Last Sunday I attended church for the first time in a  while. People were warm and welcoming and the sermon  stirred me because of its theme...fear. Fear is something we  all have to deal with from time to time, and perhaps more  so now than in recent years. These are certainly uncertain  times, and I occasionally find myself refering to Dr. Gerald  Jampolsky's book written in l979, called, "Love is Letting  Go of Fear."

Dr. Jampolsky, is a psychiatrist and graduate  of Stanford Medical School, as well as founder of the  Center for Attitudinal Healing. He studied, "A Course in  Miracles" in depth, and based his small book on the course  in a simple, direct way. I'm convinced that Love is the  answer, and gaining the trust and freedom to love is a  process of letting go. Letting go to a Higher Power is probably  experienced differently by each of us, even those of the  same religious beliefs who attend the same church. There  are a lot of us with shared values that categorize ourselves  by different names, but the words that count are, "honest" --  "decent" -- "kind," etc. Those are labels I notice.

The only  thing that stands between us and the awesome energy of  love...is fear.  Sometimes it is fear of, "the other." When we first  bought Old City Hall, we were told by a good friend that  we were categorized as "uber-liberals" on a blog he read. I  laughed! That was one of the most colorful names I've been  called. I wanted to show the blogger my NRA membership  card, but was still a little embarrassed about having joined.

Yes, I realized a long time ago that it is way too late for gun  control, I'm a staunch supporter of the Bill of Rights, and it  was nice to receive a great free cap with my initials on it.  It's so easy to label and categorize individuals. That way,  one can either accept them because they are an ideological  colleague, or reject them because they are, "one of them."  An easy no-muss-no-fuss method of judging others and  keeping life's choices simple. It saves time, and secures one  in preventing new ideas from challenging one's beliefs...

keeps the status quo. Undoubtedly, fear based behavior.  For me, spirituality has little to do with dogma and my relationship  with a Higher Power should be manifest in my  behavior toward fellow human beings. If I treat others with  loving kindness and respect, then I am following, my most  influential teacher, Jesus Christ. Even as a good Catholic  girl, my favorite Saint was Augustine, who in the 4th century,  said "Love God, and do as you please." I knew what it  meant, and that was dogmatic enough for me.

Do you think  that dogma could be the father of hypocrisy?  "The world we see that seems so insane may be the result  of a belief system that is no longer working." Perhaps it is  enough that we choose to see love in the world and appreciate  our common bond with one another, stay in the present  moment and let our hearts be filled with gratitude for the  clean air, good water, decent food, comfortable shelter and  each others' good will. I'm trying to feel grateful for all  that I have and all that I am, at least three times a day. It  helps me feel good.  I felt very good this last Sunday at St. James. The ritual  was reminiscent of my childhood upbringing and I felt surrounded  by loving kindness and peace.

Thank you.

July To-Do’s

I have an ornamental  hedgehog sitting outside my  back door, holding a test  tube which measures water.  I know what my plants have  actually received in the way  of water. With our overcast  skies and misty rains, it is  easy to believe plants in the  garden have had enough  water when they have not.  A tuna can would work the  same.  On July’s to do list,  watering is top. Early mornings  give the biggest bang  for your watering buck. We  aerated our lawns this year  for better air and water  access by lawn roots.

Infrequent, deep watering on  lawns and perennial beds is  best. Hanging baskets need  food. Soak a minimum of  once daily. Monitor your  vegetable beds by digging.  See if water has come as  deep as your vegetable  roots. Plant now your fall  and winter vegetable seeds,  such as carrots, beets, kale,  and rutabagas. Mulch on  many perennials, edible and  ornamental, helps cut down  water loss. The objective in  watering many plants is to  get the roots to grow deeper,  where water losses will be  less.  Pest alert is high. Try  sticky stuff and traps on  trunks of fruit trees and  ornamentals, barriers like  toilet paper tubes on collar  bases of things like broccoli,  hand-pick caterpillars and  cutworms, when you can.

By using the least toxic  methods of control, you give  your environment the  strongest boosts for our  future.

Hand wash and hand  pick diseased foliage. Peach,  prune, apple and pear trees  will need to be sprayed this  month. Keep in mind that  sprays can harm our dwindling  bee populations, and  should be used only in nonwind,  cautioned use that  protects surrounding critters  such as bees.

Vegetables are better  picked while small. Weeds  also are better picked when  small. Invite over some  friends. They plant well in  the garden.

by Sandy Oldfield

Cody Waddington has the quintessential teenager’s summer  job – lifeguarding. And he knows what a good thing  he has going. As a matter of fact, it’s his fourth summer on  staff at the Coquille Community Pool. “It’s a dream job!”  says Cody. “The best thing about it is working with the  other guards who I didn’t know before but who have  become my really good friends.”  In order to qualify for one of the eleven positions, Cody  took a lifeguard and first aid course, for which he must be  re-certified every couple of years. Although he is trained to  save a drowning swimmer and to deal with medical emergencies,  including performing CPR, he has never had to use  those skills. Always vigilant, he keeps an eagle eye out for  kids who are floundering and has pulled a few from the  pool.  Two people staff the large pool at all times and a third  will be added to guard the wading pool when that opens,  hopefully next week. At the moment, they are awaiting a  part to repair that pool, which is dedicated to kids up to  eight years old, who cannot swim.  The main pool was full of children on a chilly, breezy  Saturday afternoon, the first weekend since school let out.

Cody says that the kids are great and usually respond well  to requests to change behavior. Occasionally, he has to ask  a child to sit out for 10 minutes or, if that doesn’t work, talk  with parents. There are lots of kids who attend regularly  and he gets to know them well and watch them grow up,  summer after summer. His cheerful, easy-going manner  makes him a natural to work with youngsters. Sitting on  his high perch, he whistles to himself and calls out greetings  to new arrivals, all the while keeping a careful eye on  swimmers.  In addition to life-guarding duties, Cody and the other  staff must keep the pool, grounds and building clean and in  working order. They learn how to test and adjust the pool  for chemical balance and check on the systems. “The heating  system is pretty old and doesn’t work really well,” he  notes.

The worst part of the job, he says, is cleaning up  messes the kids leave in the pool changing/restrooms.  While the pool is popular with young people, Cody says  that it is underutilized by adults. “There’s a core group of  lap swimmers but it would be great to have more people in  the community using the pool – it’s such a great resource.”  He explains that there are summer passes available for $65  or family passes for 20 swims for $55. Or you can just  come for $3 a day.  Currently a student at Western Oregon State University,  Cody was only 15 when he began life-guarding. Born in  Coquille, he is a life-long resident and loves it here. “I love  this town and the people. It would be my dream to come  back here to live and teach.” He is considering majoring in  education, but hasn’t declared yet declared his major.  When he’s away at college, he never uses the pool. “I get  enough of that in the summertime,” he declares. Still, he  confesses that his favorite place to hang with his friends is  the beach!

by Patti Strain

Being a greeter at the museum has its interesting moments. All you do is talk to the visitors.  Last Tuesday Keith and Shelba Summers of Lewellen Creek came in with pictures of  log transfer operations on Johnson Pond. The pond in the 1950's was built and operated by  Coos Bay Lumber Company and later Georgia Pacific. Keith worked at the pond thirty-six  years, operating the pile-driver and other equipment. In 1981 Keith climbed 60 feet to the  top of the pile-driving frame to get a good overview picture of the river. The number of pilings  and boom sticks to contain logs floating from the pond to the mill is striking.

The logs  at that time were still good size. Cut to eight foot lengths, they were six to eight feet on the  butt, nice timber. You are welcome to view these pictures at the museum.  The next visitor startled me when she said, "My name is Coquille." I responded, "Your  name is Coquille?" She turned to her partner and said, "There - that is the look I always get  when I say my name is Coquille." Well, "Is that your last name?" "No, it is my first name.  My grandfather's last name was Dean, my last name is Gallagher."  I blurted, "I'll bet you are a descendant of the Deans that had the first newspaper in  Coquille Valley in 1882.

That was the Coquille City Herald - 127 years ago. She looked  skeptical. As the couple looked at artifacts she asked, "When was this picture on this sugar  bowl made? I have a jewelry box in the same color with the same picture."  The petite sugar bowl she referred to * is dark green and graced with a picture of  Coquille's first Court House, built when Coquille became the county seat in 1896. There  was little doubt left in my mind, this pretty, soft-spoken, young lady must have some connection  to Coquille's first newspaper family, the Deans.  She said, "I was told there would be some records of City Hall or the County Court  House about my family, but I don't know the locations.

If I can find some records, maybe  I'll learn why my family named the Coquille."  A city map was found and she was soon oriented to the location of the City Hall, the site  of the Dean brothers newspaper building in 1891, (on the same corner as the Roxy building,  where the first Sawdust Theatre later burned), and the Court House.  As Coquille left to do research I said, "You will have to do the research, but I'll bet my bottom  dollar your Dean family left you a trail to follow to reach your family roots, and they  will be found Coquille."  Coquille left her email and we will stay in contact; we want to see what she finds out  about her family.

by Ish Shalom

Flowers are delightful. The magnificent variety of colors  added to a forest landscape can be just stunning. Of course  my favorite flowers are the delicious ones, as quite a few  flowers are not only eye candy, but an actual treat to eat as  well!  One of my favorite flowers to eat are daylilies. Since  daylilies are only open for one day anyway, I don’t feel like  I’m robbing too much of their ornamental quality by feasting  on their flowers. Adding them to stir-fries is my favorite  mode way to prepare them. Along with oyster or shiitake  mushrooms, first chard harvests, perhaps the last of any  onions or garlic still in storage from last year… Daylilies  can be eaten either as flowers themselves, or the buds,  before they open.

Another flower, also great to eat both as flower or bud, is  evening primrose. Also a favorite in stir-fries. While cooking  the buds of these, the unopened bright yellow petals  burst out of their sepals, creating a beautiful display of  color in the frying pan. This effect is especially well contrasted  with dark greens such as kale or chard. Purple really  adds well to the mix, purple orach perhaps, which self  seeds, and can be quite plentiful this time of year.

  Nasturtium is a beautiful flower which adds a nice spicy  bite, as well as a great splash of color to such stir-fries. I  like to add these as a garnish, or throw them in green salads  to spice it up a little bit. Nasturtium can come in all sorts of  colors, everything from yellow to red.  Squash blossoms are now beginning to open as well. I  like to pick off the male flowers to eat, as it is only the  female flowers which turn to fruits. These can be wonderful  stuffed with some kind of dip-like paste and either baked or  fried.  Calendula is a great flower to have around

 Calendulas  seem to bloom more continuously throughout the year than  any other flower. Beyond being able to add color and touch  to salads almost year-round, this flower is also quite beneficial  to pollinating insects as well. The flower structure is  really a composition of many tiny flowers together, all  encased in surrounding petals, like a mini sunflower. This  makes the pollen in the flower easily available to all kinds  of insects, including specialist ones, such as predatory  wasps, which mostly eat other insects, lots of which we  consider pests.

The body structure of such a wasp is mainly  designed for predation, so unlike butterflies or hummingbirds  for example, are not able to get into tubular shaped  flowers.  When picking greens for a salad, I like to also throw in  flowers that are around, such as brassica flowers (the cabbage  family) and dandelions. These always seem to be  around where greens are growing. I usually throw in some  dandelion greens with them too, as they are far more nutritious  than the common lettuce. When picking berries for a  fruit salad, I like to throw in some rose petals and borage  flowers.

Whether nourishing our spirits, or enriching our diets,  flowers are an essential part of every forest or garden.  Ish Shalom is the Food Forester at Mountain Homestead,  a center for education and development of rural American  skills located right outside Cocuille, in the forested Walker  Creek Valley. You can reach him at P.O. Box 905, Coquille,  or ish.shalom@gmail.com

Moonlight Madness

While the days get  longer, it seems my own  days get shorter. Last  month, as day eased into  twilight I finally found time  to go down to my own  ‘community patch’: a place  not cared for by any particular  person. The weeds here  are what bring me back  again and again. (Odd  attraction, I know.)  The nice part of gardening  is that you lose yourself  in it. Dirt and weeds were  moving through the air, filling  my nose with the scents  of dusky life, then suddenly,  it was night.

I came up for  air like a being not quite of  this world, wondering if  someone would call the  police about the crazy lady  digging on the public lot in  the dark. It sounds shady,  illegal, or irresponsible. It  was wonderful, magical, and  yes, maybe it was a little bit  crazy.  I’ll be back there again as  soon as I can.

I notice the  horsetail is coming up.But  so are the iris, calendula,  rosemary, thyme, and lavender  that I planted. Another  mysterious donor keeps  adding plants to this plot as  well. The crocosmia are  getting ready to bloom, and  the lambs ears are beginning  to spread. If you have a nice  watered garden patch, then  these plants might sound  like weeds, but these tough  performers are all planted in  a plot which gets no water  except for rainfall.  Everything is responding  to a layer of lime I added,  and also to some cottonseed  meal which added back  missing nitrogen to that  hard-packed clay soil.

The  lot gets tended when I can  come, which averages to  maybe one time every three  months. Even with that  large-scale neglect, it is  looking better and better  each year. Kids have added  tulips, and that speaks to  me. They own this lot when  they add to it.