Bad Days, Good Days, Mostly Good
Hollyhocks (Alcea rosea). What a way to start the summer. Who knew or even remembers this old-fashioned, actually ancient flower? It’s thought to have originated in China, but is reminiscent in our time and place of English “cottage” gardens. Look up their history; it’s fascinating. Note that hollyhocks are not poisonous but can cause skin irritation.
Where does the time go? The Canyon chronicle is three years old! Our first edition published on June 26, 2020. Thank you Topanga for more than you’ll ever know. It’s a privilege to serve.
Bad Days: Want to know what causes more than a bad day? More like a waking nightmare? Fraud Scams. Having been the victim of one, I wish I had columnist Paula La Brot around then as she is now with her latest column, “Scam Slime.” Read it to be enlightened, be aware and know what to do if it happens to you. Stating the obvious: Don’t let it happen in the first place. (Page 11)
Good Days: Through the month of July, we’ll be focused on Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum’s summer events and celebrating with them their 50-year anniversary culminating in a Gala Celebration on August 5. Become a sponsor or, at the very least, buy a ticket for that event. Their repertory season of plays just opened with a stunning production of Macbeth, reviewed with a sidebar, “The Curse of the Scottish Play,” by Annmarie Donkin, and the theater’s signature annual production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, reviewed by Sarah Spitz. (Pages 8-9)
It’s hollyhock season! My neighbor, Jaimie Lynn’s garden (left) put on quite a show this year much to the delight of all who pass by. It surprised and delighted her, too. My other neighbor across the creek, Gary Jensen finally finished the remodel of his childhood home. In the process, he restored his late mother, Evelyn’s hollyhocks, her favorite flower (right), which were barely holding on since she and her husband moved out. Evelyn passed in 2019 at the age of 81 but her hollyhocks are now flourishing all around the yard on 10-foot-tall stalks with leaves the size of a catcher’s mitt.
