Stowaway

This ghostly pirate was waiting in the back seat of the car after we stopped for coffee on Hwy 101. He wanted a ride to his favorite haunt, the Ghost Hole Tavern down in Garibaldi. Although he seemed friendly enough, we thought it prudent to oblige without further discussion.

You Are Our Sunshine!

You can actually taste sunshine!

I came home from the Farmer's Market with raspberries and strawberries straight from the fields a few miles away. We put the flat on the kitchen counter and the entire family began popping the warm, juicy berries into our mouths. They had not been refrigerated and had a sweet crust as if they had been coated in sugar. Each berry tasted like sunshine feels when it warms your face on a spring day. Seriously, it was an amazing experience we all kept talking about as we kept eating more and more.

Later that evening, while still delightfully yummy, the berries' sunshine essence had disappeared as had most of the berries. None of us will ever forget the summer magic!

Good vs. Evil

The town of Rockaway is consumed with a battle of good vs. evil. According to our neighbor to the North, the “good people” now have political power and things are getting done again. According to our Southern neighbor, the “evil people” are now office and we should do anything we can to prevent them from being successful. It is sad, in a town this small, to see such polarization ripping the community apart. It mirrors what is currently going on in our nation and FOX news would have a heyday here.

We are staying out of the fray, not taking sides, and attending all events (no matter which “side” sanctions them). Seriously, I get enough of this in my daily life. So, Welcome to Switzerland also known as Saltair Station. Our little piece of paradise is the neutral zone.

We were encouraged to see one of the local restaurants has a poster adorning its wall with some advice. Advice, the town people, should heed. I offer it here as a reminder for all of us:

How to Build Community
Turn off your TV
Leave your house
Know your neighbors
Look up when you are walking
Greet people
Sit on your stoop
Plant flowers
Play together
Buy from local merchants
Share what you have
Help a lost dog
Take children to the park
Garden together
Support neighborhood schools
Fix it even if you didn’t break it
Have potlucks
Pick up litter
Read stories aloud
Dance in the street
Talk to the mail carrier
Listen to the birds
Put up a swing
Help carry something heavy
Barter for your goods
Start a tradition
Ask a question
Hire young people for odd jobs
Organize a block party
Bake extra and share
Open your shades
Sing together
Share your skills
Take back the night
Turn up the music
Turn down the music
Listen before you react to anger
Seek to understand
Learn from new and uncomfortable angles
Know that no one is silent though many are not heard
Work to change this!

So if you ever want to join us in "Switzerland," stop by our fire to look at the stars and swap stories, please pull up a chair. We love this community and hope it can find peace once again.

Honk If You Love Music

The North Coast Big Band Concert was several weeks ago on a delightfully sunny day. We grabbed our chairs and headed for the park. At the entrance, we saw this truck with quite an elaborate sound system. At first we worried this was the sound for the concert, you know, small town style. Luckily we were wrong. The music was swinging, toe-tapping fun amplified without the use of the truck.

I am watching closely behind me when I drive down 101 though. If this person honks at me, the Prius will most likely vaporize.

Summer's Here, Grab Your Umbrella

The lucifers in the front yard are just about to burst forth. I am glad they waited one more day so I could capture Nature's symmetry adorned with crystal drops of salty rain.

Don't Grow Up to Be a Weed

While driving through the coast range, Gardener Bob suddenly asked, “Is that a weed?” pointing to the beautiful purple foxglove along the side of the road.

Nope, I answered.

How about that one? Inquiring about the Queen Anne's Lace, equally as magnificent.

Yes, it’s considered a weed.

Although I had answered very definitively in my best gardening authority voice, I started pondering what makes a weed a weed. It can’t be beauty, because some weeds are quite beautiful. It can’t be smell as the same holds true. Is it the invasive characteristics of the plant? Well, that would make most ground cover qualify as weeds. Hmmmm.

I finally decided it is being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Take for instance, the dandelion. It isn’t a bad looking little plant, the leaves are flat and green, it has a delicate yellow flower which later turns into an exquisite ball of fluff, it can be made into wine and it thrives year round--especially in my yard. As far as I can tell, its only crime is popping up in the middle of manicured lawns and gardens. That must have been enough for us humans to decide it was a weed, giving full power to lots of companies to make lots of nasty chemical products (and money) to help us “control” them.

Feeling sorry for the dandelion plant for getting such a bad rap, I decided to consult the dictionary to prove myself wrong. Unfortunately, I was pretty close. The official definition reads, "weed: A wild plant growing where it is not wanted and in competition with cultivated plants.” Geez, tough crowd.

Take my advice if you are a wild plant, growing as nature intended, not causing harm to anyone; steer clear of the cultivated plants and landscape that humans prize. Just sayin’...


Note: The Urban Dictionary defines weed as, “God’s gift to the world. Brings peace when used wisely.” I think this is a completely different topic.

Bob's Drink is Staring at Me!