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About Applegater. (Jacksonville, OR) 2008-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 2021)
16 Fall 2021 Applegater Floating art installed at Pacifica Garden pond Twice-bearing memories: Every experience holds two joys Essay BY PEG PRAG BY CHRISTINA AMMON Jaime Filipe, a land artist from Portugal, has been staying at Pacifica for the last year, waiting out COVID-19 restrictions. During that time he’s made some very cool art installations. One is a “One-Star Bird Hotel” that reflects in the big pond and draws birds with its shelter and food. Another is an incredibly colorful set of tetrahedrons that float in the pond. When you’re up for a relaxing sit by a pond or a short hike, come see them. Pacifica’s main mission is education, which we continue to pursue in any and all avenues. This fall we hope to have a new classroom- barn available for kids with home-school networks, after-school programs, and field trips. In addition, we’re working on a list of classes for adults, such as nature, science, pioneer history, dance, music, ceramics, woodwork, sewing, horsemanship, wood carving, and others. At the moment (until the building is finished), we are definitely offering the following weaving and watercolor classes: • Beginning and Advanced Weaving. Professional, knowledgeable teacher. New Ashford table looms. Basic: three hours/day, two days/week, four weeks. $350 for 24 total hours instruction. Call 530-339-5670. • Beginning watercolor. Jan Su, teacher. 20 years experience. Beginning supplies provided. 9 am-noon Thursdays beginning September 2. $75/month. Call 541-602-8004. If you are interested in taking one of these classes or teaching a class, please let us know by calling 541-660-4295. Pacifica Outdoor School is grateful to receive a grant from Oregon State One of a set of tetrahedrons ready to launch into the Pacifica pond. Photo: Jaime Felipe. University to help us update our facilities to be more alter-abled friendly and accessible to all. These changes include an ADA bathroom to accompany the new outdoor tents, an ADA dock for the pond, a better- leveled Powell Creek Trail (this is used for our solo-hike at Outdoor School), and fire-safety improvements for the Cedar Center. First, however, the site will receive an accessibility audit, and the staff will receive training to help those with any accessibility challenges to have a great time at Outdoor School and at Pacifica. We’re excited to move forward with this project. You can also watch this fall and winter as a new pavilion is constructed by Peter Gauss from natural wood in front of the Cedar Center. In addition to allowing people to spread out at events, as recurring COVID threats indicate is necessary, the pavilion will also allow visitors to pursue activities or relax out of inclement weather or out of the hot sun. We’ve been working on this project for well over a year! Peg Prag peg@pacificagarden.org EXPERIENCE MATTERS A law firm with roots in the industry. Business & Administrative law Criminal Defense and Litigation Hemp loneylawgroup.com ASHLAND OFFICE 541-787-0733 My raspberry patch errands, the Italian bears fruit twice a year, way: walking first to once in early summer the bread shop, then to and again in the fall. It the cheese shop, then comes from rootstock to the supermarket from a farm where I deli for his treasured was employed. I’ve mortadella. In these put these berries in routines, we formed a pies, added them to quiet bond. smoothies, and eaten Raspberry vines can bear more than one Piero and I stayed them one-by-one, kind of crop. Artwork: Christina Ammon. in touch, occasionally straight from the bush. exchanging a fe w One season, I harvested them with an words on Skype. I was sad to open my old best friend; another, I watched a friend Skype after he died and find a message lie under the bush and pluck berries with from him that I had left unanswered. his mouth. “This is how you make love to After getting the news of his passing, a raspberry patch,” he explained. I went back to planting the berry canes. I I once used the berries as currency. A decided to dedicate the patch to him—a kind-hearted attorney (Dan Thorndike) sweet, small tribute to a man who saved me accepted basketfuls in trade for filing in small ways during a drifting, shapeless paperwork for a nonprofit I helped start time. I painted a little yellow-and-red sign: (now Rogue Valley Farm-to-School). “The Piero Pagnacco Raspberry Patch” and This berry patch now holds the lineage sent a picture of it to my ex-partner, along of these farm memories. Rootstock is like with my condolences. “My dad would be this; it has a generational feeling, sort pleased to know there is a raspberry patch of like the transfer of DNA, or sharing in Oregon named after him,” he said. sourdough starter. One small bit can That was years ago, but still, in the multiply and propagate more. summer and the fall when the berries The spring I took the cuttings from ripen, I am reminded of old friends, old the farm and moved them to my home endeavors, and Piero: our walks around his garden was difficult. I was in the midst of Milan neighborhood, a day trip we took to a breakup, sad at the sudden and jarring see his relatives in Bologna, and the way he loneliness, but also awake to newfound set the table—cups, saucers, plate, knife, possibility. On the day I planted the fork, and spoon—for afternoon snacks. raspberry bush, my ex-partner contacted The two rounds of raspberries I get me to let me know his father, Piero, had each year are a testament to the way all of passed away. our experiences are twice-bearing: Each P i e r o l i v e d i n a l e a f y M i l a n holds two joys—the one we feel in the neighborhood. I’d stayed in his flat for moment and the one we have again in three weeks one spring. My partner was our memories. immersed in a project that had him buried Christina Ammon in the computer. I helped Piero with christinaammonwriter@gmail.com