4th of July Parade - Coho Style!

The kids had planned to go to the Corvallis 4th of July parade, which is an anybody can participate event.  Just show up and be in the parade.  (One year, the Coho musicians practiced Sousa marches for a few months ahead of time and we marched together.  It was the only band in the parade.  Trumpet, flute, accordion, guitar, fiddle, and there may have been a recorder.)  However, this year, they got confused about the time and missed it, so they decided to call a spontaneous 4th of July parade.  And the other citizens of Corvallis do not know what they missed!  Most of the cohoots who were at Coho were IN the parade, only a few of us were onlookers.  (They needed to have somebody to wave at.)  Here are some highlights:

We started with the Star Spangled Banner, to Trumpet and flute.

Sporting red, white, and blue with Lady Liberty on a float.

Coho musicians in a rousing Stars and Stripes Forever.  Lots of parade waves.  Is that a wagon full of stuffed animals?

Coho Kabuki?

Perhaps in reaction to the blasé grey buildings (but more likely, 'school's out - what kind of mischief can we make!?!'), a couple of creative cohoots decorated themselves with chalk and food coloring. Fantastic results! If you need make up consultants for your next costume party - look no further.

And the expressions!!!  Have they been studying Kabuki?

Mysterious Pink Lights on the Path

Mysterious Pink lights appear on the path in early morning hours....

On mid-June sunny mornings, iridescent pink lights shimmer on the pavement for brief periods, in

front of buildings 3 & 6, and 2 & 7. The most striking lights appear in the form of a pink bird with a yellow wing, sitting on a pink branch. (bird light).

Years ago, I came upon Mica sitting on the path spitting and furiously rubbing out a pink chalk line.

When I asked what he was doing, he replied with his characteristic mischievous, bordering on demonic

smile, “I'm destroying the girl color!” I glanced down the path at the crooked pink line extending as far

as the eye could see and told him, “I don't think you have enough spit to complete the job.” He let me

know that his plan did not require the elimination of the entire line. Given the shimmering pink lights

on the path, could it be that the secret powers of the girl color are in their ascendency?

Read all about it on the Coho blog:  https://www.cohoecovillage.org/blog/2016/06/sightings-at-coho-mysterious-pink-lights/

Wren vs. Chickdee: Who's Mo' Badass?

The housing shortage in Corvallis has apparently extended to the bird kingdom. A wren and a pair of chickadees have been engaged in loud, continuous squabbles over a nesting hole in the fence behind building two. Wren makes the most noise, so you could say the wren is in the catbird seat. The chickadee does the most bullying, chasing the wren around the area. The early morning air is filled with “chickadee-dee-dee-dee,” followed by various wren warbles and buzzes – on repeat. Over and over. (Of note, the more dee-dee-dees at the end of the chickadee call, the greater the threat.) By the end of the day, wren is still singing, and chickadee appears worn out. He sits on the wire fence under the nest hole, feathers all plumped out – looking bigger, badder, and appearing to scowl through that low-slung black cap. Chickadee has a partner who sometimes goes into the nest hole during the chases, and sits looking out – making it clear who inhabits this hole. Wren then sits on the wire fence beneath the hole, body flicking furiously. Today I thought I saw a little brown bird go into the hole during a chase and disappear. So, wren might just have a partner, this still needs verification. Last year, he sang for almost 3 weeks, and just when it seemed that all was lost, a partner appeared and cleaned up the awkward nest he had built for her. They had a successful fledge.

To hear wren songs and scoldings: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/House_Wren/sounds

To hear black capped chickadee sounds: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-capped_Chickadee/sounds

Who has claim to this nest hole? It was started several years ago by a downy woodpecker, who never completed it. It was finished by a couple of chickadees, who busily deposited sawdust all over the nearby planting beds, but they never nested in it. Last year a wren came and set up house in the hole. So, while the architecture is distinctly chickadee, wrens do have a precedent for living in this hole.

So, who's mo' badass? Wrens are aggressive and destroy the eggs and young of nest box competition. While it is a little late this spring, perhaps it's time to do something about the bird housing shortage at Coho.

Why you want to be my neighbor

Why You Want To Be My Neighbor
at CoHo Ecovillage, Corvallis, Oregon
There are so many reasons…
1. CoHo is all about community. It’s filled with
caring, intelligent, articulate neighbors ready
to share experiences and ideas with you.
2. CoHo is rich in expertise. You can learn and
share information and skills on everything
from bike repair to communication, from
plumbing to gardening.
3. CoHo cares about sustainability. You’ll find
inspiration and ready resources for living a
sustainable lifestyle.
4. We are dedicated to developing effective
communication skills and ensuring that
everyone’s needs are heard and taken into
consideration.
5. Several optional community meals per week.
You help cook, prep, or clean up a couple of
times a month, depending on your
participation.
6. Numerous special-interest groups meet
regularly at our Common House (music,
board games, puzzles, crafts, community
affairs, educational events, etc.)
7. CoHo is on a good financial footing, with
realistic contingency and maintenance-
reserve funds in place. Our Finance Team is
on top of things.
8. It’s quiet here. Some kid noise during the day
(which we don’t mind), and the neighborhood
is quiet at night.
9. Kids! We’ve got ’em — for your kids to play
with or for you to talk to, play with, and
befriend. Organized activities currently
include a babysitting co-op, on-site daycare,
and Kids Club.
10. The buildings are well-built — solid, tight,
well insulated. Also they’re built green — no
toxic materials.
11. Units have radiant, in-floor heat (inexpensive
and cozy!).
12. Units have high ceilings and big windows not
found in many run-of-the-mill modern homes.
13. Buildings are arranged around a central foot
path to encourage interaction.
14. Plenty of room and incentive to garden.
People are always trading and giving away
seedlings, produce, and knowledge.
15. CoHo has large open spaces, dedicated
woodland and meadow.
16. CoHo has a grand Common House with a big
kitchen, large meeting room, cozy living
room, laundry room & game room, kids’
playroom, and guest room.
17. CoHo has a big bike barn for your use —
secure and dry.
18. CoHo is close to downtown (less than 1.5
miles). It’s an easy bike ride or walk for tea,
bookstore, whatever you like downtown. Less
driving around town! Get out of the car!
19. Corvallis has a major university (OSU),
providing many cultural opportunities. We
celebrate being geeks!
http://www.davincidays.org/
20. Corvallis is one of the most bicycle-friendly
towns in the U.S.
21. Great farmers’ market (twice weekly in
summer)!
22. Corvallis hosts a wide range of resources for
nourishment of mind, body, and spirit.
23. We live close to nature, with amazing birds
and other wildlife nearby. CoHo borders a
large city-county park. It’s a 10-minute walk
to the river where there are miles of
meandering pathways through open and
wooded areas.
24. Yes, it rains in Oregon, that’s why the trees
are so big. We have great forests! And rainy
season is a good time to work on art and
indoor projects.
25. The rain ceases in summer, and every day is
beautiful.
26. Old-growth forest is just a 20-minute drive
and a 15 minute walk away.
27. Mild winters and summers — seldom
extremely cold or hot.
28. Fun Oregon Country Fair near Eugene:
www.oregoncountryfair.org/
29. Close to Breitenbush (a great hot spring).
30. We’re not far from Portland (for your big-city
fix).
31. We’re close to many places of great beauty;
ocean and mountains are just an hour away.
32. Amazing waterfalls abound throughout
Oregon.
33. Berries! August is a free, all-you-can-eat
blackberry buffet. Grow your own or u-pick
blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries.
For more information, visit cohoecovillage.org
List compiled by Leela Devi and Austin Hallock, April 2011.

Laundry Day at Coho

A couple of days ago, several kids came to the door and asked if I had any laundry they could hand-wash. I had just done the laundry, and to be honest, wondered about the wisdom of handing over delicates to the kids (ranging in age from 4 to 7 years old) to wash. So, I said I did not have anything. They looked so dejected that I felt terrible. (And, as I recently read in Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, I had violated the first rule of improvisation: never say no.) After they left, I went to the laundry basket and found one sport top/bra that was not too precious and asked Jessica (four years old, and wringing the devil out of an article of clothing) if they were still accepting laundry, she said yes, and came upstairs to retrieve the top. The other kids were going door to door looking for more laundry. They had a laundry station set up across the path from our building: a soapy tub, a rinse tub, and a drying rack. Jessica, the mom, said that doing laundry was their latest thing. (In the past, Katie (5) and Shoshanna (7) have come around dressed in identical plastic aprons, as the cleaning ladies, with a broom and dustpan, asking if we have anything they could clean. That's an easy one, we can always find something to clean.)

Later in the afternoon, when I returned from a class, I found the laundry rack full of wadded up laundry. I figured they probably needed the lesson about how to hang laundry to dry best, so I only flattened my piece (which was heavier than the others). Later in the day when they were delivering laundry, I received a really cute raspberry-colored linen camisole top, the same color as my sports top. I located the owner of the cami, and I am still hoping my top turns up.

Moral of the story: to have more fun, look for a way to say yes.

Yummy Path!

It is a gorgeous day. Lots of clouds and sun. Took a walk to the river, then began cleaning up some of the slimy, messy vegetation that had frozen in my garden a week ago. As I was walking up the path, getting ready to go inside, I ran into Skya and Jessica (both 4-5 years old) picking leaves off the rosemary and lavender plants in Jude's yard. (They had been doing this in the dark the evening before.) When I asked what they were doing, they said "yummy-path!" Then I could see that they were scattering the herbs on the path. They are trying to create a fragrant path. It is winter, the herbs are not releasing a lot of smell, they will turn to mush on the path - it is true.

When I was four years old, a friend and I gathered lots of cattails and shredded them all over the back yard to make it look like it was covered in snow. We gleefully giggled, danced and sang our way through the yard, trying to cover every bit of earth with the soft, white fluff. Mr. Ganzhaur, the next-door neighbor, quietly looked on with a scowl on his face. When my dad got home I got a big spanking. This was the most unjust spanking I had ever had. I could not understand what I had done wrong - I had made the yard beautiful. It was my first (and only) installation.

Yummy Path - the newest coho installation. I brought in a sprig of the lavender that was dropped on the path, as a souvenir.