scenes from November

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Marty, Billie & I at Cannon Beach. Photos by MB Maher

How are we all holding up? Mid-term elections over, one major holiday in the can, another looming, but as usual I’m determined to go full contrarian and resist its gravity pull until the typical last-minute panic. (If Christmas involved nothing more than cookies, it’d be the perfect holiday.) Lots of family visits in November, including Mitch with his camera — these are all his images.

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Mitch arrives in Portland, Oregon.
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on the coast, Barview Jetty
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with Billie at Cape Meares Lighthouse
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Hannah observing the inscrutable game of pickle ball
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Macaroon shopping in Astoria
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Admiring woodcuts at the Columbia River Maritime Museum
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up the Hitchcockian spiral staircase at the Astor Column, Astoria, Oregon
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view from Astor’s Column
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maple strutting fall color, Astoria, Oregon
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lots of fine old houses in Astoria

On the garden front, bulbs are planted (allium, potted tulips and ranunculus, brodiaea, narcissus). Seeds from Special Plants in England have been sown after a rather circuitous delivery route via Miami, Florida. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture is now involved with ordering seeds from England, but Derry’s instructions were unfalteringly accurate and encouraging, and the bureaucratic delay was maybe a couple weeks. And the permit from USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service allows us to take Billie on oversea vacations, if that issue ever comes up, as well as importing more seeds for the next few years. Overall, a surprisingly painless business, with the federal website working flawlessly.

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Nights are dipping below 30F here, and I’ve got a little frost-tolerance experiment going with a planter of Echeveria agavoides which can reputedly take temps down to 20F. So far the echeveria are still pristine, but snow is forecast for the coming week. Into the shed they’ll go if that forecast holds. More soon — stay warm!

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5 Responses to scenes from November

  1. Elaine says:

    Astoria looks like a beautiful place. Lovely beaches and houses with character vs mega mansion. Hannah is adorable. She has grown so quickly. Billy is pretty cute too. I still have some tulips and daffs to pot up into containers but will probably get that done tomorrow. We are expecting another cold snap so good indoor activity.

  2. Kris P says:

    Billie is very photogenic, as is Astoria. I was startled to see how big Hannah is!

  3. I love that top photo of you guys on the beach, just lovely. As the others have said Hanna’s size was startling, no longer a little baby. I can’t wait to learn the results of your Echeveria agavoides experiment!

  4. Denise Maher says:

    @Elaine, I’ve always had a soft spot for beautiful Astoria. But so much colder with that wind off the river! Billie and Hannah are turning into quite the partners in crime 😉 — yes, potting up bulbs is a great indoor activity, have fun with it.
    @Kris, don’t get me started on how fast H is growing. No talking yet, just really interesting vocalizations with t’s and k’s d’s and s’s and long i’s.
    @Loree, I don’t want to push that experiment to the extreme end but so far it’s looking good. Maybe I should grab a couple rosettes and move then indoors. The kangaroo paws from the plant swap are safely in the shed and look really good so far.

  5. hb says:

    What a beautiful area that is. I always forget until reminded by photos like these.

    Love that first photo! You all look happy.

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