Pat Munts

Jonathon Ganji is graduating with the The Oaks Classical Christian Academy’s class of 2020

My friend Sylvia Passe sounded a little desperate during a recent online neighborhood conversation.

Last week’s record rainfall was perfect for gardening. It was a long, steady rain that soaked deeply into the soil, catching us up from the almost-inch deficit we were experiencing. If you have turned on your sprinklers, you can probably decrease the amount of time you are watering for a couple of weeks. With the warm weather predicted for this weekend, we can safely begin planting the tomatoes, peppers, beans, cukes and other frost-sensitive vegetables. They will, however, just sit for a couple of weeks because the soil is still cool. Keep some frost protection coverings like tarps or light blankets handy. Mother Nature is still in charge, and she can throw in a weather curve ball. If using coverings at night, be sure to remove them in the morning as the temperatures under the covers can get hot enough to cook the plants.

Monday marked the 40th anniversary of the eruption of Mount St. Helens. I was mowing my yard that day before a really big (or so I thought) thunderstorm moved in. My geologist husband missed the career high point. He was in New York City and was not happy to miss it. All I had was an old Instamatic camera with half a roll of film to record it. For those of you who didn’t get to experience this event, just imagine everything covered with a heavy, gray talcumlike powder. This rock powder contained a lot of abrasive silica. It got into everything and wore down engine and machinery parts very quickly. The city street crews had to mix it with damp sawdust to be able to scoop it off the street before it plugged storm drains and turned to something that resembled concrete. Wheat farmers in the Palouse got yields of over 100 bushels an acre that summer but they had to sharpen their combine blades after each trip around the field.

Vegetable planting is in full swing, and it’s time to get the potatoes in the ground.

I am writing this week’s article in celebration of the life of Dawn Rae Anselmo, a longtime member of the Inland Empire Dahlia Society and a dahlia breeder known around the world. Dawn died April 10, leaving behind dozens of people she taught to appreciate dahlias. She was 80. Dawn served in many leadership roles in the Inland Empire Dahlia Society and the North Idaho Dahlia Society. In 1980 Dawn and her husband, Norm, introduced the Inland Northwest line of dahlias at the national show held in Spokane. At the 1992 national show, they received the Best New Seedling Award for Inland Dynasty, a huge, pale yellow dinner plate dahlia that went on to win the Stanley Johnson award in 1993.

The staying at home order is providing more time to work in our gardens