Sunday, 14 September 2014
After all the walking on yesterday’s cottage tour, my knee and calf were both playing up, so almost all I did was sit and blog about the tour. Garden Tour Nancy came over with a large piece of salmon which her hunter/gatherer spouse, Phil, had caught in his secret fishing place. (I cannot tell.)
Fortunately for this blog entry, Allan rowed around Black Lake for awhile and took some photos.
We postponed eating the salmon for one day, as I had it strongly in mind to have a fire (with sausages) that night while the weather was still hot and not windy. Warm, still evenings are rare here (or have been in past summers; that may have permanently changed). If we could acquire a fire ring grill top, we could cook salmon and other delicacies outdoors but for now we are limited to food that can be toasted on a campfire fork (sausages and buns, and marshmallows for Allan).
Allan managed to start the fire with no paper at all; I usually use wads and wads of newspaper before I can get one going.
Tomorrow, I would have to do extensive watering as the garden had become distressed in the heat.
We wished that Kathleen had not had to go back to the big city, as last week when she came for a campfire, we had gotten rained out. This particular fire was the most perfect one of the summer.
Monday, 15 September 2014
We have become slackers, me more than Allan as he still goes out to do the necessary Ilwaco watering on a weekend. Having spent a day at the cottage tour, I felt a strong need for two days at home so declared Monday a day off. That will make this another TWO day work week for me as I am leaving Thursday, fate willing, for a trip to the Sylvia Beach Hotel.
The day began shockingly hot again. I was thrilled when it soon cooled down and I could see fog in the distance.
It was a workday for our friend J9, who stopped by after work for a visit and to get some vegetables.
Allan went out to water Larry and Robert’s garden, our volunteer Post Office garden, and the Ilwaco planters, all of which are one-person jobs.
(The vacant lot downtown is treated with Round Up by its owner, which we think is a shame as it used to grow wild beach peas.)
My big garden plan for the weekend had been to chop up some of the garden debris pile and put it into the compost bins. We have decided to no longer collect kitchen compost from a nearby café for several reasons, one being that the compost bins stink up the garden in hot weather, one being that the amount of time spent collecting and processing takes more work hours than the cost of a load of dairy manure, and another being that a neighbour had….RATS…and the cats brought in a rat the other day, an ominous sign. With four plastic bins of kitchen compost, three of which could be breached by a determined critter, we were perhaps asking for trouble.
The first day was too hot to do the garden debris project and the second day I was just too darn lazy.
After watering, Allan made a delicious salmon dinner with Phil’s salmon, and some of our Yukon Golds and tomatoes (and storebought everything else).
Relaxed by the slow boat ride and charmed by the perfect fire, I was in quite a soothed state until I read “Rats”! I loved the casual bouquet you assembled – and the photo of the post office flag flying over the cosmos AND the salmon plated up with its accompaniments…
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Thanks, Rebecca. Even beautiful Cannon Beach has been plagued with rats this summer so we must be careful.
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Kathleen wishes she hadn’t had to go back to the big bad “city” of Olympia, too.
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A grand paddling miscellany.
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Thanks, Allan will be pleased you enjoyed it.
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I love that blue plate with the salmon! My parents used to own that pattern. Looks delicious.
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It was mighty tasty. We are lucky to know generous fishermen.
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