Best Bets

The dog days of summer are here, folks.

Do you, like the Betster, find yourself scrambling about the house, frantically searching your brain for where you stored the black-out curtains.

Do you wake far earlier than God ever meant a person to because the birds are confused as to what time it is, and thus are adding their raucous voices to the chorus outside your window?

Do you find yourself drifting off for a pleasant afternoon nap, only to have no idea what day it is when you awake? Is the weakening light streaming through the window a sign of dusk or of dawn? Who can tell?

Do you find yourself jumping up with a jolt around 9 p.m., at which point you realize you forgot to cook yourself (or, perhaps, your family) dinner.

Do you often crash onto the pillow at a quarter past one in the morning, having powered through into the early morning without realizing it, fueled by the intoxicating sunlight?

If you have answered yes to any of the above, you may be what some seasoned Alaskans call “light loony.”

The Betster’s advice? Go with it! Enjoy the extra light while you can. Here are some best bets to help you along:

BEST BOTANICAL BET: The next Thriving Thursday is “Coastal Plant Walk” with Priscilla Russell. Get outside on a walk with Priscilla and learn more about her newly released book “Naut’staarpet – Our Plants A Kodiak Alutiiq Plantlore” and learn about the plants that grow along the beach. Priscilla will share edible and medicinal values of the plants plus some of the stories and knowledge she has gained from Elders during her research in many Native villages around the state. This walk starts at 6 p.m. tonight at SVT Health and Wellness.

BEST BULK UP BET: Have you made time to get out to the Farmers Market yet? If not, don’t worry — the Betster won’t judge you. But they’ll be over before we know it, so take advantage of the fresh produce and merriment while you can! The market provides locally grown, harvested, and crafted produce, meats, fish, shellfish, flowers, plants, crafts, prepared food and more. It runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, and from 1-6 p.m. Wednesday.

BEST BIBLIO BET: It’s finally here! Your chance to hear Anthony Doerr, Pulitzer Prize novelist, speak as part of the Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference. He’ll give a public talk at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Mariner Theater in Homer High School. Doerr has been lauded for his lyricism, his precise attention to the physical world, and his gift for metaphor. Doerr’s latest novel, “All the Light We Cannot See,” is the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, as well as a finalist for the National Book Award and the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction. A book signing will follow the talk.

BEST BOOMING BET: The summer fun and tunes continue at Alice’s Champagne Palace through the Salmonfest Music Series. This Saturday at 9 p.m., Alice’s will host Searson, a group which has toured the world for over a decade. They blend high energy fiddling, passionate vocals and intricate step dancing. Tickets cost $15 and are available at The Homer Bookstore, Old Inlet Bookshop or Alice’s Champagne Palace.