28 January: a tiny bit of work

Saturday, 28 January 2023

We had some tax forms to drop off at Ilwaco and Long Beach city halls.

Ilwaco

The post office has crocuses and snowdrops.

Around the corner, we saw that Wendi had watered the planter that we had planted up for her last spring. It still looks quite happy.

In the window of her gallery, she has created a new seasonal display for her dress form, of which she says, “TP and 6 inch wide ribbon. Yes they still make colored TP.”

photo by Wendi Peterson

Long Beach

We actually worked for maybe half an hour. I had been bothered for days thinking about how some of the Geranium ‘Roxanne’ in planters might have frozen in past cold weather and then regrown. Only two planters, where it had still been looking good in early December, had not been cut back hard. Indeed, those two planters did look shabby, so we fixed them.

If I had looked at the next planter by the stoplight, I’d have trimmed that thyme on the corner! I think Allan was only looking for geranium problems. Still, it’s not as ugly as a half dead ‘Roxanne’.

Fish Alley has a new sculpture by Josh Blewitt.

These cute dogs didn’t even bark at us.

A shop across the street has a new window painting.

As a precursor to dealing with people at work, a man in a passing car seemed disturbed: “Are you taking a picture of me!?” he asked Allan.

At city hall, I saw that some trimming was needed along the entry ramp.

Allan admired some cyclamen in the east garden bed.

In Fifth Street Park, all I did was cut down a tall and shabby Verbena bonariensis that I had known would be looming awkwardly in front of Captain Bob’s Chowder. The rest of the garden can wait till we return to work in mid February.

at home

As we returned home, I saw that Clematis ‘Freckles’ is in bloom on the west wall of the garage.

I did some clipping in the west back garden bed. Soon, there will be crocuses here and I want to be able to see them. I had time to make a big mess but not enough time to clean it all up.

Skooter, disgruntled that the weather wasn’t warm, stayed inside.

In the evening, I started a wonderful book.

It is about a couple in their fifties who become homeless due to a business deal gone horribly awry. The husband had just been diagnosed with a debilitating disease but, instead of being forced from their beloved farm into council housing, they decided to walk and wild camp around the South West Coast Path (Devon and Cornwall) instead.

I loved it so that the next day, I read the second volume of this memoir trilogy in e-book form; I couldn’t bear to wait for an interlibrary loan of a paper book. I couldn’t get the third volume from the library so I mail ordered it and eagerly await its arrival in a couple of weeks.

also wonderful!

Book three, which I MUST HAVE.