• junksgardem I
It
soun d e d
like
high
voi c e s of m any c h i l d r e n y e l l i n g
and s c r e a m i n g at the t o p of
t h e i r lungs. The s o u n d seemed
to be c o m i n g n e a r e r and nearer.
A u d r e y s c r a m b l e d u p the bank,
a l e r t i n g me, "June, ge t your
do g in the truck, f a s t . ”
Th e
o nly
sound
we
had
heard
be f o r e
was
the
win d
r u s t l i n g the b r a n c h e s of the
spr u c e trees in an a rea t h a t we
c o u l d see logg i n g r oads for
m iles that s n a k e d t h r o u g h hills
and h i g h peaks.
I g r a b b e d my do g Ezzy's
c o l l a r and h u r r i e d l y joined A r t
an d Audrey.
All four of us
squeezed
into
their
pickup
truck. A t a d i s t a n c e we saw a
p ack of coyo t e s r a c i n g t h r o u g h
the forest s w e r v i n g d own to the
g u l l y n ear w h e r e we h a d bee n
p i c k i n g w i l d b l a c k b e r r i e s tha t
g r e w o v e r stumps
in c l e a r e d
areas t h a t h a d b e e n logged.
A u d r e y commented, "I t h i n k
t h a t p a c k of c o y o t e s c a u g h t the
s cent of you r d o g ." A r t s t a r t e d
th e t r u c k and we h e a d e d o u t to
the m a i n road, our b u c k e t s onl y
hal f filled, bu t e n o u g h to l a t
er e n j o y w i l d b l a c k b e r r y pie.
T h i s is just one of t h e m a n y
adventures
I
had
with
my
friends A r t and A u d r e y S mith
who
introduced
me
to
the
b o u n t i f u l g i f t s one c o u l d find
in the forests, s a n d d u n e s and
sea life.
In his y o u n g e r y e a r s A r t
h a d b e e n a lo g g e r u ntil
an
a c c i d e n t ha d left h i m crippled.
T h i s c a u s e d h i m to find o t h e r
m eans of support. W i t h t h e h e l p
of Audrey, w h o c o u l d a l s o s wing
an axe and s t a c k a c o r d of
wood,
they
supplied
many
h o u s e h o l d s w i t h f i r e w o o d the y
g a t h e r e d fro m t h e l e a vings of
l o g g i n g c o m p a n i e s in the n e a r b y
n o r t h e r n c o a s t a l range. W i t h a
small m o w i n g tractor, A r t also
cu t lawns.
Art
knew
every
logg i n g
r o a d t h a t laced t h r o u g h the
forest, as far eas t as Saddle
M o u n t a i n and s o u t h to O n i o n
Peak. He wa s a l s o a m e c h a n i c
and k e p t his p i c k u p t r u c k and
c a r r u n n i n g in t o p shape. He
t o l d me onc e his sec r e t was
baling
wire,
but
on
t hose
excursions when I was with them
b e r r y p i c k i n g or w o o d g a t h e r i n g
I n e v e r d o u b t e d hi s ol d t r u c k
w o u l d g e t us t h e r e and c a r r y us
home. A r t s e e m e d t o be abl e to
fix a n y t h i n g t hat w e n t wrong.
T h e i r h o m e was on a large
p i e c e of p r o p e r t y o n th e north
sid e
of
Cannon
Beach.
They
p l a n t e d fruit t r e e s and b e r r i e s
an d
raised
s ome
vegetables.
Before city codes restricted
th e r a i s i n g of chickens, A u d r e y
ha d a flock w h i c h p r o v i d e d t h e m
w i t h f resh eggs.
In the s u m m e r m o n t h s as
the
wild
blackberry,
salmon
berry, t h i m b l e berry, b l a c k c a p s
an d
huckleberries
ripened,
A u d r e y w o u l d p a c k a lunch and
they
would
spend
the
day
g a t h e r i n g b e r r i e s for h e r to
ca n or mak e jam.
I first m e t the Smiths in
the
early
1 9 6 0 's
when
they
d e l i v e r e d a c o r d of woo d to my
parents'
su m m e r
home.
Many
years later w h e n I m o v e d here
permanently
I
had
the
o p p o r t u n i t y to
join t h e m on
some of t heir excursions. On
one of these trips, A r t p o i n t e d
out
a
large-leafed
p lant
growing
alongside
a
small
stream.
He said, "June, have
y o u eve r h e a r d of the Devi l ' s
Walking
Cane?"
T his
large
p l a n t has m a p l e - l i k e leaves;
the ste m and leaf v e i n s are
c o v e r e d w i t h thorns. He added,
"When w e loggers use d to find
one g r o w i n g in a swa m p y area,
w e ' d cut it d own and peel it to
m a k e a w a l k i n g cane." Grinning,
he said,
"Those th o r n s made
p r e t t y g ood t ooth picks."
In Leslie Haskins' b ook on
"Wild Flowers of the P a c i f i c
<
Coas t , " this p l a n t is i d e n t i
fied as Devi l ' s C l u b (Oplopanax
horridus). H a s k i n s w r o t e about
In d i a n lore, and h o w t h e y use d
the p l a n t as a v a l u e d medicine.
T h e shamans w o r e a m u l e t s of
this w o o d to a c c o m p l i s h p r o d
igies
in
the
overcoming
of
s u p e r n a t u r a l beings, and they
d e c o c t e d the b a r k to m a k e a
v i o l e n t emetic, a n d th e natives
c o n s i d e r e d v o m i t i n g the q u i c k
est m eans of o b t a i n i n g s t r e n g t h
an d purity. A w o u n d fro m the
t h o r n of this plant, if left
unattended, ca n c a u s e m u c h pain
and p o s s i b l e infection.
O n e su m m e r w e s p e n t hours
c r a w l i n g on our b e l l i e s g a t h e r
ing the small w i l d s t r a w b e r r i e s
in the sand d u n e s
n o r t h of
Gearhart. T h e y w e r e so t i n y my
whole
d ay's
picking
yielded
o n l y two pints of jam, b u t the
f l a v o r was the t r u e e s s e n c e of
strawberries.
T h e y f ound t h e r e m a i n s of
an
abandoned
farm
s o u t h - of
S a d d l e Mountain. A c h i m n e y was
all t h a t was left of t h e house,
b u t the o l d o r c h a r d wa s still
p r o d u c i n g fruit of a p p l e s and
pears. W h e n the f r u i t w a s ripe,
o u r d a y was s p e n t g a t h e r i n g
w h a t h a d fallen. W o r m holes,
b r u i s e s or not, o u r p a i l f u l s
m a d e the b e s t a p p l e s a u c e and
p e a r butter.
In
the
spring
we
also
c o l l e c t e d a p l a n t t h e y ca l l e d
W o o l e n Britches. W h e n c o o k e d it
t a s t e s s o m e w h a t like s p i n a c h or
S w i s s chard. T h e p l a n t looks
s i m i l a r to the W a t e r leaf plant,
H y d r o p h y l l u m tenuipes,
but I
h a v e ye t to i d e n t i f y its true
L a t i n name.
After
taking
a
class
i d e n t i f y i n g ed i b l e w i l d m u s h
rooms
and w i t h the h e l p of
experts,
I
felt
confident
e n o u g h to g a t h e r c h a n t e r e l l e
m u s h r o o m s . Th e
three
of
us
f o u n d a reas w h e r e t h e y g r e w
thick
on
moss-covered
banks
u n d e r spruce t r e e s an d along
e l k trails.
W h e n I f irst s t a r t e d my
garden,
Art
brought
me
f e r t i l i z e r fro m th e h o r s e barns
a n d lumber to h e l p b u i l d some
of the r a i s e d beds. T h e y i n t r o
d u c e d me to w h a t t h e y cal l e d
Y e l l o w Finn potatoes,
which
still
grow
profusely
in
my
garden.
W h e n the brown,
lightly
m o t t l e d small flow e r s of w h a t
A u d r e y c a l l e d R i c e L i l y blooms,
I t h i n k of her. A u d r e y g a v e me
th e small, white, b e l l - s h a p e d
bulbs,
thickly
covered
with
plump, r i c e - l i k e scales. W h e n
th e scales s l o u g h off th e m ain
bulb,
th e
scales
resemble
g r a i n s of rice. R i c e r o o t is the
m o r e c o m m o n name. L a t i n nam e is
Fritillaria
lanceolata.
This
p l a n t ' s b u l b s w e r e c o l l e c t e d by
th e n o r t h - c o a s t Indians. T h e y
d u g a n d b o i l e d the r oots for
food.
A u d r e y d i e d som e y e a r s ago
an d Art, b e c a u s e of a stroke,
is n o w living w i t h his d a u g h t e r
in Brownsville, Oregon. I will
al w a y s
be
grateful
to
have
those
memories
of
th e
many
t r i p s we too k t o g e t h e r l e a r n i n g
fro m t h e m the flora an d fauna
of the n o r t h c o a s t fo r e s t tha t
s u r r o u n d s the P a c i f i c c o a s t
line.
•
•
•
•
M a n y of us g a r d e n e r s pay
homage
to
Dorothy
Lindsey's
teachings
of
creating
a
s u c c e s s f u l coastal garden. Her
artistic
abilities
of
com
position
combining
stone,
earth, boundaries, structure,
p a t t e r n s and c o l o r s p r o d u c e d a
style
t h a t m a n y of us have
s i n c e t r i e d to duplicate. Next
month, the s t o r y of L i n d s e y ' s
garden.
•
•
•
•
Pl e a s e send y o u r comments,
s u g g e s t i o n s and q u e s t i o n s to
J u n e ' s Garden, P. O. Box 74,
C a n n o n Beach, OR
97110.
\ f Jf From
beach
to boulevard,
a natural choice for
w om ens clothing.
Portland (503)239-4605
Cannon Beach (503) 436-1572
'H o m e o f the W ild O yster “
on Willapa Hay
N ah ro lla, Washington 98637
Arcadia
aodscapioc
Tor Resnivations or Information
(360) 665 4543 - Fax (.360) 665*6087
i* GIRDERS DESGNED *
TORHXXEOR
awwi
FESnCOEUSL
, ATTENTION BUSNESSES
I WE CREATE t IWHWN
LOWER BCttS, PUNTERS
I
H O T E L
hangmg wans
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MK2
I N N
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1739 N SI., N .W .
Washington, D.C. 20036
(202,7115-1277
la « : (202)755 6175
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Great Savings!
20% to 50% off many items
Patagonia & Woolrich
Fleece
W o o l B la n k e ts re g . $ 7 9
N o w $3 5 ea., o r 3 f o r $7 9.
H an es Sw eats re g . $ 1 3 .9 5 n o w $8.95 a n d
m u c h m o re .
G uiwn Beach
peochin'VSA
<_________________ -_________ '
239 N. Hemlock Box 905 Cannon Beach, OR
97110 503-436-2832
(www.digital-site.com/outdoor )
Steve's
S p e c i a l i z i n g in :
Environmentally .friendly
Window ( ‘leaning
Steve J& M ontagne
9.O. Box ««»
Cannon Bearli. ( )R. 07110
(503) 436-0942
G o u r m e t Piz,y,A
A «election of
OREGON W INES &
fine BEERS
always on hand.
C o m e Join us for
dinner near the
pounding su rf at
Laneda 4 Carmel
In Manzanita
503/368-5593.
UFPLR LEFT EBSE FUMI MW -If«
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