Please, please, don’t eat the daisies.

Don’t eat the daisies, please, please…

—By Joe Lubin, as sung by Doris Day

I woke this morning to rain, glorious rain! And I so wish I could have sent a little of this moisture to our inland cities where temps in the 100s have been standard for weeks. We’re in the middle of a severe drought. A state burn ban started on July 10th and is in effect until the end of September.

You can have a backyard fire if it doesn’t exceed three feet by three feet but two feet (still sounds too large to me), if the smoke doesn’t bother your neighbors, and you have water available. So summer fare: s’mores, hot dogs, and ‘burgs, along with those cool sides — potato and macaroni and caprese (tomatoes are finally in season) salads, and, of course, watermelon are de rigueur.

I’ve been walking Jackson in the dunes lately and OMG those dry grasses seem so ready to create a potential emergency. I met one guy smoking on the trail a couple days ago and reminded him — tactfully I thought — about the dangers. So, yes, this rainy morning was wonderful, and though it didn’t last nearly long enough, it necessitated a more thorough slug patrol. Those clever slugs ooze right up the stems of my daisies to feast on the petals — they’re no fools!

Peninsula Senior Center

But, to the topic at hand, there’s a lot of construction, repair, and general upgrading going on around the town these days. I stopped by the Peninsula Senior Activity Center to see how the new addition is going. Office manager Fred Carter said, “They’re telling us the new building should be done by around December 23rd!” That’s quick, and it’s going to double the space available for workshops, community events, business meetings, and storage options.

I wandered out back to see for myself — the addition pushes out from the existing building toward the highway — and talked to Levi and his two sons, Christian and Jace, who were getting the foundation forms ready for the cement pour the next morning, “Seven A.M. sharp!” Levi said. Woody’s crew would be on the job for that.

While I’m on the topic, just a reminder that the Senior Center’s popular coupon book (really just a small foldable piece of paper) is chock full of money-saving specials from up and down the Peninsula. At $10 a pop, it’s one of the best values around. With no effort at all, you can make this savings back almost immediately; and it’s good in many places for the whole year, until June 2025. For instance buy one ticket and $5 from the snack bar at the Neptune Theater and you get a second ticket free — for the entire year! You can take $1 off any Senior Center meal (the breakfasts are legendary) also for the whole year. At the Depot take $15 off a $30 plus dinner — boom, you’ve made your investment back. There’s a wide range of savings included: you can even take 25% off any one item at the Peninsula Pharmacies. Drop by Senior Center office to pick one up.

Ocean Park Food Bank

You may also have noticed that the Ocean Park Food Bank is continuing the repair and renovation of their building across the street from Ocean Auto. As Charlotte Paliani said, “We had leaks before, and where I usually park my car on the side of the building, the gutter would dump water on me in the winter. We’re all really excited about the new roof. And it will be nice for the community to have the building upgraded.”

Michael Goldberg, center director, wants to acknowledge Oman and Son Building Supply, “We started out our project with a grant from the Templin Foundation and a deposit with Integrity Construction. But as they got into the job, we realized there was more dry rot than we thought. Then Steve Oman and Oman’s Supply stepped up and donated all the plywood, the siding for the back of the building, and other materials we needed.”

“The work started Monday and it should be done by the weekend. We found a lot to repair — that roof had probably never been replaced. This is a much more substantial job. We’re going to paint the building as soon as the roof is done. It’s donations from the community that keep us going. Thanks to everyone.” And I say, stop in at Oman’s and thank everyone there for their community support. It takes a village.

Music (and mission?) in the Gardens

Was it “Music in the Gardens” or simply “Magic in the Gardens” last weekend? The weather was perfect; the gardens were splendid; the munchies were yummy; and the conversations were wide-ranging. Rita Nicely called it the “social event of the year.” I don’t know if I’d go that far — we’ve still got four more months to top it! — though I have to admit, Nancy Allen and her crew of gardeners, greeters, and car-parkers set the bar very very high.

A quick text from Nancy (she’s taking some well-deserved moments beside a river) gives us a glimpse of the success. By the numbers: the Basketcase sold 87 tickets ($1,740); the Bay Gallery sold 99 tickets ($1,980) and that flower-powerhouse Nansen Malin sold 43 tickets ($860) for a grand total of $4,580, or 229 tickets sold. Additionally 180 tickets were sold online (at tickettomato.com). Plus, the raffle of donated objets d’art and other various gifts brought in another $1,325. Wow! The tour has taken on multi-state-wide dimensions, as there were many visitors from Seattle and environs, and Portland and beyond.

Just after the event, I read a fascinating article of ultimate decadence in The New York Times about “garden mission statements” (tinyurl.com/36636xd5). First I thought, what is happening to our world that we can’t just plant a couple things in the yard and not fuss about it? Then I mused, well, it is kind of an interesting concept.

My mission statement would be something like, “My garden is meant to be pleasant, healthy, sustaining and welcoming to me and all creatures” — that seems to fit my laissez-faire approach. When the wild geraniums walk around the yard, I’m fine with that; their small pink blooms are profuse and the bees love them. I have roses blooming high up in the trees; they’ve never been pruned. There’s honeysuckle spiraling into my evergreens. I’ve left a lichen-covered plum branch (probably slowly dying) without pruning it because the birds love its perch. The Asian pears and Liberty apples in my lower yard are only accessible via weed-whacked pathways through hip-high grasses. My Montmorency cherries — a bumper crop this year — were mostly too high for me to pick. Bounty for the birds. The only deer I was truly mad at was the one that ate off most of my Lucifer blooms — it meant less food for the hummers. My only major disagreements are with the slugs.

I’m not creating a showpiece, I have a very private (read “overgrown”) old-lady yard full of color, texture, and totally organic lushness. Did I ever think I’d need a garden mission statement? Emphatically, no. But now that I have one, I can relax and enjoy what’s here. Happy summer to everyone all around the town.