Seems like we’re going backwards with the weather. After 10-plus days of sunny, almost balmy temps in January (at least during the day), February has blasted the doors open with overnight snow and big boofy flakes coming down in soft torrents. Our winter wonderland mornings have prompted many of us to say, “Glad I don’t have to go anywhere today.”

I’ve been sitting in my writing chair with a morning cuppa Joe facing sliders after shoveling a small patch of snow off my front porch and spreading a seed mixture for the birds: Steller’s jays, song sparrows, red-winged blackbirds, chickadees, starlings, towhees even Eurasian collared doves have arrived on and off to munch on their preferred fare. This morning the sky is as white as the inches of snow on porch rails and fences, lawn chairs, wood pile. Even the Buddha got in the act, snow balanced on the tip of his nose.

In winter, my thoughts always wander to our wild neighbors — those racoons, squirrels, deer, possum. Where do they go during inclement weather, snowing nights, gusts to 65 mph, and steady downpours? I ‘spose they have their favored hidey-holes; mine is at home by the fire.

Having a little window onto nature, literally, is one of the pleasures of where we live. News headlines aggravating? Talking heads spinning? Politics got your blood boiling? Take a walk and leave your phone at home (you don’t need to count steps every single day, do you?). Especially on one of these recent snowy morning, the world is so quiet, somehow reduced to its essential features, everything covered by a dampening blanket marked by tales told in foot-/paw-/claw-prints in the snow.

Around the town

On a recent neighborhood walk, I stopped to talk to Phil Stamp II who was out on a wet afternoon. Phil often has a good-looking wood pile at the ready and, on this particular day, I couldn’t help but pause to remark on the size of the rounds he was splitting. “I said I wouldn’t work on logs this size again … but…” he says, standing near massive slices of Douglas fir delivered by a friend.

I counted the rings — 100-plus; this tree-round looked as sturdy and solid as any I’ve ever seen. I don’t know its story or where it was standing before it was felled, but the magnificence of this tree was still apparent. It probably took root around the turn of the 20th century. What weather had it survived? What history did it live through in its years on our Peninsula?

Phil and I talked about the health of the tall trees around our few blocks in Nahcotta. Phil says, “Look at the tops of the trees — if they’re looking good they’re probably still healthy.” We also compared notes on a litany of neighbors suffering through cancer, or gone to their rest, including Phil’s father Phillip N. Stamp who left this earth on Feb. 23, 2024, and Dennis Fitzpatrick Tufts on May 1, 2024. Dennis’s house, we heard, was purchased by a Chinese family, but it’s been left to its own devices for years. Its huge cypress trees, the widow walk on the rooftop, big yard with plenty of storage garages decorated with floats is pretty much as Dennis left it.

Both Dennis and Phil were Peninsulites from an earlier era, as sturdy and upright as that big ole Doug fir — hard working men of the land with a set of values that I hope to heck we aren’t losing as we march along into the wilderness of this current century. In AI we trust? I don’t think so. A wallet full of cryptocurrency? I’ll stick with greenbacks. Put down your phone and look at the world around you. What? — don’t bother me, I’m shopping.

That other Washington

Trump and his acolytes seem to want to destroy the established qualities, structures and organizations that America has developed to try to make a positive difference in the world over our 250-year democracy. Now we’re threatening tariffs even on neighbors sharing our continent, pulling out of the World Health Organization (just a note: pandemics don’t understand lines on a map), and spitting in the face of climate change (anyone notice that Mother Nature is still in charge, no matter what?).

As Ezra Klein mentions in a recent New York Times podcast, Trump is trying to pull off “something between power grabs and crimes.” He is creating “fundamental disruption in the functioning of the U.S. government.” And, most recently, he wants to take over Gaza and make it a seaside resort. (Though his minions are attempting a walk-back, as usual, “He doesn’t want to put any troops on the ground, and he doesn’t want to spend U.S. dollars.”)

Has anyone noticed the price of eggs or other grocery items dropping recently? What about Trump’s promise to end Russia’s war in Ukraine in one day? Then there’s the pending confirmation for director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Russell Vought, the author of “Project 2025” — who Trump, on the campaign trail, had never heard of. Amidst the chaos, some of you may be thinking, “Whoops.” Or will things have to get even more bizarre before you might change your minds?

Elon’s frat boy coders — dudes between the ages of 19 and 24 with no governmental experience — have got passwords to the Treasury Department payment system: Akash Bobba, Edward Coristine, Luke Farritor, Gautier Cole Killian, Gavin Kliger, and Ethan Shaotran. Some are fresh out of college, and one is still a student. What could possibly go wrong? It’s difficult to know what to do when the people in charge have been sent there by half of us while the other half of us are biting our nails. Most of this dangerous monkey-business will be adjudicated in court — but that will take time.

You are here

Meanwhile, back at the ranch — what can we do? It’s back to “think global, act local.” Here are a couple worthwhile events and activities to consider. Pacific County Immigrant Support, a non-profit organization that spun off from the ACLU during the first Trump term, is creating some donation and training options for those of us worried about our immigrant friends. You can give directly to PCIS: tinyurl.com/PCIS-donate. You can also organize a giving pledge for them on your Facebook site.

In addition, PCIS has been sponsoring “Know Your Rights” workshops — check their website for future dates. They have also created two Rapid Response Teams, one for each end of the county. Members of the group are part of a statewide Rapid Response network led by WAISN (WA Immigrant Solidarity Network). The next training is March 29 — and you can zoom in Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. (tinyurl.com/WAISN-registration). Keep an eye on their website for future opportunities to help: www.pcisupport.org.

On another topic, our fire department in Ocean Park has a valuable workshop coming up, sponsored by Ocean Beach Hospital, Timberland Regional Library and Olympic Area Agency on Aging. Having trouble getting up or getting around? Is your balance not so great? On Friday, Feb. 21 from 2-3 p.m. at 26110 Ridge Avenue in Ocean Park, join experts who can give you tips on mobility issues.

These last snow days and icy nights may have illustrated to you the importance of keeping on your feet. They certainly have for me — I’ve got my snow boots and ice-melt by the door. A fall, a broken hip, or leg, can be a devastating change of life that happens in an instant and could threaten your health or the health and independence of someone you love.

Whatever crazy political or weather maelstrom hits us on the Peninsula, let’s keep our feet on the ground. We’ve got an unusually strong community — if we work together, I have no question we can make it through anything.