I have made a big change in my life, I have moved real estate offices to Bend’s Home Town Realty. I can work from my home more now, and have more time to garden and look at wild flowers.
I was having camera trouble, so have not gotten all the pictures of wild flowers that I wanted. But my camera glitch is worked out, so here are a couple that I took pictures of this evening.
Never mind. There is still a glitch.
I do love juniper trees. I feel sad when people call them weed trees, though by some definition they may be. They spread into land that has been disturbed by man and animals and have doubled their range since the early 1900s. And they are not a commercially viable lumber on a large enough scale to get respect.
Juniper trees have been around this area for a long time, with their being much more widely distributed 2,000 to 4,000 years ago. It is figured that 400 years ago their range was around what it is in our present time, and that the decline began about 200 years ago. They get quite ancient, hundreds of year old.
Their berries are a major winter food source for many birds including robins and grosbeaks, as well as being a medicinal and a culinary herb. They flavor gin. The bark can make baskets. The lumber is beautifully grained and is used as a specialty item. My mother, Margaret Meritt, a local artist, used juniper scenes as on of her favorite subjects and found them quite successful.
I was impressed to see that their value is beginning to be recognized. The Pronghorn Development, a golf community on Powell Butte Road that is situated in a beautiful juniper forest, is digging and potting the junipers that are in their way. They put them in huge lumber pots, to be replanted later. Good job.
I am a real estate broker with Sunriver Realty, Bend, in my current incarnation. What a great way to make a living. Helping folks find a home. I like it. When I find a home for someone or help a seller make changes in their lives, it is a real rush. My goal is to help make people happy and their life a little easier. If I can help you with your real estate needs, e-mail me or give me a call. You can search for Central Oregon real estate from this site, and any property you find there, I can help you with. The other thing that gives me a rush is gardening, growing plants, especially herbs. I have been having a love affair with herbs for about the last 30 years. These history and lore soaked plants have fascinated and helped humans since before written human history. Food, flavorings, medicines, cosmetics, scents and more, these allies of humanity share with us their very essence. How fortunate I am to have such friends. Central Oregon has been my home for most of my life, except for a few years in California and the Willamette Valley, I have had a Bend address. I currently live about 12 miles east of Bend near the community of Alfalfa. I am privileged to be living in an ancient juniper forest, with venerable old juniper sentinels guarding my home and garden. I also teach gardening and herbal classes for Central Oregon Community College, Continuing Education program. I have teaching with them since 1976. I sometimes teach classes for Master Gardeners, other organizations and privately. My time has been more limited since becoming a real estate broker, so I do not teach or lecture as much as I did in years past. I even had an herb and gift shop in downtown Bend for about seven years, called Juniper & Sage. I still have my informational herb and gardening website at www.juniperandsage.com Check it out.
