Tuesday, 6 March 2018
Calvin was sunbathing on the bed, showing how much brown is in a black cat’s fur.
A blue blanket showed off Frosty’s pretty blue eyes.
Speaking of snoozing and blue blankets, here is a guest photo of Todd’s dog, Ansel.
The J’s garden
We had an accounting appointment in the middle of the day, so we started at J’s garden across the street from our house, a job we could easily leave and come back to later.
While Allan was fetching the lawn mower for the tiny lawn in the J’s back yard, Ed and Jackson Strange (Strange Landscaping) stopped by on their way to a much bigger mowing job. Ed was on his way to mow around a garden we created and used to care for by the pale green house at the far right of this photo:
Jackson and Ed
After some schmoozing with Ed and some smooching for Jackson (not Ed, who is the one on the right), we all got back to work.
At J’s, I got locked into the back garden behind the new gate. Allan had a bit of a hard time getting the latch open. From now on we will be sure to prop it with a heavy bucket while we are working back there. It led to some excitement about getting to our new accountant on time (our former one, in Ilwaco, has retired.) We were only two minutes late, thank goodness, because we did want to make a good first impression. Because her office is almost to Surfside, we took the opportunity to drive further north and east and tour The Oysterville Garden, which will be tomorrow’s post.
We did not get back to J’s till an hour before dusk, so the befores and afters, taken by Allan, have a different light:
before
after
before
after
before: shotweed
before
after, with sword ferns trimmed
sword fern fronds to go across the street to our compost bins
just after sunset
Long Beach
Prior to returning to J’s, we went to the Sid Snyder beach approach to tidy the planters there, AND did the spring clean up on the tiny flower garden at the World Kite Museum. We had a look at a few of the street tree and planter narcissi downtown.
I love narcissi with reflexed petals and long trumpets.
My favourites are the ones with tiny cups.
I like them all (except for the split cup ones, which look messy to me); they are my favourite flower.
also plenty of crocuses
Allan’s photo
On the beach approach, we clipped santolinas so that they will remain in a silver mound. Allan’s photos:
before
after
the westernmost planter, before
The gazanias came through the winter.
after
At the World Kite Museum, Patty came out to chat.
not much going on in this garden yet
As of midsummer, the hebes that were on the right (above) are gone, and I wonder if that will make this little bed less rooty, or it the roots were all from escallonia on the left (above, and on the right below) creeping in for better nourishment.
At home, after finishing J’s, we were able to erase two tasks from the work list, so I tightened up the spring clean up section.
reading
Over the last month, despite being preoccupied with blogging about reading from years before, I did manage to read three books. I already mentioned this one:
And I may have mentioned this one which, of the three, if you only have time for one, is a must read for white Americans. I say white Americans because I don’t think black Americans should have to re-traumatize over this horrible history. The book smashes the myth that Rosa Parks was just a quiet lady with sore feet; she was a firebrand! This is the most historically groundbreaking book I have read in a long time.
This evening, I finished the third book. It is essential reading:
I now have a new stack of library books, all pretty much light reading, and during work season that is sometimes all I have a mind for.
I am quite concerned that I have so many books out of the library right now!
The black book to the right is an autobiography by Nina Bawden. 79 Squares is a re-read inspired by my book posts. The Bookstore Mouse was recommended by Roxanne, who co-owns the Basket Case Greenhouse.
Dawn Powell (upper left) might have to go back till next winter; I have renewed her three times. I have already started Ian Whitcomb’s novel, Lotusland (lower right). The Private I is edited by Molly Peacock, who wrote the wonderful The Paper Garden that I recently read.
When will I find the time, especially since I am still obsessed with the blog posts about old reading and still have five years of books to do!?
AND the books poured in that I ordered while writing the book posts.
These are not all re-reads, some were new to me books that I found while adding books to my Goodreads list of books I’ve read. The rarest came all the way from the UK and is called Nonie; it is a biography of Lenora Mattingly Weber, who wrote the middle-American midcentury Beany Malone series.
Please bring on some rainy days.
Read Full Post »
