Mr. Tootlepedal used the words “photo diary” to describe his own blog (one of my favourites. I read each daily entry and intend to catch up on an entire past year of it this winter). This is also a perfect description of mine. I would not even remember much what happened except that now I try to take photos of each stage of the day.
Thursday, 10 October, 2013
Today we tidied up the Ilwaco Post Office garden (a volunteer project). Woe betide the day that I let a scrap of Euphorbia ‘Fen’s Ruby’ work its way in here hiding inside the roots of a good plant from my mother’s garden. I pulled lots of it today and there is still some left.
Ilwaco post office
Next door to the post office: an early sign of the Halloween extravaganza soon to come to Lake and Spruce Streets
We remembered to add to Larry and Robert’s back entry the buckets of pea gravel and river rock that we dropped off there yesterday. (Last week it took us three days to get back and apply two buckets of gravel.)
walk to back porch
Judy stopped by and joined us in marveling at the velvet texture of the tall volunteer variegated mallows.
I would pull out the biggest one (on the right) because it is so not supposed to be there, but Judy and Allan both objected.
at Larry and Robert’s, before (last session)
after (today)
This is the first time I have graveled without using fabric. Hope I don’t regret leaving it out.
I walked home for a brief rest stop, admiring Tom and Judy’s garden vignettes along the way.
chocolate cosmos still looking great
Osteospermum and Penstemon
I became inspired to photograph some of the Sanguisorbas in my own front garden, as they are one of the plants I collect.
a sanguisorba (burnet) fallen across the path
with Melianthus major
and with backdrop of neighbouring (Starvation Alley Cranberry Farm) house
Ann Lovejoy wrote that charcoal grey is the best house colour against which to show off plants, and if the neighbouring house had not already been painted that colour, I would have considered it. But two charcoal grey houses next door would make the street too somber.
I think she is onto something.
At the Port, we dug out an old blue oat grass and replaced it with a better one and took another extra low ornamental bronze Carex down to the Queen La De Da garden.
Blue oat grass gets tatty after a couple of years.
On the way, I stopped at Time Enough Books and had a brief visit with owner Karla and her dog Scout.
Scout (from To Kill a Mockingbird)
She was glad to see me (I think they both were, as Karla had a gardening memoir for me to read). Scout had settled down after petting.
by Queen La De Da’s shop and gallery
Because I took no photos along First Street today, I almost forgot that we tidied up the street planters. This weekend will draw tourists and locals to town for the annual Cranberrian Fair at the museum.
Meanwhile, the lawn mower repair shop had called. The weather being rather chilly with better days forecast, we decided to go pick it up and see if by some remote chance the falafel lunch truck, now located near the Astoria coop, would still be open at three. I had intensely fond memories of the shwarma I ate there the day we went to Astoria Sunday Market.
Astoria Megler bridge work has begun again.
We found a closed falafel lunch truck and went on to get the mower. My second motivation for accompanying Allan on the errand was that I have fallen in love with one of the repair shop personnel.
Truman!
Is the feeling mutual?
Just west of Clatsop Power Equipment is the shell of a nursery that came and went with much promise.
abandoned? nursery
It started out strong with lots of good plants and then just dwindled with plants unwatered and fallen over, and it closed for good after just a couple of years, leaving behind an expensive, huge, fancy greenhouse….such a shame.
For some comfort after not having had falafels and shwarma, we stopped to eat at La Cabana D Raya.
just west of the old Young’s Bay Bridge
inside
looking out east windows to the bridge
what a view from the dining room to the south and west!
Allan’s chicken mole (a spicy tomato and chocolate sauce) was outstanding. I liked the enchiladas but prefer the ones at Thursday Mexican Night at the Hungry Harbor in Long Beach…and that’s a good thing because Long Beach is much handier.
on the way back…a bridge construction stop with view of Astoria hill
Astoria Megler bridge, looking north
I still don’t like the curve at the south end and hate it when people pass, but my bridge phobia has greatly decreased in our new, taller vehicle.
At home, I finished picking up the debris so Allan could find out for sure that the mower was fixed. It had been but a clogged air filter, repaired for $25.00. I went inside to avoid the brisk chill in the air, then realized I needed a photo of Allan mowing! Back out again…
It works!
Be sure to tilt your mower straight back for cleaning, and not to the (wrong) side.
Evening in the garden:
Nicotiana langsdorfii still in full bloom even though it has fizzled in other gardens by now
Fuchsia ‘Delta’s Parade’
Penstemon ‘Dark Towers’
a hardy Fuchsia
If only I had left the tags stuck in on all the fuchsias!
golds and browns (astilbe seedheads) in the shade garden
Physocarpus (Diablo or ?)
Mary
east bed, back garden, with red drawer of kale
The following three photos are details of the above garden…to the right of the cat statue.
Penstemon and Euphorbia
a slightly darker Penstemon
a handsome daylily
Walking to the front garden….
by Allan’s shed
a gently fading agryathemum
by the front porch
“People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us.” -Iris Murdoch
front garden: Dichroa febrifuga
I crossed the street to take a photo of the J’s garden for a photo record of the town’s Halloween decorations for this year.
Jay and Jody’s garden
I saw that during the time I had gone indoors, I had missed a wonderful sunset.
dregs of colour at the end of Lake Street
So here’s a concluding splash of colour from peppers that I picked today from the greenhouse.
Tangly Cottage Gardening 