My Father's Daughter

Today I could really tell that I was a Gentzsch, my father's daughter and my grandparents' granddaughter. The Gentzsch's LOVE good dirt. No, I'm not talking about gossip, though Grandma could give any Mrs. Grundy a run for her money, I'm sure. But really dirt filled with detritus, worms and various creepy crawlies.

When I was talking with Natalia about coming to visit, she mentioned how much yard work she's been doing this year. Because I love dirt, I asked if she had any big projects that I could help her with. So, this afternoon we went to the nursery to get a few bulbs, The nurseries here are wonderful. The first one we went to had complimentary coffee and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, both excellent. That won me over right then. The second one we went to was big enough to get lost in. (There are nurseries here that are nurseries AND coffee shops! No kidding. I swear this was designed with my dad in mind.) Natalia picked out some crocuses, hyacinths, and ranunculus to go with the daffodil bulbs she already had.

We came back and did the "grunt work" first, including raking, trimming and putting greens into bins. The best part, though, was digging up the arum, a nasty invasive. I got to get my hands really deep into the dirt (and it's great dirt!) and get really dirty. (I know, Mark, you can't take me anywhere! ;) We haven't actually gotten to the bulbs yet, but there's still tomorrow.

I know some of you are thinking, "You're in Portland!! Why aren't you going to Powell's or the art museum or ..." Well, I visited Natalia a few years ago for a week and we did a lot of that then. And, for where I am most of the time right now (SF), getting into dirt is rarer than an art museum. Plus, Mark is going to come up here in two weekends and I'm sure we'll spend at LEAST a whole afternoon at Powells...