At one Peninsula corner, those 70 mph gusts last week brought down several large trees that tangled with a stop sign.

Don’t know why

There’s no sun up in the sky

Stormy weather

Just can’t get my poor self together

Keeps raining all the time

Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler

Personal power

There’s nothing like a couple of big blows to remind us who’s in charge. Mother Nature continues to show us that we are mites clinging to her glorious robes as she whirls and dances, rolling atmospheric rivers and bomb cyclones effortlessly off her fingertips. A 14-plus hour power outage last week was just a tiny taste of what’s to come as we enter the climate crisis ahead: floods, hot days, cold days, winds, tornadoes, hurricanes, or a smorgasbord of everything at once.

When the outages hit I’m always amazed by how long it takes my addled brain to stop trying to turn on lights, heaters, stoves, and plug in charging devices. We take electrical power so for granted that we forget all the ways we rely on it. And what kind of special addiction has taken place that we cannot live without our phones for an hour or a day. I found myself sitting in my idling car several times just trying to charge my demon-device to see if I’d missed any emails, check on high tide times, or find out when the rain might stop. (Evidently never!)

And when the internet also became inaccessible, that was the ultimate outrage — although I discovered that somehow our amazing Timberland Library still had service. So I sat in their parking lot a couple times in order to continue to feed my addiction. (And more about our library in un momento.)

Are trees our friends?

Maybe you know how much I love trees. I’m always lamenting when I see yet another piece of land that’s been entirely denuded of trees and an ugly pole barn going up in their stead. That’s an especially bad exchange in my humble opinion, an obscenity. It’s not just about aesthetics; there’s so much contained in those losses: habitat for our wild neighbors (and I’m not talking about the nutty guy with the gun who lives down the street); the beauty of our landscapes and forestscapes; the practical flood-mitigation services; and the very fabric and identity of our Peninsula. I’m more than willing to put up with a little power outage inconvenience in order to retain the beauty and functionality of our forests.

However, driving around the neighborhood, I couldn’t help but notice all the trees toppled down after those 70 mph gusts that blew in. In my own corner of the Peninsula, an enormous double-topped Doug fir (it must have lost its top in an earlier storm years ago) came down, taking with it a second medium-sized tree and shearing off the branches of a large neighboring elder. No one was hurt, no roofs collapsed; though I have seen in these last few days our roving deer family keeping close company there. (Like, “What happened to our living room?”)

On the north side of the walking path at the intersection of Bay Avenue and Sandridge, one of those three dead trees finally fell over entirely after losing several large limbs a couple weeks ago. (Are we just going to wait until the remaining two trees decapitate someone on the walking path before they are taken down?)

One might conclude from this that all these damn trees should be felled. But a couple factoids are in order. I’ve been informed by reliable arborists that taking off those lower heavier limbs actually makes a healthy tree more dangerous, as those branches help stabilize a big tree. Further, taking down trees in an otherwise healthy group just makes the remaining and tallest elders more susceptible to toppling because the underground root systems are damaged. Those tall trees that are left (and not supported by others) catch the big gusts and fall.

And though we all want to thank our PUD guys (and gals?) for their mop-up efforts, perhaps the lesson is that the county needs to employ a real-deal experienced arborist (and accompanying professional team) to assess the health of trees and provide maintenance services all year ‘round, instead of just handling the crises when winter blows in.

Friends of the Library news

Now on to other matters. Chef Nanci Main can’t stay quiet for long. Whether it’s the Veterans Lunch, deserts for the Water Music Society, holiday caramel corn and cookies for the OP firehouse crew, or just soup drive-bys for friends, she’s always got something she’s cooking up. Last week it was her “Cookbook Giveaway” in the community room of the Ocean Park Timberland Library. With the help of the library staff, word of mouth, and Nansen Malin’s Facebook posting (she’s our local social media phenom), the event was an astounding success.

Nanci spent weeks painstakingly culling the cookbooks from her Ark reference library that she was ready to pass on, and, the day of the event, others brought in their cookbooks too — though many left with an even larger armful! Tables were set up and stacked with everything from books for the home cook to the professional. And there were piles and piles of enticing periodicals: the classic Cooks Illustrated, and Gourmet magazine (first published in 1941, it ceased in 2009); and 40 years of Bon Appetite. Nothing was for sale — there was a big glass donation jar and, of course, coffee and Nanci’s molasses cookies on hand for the crowd. Whether it’s the Veterans Lunch, deserts for the Water Music Society, holiday caramel corn and cookies for the OP firehouse crew, or just soup drive-bys for friends, she’s always got something she’s cooking up.

After five hours of levity, conversation, and book signing, Nanci presented Michelle Zilli, library manager for Naselle and Ocean Park, $600 to be handed over to Friends of the Library, a non-profit that supports the Ilwaco and Ocean Park branches of the Timberland Library chain.

Friends president Robin Libby said, “Nanci’s donation was just beautiful, it was so touching. Our board will be meeting this month to decide exactly how these funds will be used, but they will probably go to support the adult and children’s summer and winter reading programs. We want our community and families to know that there’s a lot more happening at the library than they might imagine.”

Robin went on to mention the tax services available at the library, the Take and Make program which gives individuals or family members that stop by a brown bag of something useful to do — whether it’s soup, a hot chocolate kit, or instructions and materials to make a special candle for the holidays. She continued, “The library is so much more than just checking out books. You can use the internet for a job search or to print your resumé — there’s just a wealth of services that our library can provide.”

I also spoke to Rita Lindstrom, the Friends treasurer, who said, “Nanci’s notoriety I know ensured that her cookbook event was a success. We have a modest annual budget of $5,000 so Nanci’s donation of $600 will really make a difference — it’s so generous. Our fund raising amounts have been down these last couple years, so we really appreciate this donation. And we heard that there was so much laughter and fun happening in that community room. That’s what we love to see. We fund programs that benefit families and put our libraries at the hub of the community.” (If you’d like to donate to support our library services, the Friends of the Library can accept tax-deductible donations; just mail a check to P.O. Box 310, Ocean Park, WA 98640.)

I might also add that during these months of winter weather, libraries are a really great place to go to be warm, dry, to pick up a newspaper, or get a question answered. It may be wild outside, but our libraries provide an inner sanctum of calm amidst the storms.