Solutions to an Over-Productive Garden

September might bring a mixture of joy and pain for you, if you're among the ranks of Southern Oregon backyard gardeners. There are all those ripe tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini...and they're sitting around going moldy because you don't have time to can or preserve all the produce or the appetite to eat any more vegetables. Everybody you know has the same problem, except for that one Martha Stewart-wannabe who's been efficiently canning and dehydrating things for three weeks now (but everybody secretly hopes her neatly organized pantry suddenly topples over on her, so she doesn't count).

The point is, what are you supposed to do with all that produce? There are plenty of people in Southern Oregon whose crops didn't pan out quite like they'd hoped (the Scoop being one of them. My heirloom tomato plant and I are not on speaking terms), and plenty more who didn't have crops to begin with. Connect your veggies with those folks. How?

-List your bounty in the "free" section on craigslist. Just leave them in a box on your porch (or wherever) and put up a listing. They'll be gone before you know it.

-Bring them to work, church, soccer practice...anywhere you see lots of people.

-Get in touch with an organization that will pick up your food. Try:

Neighborhood Harvest: http://harvest-nw.heroku.com/ Shockingly, the newspaper article mentioned on their site is worth reading.

The Southern Oregon Gleaning Network: http://gleaningnetwork.com/

ACCESS: take a look at the list of food banks

And now that you know, don't let anything else go to waste! At least post an ad on craigslist. Seriously, it takes two seconds!

Image courtesy of sxc.hu

Oktoberfest in Jacksonville

Just a heads-up...Octoberfest in Jacksonville is this weekend. It's 12p-10p Saturday in the historic Jacksonville School, and put on by Frau Kemmling Schoolhaus Brewhaus. Beer, pretzels and sausage are obviously the best way to welcome fall. Check out www.fraukemmling.com for more information.

Prost!

Photo courtesy of sxc.hu

Exploring Stunning Crater Lake in Southern Oregon

Crater Lake – Southern Oregon’s Beautiful Blue Gem

Recently, The Scoop was fortunate enough to visit the world famous Crater Lake located here in our own beautiful Southern Oregon. For those of you who have lived here but haven’t made the trek…for shame! Few areas of the Rogue Valley, and likely the world can even come close to touching the natural beauty present at Crater Lake. If you’re visiting, it should be a “must do” on your list.

Today marks the first article in a series The Scoop is going to put up regarding this natural marvel, and hopefully if you haven’t bothered to make a trip or taken advantage of some of the activities presented you’ll be motivated to get off your duff and do it!

The Crater Lake Boat Tour

Nothing sounds like more fun the hiking around at 6000 feet…at least The Scoop would rather do that than be run over by a car. Unfortunately for those of us with chronic buttstucktothecouchitis the only way to take the Crater Lake boat tour is to get up, go, and yes, even hike a bit.

The hike is short (only about 1 mile up and down) but it’s steep and will likely even have those of us who are pretty physically fit huffing and puffing on the way back up. Be sure to bring water and plan some time to make the hike down as the decline is quite steep and takes a careful step. The only water available is sold (16oz for $1.50 – ouch!), unless you want to drink out of the lake, which yes you can do. Also, at the time there was no food available either.

The boat tours range in length of time with the variation coming as a result of stopping at the Crater Lake’s famous Wizard Island. Here you can fish, swim, and hangout for the afternoon if you so desire before completing the trip (this does cost more, bring food and The Scoop does not recall if toilets are available on Wizard Island).

If you’re happy just boating around the lake bring some sunscreen, sit back, and enjoy the ride. The back of the boat is the safest place to avoid getting splashed if that’s a high priority.

Along the way you’ll be introduced to a multitude of fascinating facts about the lake, its history, it’s founder and why exactly people care so much about a bunch of water in a crater. You’ll also get some pretty cool views along the way, and frankly, The Scoop believes getting to peer into the pristine water is almost worth the trip (but you can just hike down to the boat area and swim as well…).

Take it easy on the way back up, plan to stop and rest if you are a more “experienced” traveler or have been working too hard in front of the computer. If you choose to really move you can make the climb back up in under 20 minutes, but you might need a few dozens towels to dry you off after you reach the top. You’ll also be much more likely to attract the mosquitoes that take pride in getting as much out of every traveler as possible. Not sold on making the effort yet? Hopefully these photos The Scoop grabbed will help you find the value in Southern Oregon’s most well known attraction.