24-26 Oct: friends from afar

Saturday, 24 October 2015

Smokey and Mary say good morning.

Yesterday, I had gotten a message from a Canadian Facebook friend, Karla, saying that she and her spouse planned to be passing through Long Beach and wondered if we could have dinner with them.  We’ve been imaginary friends since August 2008, the year that I was obsessed with playing Scrabulous.  When the game of Scrabulous was discontinued, we continued to be imaginary friends.  Karla and Gary had some car trouble and did not make it here yesterday, so today I was waiting for a phone call saying that they had arrived so we could meet them for lunch.  That call came at 12:45 and Allan and I left immediately to meet them at the 42nd Street Café.

Meeting in person for the first time went very well. (Allan’s photo)

Gary and Karla watch Allan taking photos of the food.

I had the tuna sandwich, Garden Tour Nancy’s favourite.

Karla and Allan had delicious mushroom quiche.

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Gary’s photo

Gary and Karla (Allan’s photo)

We all found it easy and natural to converse as if we had known each other for a very long time.  Our friends had come all the way from near Toronto.  As Karla said, she loves meeting old friends she’s never seen before, and as they continue down the Oregon Coast and then across country to their winter home in Florida, they might visit more Facebook friends.

After lunch, we had the pleasure of accompanying them to the Seaview beach approach where they saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time.

Allan’s photo

meeting a cute little dog named Taco (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

The tide was out, making it a long trek over tire tracks to get to the water.  They agreed that it is weird and not very nice to see vehicles driving on the beach.

Looking back from the shoreline: I was a wee bit embarrassed that they had to cross this ugly mess to get to the water.

Gary, Allan and Karla on the clean wet sand.

looking south toward North Head; edited out the wide view that would have had an SUV in it!

Gary’s first visit to the Pacific.

Allan’s photo

It’s a long walk to the water at low tide. Karla, determined to get her feet in the Pacific!

chasing the waves

a dream fulfilled!

Allan’s photo; the water is cold!

contagious happiness

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

 Karla and Gary left to go down the Oregon Coast where they will get to see miles of spectacular beaches (with no cars on them).  We will be following their journey on Facebook.  The visit was joyous and too brief.  I wish we had a guest cottage where we could have put them up and taken them round to see all the sights…and yet they do need to get across the country before winter, and we do have a lot of sights.

At home, we spent the late afternoon working on the Corridor of Spooky Plants for Halloween.  We cannot assemble it all now in case there might be a windstorm.  It’s good to get the basic structure done a week in advance to avoid a last minute rush.

assembling the corridor (Allan’s photo)

Allan tying hops on the arbour.

the framework in place with some Thalictrum ‘Elin’ and some spooky alder branches tied in place.

Allan’s photo

Evening brought the task of B&O taxes and state tax figuring, and I give myself a gold star for taking care of business.

Sunday, 25 October 2015

My rainy day with Susan Conant…sort of a friend from afar because we are Facebook friends.

Monday, 26 October 2015

I had hope for another rainy day so I could read the next in the Dog Lover’s Mysteries.  It was not to be and so became a gardening day.  Allan took the opportunity to paint the trim on the front fence to match the new arbours.  This made me very happy.

setting up (Allan’s photo)

Allan starts painting.

I was pleased to see a flower bud on my Tetrapanax.

And lots of buds on my Eupatorium hernandezii , a plant from Todd that should bloom in winter.  (With Mary)

I decided to clean up the back garden middle bed.

Smokey was hoping for a campfire.

It was wonderful to see shy Calvin being brave out in the garden.

Next door: The crab pots are being readied for commercial crabbing season.

my project: 2 PM

Allan’s photo

5 PM

I also kind of hoped Allan could move our “park” sign which does not show well with a passion flower and clematis growing over it.

speaking of which: passion flower still blooming

It turned out that sign was attached with bolts that had rusted tight.  Allan managed to remove it and is going to rust proof the sign so the fine details do not not wear away.

The last photo of the sign in this spot.

Smokey continued to hope for a campfire, but we had other dinner plans.

Allan’s paint job.

Allan’s photo

I had added more material to the Corridor of Spooky Plants. (Much rain is predicted for Halloween, sadly.)

Allan’s photo

Allan’s painting sheet looking like modern art.

In the evening, we began a visit with another friend from afar.  Carol (my friend for 37 years!) was here from Seattle and we had dinner at the Depot Restaurant.

mango scallops at the Depot

Wilted spinach salad is back!

Allan’s delicious French Onion Soup

Cinghiale Brasato, my favourite winter menu dish.

8 PM at the Depot

After dinner, we took take-out desserts to Carol’s home for the night, the Zelmar Cruiser at the Sou’wester Lodge.

I love visiting the Sou’wester. The Zelmar Cruiser (Allan’s photo)

When I entered the Zelmar Cruiser, which I had cleaned many times during my year of working at the Sou’wester (1993), I found myself hugging the round wall at the back of the kitchen!

The bathroom and bedroom are through there. (Allan’s photo)

in the Zelmar Cruiser (Allan’s photo)

the living room (with take out desserts from the Depot; Allan’s photo)

Carol in the Zelmar Cruiser living room

as we leave, more trailers: The Potato Bug and The Blue Wave (Allan’s photo)

Next: Carol and I tour Cannon Beach, followed by Allan goes boating.

 

 

 

 

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22-23 Oct: the last of the fall project list

Thursday, 22 October 2015

Before work: Allan saw through his window our dear neighbour Jessika picking apples. (She has a standing invitation to come pick!)

First thing: some kale and violas into the planter at Peninsula Sanitation office, by request

second thing: some deadheading at the Depot Restaurant garden

third thing: grooming the Long Beach welcome sign garden

Nancy’s garden

Fourth thing: We put a pot of fingerling potatoes on Garden Tour Nancy and Phil’s front porch.

Nancy’s kitchen garden

her dahlias

and her chooks

something of interest

cottages across the street

Klipsan Beach Cottages

Our goal today was to polish off the last big fall project.

before: Allan plans the task

Allan’s photo: heading in to the base of the Helianthus ‘Lemon Queen’

after: a considerably enlarged sit spot made by removed a swathe of Helianthus ‘Lemon Queen’:  Good job, Allan

Allan’s before and after

Allan’s photo: larger = more inviting, we feel.

Meanwhile, I did fall clean up in the garden.

before

after

before: tree peony area

after

tall late blooming cosmos

Iris foetidissima

view in the east gate

Mary and Denny tidied up this basement entry area.

Sarah being cute.

seasonal decor

Anchorage Cottages

We had time to do the Anchorage Cottages garden, too, with some more fall clean up.

the center courtyard

hardy fuchsia

further editing of shade garden

Fuchsia magellanica ‘Hawkshead’

Ilwaco

With about one hour before sunset, Allan chopped back an old shrub at our volunteer garden at the Ilwaco post office.  What the shrub is, I do not know, but we make it go away about once a year.

before

Allan’s photo: after

While he addressed the shrub problem, I walked around and checked on the Ilwaco street trees and planters, pulling pesky bits of chickweed and tiny grasses.

Griffin Gallery window downtown….

Halloween is a very big deal in Ilwaco.

Allan joined me by the time I got to the boatyard.

Ilwaco boatyard

We’ll do fall clean up on the boatyard garden one of these days.

I cut a couple more branches off of the leaning columnar pear street tree.

It has flowers in October. Weird.

We got done just in time to go home, drop off the trailer, and head off to our weekly dinner, I mean meeting of the North Beach Garden Gang.

The Cove Restaurant

more signs of Halloween in the Cove Restaurant garden (Allan’s photo)

Allan and Dave discuss garden clippers before dinner.

Allan had the cod from this part of tonight’s special menu.  And I had that salad.

Allan’s photo of his fish and noodles

Dave had this work of art salad.

Melissa’s prawn bowl

Dave’s burger (Allan’s photo); I had the Cajun Chicken Alfredo, with enough left to make Friday’s dinner at home.

I don’t think I have laughed so hard and as much as we do with Dave and Melissa over these weekly dinners for quite some time and it makes me very happy.  Melissa says it makes them happy, too.

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Friday, 23 October 2015

We started with a bit more fall clean up on our volunteer garden at the post office.

Long Beach

Today’s main project: to cut down some mean and thorny Dorothy Perkins roses from Fifth Street Park’s north fence upon which the Long Beach city crew will soon be installing the lighted sea serpent holiday decoration.

While Allan took on the fence roses, I went after some roses and some perennials in the northwest corner of the garden.

before

after

the fence rose project (Allan’s photos); bet the city crew will be happy!

the sea serpent last year, from the other side of the fence

There are two large ornamental grasses against the fence.  You can just catch a glimpse of the bigger one in my before photo.  I dithered about cutting them down, and finally decided not to.  The city crew might chop them, or we might if they seem to block the serpent once it is up.  Right now, their flowers look lovely in the autumnal light, and as Allan said, once we cut them, we can’t put them back.  They might give the effect of the serpent floating along in a marshland.  We shall see.

Then, while Allan raked and picked up all the debris and took it to city works to dump, I walked around to deadhead and groom the planters.

the debris from the park ready to go to City Works (Allan’s photo)

California poppies still blooming

This blue statice from The Planter Box has been a real do-er in the Lewis and Clark Square planter.

lots of cerinthe seedlings in the front corner of that same planter

The Kabob House restaurant behind the photo above was our goal for after work today, but for now I had to walk on by.

I popped into NIVA green to take a few photo for the Facebook page, and found myself buying the skeleton bird and cage.  It will be an excellent addition to our Halloween decor.

I did not carry it with me around the planters; Allan picked it up for me an hour later.

 

Shop owner Heather “went a little cat crazy” at a recent gift show.

By the time I caught up with Allan, he had dumped the debris from Fifth Street Park and was weeding in Veterans Field.

Vet Field corner bed (Allan’s photo)

With work, including weeding in Veterans Field, done, we ended our pretty easy Long Beach day with a scrumptious late lunch at the Kabob House, which recently got a well deserved rave review in the local paper.

Kabob House

vegetable and beef combo

Allan’s photo

Allan’s chicken kabob meal

 

The meals come with a side of the cucumber sauce that I adore, and owner/chef Behnoosh came out to offer us more before the meal was done.  I could eat a gallon of that sauce out of a huge soup tureen. I was surprised when she told me that several people had come in to eat there after seeing it recommended on this blog.  That does amaze and please me.

On the way home, we saw that all the Ilwaco planters had wide red ribbons tied around them.  It is some kind of cancer awareness month (as if we were not already aware and scared with friends getting cancer left and right, it seems!).   I wish to compliment whoever did the banner tying for their excellent job of going under the plants and not hurting them.

good job!

We were home early and I spent the evening catching up on the weekly blogging till quite late, followed by an 11 PM dinner with The Amazing Race.

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Real time update:  If all goes according to plan, as this post publishes on the morning of October 30, we will be putting the finishing touches that day on our Corridor of Spooky plants in preparation for the amazing Ilwaco Halloween.  Several friends including Dave, Melissa, and Our Kathleen, Shelly and Steve, perhaps Todd, perhaps MaryBeth, will join us to hand out candy to the usual 300 or so trick or treaters and to walk around admiring other houses’ decorations.  We hope to have some good photos when that blog post rolls around.  If you are in Ilwaco that evening, come on over.

 

 

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21 October: paddling Smith Creek

Wednesday, 21 October 2015

Allan goes boating on Smith Creek

The plan today was to paddle up North River as far as possible.

Ilwaco to the North River & Smith Creek (shortest route).

Last time I headed up North River, I turned left when I saw a second string of houseboats and continued on until it ended. Turns out, the main channel continued on the right for maybe eight more miles, and more houseboats to see too but, three things put a rethink to that.

The launch at the mouth of Smith Creek.

Rethink #1: It started raining. I saw four open boats of bundled up fishermen heading back. When I was growing up, my dad wouldn’t cancel a trip because of rain. He said we would have been canceling a lot of trips and just included rain in the plan.

A wet and cold day, with no wind to use a sail.

Rethink #2:  A flipper almost fell off. I had ‘improved’ the original attachment bolts to more quickly take apart the system. (I seem to hit sunken stuff a lot). The salt water had frozen my tools, so I could not install a spare replacement bolt I carried. Zip ties and wire held it together the rest of the day. The two flexing flippers swing back and forth to power the boat. I didn’t think it wise to keep going further away with my plastic repair.

I flipped the 2nd picture left to right but the flipper on the top picture almost slid off its rod because the retaining bolt fell off.

Rethink #3: No drinking water for me, my water bottles were back at the car. A PB sandwich and crackers plus a four hour trip ahead, oops.

Here’s a look at some of the river houses.

In 2010 a 1,250 sq. ft. 3 bedroom house tied along here sold for $20,000. Here’s the listing.

Here’s a small tree that must wish it could reach a root down into the river

I went back down the North River to the launch.

“Aha! We found ourselves a kayak, heh heh.” (It’s not easy to lock up a boat). They had caught a sixteen inch jack – a young adult salmon that had returned early before having fully grown.

Smith Creek

I didn’t want to go home, the fun hadn’t really started yet. Smith Creek wasn’t too long, it took me two hours up and back.

Here’s Smith Creek with rain…

and later, the Smith Creek entrance without rain.

fall colors under a maple

fall colors under a maple under the water. (I discovered later that an underwater camera doesn’t shed water spots off its lens).

The river was wide and gravelly here but shallow, so I walked.

I believe its an empty cabin, I think.

A place that could only be reached by boat, like the floating cabins.

I tied up at a dock and cautiously checked it out

A rumex obtusifolius

At great peril, I looked in a window and snapped a pic, for the blog.

The owner’s birdhouse. The mossy tree indicates just how damp it is.

End of the road for me, a bridge for someone else

fungi, blackberry and moss

The weather improved, the sun was getting low, the water was quiet, like the top half of a calendar.

To me, the eyes set this gull apart from the flock

With some extra time before dark, I headed out into the bay.

Hawks Point, about two miles away, with Tokeland beyond

The bay at a +5.8′ tide is only about a foot deep outside the main channel.

Paddle touching the bottom. North River bridge is on the left, Smith Creek bridge is on the right.

Little kayaks just launching and headed up Smith Creek.

It’s a couple fishing from a pair of pedal Hobie boats they bought last spring.

Looking like an ad. I gave them a card with my email, and left them to their fishing. We saw several jumping.

 While loading the car, I saw a dog walker go by, then pick up his dog and toss it into the river. Turns out Otis had rolled in something smelly and needed a bath.

Happy Otis, the four month old puppy scampering back to the river.

Otis tagging along as his cage gets a cleaning too.

Now it’s time to leave, except for those two kayakers still out fishing.

Nine miles on two rivers and a bay, and lots of stuff to fix and dry out.

 

Smith Creek is the part that’s right of the dot, about a two-mile round trip.

 

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20-21 October: work and play

doubling up because I so want to get this blog closer to publishing in real time…

Tuesday, 20 October 2015

Port of Ilwaco

We started our work day with a tiny task at the port: planting some Watsonia bulbs at Time Enough Books.

In the curbside garden, the Ceanothus is blooming again.

I think that is rather unusual.

cosmos still blooming in the garden boat

blue calm water when we went to dump our debris

I saved some red twig dogwood stems from the debris generated by pruning one at Shorebank. They make good winter decorations.

The Planter Box

Our next stop was the acquisiton of some Gardner and Bloome Soil Conditioner (formerly known as Soil Building Compost) at The Planter Box.

Allan rassling a heavy bale.

lots of pumpkins for sale

Teresa gave me the prettiest tea pot for an empty shelf on my porch that she had noticed the other day.  I will be sure to get a photo of it later.

Later: And here it is, on a top shelf seen through the window of our sun porch, right where Teresa suggested I put it.

Allan’s photo: I got a couple of flowering kale at the request of a client.

late blooming roses

Allan liked the way these pots were stacked and sorted.

Golden Sands Assisted Living

Now we began a Project Day.  I wanted to get the fall projects done and off the list before Bulb Hell, I mean…Bulb Time.  At Golden Sands, the project, which Allan tackled, was to dig out some old and non blooming Siberian iris.

I noticed the shovel had some heavy clay on it; that was from the Ilwaco Community Building garden where he had worked yesterday evening.

sticky heavy clay

Allan’s project, before and after=hard work!

I planted some hellebores and cyclamen donated by Our Kathleen and then pruned a Ceanothus that was so big it blocked the views of the garden from two rooms.

This photo from last June shows its size.

today’s “after” photo

Like many of the shrubs in the courtyard next to the windows, it is just too big (not planted by us!).  Large rhododendrons and euonymous were planted in front of most of the windows and have to be frequently pruned.  That ceanothus should break out some new lower growth that will enable me to give it a better shape.

Allan had some clean up to do in the hallway after hauling out the branches.

some nice schizostylis in one of the beds

Marilyn’s Garden

Again, Allan embarked on the project while I did a bunch of cutting back.

Some serious trimming happened here.

We leave a lot of the old plants standing in the winter for the happiness of wildlife.  We recently learned that tiny bees will overwinter in hollow stemmed plants, so it is even more beneficial than we knew to leave plants standing.  I do like to make it clear along the path, though.

Allan’s project was another hard slog: removing a patch of pesky orange monbretia that had volunteered by the back steps.

before and after

Allan’s photo: Removing some carex also. Hard work.

Allan’s photo: Scooter observed our work.

Each project was topped off with one of those bags of Gardner and Bloome.

ready for bulbs and some good flowers for a dining room table view

At home, we offloaded some of the tall clipped plants I was saving for our Halloween Corridor of Spooky Plants.

I was ever so pleased to have only one big fall project left.

I love erasing projects from the work board…

but immediately filled the space with the list for BULB TIME (when the bulbs get here…)

Wednesday, 21 October 2015

I skived off work today to swan off with Garden Tour Nancy in order to hear Lucy Hardiman speak at the Cannon Beach Garden Club.  And took the opportunity to go boating, which will be tomorrow’s post.

Before we left town, Nancy and I got delicious chicken salad sandwiches to go from Roots Juice, Salad and Java Bar in Ilwaco.

photo from summertime because my camera did not click after all

Then we were off on the trip to Cannon Beach.

The garden club meets here.

The Cannon Beach Garden Club clubhouse

the front yard: The club is slowly redoing the garden.

Garden Tour Nancy about to go in, with her Dick and Jane lunch bag from NIVA green. 😉

inside: bouquets with pin oak foliage

center: Lucy herself, one of my favourite speakers ever

We all dined on the lunches we had brought; the club provided luscious chocolate cake for dessert.

The Cannon Beach Garden Club

I simply had to get a luncheon photo of Lucy sitting with June Kroft, who has one of my favourite gardens ever.  I visited it years ago when I took a workshop in Cannon Beach from Lucy and another garden idol of mine, Anne Lovejoy.  And it was on the cottage tour in 2014.  I learned today that Lucy went to school with June’s children and so they have known each other for many years.

Lucy and June

June said to Nancy that she could come see her garden and I later said to Nancy that she must make that happen and invite me!

during the lecture

My lecture notes on Lucy Hardiman’s Beyond Plants: Furnishing the Garden

Lucy said “I would do anything June Kroft asked.” thus she had come to give this lecture.   Because she so admired “the woman and artist that June is.” 

Furnishing and art in the garden

Gateway tells gardener’s personality and the way they see the world. 

Dismal entries are never an invitation 

Looking through a portal into the rest of the garden

Lucy’s thing: Art in the public domain on private property

Pulling the eye in 

From the street a sense of what we’ll see 

Invite people into different spaces the same way you would invite them in from the street

Multiplication by division.  Small garden made bigger by dividing. 

Poetry box by the door

Yellow stopping the eye 

Less lawn equals less watering. Seven percent cultivated space is lawn in USA

Water. Not too big. Little ruffle sound of small water feature. 

Gardens should be about surprises. 

It was a glorious hour or two.  My gardening energy, which had been waning, was revived by inspiration.

On the way home, we stopped at Seven Dees just south of Seaside.

Dennis Seven Dees: “Vampire Free Zone—We Have Garlic”

in the display house

For Mr. Tootlepedal

I almost bought this fountain.  I loved it and yet I wondered if the clack clack clack of the beak would work my nerves eventually.  (My first attempt at inserting a video.  I hope it works!)  I’m still thinking about it.

home again

After Lucy’s lecture, I feel pretty good about the entryway to my garden.  However, I have now decided that YES, I should paint the top board of the wooden fence green.  The weather is too autumnal now, so…next year.

spider web on front gate

The east front gate also makes me happy. Idea by Pam Fleming, executed by Allan. Can you see Mary?

Here she is.

Spider webs are all over the garden and the arbours.

Fatsia japonica ‘Spider’s Web’ was available down at Seven Dees; here it is in Allan’s garden.

Melianthus major ‘Antenow’s Blue’

fuzzy wuzzy verbascum

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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16-19 Oct: pleasantly uneventful

Friday, 16 October 2015

Although I felt a distinct lack of energy on the first day off, I did apply myself to removing some salmonberry roots from the bogsy woods.  You probably won’t even be able to tell the difference between before and after unless you look quite carefully.

before

after

Some of the salmonberry removal is just the cheating of cutting it to ground level as it is so wrapped around the roots of the alder trees.

Allan went out to Roots to acquire a salad for our evening meal.

at Roots Juice, Salad and Java Bar in downtown Ilwaco

After more mostly ineffectual garden puttering, evening arrived and we had a campfire.

Allan’s photo

Gazing into the fire can mesmerize us for an evening.

I just love poking the fire with a stick.

Smokey sitting on his own chair. (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo

After sausages cooked on campfire forks comes the ritual roasting of buttered, salted corn wrapped in foil.

the lights of the port buildings, foggy glow from boats’ lights, and to the far right the bright windows of Salt Hotel

Then Allan kindly did the paperwork for me for the sale of a photo to Rodale Press.  An author found said photo on this very blog.  I said to Allan I would give him half the money if he would just sort out the paperwork for me, and he brought it to me all ready to sign, even marked with a sticky note and an arrow in the signature place, and he walked to the post office so it would go out in tomorrow morning’s mail.

With our 11 PM viewing of The Amazing Race on telly, we had our salad from Roots.  The generous portion filled two dinner plates.

Peaches, apples, pears, feta, and slivered almonds on spring and Romaine lettuce with pear gorgonzola dressing

Saturday, 17 October 2015

Saturday turned out to be a social day, a good excuse for not doing much weeding.  Our Kathleen arrived first for a visit.  Allan brought in a salamander to show us.

Allan’s photo

A bit later, Steve of the Bayside Garden arrived to collect some of the alstroemeria that I had dug up last week.  (Kathleen and I both warned him of its aggressive nature.  He has room for such a thug.)  Of course, we all took a garden tour.

Kathleen, Steve, and me

Smokey kept close to us. (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

Onyx came to visit from the Starvation Alley house next door. (Allan’s photo)

I demonstrated that the berries of Leycesteria formosa taste like burnt caramel. Steve agreed.

I told him how hard it is to edit salmonberries out of the bogsy woods.  He said he and John prevailed in his garden by going well down into the ground with a pick.  I’m just not sure I can find the energy so I always use the excuse that I like to leave part of the garden wild (even though I would really love to cultivate every last inch).

sorting out some alstroemeria roots for Steve

I asked the usual question of our guests on whether or not I should turn the paths outside the fence to gravel instead of lawn.  Steve likes the lawn.  The dilemma continues.  I may dither well through winter, or even for years.

Allan had his own project for the late afternoon:

Allan’s photo: He was working on a trellis project but ran out of purple paint. It will be sawed out of this broken fence piece we were given by Denny of Klipsan Beach Cottages.

We decided it was time to start lighting our Halloween lights. (Allan’s photo)

In the evening, we left the property (!!) to go to a concert at the Sou’wester Lodge.  There may be more of this with the shorter days of autumn and winter.  I feel that having had a couple of almost completely successful, long, not-leaving-the-property weekends, I am more open now to short excursions.

On the way, we photographed the Halloween display at Griffin Gallery.

downtown Ilwaco

At The Sou’wester

vintage rental trailers at the Sou’wester

Allan’s photo: The trailer on the left is the one I lived in from late December ’92 to April ’93

south side of the lodge and one of the trailers

in the living room: LPs and a display rack showing which one is playing

chatting with owner Thandi Rosenbaum (Allan’s photo)

trailer photos on the wall (Allan’s photo)

the quiet, introspective music of Vikesh Kapoor (Allan’s photo)

Vivek’s music was extra quiet and sad that night; he said he usually stands to play and is not perhaps quite as somber.  At one point he asked, “Are you ok with this kind of mood?” and an audience member responded, “Yeah, go darker!”

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Allan went shopping across the river.  I embarked on the project of shifting the debris pile outside the deer fence.  It’s not the most necessary project.  Yesterday, I could only explain to Steve and Kathleen that the big messy pile is a throwback to my grandmother’s compost pile; she composted all plant material and the humusy smell of her compost pile was a pleasure to me as a child.  I end up with lots more debris and am selective, avoiding most weeds and any diseased foliage.

the work area of the garden, next to Nora’s driveway

While Nora was alive, I made this a flower area for her to enjoy.  Now there is no one to see it most of the time but me and Allan.  This is the area where I keep dithering about whether or not to turn the paths to gravel.  Guests and readers mostly vote for lawn (even though it is brown and dormant in summer in this spot).

before

after, the pile shifted to one end, with two wheelbarrows of good soil moved to the inner garden.

I disturbed several frogs.

Growing potatoes in the debris pile proved to be successful, with more left to harvest from the bottom layer.

today’s harvest: red fingerling and Yukon Gold

I had way too many potatoes for us but over the following few days, gave some to our neighbour to the east, Jessika, and our neighbour across the street, Terry, and will be delivering some to Garden Tour Nancy and to Melissa and Dave. While giving away potatoes to the neighbors we heard that there had been a mother bear and her two cubs next door in their tree. A porcupine had also been sighted on the lawn across the street.

Allan returned with purple paint (and a necessary cord for a computer problem he’d been having) and finished his trellis project.

Allan’s photo: He completed filling in the empty space on the west garage wall.

Monday, 19 October 2015

I had so been hoping for the predicted rainy reading day, as I wished to simply sit and read Anne Hillerman’s Rock with Wings, a Navajo mystery in the style of her father, Tony Hillerman.  That was not to be.  The weather was misty, dampish, but gardenable.

The garden looked autumnal again, even though Allan had mowed on Friday.

Today’s project, after some light weeding here and there: Move much of the strawberry bed to enable an extension of the scree garden all around the boat.

before: 1:50 PM.

I discarded the center strawberries with big thick roots…

and transplanted the offshoots into containers behind the garage and along an edge of the newly cleared debris pile

I also made a planter of strawberry plants for neighbour Jessika (of Starvation Alley Cranberry Farm) to plant in her garden, even heeling them into the long narrow plastic container with some soil.  That’s significantly nicer than giving away plants because I am something of a soil hoarder.

3:30 PM

This segued into cleaning out the tomato and pepper plants from the greenhouse and dumping the old potting soil into the future scree bed.

5:20 PM

the last of the tomatoes and peppers

THAT segued into moving some potted tender plants into the greenhouse: scented geraniums, a Salvia laciniatum, a couple of agaves, and more.  Allan helped me shift the biggest ones.  With the mild winter predicted, quite possibly they all could have stayed outdoors.

a possibly unnecessary move into the greenhouse

Several passion flowers still bloom on the arbour near the greenhouse.

the very last sweet pea pickings

The drizzly day had not even required the putting on of a rain jacket.  At the end, I walked back to the bogsy woods.

lots of good shade garden colour for late October (pulmonaria and hardy fuchsias)

a hardy fuchsia with delicate flowers

creeping buttercup creeping back on the edge of the swale!

ten minutes later

a welcome sight: some water in the meander line ditch

In the last two hours before dark, Allan went to the Ilwaco Community Building to plant some hellebore and cyclamen starts given us by Our Kathleen.  They were slated for Golden Sands but I decided to divide them among our two jobs where we have little budget for plants.

little babies going into the ground

and some more Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ added

and then he made cookies! (Allan’s photos)

Tomorrow: back to work, because we are taking Wednesday off for a garden lecture (me) and boating (Allan).

 

 

 

 

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15 Oct: weather and reward

Thursday, 15 October 2015

Before following the example of the way we clean up other people’s gardens, read about how a wild winter garden is good for pollinators.

The following idea would be hard for me because I don’t like reaching into sharp stubble to weed, and I remember reading how Christopher Lloyd disliked seeing gardeners leaving short stems because it is painful to work in.  Stubble spreads the nesting out more leading to less disease among the bees:

Leave some stubble for the bees!

Mike’s Garden

We began a few blocks to the east at Mike’s garden.

At this time of year, we usually ruin the day of at least a few spiders by having to break their webs in order to garden.

Mike’s front garden…

…had several big spider webs.

I managed to save this one, and despite a close call when Allan almost forgot, we preserved one across the path by walking around another way.

south end of front path

Before we left, we pruned that jaggedy gold lonicera into more of a round shape, because that is what Mike likes.  A spider’s web got ruined in the process even though I tried not to.  I was going to give the lonicera a bit of a mohawk to save the web but clipped in just the wrong place by accident.

The echinops (blue globe thistle) has come back beautifully from having the floppy stems cut back hard.

Between jobs, we stopped off at home and I had a word with my neighbour, Rudder.

Allan’s photo

The Depot Restaurant

Because we were making a run to the dump with some debris from yesterday and Mike’s garden, Allan cut back some of the willow that hangs over the deck’s tent cover.  I did some cosmos deadheading.

still lots of cosmos

north side of dining deck

The irrigation is back on for the front windowboxes, at my request, and they have revived.

Long Beach

While Allan tidied the Veterans Field gardens, mostly clipping back storm damaged cosmos in the corner garden bed, I checked up on a couple of blocks worth of planters for last minute deadheading.

cosmos still going strong in city planter

lots of Gaura ‘Whirling Butterflies’ in Veterans Field flag pavilion bed

Anchorage Cottages

On the way to the Anchorage, we always look for this dog, and almost always find him or her in this playhouse.

When we got to the Anchorage, I found the explanation for why I felt so uncomfortable and as if I might be getting sick with a fever.  It had not occurred to me till Allan pointed it out that the temperature was so high in mid October!

This 80 degree photograph was the only one I took at the Anchorage!

Allan’s before photo of digging out some more running roses…

and after

Long Beach 

Back to Long Beach…I wanted to check up on the Lisa Bonney memorial planter out on the beach approach.  A member of her family had, we heard, planted some new plants there for a little memorial service.

Hmm, they had added some impatiens, which were not all that happy… but had probably looked fine on the important day.

Allan’s photo; impatiens are too tender for this tough location.

It is so hard to keep anything but the most basic plants in this planter because showy plants always get stolen…despite the memorial plaque.  Almost all locals know the story about how the beloved and kind Lisa was murdered, in full view of witnesses, during a festival out here on the beach approach.  Her estranged boyfriend was the killer.  Every year, there is a fundraiser race against domestic violence in her honour, and I think of her every time we garden here.

plaque on Lisa’s memorial planter

Some horses on their way to the beach provided some distraction.

a nearby gull

more planter weeding (Allan’s photo)

Some friends will know that that I had a headache all day since every photo of me shows a cold wet bandanna around my head.

next, a big debris dump at Peninsula Sanitation transfer station’s clean green pile

Ilwaco

We picked up some books at the Ilwaco Timberland Library and I admired the fall crocus in the community building garden.

lovely crocus at community building, planted by Kathleen Sayce

At the port, we did a couple of hours of weeding into the very low early evening sun.

ornamental grass with setting sun

backlit

We marked the shrubs at the old Shorebank garden that are coming out for sightline reasons.  The three arbutus at the end can never be allowed to get big enough to fully flower, so they must go.

It is sad but necessary that these will be backhoed out.

We had wanted to fill in the time before dinner, with a half an hour in between at home.  All of a sudden, we were racing the clock to get done with a satisfactory amount of weeding by 6:30!

6:30 was coming too soon.

We got most of the weeds, not quite all the way to the west end.

sunset clouds over the marina

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

On the way home, in the dimming light, I took a couple of photos of sweet peas at the boatyard, just to record how well these two clumps have clambered up the fence.

sweet pea ‘Black Knight’

and a mixed bunch

More sweet peas next year!

sunset sky over our own garden

and Jeff’s boat house two doors down

We got home and divested ourselves of the trailer and arrived at our weekly dinner engagement and meeting of the North Beach Garden Gang just three minutes late.  I had finally taken a migraine pill so I could enjoy dinner without the maddening headache.

The Cove Restaurant

in the foyer

delicious autumn pear and goat cheese salad with some beets

Melissa had the duck.

I had a great craving for the ahi tuna.

Dave had my other favourite dish, the cajun chicken alfredo.

Allan had the fish tacos, $3 each.  (his photo)

recording the moment (Allan’s photos)

Arnold Palmer (Allan’s photo)

cannoli for dessert!

Melissa and Dave dig in.

after dinner, compliments to Chef Jason Lancaster

Jason and Lynn

and our good friend Parking Lot Cat (Allan’s photo)

Next: four, but not five, days off

 

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14 Oct: serious fall clean up

Wednesday, 14 October 2015

I was beginning the day under a cloud.  On a trivial note, I’d had a stubborn headache since yesterday.  On a serious note, the newspaper had contained an obituary of my friend Mary Fluaitt.  I had just been getting to know her as a sister gardener rather than an acquaintance when she was diagnosed, three years ago, with brain cancer and she moved away to be closer to her family.  She was a darling.

In the evening, I organized some photos of her garden into an album on the Music in the Gardens page and if you wish, you may peruse them here.  Her Surfside garden, just half a block from Marilyn’s garden, was on the garden tour in 2007 and 2011.

Work called, though, so we had to go…

The Red Barn

Allan’s photo: autumn decorations at our little Red Barn garden

Allan’s photo

Diane’s garden

Next door to one of the Red Barn pastures, our friend Misty came to say hello.

Allan’s photo

While tidying the containers by Diane’s back porch, I bent over and my back went into a sudden excruciating spasm.  I yelled OW and dropped my clippers and then could not even bend over to pick them up.  At that moment, Diane drove up for her lunch break and fortunately, I know her well enough to be honest about my plight and ask her to hand me my clippers.  Then I found some deadheading that I could do without bending over for awhile.

Diane’s roadside garden

Marilyn’s garden

Next, we went way up to Surfside to Marilyn’s garden.  Marilyn’s mother, Nancy (co owner of the Depot Restaurant), had asked me to prune the fig tree back hard.  I had no idea when I planted it (a gift from another of Marilyn’s daughters) that it would get way too big in that spot.  This was a good job for me with my back problem as I could do it standing up, interpersed with hopeful stretching.

before: the monster fig tree, looking north

a radical pruning job, with some clean up help from Allan

The view for watching deer in the garden will certainly be improved!

Scooter showed up to inspect my work.

I was feeling more limber by the time Scooter arrived and was able to pet him and then do some weeding, cautiously because it had hurt so much when my back went OUT at Diane’s.

slow, cautious bending

When I cut back the catmint, I left one for Scooter to enjoy.

Today was not the day to dig out the big patch of montbretia.

looking south

Meanwhile, Allan worked on the driveway garden.

Allan’s photo, before

Oh how I loath pushy greedy salal! (Allan’s photo)

after (Allan’s photo)

after (Allan’s photo); that’s an Azara microphylla in foreground, and apparently the deer continue to leave it alone.

just down the street as we were leaving (Allan’s photo), a family of three that spend much time in Marilyn’s garden. The third is left of the shrub.

The young ones were born in Marilyn’s garden (Allan’s photo)

Two cats kept watch on the deer. (Allan’s photo)

Klipsan Beach Cottages

Things were going better physically, as both my headache and backache were gone.

through the east gate of the fenced garden

the weekly garden view

did lots of cutting back in one corner

I saved the eight foot or more tall stems of the Thalictrum ‘Elin’ that was there to use in our Corridor of Spooky Plants for Halloween.

no time today to make this sit spot bigger, as planned for sometime this fall

Mary and Bella came out to say hi. (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo

our dear Mary, owner/manager at KBC (Allan’s photo)

by the greenhouse

seeds collected from the yellow tree peonies (Maybe Todd or Teresa can grow them!)

Squirrel!

by where we parked (Allan’s photo)

humans!

Allan’s photo

Golden Sands Assisted Living

The sun was getting mighty low when we got to Golden Sands, so we just strimmed the courtyard lawn (Allan) and did some light weeding, and planted a fuchsia and some watsonia.  I decided I did not want bearded iris in the courtyard garden so I snuck it into the landscape to the north of the building!

seasonal cranberry decorations outside one of the resident’s rooms

One of the autumnal quadrants in the courtyard

one of my mom’s rosebushes

I took a cutting each from my mom’s coppery rose and her deep red rose, and when I got home I laid them in the soil with just a tip sticking out and we’ll see if they make rosebushes.  I have successfully started rambling roses that way before.

You may recall that I recently read Jan Bono’s first two books of her mystery series set on the Peninsula.  I liked this scene in Starfish, in which a character visits his wife in a facility that resembles Golden Sands:

Tomorrow will have to begin with a run to the dump to offload all that fig tree debris, and we plan for it to end with a delicious dinner at the Cove with Melissa and Dave.

 

 

 

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13 Oct: Long Beach post-storm

Tuesday, 13 October 2015

before work: Allan tidying in our volunteer garden at the post office

Schizostylis at the post office, either Viscountess Byng or Mrs. Haggerty.

Long Beach

After my prediction that the flower show in Long Beach would be over after last weekend’s storm, I was pleased to find how sturdy my plant selections had proven to be.  Pleased and, dare I admit, just 1% disappointed, because it would have been fun and satisfying to clean all the annuals out.  Looks like this year will be the typical story of trying to plant bulbs among the cosmos, which often do last well into November.

Allan cut back some plants in Fifth Street Park while I walked around and groomed the planters.

Fifth Street Park, art tile by Renee O’Connor

before

before

Allan’s photos: before

and after

before

and after

Alchemilla mollis, before

and after

garden corner by restroom, SW quadrant of park

We won’t be cutting down the restroom garden anytime soon, because behind the restroom is a mess of nasty old pampas grass, chosen by the landscape architect way back when.  What a crazy thing to plant in a narrow passage around a building enclosed by a tall fence.  I like to keep it hidden as long as possible as I refuse to go back there and weed that stupid area!  (I used to but rebelled several years ago.)

One of two Renee O’Connor obelisks in Fifth Street Park

Renee O’Connor tile detail

By the Herb N Legend Smoke Shop.

I read somewhere recently that the smoke shop’s motto is if you don’t smoke, don’t start, and if you do, stop, but if you can’t stop, use their products which are pure and pesticide free (or something along those lines).

dahlias and Geranium ‘Rozanne’

Coreopsis ‘Star Cluster’

painted sage just won’t give up

more dahlias

Hebe ‘Quicksilver’

Salvia patens

the carousel further dismantled for winter

Salvia viridis (painted sage); I was short on blue this year.

Cosmos ‘Sonata’ (annual) and Cosmos atrosanguineus (chocolate cosmos, tender perennial)

Meanwhile city crew member Paul was tidying up the town.

The tigridia have been blooming all summer.

Chrysanthemums

my favourite planter, a little beat up

This daphne has been blooming for months.

Geranium ‘Rozanne’ and a lush Cerinthe major purpurascens

Two trees just got pulled out of the front of Coulter Park to make way for some sort of holiday display.

On the way to dump debris, we took the opportunity to photograph some beach cottages, all within the same block.

Kite Flyers’ Cottage

a sign from the annual kite festival

classic picket fence cottage

a private porch

a Little Free Library

I am so tempted to have a Little Free Library at my house…but I think, or know, that it would interfere with my seclusion and I don’t think I want that.

Port of Ilwaco

We finished the day by weeding at Salt Hotel and Time Enough Books curbside gardens.  I cut back a volunteer elderberry hard, against the Time Enough wall, to save them the trouble of doing it (which they do every year before holiday decorating).

made this much debris, including digging up a too tall grass to go elsewhere.

We were invited in to see the new Salt Hotel guest lounge in progress, with windows facing the marina.

Allan’s photo

Allan’s photo

nautical charts on the wall

the south deck

Yellow Bluff, east of the port, end of the day

 

 

 

 

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12 Oct: paddling two rivers

Monday, 12 October 2015

Allan goes paddling on two rivers…

Gray’s River

You may recall that on September 19 I paddled up Grays River  towards the covered bridge, hoping  to reach the bridge and maybe get a take out dinner at Duffy’s on the way home. After some mix-up where to launch, I paddled 11.5 miles up to Duffy’s, failed to reach the bridge, and got back just as the sun was setting.

This time, using the highway, I drove to the bridge, then I drove to Duffy’s, and successfully made it. Even got the take out dinner for Skyler.

A rare sign on the road to the covered bridge.

Gray’s River valley

This launch next to the bridge could be used with a trailer.

Yep, I heard something fall off the boat as I dragged it to the water and nope, I’m not going up the creek without it.

As there was a good current, I headed upstream as I didn’t wish to walk back.

This is about how far I got, still in sight of the bridge.

Looking upstream, this part of Grays River gave me a treadmill or hamster ball-like experience. I couldn’t paddle fast enough to keep the shore moving.

Under the bridge where someone worked hard to tie up that rope .

This current is with an +8.1 outgoing tide but the river is supposedly not tidal past Duffy’s, just swift.

440 yards up, a quarter mile back. Now it’s time for lunch.

I left the covered bridge launch and drove to Duffy’s for food.

Duffy’s used to have a launch here until it was washed out a few years back. Now, I’m not really sure about car parking unless you buy a lunch. Duffy’s told me it’s popular to kayak upstream from Rosburg with the tide and return with the receding tide. The employees have no trouble climbing down to the river but the boaters stop in less often to eat as there is no place to tie up.

The view upstream from the Duffy’s dining deck.

The dining deck

Duffy’s from the road.

More interesting than a picture of a bowl of butterbeans and cornbread (my lunch) is this panel from a book of old comics they had. The panel is from Gasoline Alley, the reflection is brilliant, and worth a closer look.

The owner owned a concert venue in Portland in the eighties and maintains a stage among their eclectic collection.

There remains a sign “Ramona Salazars Garden 2001” over their always interesting garden.

Deep River

On the way back I decided I had time to drive out  to the end of Oneida Road next to Deep River and drive past the launch I used last visit. It finally ends on a single lane dirt road up past an isolated single wide that just looked like NO TRESPASSING. It’s a different feeling than looking at backyards in Surfside from their canals.

Driving back by the ramp I stopped, checked out the tide and decided that I could just drag the boat into the water for a couple of hours before the drive home.

When I launched at 4:50, these two were just putting in and I could hear them fussing over starting their outboard.

A mixed garden on a piling

A heron fishing without a truck, tent, kitchen, dock, power boat, gear…

A sunken ship! It must be almost a hundred feet long!

its forward deck

its superstructure.

dark, drippy and silent inside

Mud boots; good idea. Exploring inside; maybe not.

I saw planted columns at old buildings done in the Little & Lewis style

Planted columns created or inspired by Little and Lewis are all the rage at many gardens we have toured over the years:

another use of Little and Lewis planted columns at Bella Madrona

the Little and Lewis-y water feature at Floramagoria

The Little and Lewis pillars in the boggy garden at Heronswood

You can see more at The Little & Lewis Garden: An Appreciation

This fishing boat has a low deck under the spool.

scupper of the week

As I paddled past this vessel a “How ya doin!” came out the window. Whoa! (and I put the camera away). I then discovered that he’s fishing for salmon, (there’s not many), he’s setting his net soon, and he’ll leave me room to get by on the far shore.

I had to take a picture of this backyard as it was watching me.

Among the many wood pilings, this one looked different.

It was a six foot oar partially full of water and now it was mine.

A tree recovering from a twenty foot horizontal set back.

Ahead, the nets are now coming out. Time to head back. This boat was located by the abandoned lumber mill on Highway 4 by the tight curve with the flashing arrow.

There is an old single wide in the mill’s back lot that can be seen from the highway. It must be the residence for these fishing boats.

Need to get back before dark but there was that sunken boat again…must see. It’s enormous and the tide had gone down almost two feet.

Aww, from the river’s bend I could hear an outboard start, putter a few seconds and stop. It restarted then died, again and again. It had been almost 2 hours since I had left. I told them that I wasn’t trying to be funny but did they want an oar I found? There were two crew members and the boat likely only had one oar. It might put it to good use. “Where did you find that?” they asked. Turns out they had borrowed that same oar a couple of weeks earlier and had lost it. There it is by the their steering wheel. The boat is called ‘The Fishing Machine’ and no, they didn’t need any jumper cables.

The fish were safe today.

Lots of stopped the time as I was more distracted than intent on making distance.

Here’s a little eryngium (perhaps) that I spotted as I slid the little boat into the back of the van. Back to garden blogging tomorrow as we look at what the wind storm did locally.

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11-12 Oct: happy at home

Sunday, 11 October 2015

With better weather, I began gardening at about noon.  We had unexpected company when Planter Box Teresa dropped by to offer me some blue and white bearded iris.  I took some for Golden Sands and gave her a few of the Watsonia that Prissy had brought me on Friday.  I told Teresa where she could find Debbie (at the art show up in Long Beach) to donate the rest of the iris to the Master Gardeners plant sale.

impromptu plant exchange (Allan’s photo)

Shortly after Teresa left, Ed and Jackson Strange came by.

Jackson eager to explore (Allan’s photo)

Jackson got to run around all over inside our fenced back garden.  He was a good boy and did not trample through the garden beds.

Frosty kept a close eye from my window.

(Allan’s photo)

Frosty, Smokey and Mary grew up with two dogs so are not especially scared of them.

Orange cat from across the street was not pleased.

Mary and Jackson had just been nose to nose, and she skittered up the ramp.

my nephew jackson (who has many doting aunties)

In the evening, we had a rainbow and a spectacular sunset.

Allan’s photo

spider at home in the new arbour (Allan’s photo)

evening sky (Allan’s photo)

Allan’s photo

After some reading and a movie , we had some excitement quite late in the evening when a mother raccoon and two adolescent offspring came up the cat ramp.  Frosty’s growling alerted me.  This was the second time this family had made a foray at the house.  This time, I chased them away with more than stern words, pelting the midnight garden with rocks calculated to make noise but not actually hit the critters.  They left, and I worried.  The cat door must be made smaller so that raccoon butts cannot fit through.

Monday, 12 October 2015

Allan went boating (tomorrow’s post) and I went to Astoria with Garden Tour Nancy, where we dined at the Bridgewater Bistro and were so absorbed in conversation that we only noticed huge ships sailing by after they were too far past us for good photos.

the fireplace at the Bridgewater Bistro

and the bar

The salads tempted me…

As did the albacore salad wrap. However, I had the bahn mi sandwich…

and so very delicious it was.

Nancy’s photos of her bistro salad with bleu cheese dressing…

and asiago grilled chicken salad sandwich.

The remainder of the day was all weeding in the front garden…

I found an iris unguicularis from Todd that has sized up very well.

front garden, weeded

Euonymus fortunei ‘Wolong Ghost’.

sanguisorba and elephant garlic

a slightly nibbled variegated sedum

Before and after boating, Allan worked on making the cat door too small for raccoons, a project, involving shortening the top with some boards, that got done by lamplight so no photo is available.

I spent some of my non-gardening time for the last two days reading the first of Jan Bono’s mystery series, set on a lightly fictionalized North Beach Peninsula, which is the Long Beach Peninsula by another name.  Not only is it fun to read a book set among one’s local haunts, but I am also pleased to tell you that the mystery was well written and a pleasure to read.

Bonus photo

While we were in the rain and grey skies, local gardener Ann Saari was attending the Trailing of the Sheep Festival in Hailey, Idaho, where she photographed this gorgeous quilt by the 5Bee Quilt Guild.  I think some of you will enjoy seeing it:

5Bee Quilt Guild raffle quilt

Tomorrow: Allan’s day on the water

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