Thursday, 24 September 2020
After a day of 1.15 inches of rain and lots of wind (during which I finished an Ian McKewan novel, Machines Like Us), we were surprised that a forecast of another inch of rain did not come true. Instead, we had a sunny day. So much for my plan of reading another book.
We checked the rain gauges.
The in ground ponds had filled. The azolla makes the little one look like part of the lawn.
The canoe had filled somewhat. It had been quite low.
It is spider season.
I like this meme going around about Pacific Northwest seasons.
We decided to check a few places for storm damage.
Long Beach
With the way yesterday’s wind had whipped around, I had expected to find damage at the welcome sign. All the cosmos were bent or broken! None were worth saving.
The Geraniums ‘Rozanne’ and ‘Orion’ are being eaten by deer, getting lower toward the east end of the planter, which must be the direction the deer come from. We can no longer plant tulips in this planter with any hope of bloom. Next year this will be someone else’s problem, horsetail and all.
We got a nice big pile of compost makings for home. And the lights will shine on the sign more effectively with the cosmos gone.
We drove on through Long Beach. Fifth Street Park did not look especially battered by wind, nor did the planters, so we went to another job.
We saw our old car in town, a two door Saturn. For about ten years, this was the vehicle we worked out of, hauling our trailer behind most days. It was so uncomfortable to sit in with no ability to stretch one’s legs after work. I remember being in pain all the way home after work. It was so low to the ground that I felt like a bug about to be squashed by other vehicles. It was so hard to put plants into the doorless back seat! On plant shopping trips, we had to layer them. Allan, who has this car in his previous life, feels sentimental when he sees it. Not me.
Boreas Inn
Susie had asked if we could get the fallen rhododendron leaves out of the entry garden and trim up the fuchsia. We hadn’t worked in this area all summer because it was too peopley for my comfort with people coming and going. We set up our blue cones and a homemade cardboard sign saying “Please social distance from the gardeners” for the inn guests and set to work. Allan took almost all of the photos today.
We also had the pleasure of some conversation with Susie and Bill.
Port of Ilwaco
While a drive by of the boatyard and port gardens on the way home showed no particular storm damage, we decided to stop and tidy the beds on the north and south side of the port office for the sake of the last Saturday market of the year.
Allan had gone up on high, from whence he also looked toward the Bogsy Wood.
The south wall port office bed has not been great this year. It looks at its best now that it is mostly silver.
I eyed the leaves at Purly Shell but was running out of steam.
The port is now blessed with a new fish market of sterling repute, in the former OleBob’s building.
Time Enough Books garden boat still looked fine with fuchsias.
Allan had tidied on the north side. I like the seed heads on the Eryngium ‘Sapphire Blue’ and leave them up well into the autumn, even though I suspect that some passersby might not share my taste in brown stalks.
At home, I unloaded all of today’s compost makings and layered the chopped up plants in bin one with brown material from bin two, which looks like a promising bin to sift for compost soon. For now, we won’t be having long weekends because I’d like to get some of the early fall cleanup done as weather allows and then take a break in October before bulb time.
Even though it had not been an especially hard day, I felt that I deserved a nice cup of Builders. (All the devices needed a battery charge. Skooter’s paws to the upper left.)
That cup of tea at the end of your post looks like a welcome treat at the end of the day. My mother used to recite a tea poem of unknown origin.
“A good cup of tea
is acknowledged to be
a famous restorer in sadness.
It quickens life’s flame
and enlivens the frame
and imparts a spirit of gladness.”
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I like that poem very much. I have a piece of motto ware that belonged to my grandma that says “Unless the kettle boiling B, filling the teapot spoils the T”.
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I should add I have never heard that poem before and will be sharing it on!
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Wonderful fence! Love the colors. I am a tea fiend and have never heard of Builders. Will have to look them up.
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The essence of builders’ tea is not the leaf but the fact that the leaves were put in the kettle and boiled with the water.
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That is fascinating, thanks!
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I drank tea like that when I worked for an outside squad at the aluminium works in Fort William.
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That is exceptionally interesting because I often wish you’d do an autobiographical post with old photos. 🙂
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I didn’t take photos very much when I was younger and my life is quite dull. 🙂
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🙂
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haha I saw your steaming cup of tea and got up immediately to pour myself a cup of Barry’s Irish tea, which makes a strong cup. I’ve not had Builder’s but I’ll have to give it a try. I like the motto on the end of the box. No camomile for me, thanks.
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Builders is a bracingly strong brew. I will make a note to try Barry’s Irish💚!
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The Northwest seasons list is funny. We are definitely in the spider season! I like the silver garden at the Port. Alan took some great shots there. The view of the Bogsy Wood is pretty.
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Thanks. I love silver plants.
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Wow, more than an inch of rain. It must be nice!
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It was so lovely.
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Since commenting, I found there there is a 40% chance of rain on Saturday here! It would make the burned area even messier, which is unfortunate, but would also make things a bit less tense for areas that did not burn.
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I hope you get that rain and yet no mudslides.
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Well, it will be missing us . . . this time.
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