Preparing the Orchards for Spring

Urban Farmer Update: Over the weekend I attended a pruning workshop held by the Marion County Master Gardeners in preparation for work this week in the orchard. It is the season for late winter pruning and all of the trees are ready for a trim. The plums are showing signs of spring with buds about ready to open. A pear tree appears to be ready to bloom too!

Living in the Willamette Valley

What's it like to live in the Willamette Valley? Here is a collection of photos that Travel Salem put together that gives an idea of how beautiful and fun this little corner of the world can be. And if you are considering moving to Oregon, you should definitely check out the Travel Oregon site. Things really are different here....

Photo by Ron Cooper Photography, Copyright Travel Salem

Recent press

Marcelle Fischler included us in a list of five standout sustainable communities in the United States, pointing out that today's leading developments focus on a particular quality of life that is rooted in an old-fashioned sense of community, as well as eco-friendliness.
http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/eco-friendly-communities-are-surprisingly-retro.html

Eco-Friendly Communities are Surprisingly Retro

By Marcelle Sussman Fischler, Yahoo! Real Estate

December 15, 2011


The decision to live in one of America’s emerging eco-friendly housing developments isn’t strictly about reaping energy savings or protecting the environment.

Surprisingly, what a growing number of eco-friendly housing developments share is an old-fashioned sense of community: homes with welcoming front porches that encourage neighborliness, roads and sidewalks that are pedestrian and bicycle friendly. Locals gather on village greens and frequent farmers’ markets, local restaurants and shops.

As the demand for greener, more energy-efficient homes and sustainable living swells, home buyers from gen X to baby boomers are opting

Happy New Year!

Here is the light show I stepped into on my walk home from Painters Hall last night. It was quiet out and the birds were darting around, really quite a beautiful sight, I felt very lucky to be there.

Paco's photos

Paco, who takes care of the landscaping for the entire neighborhood using all-organic methods, enjoys snapping photos when he sees something beautiful (which happens frequently here). This is a shot he took yesterday in the wetlands.

New Planters in the Glasshouses

Paco just built three new planters in the Pringle Creek Glasshouses, and
Nicole (Urban Farmer) is ready to put them to good use! She will grow
lettuce greens and herbs for Painters Hall Café and Farm Stand sales in the
community. Shangri-La and Leslie Middle School are continuing to use their
benches in the Conservatory for their gardening programs as well.

Solar-powered electric car charger

Check out a post about our BLINK network electric vehicle charger -- tied to Painters Hall's 20.2 kW solar system (a net-zero energy building). We hope to eventually have an EV community car share program to plug in here too. Which EV on the market do you think is best? Post your thoughts or let me know. We have our eye on Eugene's Arcimoto and Portland's Greenlite Motors.

Pringle Creek in Metropolis Magazine

Susan Szenasy, Editor-in-Chief of Metropolis (the stunning magazine of architecture and design), attended our presentation at Greenbuild Toronto last month, and wrote about it in the November issue's "Publisher's Notes." She picked up the key message we were trying to communicate: great, sustainable design is more than just energy efficiency or "doing with less" but rather about having more -- more of the features that improve our lives, the simple joys that typically come at no cost. Scroll through our Greenbuild PDF of the presentation here and thanks to Jackie (my lovely wife) for modeling in the magazine photo!

Painters Hall Cafe on urbanspoon.com

Check out this incredible review on urbanspoon. Sounds staged but it's 100% real I swear.
http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/276/1627426/restaurant/Painters-Hall-Cafe-Salem

"October 31, 2011
It's in the heart  of...........
by Chuck  Bradley (797  reviews) 

Pringle Creek Community, a  fledgling green development on the old Fairview Home property off Strong RD  SE. The ancient and towering smoke stack from a bygone day looms above the  building where the painters, who maintained the many buildings on the then  state owned facility, worked and stored their equipment and supplies. The  décor is an eclectic mix and includes large tables for big groups or intimate  tables and conversation groupings with easy chairs, couches and coffee tables.  The walls are festooned with "fine art prints" by Wayne J. Parker and an  interesting fish sculpture created from keys and key-ring disks. The table at  which my bride and I sat was fashioned from a section of Oak hardwood floor,  no doubt salvaged from one of the old buildings since deconstructed on the  property.
The restaurant has access to two huge depression era green houses  that the developers have restored. Their goal is to provide all the fruit and  vegetable ingredients they use from indoor and outdoor gardens on site.
Our  server, Holly, was new and very eager and helpful.
It boasts "Natural &  Organic Food & Drinks in a LEED-Platinum, net-zero energy Café". The menu  is currently in seasonal transition and is rather limited but very healthy and  good. My bride chose a half Whole Wheat Pita Chicken Salad Sandwich and a cup  of Lintel Soup. Both were excellent. Her cup of Soup was almost as large as my  bowl of Minestrone. I had a whole Caprese; fresh Mozzarella, fresh Tomato and  Basil on Cascade Baking Company French Bread and drizzled with Balsamic  Vinegar and Spices and a fresh Pear and Mixed Greens Salad with Onion, Walnuts  and Feta Cheese. Yum!
The Sandwich prices are: $5 for a whole or a half  with a cup of Soup. Soup is $5 for a bowl or $3 for a cup. Salads are $3.  Fresh brewed Coffee was $1.
Painters Hall Café offers high quality food and  service for an extraordinarily low price. We don't think you can go wrong  here."

Paco's photos

Paco took a photo of these two little Tree Swallows near the creek this morning. So many birds all around right now -- last week I saw no fewer than 30 Robins all together, between the Pacific Yew and the Fir Grove.