19 Oct: semi-workday

19 October, 2013

We slept a little late.  We are both feeling tired after quite a few days in a row of work.  Then our first stop was to visit Kelly Frech of Blue Crab Graphics, just behind the post office, to get a t shirt for Chester’s surprise birthday party.  We picked this design, but on a t shirt of dark grey, for a fisherman turned shop/café owner.

Kelly’s salmon design, shown at Saturday Market

Having not checked the Ilwaco planters for quite some time, we did so, starting at the south end of First Avenue by the boatyard.  I am impressed with how wonderfully the cosmos are still doing there.

pretty amazing cosmos

These have not been fussed with or deadheaded for weeks (or whenever it was that I last wrote about weeding the boatyard!).

The door of Don’s Portside Café is looking like Halloween.

Portside Café, not actually on the port

You can see a couple of our street trees and a planter through the open door.

The planter on the corner by Don’s was the first one I did a serious clipping on today.  I didn’t like the blobby look of one section of the golden marjoram.

blobby…..and somewhat less blobby

I just did not feel ready to chop all the marjoram (oregano) back.

i DID feel eager to cut all the Nepeta (catmint) back and we did. (above, before)

Just one planter has a huge amount of messy painted sage hanging on determinedly.  I am tired of it by now, but since the center plant, a handsome Erysimum ‘Bowles Mauve’, walked away with a finger blighter, I’ll leave the salvia till the first frost.  I am too tired of it to even bother trimming the underneath brown bits since surely it will die back one of these days soon…

a big ol’ mess

I was dreading the thought of having to gather buckets and (have Allan) water the planters; fortunately, most of them were damp from nightly cool dew.  The few that did need watering got a bucket full from the Col Pacific Motel spigot, a spigot by Jennifer Hopkins CPA office, and a watering can from the sink at Olde Towne Café.  When we left Olde Towne, we switched compost buckets because we could not spoil Chester’s surprise birthday party by revealing that we would be back at 4:30!

Just to stay ahead of the work schedule for next week, we went to the port and did some weeding along Howerton.  My energy leapt when I started the enjoyable and fragrant job of trimming some silver santolina.

trimming santolina, backdrop of Gaura ‘Whirling Butterflies”

I could have/should have taken a photo of how well the garden on the south side of the port office is still doing but got distracted by the contrast of high tide this afternoon with the very low tide of last night.

high tide, looking west

The weather was so lovely that folk were dining on the outside deck at OleBib’s Café.

a high, mirror like surface, looking east

We are so fortunate to be able to live just one block from the beautiful, ever changing marina.

In the port parking lot, stacks of crab pots are appearing, the first sign that crabbing time is approaching…even though the boats may not go out till well into December.

crab pots by the storage boatyard

A crabber could tell whose pots those are by the colour of the trim…I think.

After an hour and a half of collapse at home, in which I accomplished absolutely nothing other than wrapping Chester’s present, and during which time Allan mowed our entire lawn, we departed for Chester’s party.  I had looked up “Duck Dynasty”, one of Chester’s favourite telly shows and the party theme,  and figured that wearing my old black rubber boats and my usual flannel shirt and a red headband would be just about a good enough costume.  Camo gear isn’t part of my wardrobe.  (Another favourite show of Chester’s is The Big Bang Theory, so he is a man of diverse tastes.)

Olde Towne Trading Post Café

Duck Dynasty decor

As often happens at parties, the table was all set up and decorated in the front room, and yet everyone gathered back closer to the kitchen!

Chester flanked by the party organizers Coral and Bob

Coral and Bob had organized the party and done all the duck themed decorating.  Years ago, we made a garden for them at their home up in Surfside (north end of the Peninsula).

Chester takes a call on the “duck phone”.

Luanne, Chester and some camo cupcakes (very tasty).

The usual cast of characters:

Kelly of Blue Crab Graphics, our garden client Cheri, Jenna (Queen La De Da) & Don, Judy & Tom

I always find it most interesting in the Tootlepedal blog (one of my daily reads) when he posts a photo of one of his cast of  friends and neighbours.

me and my bestie Judy and her droll and witty husband Tom

Taking a pic of the Nisbett-Austins.

Don, Joe and Jenna

The orange is a Duck Dynasty thing and so is my red headband.  I have succumbed and just ordered season one from the library.

Dusk was falling on the boatyard as we drove home (the long way round):

More boats are coming into the yard daily, it seems.

one more shot of cosmos looking mighty fine

Tomorrow: a day off!  The continuing glorious weather will not be conducive to rest.