West Seattle, Washington
26 Friday
That garden along SW Rose in Gatewood was one of 10 stops today on the first-ever Edible Gardens of West Seattle tour, presented by Community Harvest of Southwest Seattle. That view looks west down Rose, with Puget Sound in the distance – notice the garden’s in the “parking strip” (which is adjacent property owners’ responsibility to maintain). We talked with one of the gardeners, who tells us in this video clip that the garden’s good for more than food:
The tour was free (locations were listed on the online map). Community Harvest of Southwest Seattle is best known for organizing volunteer help to harvest fruit from trees where it otherwise might go to waste; to find out how to help with harvests, or how to “donate” the yield of your tree(s), check the CHoSS website.
Just saw that sign as we headed west on Thistle – per the sign and also the Southwest Pool webpage, the major renovation/maintenance work on West Seattle’s only city-run indoor pool will last a month longer than first expected. Just before construction started in June, we met with the project manager — for this indepth preview of the work they’re doing — and at that time it was still expected the pool would reopen in late September, as the sign showed at the time:
We’ll be checking with the Parks Department to find out why the pool reopening’s been moved back so far, and we’ll let you know what we find out. (Re-reading that story we published in June, we’re reminded that project manager Garrett Farrell warned at the time that the original 3 1/2 months was “a pretty tight time schedule.”)
That’s Blue Angels jet number six getting inspected after its participation in today’s Seafair airshow abruptly ended after just a few minutes: It wasn’t long after all six took off that this one came back in to Boeing Field to land; once it was parked, its pilot got into one of the two #7 backup jets, took off, and rejoined the show. More than a dozen people were last seen working on #6 after it was towed to a spot on the east side of the area where the jets are headquartered during their Seattle visits. For our fellow Blue Angels fans, more later on today’s Museum of Flight/Boeing Field sightings.
Late summer/early fall is prime time for baby seals on the beaches – that Alki clip above is from WSB’s very early video days last September — and when they show up, the volunteers known as the Seal Sitters spring into action. (And often … here’s proof.) Many people asked us at the time how they could help as official Seal Sitters volunteers, in addition to knowing what to do when you see a seal on the beach (answer, as reinforced on the Seal Sitters’ site: basically, nothing – its mom will likely be back after hunting, and if you get too close, that could jeopardize the reunion). Today, we have word the Seal Sitters are about to have two volunteer-training events, and they hope to see you there:
The West Seattle “Seal Sitters” are regrouping in anticipation of what could soon be dozens of baby seal “pups” gracing our shores. The pups “haul out” to get much-needed rest and warmth by sleeping peacefully on the beaches and rocks, often for long hours before mom returns for them. These pups are extremely vulnerable at this time and need our protection to help them survive; only 50% of harbor seals survive their first year.
Robin Lindsay, a freelance photographer, has been documenting the babies for the past few years. She urges as many West Seattle residents who can to join Seal Sitters, a group of dedicated volunteers who come together to guard the seal pups and educate onlookers on their lives and behavior. “It’s thrilling to watch wide-eyed seal pups grow and develop, and you meet incredible people!”
Seal Sitters will be holding a volunteer training session on Sunday, August 10th from 3:00 to 5:00 pm at Hiawatha Community Center (2700 California Ave SW). A second training will be held at Alki Community Center (5817 SW Stevens) on Tuesday, September 9th from 7:00 – 9:00 pm. Anyone with an interest in marine mammals is encouraged to attend. Those who complete a training session are eligible to join the Seal Sitters Intern Program.
Seal Sitters have created a website – www.sealsitters.org – that features photos of seal pups, and provides additional information on seals and Seal Sitters. Please check this site for any time and location updates prior to attending.
From the county website comes word that the proposal to raise Metro fares a quarter this fall (reported and discussed here a month ago) is getting a second look – because the bus system faces a worse money crunch than originally expected. Read the full news release here. Will it mean a new proposal for a higher rate hike? Or other changes? West Seattle’s County Councilmember Dow Constantine chairs the Transportation Committee and is quoted as saying, “”Every available tool that Metro Transit has to keep the buses rolling must be on the table. That includes cutting costs, postponing investments, innovating to maximize service efficiency, and increasing fares.” Here’s his contact info, if you have a suggestion for what should be done.
That represents the “new” … the photo was sent by Community Harvest of Southwest Seattle (photo credit: Jason of “The Shibaguyz”) to entice you to today’s first-ever Edible Garden Tour of West Seattle. This garden tour is free – go here to get the map – tour any and/or all of the 10 spotlighted gardens between 10 am-2 pm today (including the one that produce came from). Now, something “old” …
That’s another scene from “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” the 1988 pioneering live-action/animation hybrid classic that we at WSB are presenting tonight (in conjunction with Click! Design That Fits [WSB sponsor]) at West Seattle Movies on the Wall, dusk (8:45-ish) in the courtyard next to Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) on the north edge of The Junction. Free, but in the spirit of Jessica Rabbit’s “Why Doncha Do Right” song in that clip – you can “do right” by bringing nonperishable food to donate to West Seattle Food Bank and $ for the West Seattle Christian Church (WSB sponsor)-presented concessions benefiting WSFB, plus a fundraising raffle (with the help of Hotwire boss Lora Lewis and some other fine folks we’ll tell you about at the movie, we’ve collected a bag of completely cool West Seattleness). Last but by no means least, something Blue …
As described in our “Seafair secrets” post, we always watch the Blue Angels at Lake Washington on Seafair Friday. But now, the weekend is here. You can watch them from the lake – or you can catch glimpses from West Seattle (WSB’er “Hopey” reports a great flyby at Westcrest on Friday) – and then there is our preferred method of viewing, at the Museum of Flight, their HQ while visiting Seattle. It’s a sort of “behind-the-scenes” view, when you stake out a spot on the fence that faces the area where the jets are parked (read our “On the Fence” post from last year, with pix), and spend the hour and a half or so before showtime watching first the maintenance crew’s arrival and activities, then the pilots themselves, leading up to the “walkdown” as they go to their planes – this 2007 photo is from their lineup pre-walkdown:
Once they’re in the jets, the sights and sounds include the whine of the cockpits closing, the engines roaring awake, then the groundshaking takeoff; the show is just over a ridge to the east, so you can see the high maneuvers from the MoF, and there are flybys – followed by the landing, and the walkdown in reverse, and your chance to applaud the pilots once they’re out of their planes. The practice show yesterday started around 1:45 pm, later than usual; wherever you’re going to watch from, you’ll want to be in place no later than 12:45 pm which is when the I-90 bridge closes. Full Seafair info on the official site; here’s our Blue Angels coverage archive.
One of the programs Providence Mount St. Vincent (WSB sponsor) is known for, in addition to its residential care, is its Intergenerational Learning Center, which brings the very young together with the, well, young at heart. In that context, seemed fitting to see kids having a blast with the Duwamish Dixieland Band at the season’s first Summer Concert at The Mount Friday night – along with not only some of The Mount’s residents, but also community members of all ages. We stopped by to check out the crowd on the way to our downtown destination mentioned in the previous post; snapped a couple pix but the ones we just got (above and below) from Karen are much better:
Looks like so much fun, next week we’re going for the duration. There are three more concerts, on the next three Friday nights; the show’s free, but you’re invited to bring some $ for the food and beverages (including beer/wine) that are on sale. Next Friday, Maia Santell performs; Friday 8/15, it’s the West Seattle Big Band (recently seen at the Hi-Yu Concert in the Park), and Friday 8/22 it’s Steve Rice and Big Squeezy. For all shows, “doors open” at 5, music starts at 6.
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