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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (April 18, 2012)
Page 6 The INDEPENDENT, April 18, 2012 Can You Dig It? By Schann Nelson Columbia County Master Gardener Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Kudos to the city crews! They’ve done a really nice job of pruning our street trees this year. This is one area where the city planted the right thing (the second time) and have done a good job of beginning the process of developing pollards – those funky, round knobby ends on all the major branches that provide all the [allowed] growth for the year. I suppose some of the ad- vantages for this style of pruning are that, once established, the pruning is relatively straight for- ward and allows lots of air and sunlight into the tree, a premium in the city. Pollards take a long time to develop. One of the most striking plant photos that I have ever seen was taken in a European coun- try which had trees with big, old established pol- lards. As I recall, the pollards appeared to be about a foot in diameter. Of course, during the long, war-time period and immediately after, these trees didn’t get pruned, and were probably lucky to survive. Then, when pruning started again, they had to establish a whole second lay- er of pollards, creating some very interesting looking trees. The sun is out as I write this and I feel a need to get out in my garden, instead of sitting here at a computer. Sooo, it’s time for a bit of poetry. Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle in the milky way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. DAFFODILS I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o’er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host of Daffodils; The waves beside them danced; but they Outdid the sparkling waves in glee; A poet could not but be gay, In such jocund company; I gazed and gazed, but little thought What wealth to me the show had brought! For oft when on my couch I lie, In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the Daffodils. — William Wordsworth This poem is from a small Kate Greenaway book, Language of Flowers, originally published in 1884. Greenaway’s delicate illustrations of flowers, children and women set a standard for proper dress and decorum. I’m not much of a po- etry reader but it is fun to have an excuse to dis- cover that the back of the book has a bunch of poems about various flowers. Back in the Victo- rian world, the contents of a poesy, a small bou- quet given to another, could convey by the type of flowers chosen any sort of message to anoth- er about their feelings for that person. For in- stance: A mixed bouquet of daffodils (Regard), forget-me-nots (True love) and a sprig of goose- berry (Anticipation) would convey quite a differ- ent message from a poesy of hellebore (Scan- Church Directory V ERNONIA F OURSQUARE C HURCH C OVENANT C HURCH V ERNONIA P IONEER B APTIST F ELLOWSHIP Carl Pense, Pastor 850 Madison Avenue, Vernonia 503 429-1103 Sunday Worship Service: 10:30 a.m. Children’s Sunday School Pastor John D. Murray 359 “A” Street, Vernonia 503 860-3860 Sunday School 9:45 a.m. Sunday Worship Service 11:00 a.m. Wednesday Prayer Meeting 7:00 p.m. John Cahill, Pastor 939 Bridge Street, Vernonia 503-429-1161 www.pbfalive.com Sunday School 9:30 a.m. Sunday Morning Worship 11:00 a.m. Thursday Prayer 7:00 p.m. S EVENTH D AY A DVENTIST Larry Gibson, Pastor 2nd Ave. and Nehalem St., Vernonia 503 429-8301 Morning Worship, 11:00 a.m. Sabbath School 9:30 a.m. A SSEMBLY OF G OD Wayne and Maureene Marr 662 Jefferson Ave., Vernonia, 503 429-0373 Sunday School 9:45 a.m. Morning Worship 11:00 a.m S T . M ARY ' S C ATHOLIC C HURCH Rev. Luan Tran, Administrator 960 Missouri Avenue, Vernonia 503 429-8841 Mass Sunday 12:00 Noon Religious Educ. Sunday 10:30 a.m. V ERNONIA C OMMUNITY C HURCH Ralph Young, Pastor 957 State Avenue, Vernonia 503 429-6790 Sunday Bible Classes 9:00 a.m. Family Praise & Worship 10:30 a.m. Wednesday Prayer 6:30 p.m. Thursday Ladies Study 7:00 p.m. Nursery 10:15 a.m. Vernonia Community Preschool dal, Calumny) fly- trap (Deceit) and wild tansy (I declare war on you). Thank goodness we don’t have to try to mas- ter this language! Now we arrange our bouquets in a pleasing way – or just dump flowers in a jar and call it a bouquet – bringing the beautiful abun- dance of spring into our homes helps to stave off the de- pression of con- stant rain and the low cloud ceiling. Sometimes flowers are just the thing to lift that feeling that the world is crush- ing you. Inside or outside, I love the joy that flowers bring to any setting. It’s time to start cold weather vegetables indoors, if you want to set out strong plants next month. Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, spinach, pars- ley, leeks, endive and other Asian greens can all be started in- doors. Peas and carrots don’t take well to transplanting, but if I had seed I might try planting onion seed. Potatoes and parsnips can be planted outside directly. Be patient for the rest of the gar- den – seeds are too expensive to let them rot in the ground, and it is labor intensive to replant time and time again. It’s not like there isn’t plenty of other stuff to do. This is the perfect time of year to get the lawn in shape. Fertil- ize at a rate of one pound nitrogen per 1000 square feet. Try to get it on the lawn just before it rains a bit – you want your expen- sive fertilizer to stay on your lawn, not the neighbors, or the street, or sidewalk. Spray lime sulfur for apple scab and blossom blight. The amount used is lower after bud break so be sure to read and fol- low directions. See the OSU extension publication EC631 Manag- ing Diseases and Insects in the Home Orchards. You should be able to find it online or you can call the extension office and re- quest a copy. Try not to get carried away by the vast array of ti- tles available. As our array of daffodils fades, the days get longer and our out- side chores become more enjoyable. Remember to stretch before and after garden work, and take a few minutes whenever you can to just enjoy the outdoors. N EHALEM V ALLEY B IBLE C HURCH Gary Taylor, Pastor Grant & North Streets, Vernonia 503 429-5378 Sunday School 9:45 a.m. Morning Worship 10:45 a.m. Nursery available Wednesday Service 7:00 p.m. V ERNONIA C HRISTIAN C HURCH C HURCH OF J ESUS C HRIST OF L ATTER D AY S AINTS Sam Hough, Minister 410 North Street, Vernonia 503 429-6522 Sunday School 9:45 a.m. Sunday Worship 11:00 a.m. (meets in Youth & Family Center) Various Home Group Meetings Marc Farmer, Branch President 1350 E. Knott Street, Vernonia 503 429-7151 Sacrament Meeting, Sunday 10 a.m. Sunday School & Primary 11:20 a.m. Relief Society, Priesthood and Young Women, Sunday 12:10 p.m. Hear gospel singing on April 21 in Woodland, Washington The Ambassadors of Gospel Music is hosting an All Day Singing with your favorite AGM members on April 21, starting at 12:00 p.m. The singing will be at Woodland Assembly of God, located at 360 Gun Club Road, Woodland, Washington. A variety of artists, from soloists to groups, will be per- forming a variety of music styles, from traditional hymns to southern gospel and country gospel. There is no charge, but a love offering donation will be taken. Concessions will be available for a nominal charge. Please visit the website for directions to the church at www.ambassadorsofgospel music.com For more informa- tion call 360-225-6332 or 360- 658-1922.