Dandelion Days

In Palmer our yellow-headed crowd of Dandelions are abundant and ready to explode. The local bee population is thrilled with the bounty of dandelions. This humble dandelion plant has a fancy French name “dent de lion” meaning the tooth of a lion, which refers rightly to the jagged, toothy shape of the dandelion leaves. At some point in time the common dandelion was considered a cash crop because of its’ multitude of uses in valuable tinctures, teas and salads. In the 1800’s it was imported by settlers as a winter source of greens, necessary to prevent scurvy. Palmer is both affluent and wealthy in the crop of dandelions this year. Enjoy them.

Birds Don’t Sleep—They seem to quiet down around 230am but it seems as if the birds just do not sleep anymore. Palmer sounds like an aviary sometimes and even at midnight or 4 in the morning, they’re still chirping away. Roosters are confused. Ravens are restless. And the visiting seagulls and mew-gulls are chaotic with the long hours of bird business.

Ultimate Light Time—This is it. We own the light. Yes you can garden at one in the morning. Yes you can wander in the twilight at 3am. This is the time of emphatic light and we absorb it with appreciation. And it is worthy that we recognize we are—but two weeks away—from Summer Solstice!

Surreal Beauty—We have all chosen to live in a place of great beauty. Nature slaps us in the face, kindly, every time we open the door. I believe this is why many of us live here.

Unfair Summer—More than a few people are feeling betrayed by Palmer Summer Season, thus far this year. It feels as if we have had only one full day of summer sun. The rest of the days since May have been lovely but marginal. Wind, cooler temps, and major cloud action have intervened in our anticipated hot summer days. After the hardest winter ever, it feels like we both deserved and earned a hearty summer with heat and sunshine. Therefore many are feeling deceived, disappointed and tricked. Mother Nature sometimes allows us to feel the illusion of control because of history or anticipated trends. But ultimately we have absolutely no control and no agency in the weather. We are but tiny puppets blowing around in the wind sometimes.

This Week In Palmer—There are cool hikes at Reflection Lake, horse events, hikes and lots of live music this week in Palmer. There are story times and author signings at Fireside Books. But the biggie this week is the historic and long-awaited “Bailey Piano Reveal” on Saturday June 17th, 7pm at the beautiful Glenn Massay Theater at the College. There is a visiting concert pianist Roman Rudnytsky debuting the full restoration of this beautiful instrument. The Palmer Arts Council has been the engine for the Bailey Piano Restoration project and finally it is time for the reveal. There is a fascinating story about this rare, concert grand piano’s journey from special roots to its’ hiding shelter places for decades in Palmer. Don’t miss this resurrection of the special grand piano. Also this week is the continuing plant report: the Museum gardens in Palmer are exceptional this year, although slow. Rhubarb is massive and the lilacs are late to the budding party this year, but it appears they are on their way. Be safe and smell the roses….when they bloom.

Barbara Hunt is both Palmer writer and artist. She works hard to keep the robust pulse of Palmer, Alaska. She shares the good stuff on the weekly Palmer Alaska Buzz in the Mat Su Valley Frontiersman and daily on the Palmer Alaska Buzz Facebook Group. Contact at bhunt@mtaonline.net or text 907.315.3222