Wednesday, 18 October 2017
HuffPost headline:
“A 5,000-mile-long belt of rain is battering the Northwest this week, an “atmospheric river” stretching across the Pacific Ocean from China to British Columbia.
The storm system, which some weather officials have described as “The Big Dark,” is expected to drop 10 to 15 inches of rain and snow over high elevations and 2 to 5 inches of rain over the Puget Sound region in Washington state.”
storm graphic from China to our west coast
In the rain, UPS delivered Colorblends bulbs (two sets of mixed bulbs for the Long Beach welcome sign). All photos by Allan today
All I remember of Wednesday is that the expected really big windstorm must have veered north and hit the Seattle Tacoma area much worse than us. Later, Melissa told me that the wind had been fierce at her home in Oysterville, too. I was in the garage all afternoon getting it ready for Bulb Time. The rain never ceased.
Thursday, 19 October 2017
My morning began by being awakened by the tsunami siren. Its sound is so much spookier than the regular fire siren. I had a vague memory that maybe there had been news of a “Great Shakeout” drill. As I looked on Facebook to see if the siren was a drill or real, I wondered if maybe I should be grabbing my go bag, my laptop, my phone, and hobbling up the hill instead. Fortunately, it was a drill.
You can hear the terrifying siren sound here, after the talking, which I slept through. How very much I hope I never hear the real thing. It is a possibility that weighs on our minds here at the beach, and I have a go bag right next to my bed.
Yesterday’s rain:
Storm rain is the amount that comes with each storm; I don’t know how the meteorologists tell when one storm ends and the next begins.
rain gauge at 1 PM
The biggest shipment of bulbs arrived, yet with more to come next week. I am thrilled that most of them arrived this early (by request). I will have to use extra brainpower to imagine how I am going to sort the stragglers.
Allan’s photo
Crows were all over the apple tree. The family (Pink Poppy Bakery and Farm) who usually pick the apples for cider were rather busy, having just had a darling new daughter and granddaughter arrive last weekend, so the apples are still on the tree. Not for long, it seems. Allan’s photos:
I went into the garden during a lessening of rain to pick a lot of flowers and foliage for a Friday night event: a fundraiser for local Hispanic families. I would be in the midst of bulb sorting hell by then, and because my most productive time is evening, I would not be attending the event. It also sounded to me like too much peopling for someone with bulb brain. But at least I could provide bouquets. The cosmos had been terribly battered by yesterday’s rain and so I was only able to find a few stems with unsodden flowers.
The swale had not filled with water yet.
our biggest windfall from yesterday’s storm
and a small but deadly spear into the ground
I was in a downpour by the time I finished picking.
Bouquet ingredients in the garage to dry out. I will pick the leaves off of the redtwig dogwood, foreground.
view from inside the garage
The city crew drove by, stopping at each storm drain to clean the leaves out.
Allan’s photo
Allan set up the long tables on sawhorses. These will be dismantled each night so the van can go back into the garage. The small card tables in the background can stay up throughout the sorting process.
I laid out newspaper and spray painted some dry eryngiums with purple and blue paint.
spray painting at the end of the bulbs boxes
After a complete change of clothes, I started sorting bulbs. I like to keep the big door open to get light and air. It is hard to get my brain in gear for this part of the job. Before an evening engagement, I managed to at least get the bulbs sorted by kind (big and small narcissi, big and small tulips, alliums, lilies, muscari, and assorted little bulbs).
In the late afternoon, the garden pickings had started to dry out a bit and I made the bouquets.
Allan’s photo
Allan’s photo
Allan’s photo
Because of my determination to finish the bouquets (which turned out to be five), we were a few minutes late to our weekly North Beach Garden Gang dinner at Salt Pub.
This week, we were joined by Teresa of The Planter Box garden centre.
feasting (Allan’s photo)
Our garden club meeting are soothing because none of us has to be “on”, or perky, or talking about anything other than gardening.
Home again, I clustered all the bouquets on one of the inward tables overnight.
Allan’s photo, flowers backed with bulbs
Friday, 20 October 2017
I picked some more light colored flowers to one of the bouquets because it did not have enough pizzazz.
the red rain gauge
the yellow rain gauge
The only photos I got of the bouquets were indoors, with messy garage backgrounds, due to bulb sorting priorities and bad weather.
The one that I improved with more colour.
I later learned that this one raised $60 at the auction to benefit local Hispanic families whose family members have been taken by ICE.
The other bouquets were “bundled” at the auction with piñatas that were filled with local treats and gift certificates from businesses. I was glad that the flowers helped to raise some money.
One of the local activists who was involved with tonight’s event came to pick them up in the mid afternoon. She got them all into her little car, amazingly! We had a half an hour visit before she left, and then I finally got down to some serious bulb sorting. The sorting task ahead of me:
Allan kept me going with snacks and Builders Tea:
Allan’s photo
I did my best, and by 9 PM I had gotten all the tulips large and small sorted, all of the alliums, and most of the little bulbs.
Saturday, 21 October 2017
We had a high wind watch.
I hoped the power would stay on; sorting by flashlights would be difficult.
I had a nice break when Jenna came to visit, wearing her new boots.
Jenna’s nautical new boots (Jenna’s photo)
I sorted for hours. By 8 PM, I was down to the last of the narcissi and was sorting by dumping bulbs on the floor. My brain was fried.
A number of friends pool money with me; each wants to spend a certain amount so I have to make each batch of bulbs come to the right amount per person. This also enables me to get a cool selection of a lot of different bulbs for my garden.
9:30 PM, all sorted, and the work board adjusted to just planting. Round 2 (much smaller) of sorting will come with the next delivery.
There had been a few short stretches of time when the sun came out today, but mostly the rain went on fiercely. At 9 o clock, I had seen water coming under the back door of the garage, even though there is a lean to structure enclosing it on the outside. Allan put towels under the door frame and a shower curtain and tarp over the bulbs in case the garage roof leaked as it sometimes does, a bit.
bulbs tucked in for the night
I expected more rain tomorrow, not as much but enough to spend the day at home typing out proper spread sheets for each recipient from my scrawled lists. Only I can read my hand written lists because of the abbreviations I use for familiar bulbs.
Calvin and Smoky waiting for me to join them to watch telly. (Scott and Bailey, season three)
Today’s rain:
The top wind gust was 83 mph at Radar Ridge (a high hill to the north of the bridge to Astoria, always gets the biggest gusts). The gusts howled, the rain came under the door, and yet we kept electrical power all day and evening long, thank goodness.
This had been the most perfect bulb sorting weather. Other years, nice weather had coincided with bulb arrival, and so I had to sort by night and plant by day, keeping only one batch ahead of the game. It has been glorious to get round one all sorted at once.
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