West Seattle Blog…

West Seattle scenes: Birthday flamingos; Junction ‘yarn bomb’

Gray day but we’ve seen some colorful sights in the past hour. First, Marguerite Lynch shared the news that her twin sons Sean and Andrew Lynch turned 13 today – and got a flamingo flock courtesy of friends, with the help of the youth group at Admiral Congregational Church (which happens to be right across the street from her house; we recently covered their flocking at Alki Mail and Dispatch). The flamingos are currently gracing Marguerite’s famous planting-strip edible-garden spots, as well as part of the rest of her yard. Meantime, in The Junction:

Jaesee the West Seattle “yarn-bomber” has struck again. We told her story here earlier this week, after her guerrilla knitting project at an Admiral District bike rack; this morning, she announced a new creation, and we photographed it while driving through The Junction (it’s at the southeast corner of Walk All Ways). First word came from WSB contributor Keri DeTore, who reported on the first “yarn-bomb” and got a statement from her – after the jump: Click to read the rest of West Seattle scenes: Birthday flamingos; Junction ‘yarn bomb’…

West Seattle St. Patrick’s Day: Famous ‘green stripe’ reappears

Got a note very early today that the fabled green stripe of Admiral’s 41st SW, near Metropolitan Market (WSB sponsor), has been refreshed, just in time for St. Patrick’s Day 2011 – so we had to send leprechauns over to get photos – including the shamrock at the end (in the 1900 block – here’s a map).

West Seattle scenes from a spring-is-approaching Saturday

Thanks to everyone who continues to share wonderful photographs – particularly of our wildlife, plant life, and other scenery, as well as news events big and small, breaking and not (here’s how to share something, any time) – Top photo, Danny McMillin caught one of West Seattle’s eagles lifting off from a madrona snag on Alki Point today. Next, the sunny scene at Alki this afternoon, photographed by JayDee, who observes that warmth-deprived West Seattleites seemed like crocuses, popping out once the sun appeared:

And from Trileigh, tonight’s golden sunset, viewed from the Lincoln Park bluff:

More in queue for tomorrow already … more photos and more nice weather (at least by afternoon, says the forecast).

West Seattle scene: Flamingo flock @ Alki Mail and Dispatch

Increasing bird sightings are yet another sign of impending spring … This morning, in fact, we heard robins and Steller’s jays pre-dawn, and then we saw … pink flamingos. Thanks to the WSB’er who tipped us to the flamingo flock outside Alki Mail and Dispatch; when we went over for a photo, Alki Mail staff pointed us to the flyer saying the flock was placed by the Admiral Congregational Church youth group, who were in the flamingo-flocking-fundraiser business last year (WSB coverage here) and apparently are at it again (here’s the page on the church website).

West Seattle front-lawn fire truck’s owner ordered to remove it

(WSB photo from December 2010)
Two months after that retired mid-’70s-vintage Oregon fire truck turned up on a front lawn along 44th SW in The Junction (here’s our original story), its owner says he is under orders to move it. Gary Elliott e-mailed WSB to say:

I am the owner of the tribute to firemen/women (the fire truck in the Junction). The City of Seattle has notified to “discontinue the outdoor storage of the fire truck in the front yard.” The housing and zoning Inspector Maggie Dang would not grant me the time I needed to explore other options, I am left with scrapping the fire truck for metal unless the WS Blog has other options?

Online city records confirm that there was a complaint about the fire truck a month ago, the city investigated, and decided it’s in violation, with the compliance deadline just extended to March 15th. Since the owner asked if we have “other options,” we’re asking you – any ideas?

Heard the planes over West Seattle? We did too.

(Photo added 10:57 pm – taken by “Uncle Mikey” in Schmitz Park area)
4:03 PM: Checking around to see what that was all about … one person on Twitter says it was “three fighter jets,” someone else described it as two fighter jets escorting a plane. Yet another person on Twitter says two F-16s and an A-6 Intruder.

4:10 PM: KING calls it “a photo op, F-18s & EA-6B.” (Still looking for details, though, half-an-hour later … will add whenever some emerge!)

4:54 PM: Now it seems a historic MiG-29 may have been the noisemaker, with “chase planes.” So says KIRO 7. Here’s the MiG’s test-flight takeoff from Snohomish County:

Story still in motion, though!

9 PM: As Mike points out in comments, looks like we have our final answer – details on the photo op that KING mentioned. (The MiG, apparently, was a coincidence.) Here’s the KING story, with photos of the planes you heard/saw.

West Seattle scene: ‘Blue light special’ at Link

Since the now-pre-leasing Link in The Triangle is among our newest sponsors, we’ve received/reported plenty about its attributes. But this glowing attention-getter is something we just happened onto without warning – spotted it peripherally while driving Fauntleroy Way the other night, then before we could even investigate, we got a tip from Kevin, and photos from Christopher Boffoli (who found the lighting reminiscent of the Rose Center for Earth and Space at the American Museum of Natural History).

Link is along 38th between Fauntleroy and Alaska, in the final construction phase and expecting move-ins to start in March.

West Seattle (-ish) scenes that aren’t what they seem

(Photo by Guy Smith; click for larger version)
Two photos to share tonight that are both optical illusions of sorts involving water. Top, from Guy Smith, who explains (be sure to click the photo for largest version):

From Alki Point, December 26, 2010:

For those who like to contemplate our watery West Seattle horizons, the recent very high tide of 12.9 feet was a good time to do it. This photo taken from Alki Point shows the West Point lighthouse 6 miles north. The curvature of the earth coupled with the high tide makes the light house look half submerged; even though it sits way above water at high tide. The land at left center in the far distance is the only part of Whidbey Island we can see from this angle that sits above the horizon. It’s the tall part of Whidbey at Double Bluff; about 30 miles from Alki Point.

On the goofy side – this screengrab that Paul caught today from a WSDOT traffic camera:

He wrote:

I was just checking traffic cams before heading out to run errands and saw this image on the Spokane cam. I know it is just a raindrop or dirt but it startled me at first!

West Seattle holiday scene: Santa trades 9 reindeer for 2 wheels

We published this photo to Twitter and Facebook earlier in hopes someone might shine a little light onto our mysterious motorcycle Santa Claus sighting this afternoon, but nothing definitive yet, so we’re casting a wider net. He rode southbound on California till its dead-end south of Thistle, then turned around and headed back northbound, which is when we managed the iPhone photo. Anyone get their presents early?

P.S. Side note in the holiday-cheer department: Thumbs-up for the Seaview carolers who serenaded their neighbors tonight. Your editor here happened to be visiting friends when the carolers stopped by for a song, and it was charming (as were the Delridge carolers we covered on Friday).

West Seattle scene: ‘New lawn art’ in The Junction?

After two notes and one call, including one person describing the sight as “new lawn art,” we had to go see this for ourselves: A fire truck is parked (at least since last night, when our first note came in) on the lawn of an apartment building along 44th SW, north of Junction TrueValue and Terry Gangon‘s building. We knocked on doors and asked nearby, and couldn’t find anyone who knew exactly what it was doing there; we spotted a Parking Enforcement Officer nearby and she said it wasn’t the kind of thing she’d be ticketing for, though she couldn’t say whether it was legal in terms of land use. The fire truck bears the name of Westport/Wauna, which is along the Columbia River in northwestern Oregon. The person who called us said they’d heard secondhand that someone had bought the truck from that department; so far, we’ve discovered that Westport/Wauna indeed had three surplus fire trucks offered via eBay this fall (scroll down), including a 1975 American LaFrance – and this truck is marked LaFrance.

Any more info, please share!

West Seattle scene: Too tempting to leaf it alone

Scene from Holy Rosary School, shared by John Slee, who explained: “This was at the end of the day, just as the students were being let out….. they just couldn’t resist throwing the leaves.”

West Seattle scenes: Field fun; convertible canine; Arboretum awe

Two photos from the WSB inbox (thanks!): First, Amanda shared that shot of a sign that’s turned up on the fence by Delridge Playfield – if you’ve passed the in-progress renovations lately, the joke makes perfect sense; if not, take a close look at what’s in the background, and imagine dozens of those mini-hills on one field. (We’ll be checking with Seattle Parks on the project’s status this week.) Meantime, a view from inside The Bohemian:

As Ryan put it in the note accompanying the picture, “Everyone (was) enjoying the sun today.” Another place to enjoy it was the South Seattle Community College Arboretum on West Seattle’s Puget Ridge:

WSB contributor Keri DeTore shared that with a few other fall-colors photos from a walk through the Arboretum this afternoon – you’ll see another one atop tomorrow’s morning-preview lineup.

West Seattle scenes: The Mountain, and the moons

Two great photos just landed in the WSB inbox – first, Rolly Francisco shares the view of Mount Rainier as seen from 40th/Andover around 5 pm (you just never know how many more times this year we’ll see it!) – second, Trileigh was out star/planetgazing last night and captured multiple moons:

Trileigh explains:

Although in the photo you can see three moons surrounding Jupiter (the bright white spot near the middle of the picture), with a spotting scope you can actually see four.

And I don’t know what that funny blue thing is to the lower left of Jupiter. It was in each picture I took, several minutes apart, and appeared to move first further away to the lower left each time and then back closer. Could it be a satellite, I wonder?

Tonight should still be clear, I believe – people with binoculars or a spotting scope should get out and see five moons at once, including Earth’s!

Thanks for the photos!

Isle of Vashon: Vintage motorcycles head out from Fauntleroy

(Photos by Christopher Boffoli)
We mentioned this as a postscript to the morning preview – today’s the day for the date-never-published Isle of Vashon vintage-motorcycle rally – then Christopher Boffoli headed over to Fauntleroy and caught some of the motorcyclists ready to head over via ferry:.

More photos later if we receive some from the events on Vashon (here’s how to share!).

Adding a couple of reader-submitted images. These are from “Todd”:

And thanks to “Scott”for the cameraphone image of this canine motorcycle enthusiast:

What’s that in the West Seattle sky? Apparently, a zeppelin

(Photo added 4:29 pm – Alfonso took it from Alki – thanks for sharing!)
ORIGINAL 1:57 PM REPORT: Amy just e-mailed to say she saw “a blimp over West Seattle.” If it’s what our first cut of research (we haven’t seen it ourselves yet) suggests, it’s actually a zeppelin.

3:01 PM UPDATE: Confirmed – it’s the Airship Ventures zeppelin. They documented their flight northward with photos on this website – no West Seattle photo (so far as we’re seeing), though.

11:07 PM NOTE: Christopher Boffoli went up to Paine Field (Snohomish County) to check out the airship (aka zeppelin):

Check out his report in the comment section – including (scroll down) a link to more photos.

West Seattle weekend scene: No, that wasn’t a car show

The photos are by Christopher Boffoli, who spotted a few unexpected sights while out covering some non-Summer Fest news for WSB today. He explains:

If people saw a convoy of classic Triumph cars driving through West Seattle or at the Fauntleroy ferry today, it was the Seattle-based Tyee Triumph Club, headed to Vashon for a monthly meeting. They assembled in the future Trader Joe’s parking lot before heading out to catch the ferry.

P.S. Speaking of classic cars – several people asked about upcoming car shows while we were helping in the Summer Fest Information Booth again today (11 am-5 pm tomorrow). The Alki Car Show is next Saturday, 8 am-4 pm (here’s our recent preview); the West Seattle Junction Car Show (which we’re co-sponsoring again this year) is September 19, also 8 am-4 pm.

Since you asked: Checking into the street-corner fruit vendors

They are being seen more frequently on West Seattle street corners – people standing for hours, selling fruit from boxes. (There’s been one at the busiest corner near WSB HQ, three days during the past week, standing there from morning till late in the day. A nearby resident who speaks a little Spanish tried talking to her, and learned only that the vendor was “from the mountains of Mexico.”) Some people have messaged us to ask about the law. One of the first results we found in an online search reminded us that this is not a new phenomenon – there was even a discussion last year in the WSB Forums. While a permit is required to sell on the street, it’s a moot point in many of these cases, because it’s outright prohibited in single-family zones (as is the case of the one near us). Is anyone enforcing the rule? So far, we haven’t heard from anyone who has officially complained. The method for doing so is on this SDOT web page. (SDOT is checking for us to see if they’ve been getting complaints, and how they’re handled.) We haven’t found much past coverage of the fruit sellers in this area, but it’s been a hot topic in the Bay Area, where this story suggested some of them may be more victim than violator.

ADDED: SDOT’s Marybeth Turner tells WSB they don’t get many street-vending complaints; when they do: “An SDOT Street Use Inspector responds to these complaints during normal work hours on a priority basis. If it is a matter of public safety, a Seattle Police Officer may also respond, also on a priority basis– this occurs mostly in the SODO stadium area or nightlife areas” such as Belltown.

West Seattle street food: “Treats” truck bound for Alki

Diane Skwiercz of Street Treats says her “entire family” lives in West Seattle – so it’ll be a homecoming when she brings her dessert truck to Alki tomorrow night. She says she just recently launched Street Treats, baking cookies, brownies and bars every morning, and carrying “homemade ice cream and handheld pies from two local businesses.” She’s not sure where they’ll park but they’re hoping to be at the beach for a few hours starting around 6 pm tomorrow (Thursday). We asked for a photo, so you’d know what to look for; you can also check Twitter to see if she tweets where they wind up – @StreetTreatsWa.

Flag Day 2010: Old Glory in The Junction

West Seattle Junction Association guy-of-all-trades Don told us during Sunday’s Health Fair that he would make sure Old Glory graced California SW for Flag Day today … and the promise was kept. No fluttering in the breeze so far since the air is fairly still, but if you go to The Junction, you will see the Stars and Stripes all along the way. Today is the 233rd anniversary of the day the flag was adopted by the Second Continental Congress.

West Seattle scene: Why DID the chickens cross the road?

After 30+ years in news, we finally get to use the old joke in a headline. Actually, Susanna Moore suggested it, sending these photos with this report:

Returned from a preschool pick-up to find these two in front of our house on Walnut Ave. in Admiral district. Who is missing these pretty chickens! Here are a few pictures – they’re still out there pecking at the grass and sidewalk….

Yes, we’ll add them to the lost-and-found Pets page too – but couldn’t resist; on a showery day, you would expect to see ducks wandering instead of chickens …

West Seattle mystery? Searching for the meaning of the purple fish

We haven’t been able to find the answer to this question – so we’re hoping maybe you know. Karen shared the photo above, earlier this month, after seeing fish like that all over The Junction; in a note tonight, Mark is the latest to ask:

Does anyone know what is the meaning of the “purple fish” graffiti that has been sprayed on many different walls and surfaces at the Junction and other places? I’ve also seen them at the 35th & Fauntleroy intersection. They may well be other places around W. Seattle, and maybe other places in the city as well. They are about 12-18 ” long, and look like they were made with a fish-shaped stencil and a can of purple spray paint.

We’ve tried search phrases from purple fish to purple shark. No luck. But maybe you know the story…

West Seattle scene: Wedding wrapup at Alki

For better or for worse, through richer or poorer … through rain or shine … Mark shared that photo taken over the weekend after he spotted the truck on Alki.

West Seattle Easter scenes: Peep-le do the craziest things …

Richard e-mailed WSB to share these photos, explaining:

Every Easter Sunday morning for the past few years, we’ve awoken to find the fences, shrubbery and landscaping in the alley between 36th/37th/Findlay and Juneau [map] artistically festooned with hundreds of yellow marshmallow ‘Peeps’. We have have a couple neighbors who we think are the ‘Peepers’, but we’re not sure (and we don’t feel like getting up in the middle of the night to catch them in the act!). The kids and families along our block love this, and we think it’s a great and fun tradition. I’m attaching some pics of their ‘artwork’. Happy Easter! (p.s.–I took all the pics this morning at 8:30)

ADDED 2:26 PM: And from somewhere else in West Seattle – Karen sent a photo, saying her daughter discovered the chickens love Peeps too:

ADDED MONDAY MORNING: We got one more batch of photos from a mystery sender. This is our favorite: