Thursday, 7 September 2017
The prediction of “less than an eighth of an inch of rain” would not stop us from watering the Long Beach and Ilwaco planters. They are so thick with foliage now that rain has to be substantial to penetrate into the soil.
Long Beach
At the welcome sign, I pruned down a lot of the silly cosmos that were tall with no buds. Why do some of them do this, when they are all the same sort (Sensation mix)?
We split up to water the Long Beach planters.
Even though Rod Run does not officially begin till tomorrow, downtown Long Beach was full of fancy vehicles going round and round or parked to show off.
A City Hall VIP walked by and said to me, “The planters look beautiful. I am so sorry a bunch of asshats will be sitting on them this weekend.” (That is why it felt urgent to get photos today.) She added, because she is one who used to do a volunteer planter, “I used to cry after every Rod Run.”
The planter damage is not as bad as when the Run used to be an official parade through Long Beach for hours on Saturday afternoon, coinciding with Labor Day. The last time that happened, maybe fifteen years ago, the crowds were so chaotic that the local law enforcement said they would no longer police the event unless it was moved to the weekend after Labor Day and no longer had a parade up one side and down the other of the Peninsula. It’s not the shiny car folks who caused the chaos. They don’t want to get their vehicles scratched or smudged. It was a certain element of heavy drinking audience; the other problem was that gridlock stopped emergency access.
Despite Rod Runner’s disappointment with the change, and their loss of a three day weekend, the new schedule has worked out well in extending the tourist season for one more week and has been a great boon to our planters.
We paused after watering, followed by tidying Fifth Street Park, for a coffee and cookie break at Abbracci.
We had an amusing chat with this pleasant fellow, who said he was looking carefully before stepping and that his wife would kill him if he stepped on a plant. Others over the weekend may be less cautious.
Twice I had seen a most interesting truck drive by. After coffee, while clipping rugosa roses by the police station, I saw it park across the street. I dropped my clippers into the roses and toddled over there as fast as possible to photograph it, and later I could not find my clippers. They will turn up next time we prune the roses down low (probably October!)
I do hope this truck shows up at Slow Drag tomorrow night.
We watered the planters on Sid Snyder Drive. A couch sits there, having recently appeared. It would be more useful downtown for viewing Rod Run.
I got to pet this darling dog, who has a tremendously soft coat.
Ilwaco
I watered and weeded at the boatyard while Allan watered the street trees and planters.
It was four o clock when we got started in Ilwaco, and, as a passerby pointed out, the four o clocks were open.
The watering started well, because the long hose for the south end was available. (When we arrive after the staff departs, the end of it is locked into a shed).
Then I walked further along the fence and found the two middle hoses going up into boats.
But, oh joy, the long northernmost hose was available today!
Between that and our own long hose hooked up to the faucet by the sanican, the watering was easy.
Our local paper recently had a good article about stories from the boatyard this past summer. This red boat was painted in the favourite colour of the boat owner’s wife, who had died of breast cancer not long ago.
Author Luke Whittaker: “The boat had been sitting in Sitka, Alaska since 1989 awaiting a buyer, when 82-year-old Astoria fishermen Roger Marshall, became the unlikely owner last fall. Marshall was simply one fisherman who just wasn’t ready to retire. In October, Marshall bought the boat and nearly died during a desperate 800-mile journey home.
“Coming down I ran into terrible southeast winds all the way,” Marshall said. “I ran into some bum weather coming out of Candle River and I thought I bought the farm.”
Fortunately, Marshall made it home, after all — he had a promise to keep to his late wife Mary Lou.
“I told her when she was dying I would paint it red,” Marshall said. “It was her favorite color.” Mary Lou died from breast cancer in March. In August, Marshall fulfilled his promise with help from Fred Wiest. The bottom is burgundy with white sides and a bold, red stripe stretching bow to stern.”
When I see a plant pulled and dropped, I wonder if a driver passing by yelled at the plant thief to stop.
Allan finished the planters and rejoined me. I had had plenty of time to do some weeding and deadheading, too. I’d been pondering the decision about whether to water the easternmost curbside garden. Because of Slow Drag visitors tomorrow, we decided it must be done as only a slight drizzle of rain had arrived. Allan went to accomplish that after dropping me at home.
Home again, Allan watched Skooter go fishing.
Soon after, rain began and continued for hours. That was both pleasing and, because of our boatyard and curbside watering today, mildly annoying.
Friday, 8 September 2017
pre-Slow Drag
I spent the early afternoon catching up on writing this blog, because with two big events coming up, we will have much to share. Slow Drag happens tonight, Cannon Beach Cottage Tour tomorrow (and the blog will then be more like fifteen days behind Real Time).
Rain had filled most of the rain barrels.
I am looking forward to the Slow Drag and the Cottage Tour, two of my favourite events, and am also fervently looking forward to afterward, when we have no events for quite some time.
Thursday, despite flat light, we did take photos of all the Long Beach planters. Tonight, I am publishing a bonus post of the planters for my reference. It will be on interest only to the most dedicated planter fan.
I don’t get car culture. Rod Run sounds like a good time to leave town!
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We buy enough groceries to hunker down. We leave to go to the cottage tour in Cannon Beach on Saturday of Rod Run weekend. The air will smell of cat exhaust in Long Beach and points north.
I do enjoy the Slow Drag though. I didn’t think I would but it’s funny because of the theme cars.
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