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Welcome to Short Meadow!

Short Meadow is where I live and work. It's a seven-acre small holding nestled on an island in the Pacific Northwest.  With a meadow (short!), woodland, and gardens it has everything I need to live a life of creativity and abundance surrounded by nature. The end-to-end view of the Olympic Mountains doesn't hurt. My creative endeavors draw deep from my relationship with the land and its wildlife. To the best of my abilities, I want to share some of that magic with you here.

 

The Garden

 It’s never finished (or even close) but here are some of the inhabitants that help inspire my art.

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Dahlia

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Gunnera

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Hyacinth

in the woodland

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Ume Plum

Prunus Mume

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Hollyhock

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Iris

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Red Geranium

Officially a Pelagonium but who’s checking?

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A plethora of dahlias

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Poppies

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Hydrangea ‘Annabelle’ with Rose ‘Jude the Obscure’

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Crocus

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Hellebore ‘Golden Lotus’

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Rose ‘Fighting Temeraire’

Who's Who

Want to put a face to a name? I'll do my best to add portraits here when a new friend joins the group. Usually I make sure a wild animal is sticking around and is individually recognizable before they get a name. I make no warranty as to gender if it isn't obvious to a casual naturalist like myself.

 

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This is Sarah, a Townsend chipmunk. She lives in the woods but occasionally visits the birdfeeder to help clean up.

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The girls - hatched on the same day in March 2017: Black Astrolorps, Buff Orpingtons, Americaunas

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Ella is a labrerke cattle spaniel - 1/4 lab, 1/4 schipperke, 1/4 australian cattle dog, 1/4 springer spaniel.

This rare breed has only been found at the Portland Humane Society so please check your local shelter when looking for a best friend!

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This is Sylvia - she hangs out in orchids and potted plants in the tropical corner of the deck.

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This is Nikolayevich - in 2018 he lived under the Cosmonaut Volkov tomato starts (hence the name)

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Cyril lived in the fig pot in 2018.

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Casper lived in the greenhouse with Nikolayevich in 2018.

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Robin is only about the size of a penny - making the other frogs look huge! 2018

Meet the Neighbors

Here is the growing list of plants and animals living at Short Meadow. There's nothing particularly unique about this list, but it shows the diversity of life which is something to celebrate.

Mammals

  • Columbian Blacktail deer

  • Coyote

  • Rabbit - Eastern Cottontail

  • Raccoon

  • House mouse

  • Red squirrel

  • Gray squirrel

  • Townsend chipmunk

  • Black rat

Amphibians/Reptiles

  • Pacific Northwest tree frog

  • Columbia spotted frog

  • Northern alligator lizard

  • Garter snake

Birds

  • Barred owl

  • Great horned owl

  • Black-cap chickadee

  • Rustback chickadee

  • Ana's hummingbird

  • Red-breasted sapsucker

  • Hairy woodpecker

  • Northern flicker

  • Pileated woodpecker

  • Stellar's jay

  • Common raven

  • Tree swallow

  • Barn swallow

  • Red-breasted nuthatch

  • Pacific wren

  • American robin

  • Varied thrush

  • European starling

  • Dark-eyed junko

  • Housefinch

  • American goldfinch

  • House sparrow

  • Evening grosbeak

  • Mourning dove

  • Red-tailed hawk

  • White-crowned sparrow

  • California quail

  • Banded pigeon (an actual native pigeon! Who knew?)

Insects

  • Cinnabar Moth

  • Aphids

  • Ladybug

  • Blue Darner Dragonfly

  • Canadian Tiger Swallowtail

  • Pale Beauty Moth

  • Plume Moth

  • Praying Mantis

Trees

  • Madrone

  • Western Red Cedar

  • Alder

  • Douglas Fir

Plants

  • Salmonberry

  • Thimbleberry

  • Red huckleberry

  • Evegreen Huckleberry

  • Salal

  • Oceanspray

  • Baldhip Rose

  • Himalayan Blackberry

  • Trailing Blackberry

  • Oregon Grape

  • Skunk Cabbage

  • Deer fern

  • Sword fern

  • Groundcone

  • Stinging Nettle