Thanks, again, to commentor Mike in Oly:
A selection of photos I took at my dear friend’s garden in Ilwaco, WA. She and her partner tend their small garden just blocks from the port of Ilwaco, in a very interesting microclimate. The flat landscape required mounding for the flowerbeds in order to deal with excess water from the Pacific Northwest rains, and the cool damp climate limits the plants that can thrive here.
And garden cat #2 – Frosty, enjoying the sunshine and trying to get attention, as one does.
***********
Minor silver lining to the current situation, at least here north of Boston: Self-quarantining doesn’t rule out gardening, at least on one’s own turf. If the current unusually clement weather holds, Murphy the Trickster God willing, we’ll be able to spend valuable daylight hours raking detritus out of the flower beds & continuing last year’s bed-remodeling efforts. (With, as Adam would point out, valuable aerobic exercise bonus.) Get things to the point where we can see how much space we have to cram in a few more enticements from the stacks of garden catalogs!
What’s going on in your garden (planning), this week?
WereBear
This is lovely. We are in early spring here — too early — which means ice and high winds :)
Jeffery
The tulip tree down the street is flowering. The hardy almond in my yard is as well. The lilac is about to flower. Everything is so early this year in Philadelphia.
?BillinGlendaleCA
After little rain since December, it’s been raining here in SoCal since Tuesday and rain is predicted every day(except Thursday) for the next 10 days. I’ll take January in March(does that mean I get a do-over of my b-day?).
JPL
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Why not.
OzarkHillbilly
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Good news. Hows the snow pack?
NotMax
Ducked into local market yesterday while waiting for wash and dry cycles to finish at the laundromat because I had forgotten to get eggs during the monthly shopping trip into town.
Normal crowd size for a Saturday, lines at registers not long. Didn’t do a check of the shelves as it is such a crappy supermarket that half the time they have some bare or nearly empty shelves anyway. Cashiers gloved, didn’t notice any shoppers wearing them.
Spoke to Mom in NYC area and she related that a local all kosher supermarket now is handing out gloves to shoppers entering the fresh produce section and checking that they are being worn there.
JPL
The flowers are lovely and the pictures are a welcome respite from the horrors of the world.
Baud
Beautiful flora.
@NotMax:
Costco was packed yesterday. So much for social distancing.
I’m pretty sure I have the coronavirus now. I might also be a little bit pregnant.
NotMax
@Baud
What fried my grits was the two out of the four shoppers ahead of me in the express lane who plunked down obviously more 8 eight items.
NotMax
@NotMax
It’s a severe test of maintaining a poker face.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@OzarkHillbilly: I believe still crappy. Actually this past storm was mainly in SoCal. I think the next one should also hit the northern part of the state as well, also a much colder storm
ETA: And as I wrote this, it started raining again.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud:
We were waiting for the right time to have that talk with you Baud, guess it’s too late now.
Sab
The flowers are lovely, but I am nuts about that bench.
OzarkHillbilly
@?BillinGlendaleCA: I got my fingers crossed for whatever good it might do. Just got done perusing the Climate Prediction Center. Looks like it’s gonna be a long hot summer for most folks.
NotMax
BTW, happy Ides of March. Avoid wearing togas today.
satby
Business was way down at the Farmer’s market here, which is probably a good sign. I packed up my booth and took everything home at the end. Which everyone seemed to think was a huge overreaction; but the market manager was too sick to come in yesterday, supposedly home with “stomach flu”. By the time I’m expected to go back, things will probably start shutting down hard. The schools are closed for the next two weeks too, but I think by the end of two weeks the case load around here will be much higher and the shut down will be extended.
So, my yard and garden are going to get the most consistent attention they’ve ever had since I moved here. I see some of the crocus starting to show, and some of the new bulbs planted in the front bed. Lots of leaves still to rake and mulch, but it’s going to be a nice change to start summer ahead of the curve in outdoor chores for once ?.
NotMax
@satby
Any chance you could sublease your spot temporarily?
Patricia Kayden
I see you, Frosty!! You deserve all the attention!
NotMax
Right on, Randy Rainbow.
:)
satby
@NotMax: that’s why I cleared it out, if it’s rented while I’m gone that pays part of my bill. But, considering how much traffic dropped they may not be able to rent it. And they won’t consider closing up at all unless the health department or government make them.
laura
@satby: are you doing on line sales? Spouse is crazy about your soaps and our holiday order has run its course.
Amir Khalid
@Baud:
We’ll be expecting the baby pics in nine months.
rikyrah
Good Morning, Everyone ???
NotMax
@Amir Khalid
“What are you planning to name it?”
“If it’s a boy, John Cole.”
“And if it’s a girl?”
“John Cole.”
satby
@laura: yep, still doing online! I figured I’d continue to the end of this year. Not looking like this is the year to retire and start some bucket list traveling ??!
And apologies, but prices went up a bit (50¢/item) to cover shipping when it’s free to the buyer. Shipping costs were one reason I was going to close up shop.
satby
@rikyrah: Good morning! Seems like it’s been a while since I was around to say that.
Baud
@rikyrah: Good morning.
satby
Whoops, wrong thread
mrmoshpotato
@Baud: Well, we now know Baud is a dude conclusively.
mrmoshpotato
@NotMax: Those 9-item bastards! Feed them to a volcano! :)
NotMax
@mrmoshpotato
9? I gave up counting at 14.
mrmoshpotato
@NotMax: LMAO!
mrmoshpotato
@NotMax: 8 items? I thought it was 80 items. Oops!
MomSense
@NotMax:
Thank you for that!!
Amir Khalid
@NotMax:
I’ve been at a few supermarkets over here where express-lane clerks strictly enforce the maximum item count.
OzarkHillbilly
Once Again I have a massive dose of garden envy.
sigh…
I should be used to this by now.
My own meager attempts at garden construction and preparation have been interrupted by incessant rains. I do have a few things I can do that don’t involve wading in mud. I just ordered some bamboo so I can make a few bee houses. I’ve been working a little bit on a visual screen for the carport. I can pick up another p/u load of mulch to spread in the beds along the drive. Anything more than that will probably have to wait until April. The rains don’t seem to be going anywhere.
WereBear
@satby: I went and looked at your etsy store and I seemed to indicate otherwise, but that was a few days ago. I’ll look again.
Geminid
@rikyrah: Good morning. Hey Rikrah, wondering if your job leaves you time, energy to garden?
satby
@WereBear: I had changed the date but not saved it, so it was showing the old end date, though the store was still open. I have to update a bunch of pictures though, I changed some soaps out. Message me if you want to know what else I have not pictured.
MomSense
These photos are beautiful. It’s mud season here – a bit early. I had some anxiety last night. Kid has been sending lots of new puppy photos and videos to cheer me up.
I’m going to do some stress cleaning and wait to hear about work this week.
WereBear
@satby: Since soap is so much on people’s minds, I wanted to send links out to my fans, with the “helping animals” angle you have. I did that during past holiday seasons, too.
I will check!
Immanentize
Thank you Mike in OLY! Encouraging that Spring is on its way.
My forsythia are blooming and my dogwood is budding. A month early. I certainly hope we do not get a long freeze again….
MazeDancer
Gorgeous pics!
Outstanding bench!
About to do my last shopping run. Then have to go tomorrow AM to pick up case of recycled toilet paper at Post Office, if they haven’t sold it.
Then lock down. Have 3 months of cat food. Probably the same on people food depending on how much I can stand black bean soup.
Started stocking up two-three weeks ago, when it was a lil wacky to do so. Very glad I did. Also grateful I could.
joel hanes
I think that second one is a passionflower.
They’re well-established on the edge of our patio, and cover one wall of the house every summer. We even get a bunch of fruit, which so far we’ve done nothing with. There’s a beautiful intensely-orange fritillary — [googling] — the Gulf Fritillary — whose caterpillars live on passionflower vines, and in high summer I can usually see three or four of the adults out the kitchen window in the early afternoon.
Phylllis
@NotMax: Originally misread that as ‘avoid wearing teva’s today’ and was like huh?
debbie
@Jeffery:
Unbelievable. Here, I finally saw a single daffodil on Friday. The tree out my back windows has the fattest buds I’ve ever seen.
ETA: Forgot to say how lovely these photos are. Your friend and her partner live in paradise!
Nicole
Going on a run in Central Park with a friend in a little bit; it’s easy to maintain social distance outside.
We have food in store, and, after 20+ years living together in the city (none of them ever more than a five-block walk from a coffee shop), finally caved and bought our own coffee maker. We stopped in Chipotle on the way back from a Bed Bath Beyond trip yesterday, and they’d removed all the movable chairs, so there was only one person actually staying to eat.
I’ve taken to carrying a couple of Clorox wipes in a ziplock bag in my jacket pocket if I need to go out.
joel hanes
@OzarkHillbilly:
bamboo so I can make a few bee houses.
Bless you.
OzarkHillbilly
Thanx, but I’m pretty sure it’s way too late for my soul.
MoCA Ace
It’s seed starting day here in the north!! just have patches of snow left but we usually get one last soul-crushing blizzard in March or April.
I did see the Rhubarb had pushed up a few leaves yesterday… stupid plant, it was 15 last night so they will freeze for sure.
Lapassionara
@OzarkHillbilly: Please send photos of the bee houses when they (it) are (is) done.
also, I hear you on the rain. I have a lot of work outside I could be doing, but . . .
these photos are lovely. Thanks for sending.
and good morning, everyone.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Nicole:
I’m waiting for it to warm up a little before I walk outside. It snowed yesterday and it’s still below freezing. Now that you mention it, I have a friend I could ask to go with me.
Immanentize
@Lapassionara: I left you a message yesterday in the en banc case. Dead thread….
Lapassionara
@Immanentize: I did not see it. I do know that getting legal information from the press is always a mistake. And it appears that the rules of the DC Circuit provide that judgments of the panel are vacated when en banc review is granted, so there was nothing unusual about that action. Thanks for following up.
L&DinSLT
@OzarkHillbilly:
Approximately 18” since yesterday afternoon on our deck here at Lake level – 6226 feet. The storm is supposed to go through Tuesday. It will be hard to get mountain readings because most of them COVD-19 closed yesterday. This is the first real snow since January 17, best storm of the season, and some serious powder. I think Sierra at Tahoe and Mt. Rose are still open but that could change. Lots of tourists are sad.
Immanentize
@Lapassionara: But there was a hook — the House v. Mnuchin case never was decided. Therefore, no opinion to vacate.
OzarkHillbilly
@L&DinSLT: Good to hear. Thanx.
TomatoQueen
Lovely inspiring pics on this grey morning in DC, where the weird news is the Cherry Blossom hoopla is cancelled and peak bloom is moved up about a week. Hoping for glorious views from the Tidal Basin in about 10 days, which in ordinary times is about as far as I go with them, because I am violently allergic to cherry trees in bloom, especially those of the Yoshino variety.
Randy Rainbow is spot on, as usual; that version scans beautifully so extra bonus points. Really well done.
laura
@satby: a bargain at twice the price!