Giving Mother Nature a helping hand
West Seattle-based naturalist Stewart Wechsler is featured in a Times article today about a plant restoration project at Seward Park. He also does naturalist work at other city parks including Camp Long here in WS. We first met Stewart while chaperoning a school field trip at Camp Long some time back; when it comes to the troubled state of our natural world, he is truly one of the people who, to paraphrase the saying, lights a candle rather than cursing the darkness.
What’s up the weekend before Memorial Day weekend
From backyard chicken-raising, to salmon-cooking, a plant sale to raise $ for pets, and way beyond, we bring you dozens of choices for the last weekend before Summer Fun officially kicks in — call it Spring Fun, The Finale (plus a few noteworthy non-entertainment events), all a click away:Read More
How low can it go …
Our fellow low-tide fans will want to know that a 3.6-foot “minus tide” is on the way just after noon tomorrow, and the afternoon low tide on Saturday is almost that low too. (Check the tide chart here.) If you’d like to explore Saturday’s low tide with an expert guide, West Seattle-based naturalist Stewart Wechsler is promoting an all-ages “Beach Safari” across from Me-Kwa-Mooks, 12:30-2:30 pm — it’s a Seattle Parks program so you need to preregister through Camp Long (by phone @ 206-684-7434).
Freebies tomorrow
Metro is marking Earth Day with free bus rides all day tomorrow. Worth checking out even if you don’t regularly use buses and don’t plan to; we use Metro for weekend trips downtown on occasion simply because it’s a relief not to have to hassle with parking.
Hang on — it’s going to be a wild weekend
As we hinted a few times already, SO MUCH happening in West Seattle this weekend, you might as well not bother going anywhere else. World-class shows (like the members of COTR appearing at Cafe Rozella), free swimming, Earth Day celebrations galore, and … how can you pass up the first-ever Pet Rodeo and Snooty Walk? Full list with links, a click away:
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Lettuce you wouldn’t want in your salad
Until this article today on the stinky seaweed phenomenon that has frequently plagued Fauntleroy for years, and apparently now is spreading, we didn’t know the seaweed in question was called “sea lettuce.” One thing to take away from the story: the valuable reminder that runoff from everything we do eventually finds our way into the Sound. Just one valuable step you could take: don’t use fertilizer on your lawn or in your garden; enrich your soil (Cedar Grove compost from recycled yard waste is our fave) instead.
The amazing invisible recycling study
Just a semi-amusing P.S. on our recycling post below, inspired by the city’s promise that a new recycling study would be available for perusal. First word came in a council press release mentioning the study would be published last Friday and available at the Seattle Public Utilities site. Now, there’s a new press release from the mayor, saying the study was to be published today and available at the SPU site. Tonight — STILL not there. Guess they technically have till midnight to fulfill the promise, though we’re not recycling holding our breath.
Not recycling enough?
As a city, we’re still not recycling enough, or so suggests a press release previewing a council briefing this week on a new study about how to move closer to “zero waste.” (Says the study itself would be posted on the Seattle Public Utilities site this past Friday; as of right now, it’s nowhere in sight.) Got us thinking about how recycling works, and doesn’t work. Do you recycle everything you possibly can? If not, why not? Here at WSB HQ, we consider ourselves pretty good recyclers, nowhere near perfect. Probably our biggest sin of omission: We don’t recycle food waste, even though we know we can just collect it and put it in the yard-waste bin for composting. Highest on our wish list for making other recycling easier: Collect it weekly. We usually exceed bin capacity (just found out you can get a second bin; we’ve been wasting big paper bags all these years! still, weekly pickup would be nicer). #2 on the wish list — some way to recycle more plastic bags, not just the grocery type. #3 — straighten out the electronics-recycling situation. Trying to wade through this list (the only option we know of) is daunting enough to make even a hardcore recycling devotee just throw old phones, computers, etc. in the basement till someone works it out someday. Oh well, excuse us now, time to drag the bin to the curb …
Early alert for weekend family fun
This isn’t happening till Saturday, but you need to pre-register, and organizers say space is limited, so here’s an early alert: People for Puget Sound is kicking off a kids’ art contest with a “beach treasure hunt” and low-tide walk at Lincoln Park this Saturday afternoon. Go here to find out more (including contact info for signing up).
A sight to see
Fauntleroy Creek (across from the ferry dock) is worth a visit sometime soon if it’s not someplace you regularly visit. Not only is salmon season revving up, it’s also the annual blooming time for the official favorite flower of WSB, Darwin’s barberry, which comprises an entire hedge at the creek overlook but still hasn’t caught on as a garden plant (aside from a spray on Genesee Hill, one along Beach Drive, and one along Fauntleroy; let us know if you’ve seen others).
Ebb and flow
Our usual visitor volume was down by several hundred last night, so we rolled over to Alki to see if you were all at the Celtic Swell. The outdoor space was stuffed and the sidewalk too, almost as much of a backup as we saw outside Fado downtown as we approached the Viaduct from Columbia yesterday afternoon. However, the more interesting sight at Alki last night was the minus tide (new moon approaching); made for a nice flashlight-enhanced beach walk. Tide tables say no more minus tides at night for a while, but looks like some good ones at midafternoon next Thursday and Friday.
Priming the pump
The Times reports on this morning’s biodiesel-mania at Admiral Safeway. A member of the WSB posse managed to pop by for a photo. That’s Hizzoner on the right, amid the throng.)
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