What do you think of when you think of spring?
Bunnies!
Flowers.
Museum season, but also a time for flowers. Dianthus bed at the old place in Prescott, WA.
Thank you, 9 and Lily. Very sensible answers for young people.
Spring made me think about allergies when I was younger. Especially to the scotch broom that infested the bank at our house.
I’ve decided to grow out of that, but I still take one of those big green pills every so often.
Dad calls them horse pills. They make me really sleepy!
The perils of growing up during the “better living with drugs” era of the 1960s and 70s. Fortunately the pharmaceutical industry has developed antihistamines with fewer side effects. These days I can more or less function like a normal human being when the pollen arrives.
Normal? Thou?
Thanks for the seasonal snark, Lily.
It’s a good thing I can be active and energetic at this time of year, not only because those are good things in general, but because somehow I’ve become involved in a raft of volunteer work, much of which involves museums.
I’ve been a Living History volunteer at Fort Walla Walla Museum since 2019 and have two spots on the schedule this year. The first one is May 17, an ensemble piece about the founding of Baker Boyer Bank:
https://www.fwwm.org/calendar/2026/baker-boyer-4
But before then, this coming weekend, in fact, I’m assisting with a special event at Kirkman House Museum. The Mad Hatter Tea Party is a popular happening inspired by Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, featuring a delicious tea of fruit, sandwiches and desserts:
https://www.kirkmanhousemuseum.org/events-exhibits/mad-hatter
Alice in Wonderland? I want to go!
I, too, am an Alice fan, and I have the perfect hat.
You will definitely be there with me, helping with set up and plating and serving and clean up.
What I want to know is, do we get cookies?
If you can figure out how to do that in your “inner” state without feeding me a bunch of carbs, 9, go for it!
These events have kept me hopping faster than the White Rabbit with planning meetings, rehearsals, and, tomorrow, baking five dozen Russian Teacakes!
Weather, of course, is why our Walla Walla museums tend to go full-tilt when daylight hours extend. In the darker months freezing rain, ice and snow like to visit this fair city. Kirkman House closes after the Christmas open house in early December and reopens in March. Fort Walla Walla Museum is open year ‘round, but the pioneer village on the lower campus shutters for the winter.
However, the people who work at these places, whether volunteer or paid staff, never stop. A reduction or pause in public hours is a good time for maintenance work, training new staff, fundraising, organizing collections, and planning exhibits and special events for the coming year.
Fort Walla Walla and Kirkman House are just two of our many local museums, including:
Museum Season: A few of the local choices. . .
I’m making a goal to visit all of these during the 2026 museum season. Many threads of history, many stories to tell. I also plan to visit some museums within a few hours’ drive, like the science-focused REACH Museum in Richland, WA:
That is, if I have enough time between all these meetings!
