3 April: volunteer projects

Tuesday, 3 April 2018

Anyone who read yesterday’s post script knows that today turned out to be a sad day with the loss of our thirteen year old cat, Calvin.

This morning, Calvin seemed fine.  I made an appointment for him to get his asthma shot in the mid afternoon just to prevent him having an attack over the weekend. I felt I was being a good cat mom to get it taken care of today instead of later in the week.

Meanwhile, Allan noted this view from our garden:

crab pots being stacked next door

The work side of the day:

I had been thinking for a few years about imperializing adopting a spot at the corner of the fire house and turning it into a little garden instead of weedy mini-lawn.  Once upon a time, it had been a garden, evidenced by the remains of a Siberian iris.  Various things got in my way: First, the onset of having a bad knee, and then having just too much work to find time, and then the news that someone else was going to adopt it (but that did not come to fruition due to busy life of the other potential volunteer).  Finally, this was the time to bring the idea into being.  Our town, like the towns of Long Beach and Ocean Park, have volunteer fire fighters.  A wee garden bed with an orange and red and yellow theme seemed like a good way to give something back.

11:30 AM

The garden bed is L shaped but we only did the square, not the narrow bed.  It might be where people step if they park where we parked today.  I might decide to dig it up the L and plant something there later on.  It is a troublesome mess of sod and dandelions right now.  (I know, dandelions are so good for bees, but these are string trimmed to the ground.)

First, the half moon edger.

Next, the ho-mi and the double tool. (Allan’s photo)

The mayor, also a volunteer firefighter, stopped by.  We learned from him that the old sprinkler system does not work any longer and is turned off (too many leaks) but that the firefighters do sometimes water the garden areas.

12:30 PM

At this point in the project, all our buckets were full of weeds and sod and so Allan went to dump them while I went home (two blocks away) to dig a few plants for the new garden.

the first gathering of sod and dandelions

Before going inside, I admired a few flowers.

Muscari macrocarpum ‘Golden Fragrance’

I forgot to smell that yellow muscari to see if it lives up to its name.

Muscari latifolium ‘Grape Ice’

window box with Tulipa sylvestris

In the house, I found Calvin in a sudden and shocking state of respiratory distress (he had seemed fine just one hour before), and we rushed him to the vet as soon as Allan returned.

While he was taken into the inner sanctum for treatment, we were advised to check back in a couple of hours. We went back to work, because that’s what we do, with the phone close at hand.

An hour later, after a phone call from the vet, we were back to the clinic because Calvin was failing fast, and, as I wrote yesterday, we made the decision to let him go because he was suffering so.  We will have him cremated, and so we just had an empty crate to bring home.

We then went back to work….because that is what we do.  The first thing I did was walk next door from the vet clinic to the Depot Restaurant and deadhead a few narcissi.

Tulip at the Depot

We went home for a short while so that I could dig up some plants for the fire station project….

the empty cat box 😦 (Allan’s photo)

…and then returned to the station to plant them.

4:30 PM

Allan’s photo

Ilwaco fire station and new garden

What I planted, quickly gleaned at home: Miscanthus variegatus, Helianthus ‘Sahin’s Early Flowerer’, and some Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ (one place where they will be quite perfect!), Eupatorium ‘Pink Frost’ (just because I had a clump ready to go, might not leave it here because the color will sort of clash, don’t you think?), lambs ears, Solidago ‘Fireworks’, Oregano ‘Hopley’s Purple’, an eryngium (plain old blue), some bachelor button seeds, some red annual poppy transplants, some Sedum ‘Autumn Fire’, Helianthus ‘Lemon Queen’, some stuck-in cuttings of santolina that will probably “take”.

The whole time I was thinking if only I had taken Cal to the emergency vet when he was coughing on Saturday–or taken him yesterday even though it seemed he was better–he might still be alive. I felt I had been too focused on work (because that is what I do).

While Allan dumped the second load of weeds, I moved to our other volunteer garden at the post office.  There, we encountered the boatyard manager who was able to assure us that the digging for the boatyard project will likely cross the garden at some point but will not require much more in-garden digging than that.

The post office garden has been looking messy with the annoyance of wild garlic and some low weedy grass and some shot weed.  As I was contemplating the disapproval of tidy gardeners, a postal patron said “Your flowers are so wonderful; I have lots of photos of this garden.”

before

after

Ipheion uniflorum

Bellevalia pycnantha (Muscari paradoxum); the bells are olive green inside.

muscari (Allan’s photo)

a painted rock in the post office planter (Allan’s photos)

At home, I picked a bouquet to take tomorrow morning over to the J’s for a guest who is there.  Here it is in a not very elegant kitchen sink photo.

It had been a sad day, so not much joy was taken at erasing two more projects from the work board.

We are expecting several rainy days. Usually, I’d be relishing the prospect of reading days. But now I think it would be preferable to have the distraction of work. On the other hand, the joy of work is sapped right now because it had removed my focus from where it should have been, on Calvin’s every breath.

I have gotten reassurance from many friends who’ve had similar experiences. We all wish our cats had been able to tell us exactly how they felt. “I’m still feeling a bit under the weather even though I played with my toys and ate my dinner.” “Ok, let’s get you to the vet right away.”

Frosty was a comfort while I wrote yesterday’s postscript about Calvin.

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14 April: from beach to town hall

Friday, 14 April 2017

I woke early to sunshine and a sense of urgency about picking flowers and going to work, then heard pounding rain and rested awhile longer.  At the usual time, I got up and then went out to gather a bouquet.

Skooter on the front steps (Allan’s photo)

Skooter helping

I did not pick from here…

and I did not pick from here…

I picked a few narcissi from the outer beds and then went for a big batch of yellow and red tulips that were in a rather hidden spot…

I wouldn’t miss these so much!

Another pouring rain drove me to take shelter in the greenhouse.  I did nothing productive like tidying up, just stared at the weather in disgruntlement.

rainy greenhouse view

I thought that I had better take both my raincoats to work in case intermittent soaking rains happened all day long.

Frosty and Calvin as the sun emerges again

a very special gold leafed Eryngium (Allan’s photo)

At the Ilwaco post office:

I love the white tiny cupped narcissus, and lots of lily foliage

I planted this little white star and now I did not know what it is.  Looked it up: Ipheion or Triteleia uniflorum.

We delivered our flowers to the Chautaqua Lodge meeting room in north Long Beach, feeling a bit guilty that the setting up of all the chairs had been too early in the morning for us night owls.  Below is artist Michele with the cut-out of our congresswoman, Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler, who had been invited to tonight’s town hall but had instead decided to do a telephone town hall the night before (during which, I heard later, she only took ten questions from constituents).

Jaime will be at our town hall one way or another.

our bouquet for the town hall….our only contribution to making it all happen.

Long Beach

We settled in to the beach approach weeding.  As soon as rain began, I realized I had completely forgotten my rain coats!  I took shelter in the van for a bit.  Fortunately, the rain stopped.  A strong and cold and miserable wind intermittently annoyed me.

Because of puddles next to two of the 13 beach approach sections, we are weeding all out of order, depriving me of the pleasure of seeing the end of the garden get closer bit by bit each day.  The project is all cattywampus this year.

looking west

looking east; we started on a sort of middle section today

Allan used the pick to remove as many roses as possible from right on the edges.

It is always cheering to get to pet a dog.

progress

one section done

 

another angle of admiration

We skipped this section; the hardest of all because of rushes interspersed with everything.  We need to start it fresh some day instead of when we are tired.

Allan has to detour around puddles to dump the wheelbarrow.

We can dump weeds in the tall grass but the rugosa rose roots go to the city dump.

yellow hoop petticoat narcissi replanted  by the long grass (Allan’s photo)

There is always an interesting assortment of people and dogs walking by (all Allan’s photos):

This woman was looking for places to put out some painted rocks.

this beauty

and this one all studded with tiny shells

The purpose of these artistic rocks by her and her daughter is a simple one: to bring people joy.

our second target of the day

mostly done

section two, after

We did not quite finish the second section; instead, we jumped ahead to the end cap by the arch.  I felt the roses there needed to be cut down for the sake of good traffic sightlines.

end cape, before

and after: the sign asks people to not pick the flowers because they are for everyone to enjoy.

Some had dug two plants out of the planter right by the do not pick sign.

I had planned to work till six and then go straight to the town hall.  I simply could not go on so we quit work at about five.

Town Hall

We were so pleased and relieved that an impressive number of local folks came to hear the nine speakers (none of whom was named Jaime Beutler).

I borrowed this photo from Joe Chasse.

The first speaker was on video: Brian Baird, who after his retirement was replaced by Jaime.  Blake spoke of how during his years in office he held over 350 town halls to communicate with and listen to his constituents.  He said, “In order to represent your constituents, you have to listen to them.” Rep Jaime Beutler is known for very few in person town halls.

We also heard from local Rep. Brian Blake, from the mayor of Long Beach, from the county sheriff, from a county commissioner, from a concerned citizen, from the chairman of the local Chinook tribe, from a long time school board member, and from David McDevitt, who is running against Jaime in 2017.  As the concerned citizen who gave a rousing speech said about Jaime, “If you don’t want to listen to us, we’ll find someone who will.”  (Sorry, I have forgotten the citizen’s name; she was speaking on behalf of local business luminary Karyn Zigler who had been unable to attend.)

Rep Blake, Mayor Phillips, Sheriff Johnson, County Commissioner Wolfe

 

I think Mr McD also looks like a good candidate to play Doctor Who!

At the end of the evening, Allan and I were asked to take Jaime home because no one else had room for her in their vehicles.

We have an idea for some shopping that she might like to do tomorrow.

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