Sea Fever

"I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and sky...."  and so begins that famous poem, Sea Fever, by John Masefield. Like so many of us in the non-stop fun AARP club, I memorized this poem for an English class in junior high. And while I must admit the words are memorable, they are not really what draws me to the ocean these days.

You only have to live in western Oregon for a few years to realize that summer in the valleys can be a challenge. The heat can be down right blistering and there is either not enough wind or too much. With all the field harvesting, dust is everywhere and right about now is when the dreaded yellow jackets show up as uninvited guests at all your outdoor food events!

Beach Grass and Sea Lyme Grass at Nehalem Bay State Park

Locals solve this summer problem by heading to the beach or the mountains. It can be tricky at either location because the beach can be foggy and cold at times and in the mountains you may get thunderstorms and wildfires. Lucky for us, last week, my lovely wife Sharon, was one of several artists in a show/sale at the tiny beach town of Manzanita. She is a handweaver and creates a unique array of highly artistic woven items from scarves to wall hangings. My role in this endeavor is "roadie," the guy who helps set up her displays and equipment for the show; a role I am happy to fill I might add. Last week was a real scorcher for us here so it was a good week to beach it -- and the cool but sunny weather at Manzanita was just the ticket!

Once my work was done, I did have a bit of time to wander around town on foot and by bike, finding a few interesting plants here and there:

     

These firey Crocosmia were blooming all over the area. They are non-natives from South Africa but seem to be naturalized. Members of the Iris family, their bright flowers attract hummingbirds.

     

No summer trip to the coast is complete without spotting a few Common Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis), another non-native with pool ball size brilliant yellow flowers. Some of these plants were taller than I am.

     

Native to China, the wonderfully fragrant Honeysuckle (Lonicera peridymenum) adorned several gardens right in town. There are reams of articles to read about this mystical plant if you are so inclined.

     

These Dune Tansy (Tanacetum camphoratum) were growing in the sand at Nehalem Bay State Park. They are native, and each flower head is a composite of hundreds of minute blossoms.

     

Another native sand dweller, the Beach Knotweed (Polygonum paronychia) was growing on the beachside dunes at the park. It helps check dune erosion along these delicate, but heavily used areas.

      

These Sticky Goldenrod (Solidago simplex var. spathulata) were abundant along the bike trail at the state park. This area is off the beach and lightly wooded with shore pine. Also note the Salt Rush (Juncus lesueurii), a common grass-like sand dweller (left photo).

     

And last but not least the non-native, noxious Tansy Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea), seen here with the striking Red Shouldered Ctenucha moths. These moths were on nearly every tansy plant I saw at the park.

Links:

Sea Fever poem

Manzanita Photo Album

Manzanita Wiki Page