it spring, but here in GroveAtopia it is the Lovely Season.  And as lovely as the Lovely Season is, it is also the season of weeds and wasps. 

You knew they were out there, but because the weather was lousy you could pretend they weren't.  But today was just so beautiful you had to face them.  

You had to go outside.

It's a love/hate thing, isn't it?  Gosh it's beautiful.   So bright and clear.  Warm and sunny.  And made all the more so because GroveAtopians wait so long and patiently for the Lovely Season to arrive.  

And it is so lovely we don't want to tell anyone else about it. It's GroveAtopia's secret.   Everyone else thinks it's raining.

But we know otherwise and we must go outside.  But when we do, we must also contend with what's been going on during the other season when we stay inside.  Weeds have been growing and wasps have been waiting.

We in GroveAtopia must make our peace with both.   We must learn to live with them because even if we wanted to, we could not rid ourselves of them completely.  

And really we must tip our hats to them.  The wasps especially.   They blindly bang their heads against every surface they encounter, each one looking for its own perfect place to start those papery honeycomb nests that hang from every eave and lurk in every dark place they choose.

See the picture?  That's GroveAtopia's wheelbarrow handle.  See that hole in the middle?  While outside doing the work the Lovely Season demands, GroveAtopia saw a wasp land on the hole's edge, poke around a bit and walk right inside and I didn't see him come out.   

I silently prayed the wasp did come out and I had missed it because, while the wasp might think the inside of a wheelbarrow handle is an excellent place to build a nest, GroveAtopia does not.  I will forget, and one day, thinking of something else entirely, grab that handle and one of them will sting me.

Still you have to admire the force with which they and all the creatures of the Lovely Season go about their business, completely without giving consideration to how it will affect the rest of us.  

Wasps, weeds and everything else.  We take it all during the Lovely Season.  And tell no one it isn't raining.

Cottage Theater - not flat

Most of our entertainment comes to us on something flat.  Television, computer, video game, movie.  Flat. Flat. Flat. Flat.  The screen is flat, the people are flat.  The television set comes right out and says it.  Flat screen TV.

So it is startling to see theater.  There is nothing flat about it.  It is round.  In three dimensions. It is human.  And many of those humans are people you know.   And you didn't know they were so talented.

GroveAtopia does not see all the shows that come to the Cottage Theater.  And even when I do get tickets, I have a little dread about having to make the effort to see the show.   But every time - every single time I go I am deeply impressed.    Our little theater, the one that runs on sheer will power and passion does not cut corners.  It puts on quality shows that often sell out.  

It's a lot easier not to go to the theater.  It's way easier to stay home and watch something flat.  But do yourself a favor.  Get tickets.  Go to a show and experience your friends and neighbors doing things you didn't know they could do.  Watch real people tell you a story that happens in real time and will never ever again happen the way it just did.  You could try to capture it, but then the only way to see it would be on something flat.  Don't bother.

But do bother to see at least one show this season.   When you do, you will find it's more than a tad disappointing to have to go back to something flat.

More on the job of creating work and the work of creating jobs

GroveAtopia has been thinking more about our city's apparent reluctance to spend time creating more jobs.   

I heard the city's more elaborate response on the Beeper Show on Monday, and GroveAtopia is willing to see things from that perspective.  Maybe it does take too much staff time and maybe the money is not worth the effort.  Maybe the money won't really pay for any of the road projects we need.  Maybe the only jobs that will be created are for contractors from Eugene.  Maybe it's better to let the money be used elsewhere.

Maybe.

But what GroveAtopia needs to hear is that our city is not turning up its nose at stimulus money.  That we have prospects for good uses of stimulus money in other areas.   That we will work to make sure the money is distributed more equitably to rural areas.  That we will work to make sure we can give the money to contractors who hire local workers.

But GroveAtopia did not hear any of that.  Instead I heard about all the problems shrouded by a tone that said this is not going to help us.  We are better off without it.

It could be a simple communication issue.  Or it could be that our city truly believes that stimulus money will only help urban areas and that for the rest of us, it is a waste of time.  A joke.  

But I have not heard a better plan for helping our city out of its economic slump.  Have you?

  

Creating jobs is just too much work

Okay, this one really bothered GroveAtopia.   I usually don't like to get too mired in political issues, but I just couldn't let this one go.  It ran in the Sentinel last week and I'm still thinking about it.

It appears that the City of Cottage Grove has decided that getting federal stimulus money — you know, the money aimed at creating jobs — is too much work and we just can't be bothered.   Getting this money — all $202,000 of it — has too many strings attached and requires too much paper work.  We are too busy and just can't spare the time!

GroveAtopia feels it necessary to remind our public servants that the purpose of this money is to create jobs.  Lane County's unemployment rate is currently sitting at 12%.  That's pretty high.  And it's probably going to get higher.

At this point probably everyone in town knows someone or knows someone who knows someone who has been laid off or cut back.  GroveAtopia thinks Cottage Grove's unemployment rate now sits about 2 degrees of separation. That's pretty close.

So doesn't that make it all the more incumbent on our public servants to create jobs for us when they have the chance?   After all, they already have jobs.  Many of us do not.     

But apparently they don't want to work to create work for those of us who want work.  Unless it's not too much work.  And doesn't take too much time.

And at the moment, GroveAtopia can think of no more needed public service than job creation. No matter how much work it takes.  And no matter how much time.

Even more machine guns

Oh dear.  Look what GroveAtopia found.  

Awhile back I wrote about machine guns and sandwiches.  At the time I thought that was the end of any mention of machine guns here in GroveAtopia.  But no.

Last week GroveAtopia stopped at the Albany Burgerville.  GroveAtopia loves Burgerville but will write about that in another post.  For now we must stay focused on what's important.

 As GroveAtopia was waiting for a hamburger, I  picked up a - what are those things called?  They are laminated advertisements of local businesses that sort of look like miniature newspapers and are behind the napkins on tables.  Sometimes they have them at The Vintage Inn and Pinnochios.  Anyway whatever they are called, I found disturbing news in the one at Burgerville.

And here it is:  West Coast Machine Guns is not the only machine gun shop in Oregon.

GroveAtopia apologizes for the quality of the picture in this post, but if you look closely, or if you enlarge it you will see that Northwest Firearms,  the one on 9th Ave. SW in Albany, carries "a great selection of Class III items, including suppressors, short barreled rifles (SBR' s [sic on that apostrophe]), machine guns and many other hard to find items at reasonable prices."  

West Coast Machine Guns has competition.  And boy do I hope it's a friendly one.

Now I don't want anyone anywhere to ever have a machine gun, but GroveAtopia is aware of the second amendment.  Still I hope that people realize that there is really no good reason for anyone to have one.  

And in case people don't realize it, then maybe it should be really really hard to get one.  Like if you live in Oregon and want a machine gun you have to drive all the way to Main Street in Cottage Grove to get one.  That should discourage at least some prospective machine gun seekers.  GroveAtopia took comfort in that possibility.

But it turns out Cottage Grove is not the only place that sells machine guns.  Albany does too. And probably lots of other Oregon cities.

The question is, why?

Covered Bridge Wars?

Uh oh.  We've got competition.  Everyone knows that Cottage Grove is the "Covered Bridge Capital of Oregon."  It says so on our welcome sign.  It even says so on GroveAtopia's welcome sign.

So imagine how surprised GroveAtopia was when driving through the lovely countryside around Lebanon, to happen upon Scio, The Covered Bridge Capital of the West.  Talk about one upmanship.  

GroveAtopia wonders how Scio can make this claim.  There are no covered bridges in Scio itself.  Yes there are lovely covered bridges in vicinity of Scio, but how is it that Scio can claim them all?  I think one of them might be closer to Crabtree than Scio.

Furthermore, if you look at the Scio covered bridge tour  only 5 bridges are featured.  

Scio does have the Covered Bridge Coffee House on Main St. (watch out Stacey's!) and they even have a little miniature covered  bridge in one of the town parking lots sort of like the one we used to have in the Opal Whitely park.   

But I'm just not sure they can rightfully claim to be the Covered Bridge Capital of the West. Especially when you compare Scio's 5 bridge tour with Cottage Grove's 7 bridge tour.  Based on the sheer number of bridges, we have them beat.  And we even have two in town - Chambers Bridge and Centennial (which isn't a genuine covered bridge, since it was reconstructed and carries only foot traffic, but at least it was built with wood from another covered bridge) and that doesn't even count the little covered bridge on wheels the Greeters tote around town for various functions.   

On the other hand, most Cottage Grove covered bridge guides include the swinging bridge, which is a great bridge, but in no way is it a covered bridge.  Hmm, so that leaves us with 5 real covered  bridges, Stewart, Dorena, Currin, Mosby Creek and Chambers, plus Centennial and the swinging bridge.  Oh dear, now this is getting complicated.  Now I'm not sure Cottage Grove can claim to be the covered bridge capital of Oregon.  Now I don't think anyone claim to be the covered bridge capital of anywhere.

Except maybe the State of Oregon, with its 51 covered bridges.  Perhaps it should declare itself the covered bridge capital of the world.  Then all the little covered bridge kingdoms in Oregon can unite.  

After all there's no need to fight.  

Between a speed bump and a parking space

Here is the scene in front of Sears and you know what?  I'll bet that parking space, even though it's a totally prime spot, almost directly in front of the Sears door, rarely gets used.   

Why?  Because of that speed bump.

Here's what happened today.   GroveAtopia had to pick up something at Sears.  I drove into the parking lot past Arby's heading toward, what's directly ahead, Jaspers? Abraxis? (not for long, they are moving to Main St.), Radio Shack?  Yes I think it's Radio Shack.  

I turned right and approached Sears.  I quickly scanned the available parking spaces.  No, that one is too far, there's a closer one.  No there's one even closer.  Maybe I can park right in front.  Yes!  

But wait!  There's a speed bump right in front of that parking space!  I don't think I can make a hard left into a parking space while going over a speed bump.  Are you even allowed to do that?  Turning on a speed bump. That's got to be some sort of misdemeanor at least.  No I cannot park there.

I did find a speed bump free space and it was even closer to the front door of Sears, but had the speed bump space been the only one available I think I would have gone right past it and parked in one of those places way over in the middle of the parking lot just to avoid it.   There is something very wrong with that parking space.  I blame the speed bump.

Cruise Hwy 99 without leaving home

You probably think this is a joke, but you can
cruise Hwy 99 without leaving the comfort of your, well wherever you read this blog from.   

Thanks to some marvelous, amazing and slightly creepy technology from Google maps, you can cruise from Withycombe to well, GroveAtopia did not have the patience to see how far to the north it went.  I got just past Jim's Tire Factory before I decided I had spent enough time cruising. 

But for awhile  it was interesting.  Starting from the intersection of Hwy 99 and Main, clicking my way slightly north to Jim's Tire Factory, turning around, then heading south, there is that yellow Volkswagen, destined to repeat that right hand turn onto Main Street over and over.  Then, passing the Exxon station you think, a) this video was taken back before it changed to Conoco, and b) the price of gas was edging toward $3.00 a gallon.  Or maybe it was heading downward?

Then, as you realize you are cruising on the wrong side of the road and cannot, no matter what, make the, what are you in, a car?  A hovercraft?  A dream where you don't need a vehicle to float along?  Whatever, you cannot get on the correct side of the road.  This must be what it's like driving in England!  Or piloting a hovercraft in England!  Or dreaming in England!  

But then, you realize apparently you are invincible.  Cars do not touch you as you creep along slowly past South Lane Mental Health (lots of cars in the lot, what time of day is this?), Patriot Mortgage, and the light at the Woodson Bridge.  

But wait!  The line is heading directly for Riverside Gardens mobile home park!  Watch out!  Whew, you have veered back onto the road, but again on the wrong side.  Since this is your first trip you wonder, will we go as far as Saginaw?  Walker?  Creswell?  Or are we going over the connector and onto I-5?  

But no, the trip ends abruptly at Withycombe Avenue, just past Figaros.  I guess whoever was filming got tired, just like I got tired of driving, hovering, floating or however I was moving down Hwy 99 without leaving home.

Machine guns and a sandwich

When you first spot it, it's a shock.  A machine gun store on Cottage Grove?  In our historic downtown?  Who needs a machine gun?  Even if you can rent it by the hour.

But then, after awhile, the store fades into the background and becomes part of your routine view of downtown, the one that only notices something if it changes.

Well today, West Coast Machine Guns did change.  For me at least.

Someone came out of the store.

Prior to today I had never seen anyone go in or come out of that store.  I noticed the open sign of course, but the windows are so heavily barred it's nearly impossible to see inside without stopping and taking a good long look with your nose pressed up against the bars.  I guess I fooled myself into thinking no one ever went in or came out so I didn't have to worry about anyone ever actually getting a machine gun there.

But today I did see someone come out the door.  I immediately looked him up and down, wondering if he had a machine gun or some other scary weapon, would I be able to see it somehow poking out somewhere?  I didn't notice anything.

A little while later, and purely by coincidence, I ended up in line behind him while we each bought a sandwich.  I wanted to ask him what he had been doing in there.  Had he just bought a machine gun?  AK47?  Some other frightening weapon not used in hunting?

But I didn't.  Afterward, I noticed he returned to the store with his sandwich.  I guess he works there and was just grabbing a bite to eat for lunch.  

Why did it surprise me to catch a machine gun shop worker engaged in such a prosaic activity as buying a sandwich?  I guess machine guns and sandwiches don't go together in my mind.  

And neither do machine guns and Cottage Grove.