West Seattle, Washington
03 Tuesday
In our almost-2-years of publishing WSB, we’ve seen neighborhood blogs come and go around the city. One of the few still going strong, after almost as long, is Capitol Hill Seattle. We admire its editors Justin and Kristin for so many things, such as the inescapable fact they are wittier, hipper, younger, and cuter than us, and for their enthusiastic crosstown support of WSB. Tonight, we congratulate them on the arrival of their first child, written up pre-birth in this P-I article about a tongue-in-cheek naming contest. This afternoon — yes, at a Capitol Hill hospital — the Capitol Hill Seattleites welcomed their son Bowie (details in the comments on this CHS post). We wish them great luck and joy in the grand rollercoaster adventure that is parenting.
Veteran West Seattle photojournalist Matt Durham, from MattDurhamPhotography.com, has agreed to contribute photos and reporting to WSB from time to time, and we couldn’t be more pleased – his excellent work fits so well with our mission of bringing you West Seattle news, information, and discussion 24/7/365. Here are three of Matt’s photos from today, with his captions below each:
Japhy Witte (with Sign Savant, a West Seattle business) puts the finishing touches on the marquee that will welcome patrons to the new tapas restaurant Shadowland, slated to open around the week of Thanksgiving. Shadowland will offer tapas, small plates, and entrees in a variety of cuisine types, according to owner Ben Jenkins.
With a steady gaze, a loyal lab waits for its owner to exit Capers Sunday afternoon.
The cold, blustery Sunday weather did not deter shoppers from purchasing their fresh produce and organic groceries from West Seattle’ Farmers’ Market.
We look forward to more from Matt in the future. (Prints of these photos and his other work, by the way, are available through his site, MattDurhamPhotography.com.)
Just out of the inbox, from Teresa P:
Just wanted to everyone know, the West Seattle coyotes are back!
I live at the end of 44th Ave SW @ Portland and had two young adults on my property Saturday morning. They awoke me by their “talking” to each other which at times can sound very disturbing, almost scary at times. However, it is simply the way they communicate with each other. But in the middle of the night it can sound horrendous!!
Coyotes will usually return to their mating den every winter, however they did not come back last winter. I can’t say I was sad because by that spring, not only did we have two adults, we had three pups playing at the lower portion of my property. As amazing as they are to watch, it is important to remember they are wild and are not to be treated lightly. I have not had any issue with them getting into garbage or coming up to the house, however, my cat is no longer allowed any outside time after sunset or early in the morning. During the day, only when supervised.
There is sometimes a misconception that coyotes will not approach domestic animals or even humans but that is simply not true. If they are hungry and see something they think they can catch or take from your yard, they will.
So be safe!
Here’s a map of the intersection Teresa mentions. Meantime — we have written about West Seattle coyote sightings like these before, and our caveat is, don’t panic – we need to co-exist with these guys (as this excellent Humane Society page notes) – but do be forewarned, as Teresa writes, you need to keep your pets indoors. A good idea in any case, given there are even more serious threats (cars, for example).
Think the wind’s been a little wild the last 12 hours or so? Forecast says tomorrow will be even windier — with a high-wind watch now up, and talk of possible gusts to 60 mph in late morning — though here’s hoping the sustained winds will not be October 18-like. (By the way, while the mental image of a blown-into-the-street garbage-can lid is flying by, it’s a good time to note that recycling/trash/yard waste picks up as usual tomorrow even though it’s a government/bank/parking holiday tomorrow.) 5:55 PM ADDENDUM: For those who didn’t make it down to the water today, here’s a little video from the waterfront stairs on the north end of Schmitz Viewpoint along Beach Drive — nothing spectacular but you can hear the wind and see some spray:
In the past few days, two of the bloggers on the Other Blogs in WS page, Rhonda and Alice, 
have mentioned the schedule for one of our favorite holiday highlights, the Argosy Christmas Ship Festival. Its West Seattle stops have been listed on our Events page (along with many other WS holiday happenings; please let us know if yours is missing!) for a few weeks now, but in case you hadn’t looked that far down, here are your choices:
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8: With Northwest Girlchoir Vivace on board, the Christmas Ship and its accompanying vessels will be at Seacrest 5:15-5:35 pm; with Canterbury Belles on board, it will visit Lowman Beach 8:50-9:10 pm, then sail along Beach Drive and around the point for an Alki stop 9:40-10 pm.
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 9: With Soundwave on board, a Don Armeni stop is planned 7:10-7:30 pm.
If you haven’t gone out to see the Christmas Ship before, the sounds and sights are always splendid: the brightly lit boat pulls close enough to shore for the choir on board to serenade landlubbers with holiday songs. (Here’s a Seattle Channel video from the 2005 season, featuring a West Seattleite — the announcer shown early on in this ’05 video, Dano Beal, is a teacher at Lafayette Elementary.) All the West Seattle stops are planning bonfires again this year as well (the flames roaring up from a burning pile of pallets are sometimes a more dramatic sight than the Christmas Ship itself!).
If you are going to The Junction for the Farmers’ Market (or anything else) today and have time to stroll a block east — check out how massive the excavation for the Capelouto megaproject (announced as Office Depot/QFC/apartments) has become (above photo was taken looking through the fence from the west side, along 42nd). Downtown, big digs like this are old hat, but in West Seattle, not so much.
For the second time this year, the Seattle Times’ Pacific Magazine peeks into the Beach Drive waterfront home of Scott and Susan Lipsky — last January, their article focused on the house’s various entertainment-oriented features; today, the same writer expounds on the house’s “secret” wine cellar, hidden behind a bookcase a la the Batcave.
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