ECO-FRIENDLY MEDALS & KEYCHAINS FOR YOUR NEXT CYCLING EVENT

Would You Like A Skink with Your Order?

July 17, 2018

Would You Like A Skink with Your Order?

In 2004 I moved Resource Revival 70 miles east from Portland, Oregon, to Mosier, Oregon, population 240. I grew up in rural Vermont and always wanted to get back to that vibe. Lots of space, lots of peace, lots of nature.

Running a business in the country is different than running a business in city. The employee pool is smaller and less cosmopolitan, we don't have salespeople knocking on our door, and there are lots of critters.

Some of critters are problematic, like the wasps and yellow jackets that nest around the shop and get very active on hot summer days, and the black widow spiders that are rare but always a possibility when moving some boxes that haven't been moved in a while. Mostly though, our fauna is a wonder, and we often pause work to watch. We have deer that like to hang out in the old barn we use as a warehouse if we leave the big door open on hot summer days (its shady in there). We have an extended family of wild turkeys that roam around making cute noises. Plus rabbits, squirrels, bobcat, coyote, red tailed hawks, bald eagles, and a wide variety of lizards and skinks.

For some reason, the western skinks like it in our workshop this year, and we're finding them everywhere. Inside boxes of chain, underneath desks, and often moving in our peripheral vision when we're closing up for the night. There's no food or water for them inside, so we round them up (they are easy to catch), set them outside, and get ready to repeat the process the next day. So far, we haven't shipped one to a customer, but I think we'll hear about it if we do.