West Seattle, Washington
19 Thursday
We start the last day of Pride month with a photo sent by Carolyn Newman – a rainbow reflected on Elliott Bay, from the T-Mobile Park roof lights, photographed Sunday night.
Someone apparently tried to set up a rogue “Stay Healthy Street” near Lincoln Park. A neighbor sent us a photo of that sign at 46th/Thistle and said there’s another one a few blocks north at 45th/Trenton. Since the city hasn’t announced any additions to the program in a few weeks, we asked SDOT, which replied: “This street is not one of our Stay Healthy Streets, and we did not place this sign here. We will send a crew to retrieve these sings and also look out for any missing signs at nearby Stay Healthy Streets.” The only official ones in West Seattle remain the originally announced one in High Point (and a bit south), the Puget Ridge/Highland Park stretch, and Beach Drive/Alki Avenue west of 63rd SW (wrapping around Alki Point).
Barbara spotted that open suitcase by the road on the east side of the 6500 block of Beach Drive SW. She didn’t have a pic so we went by for one. Due to traffic, we couldn’t take a closer look, but she saw a tag with an address in the 12300 block of Marine View Drive (which is n Burien), so if you know anyone in that area, you might ask if they’ve heard of someone missing a suitcase…
Shannon sent the photo and report:
Just wanted to let you know that this bike has been lying on the tree lawn on the SW corner of the intersection of Hudson and 47th Ave SW since at least Sunday. Thought it may be a stolen dumped bike.
Thanks to Shannon for the photos from Seaview! f you saw fire trucks/engines and police cars in your neighborhood tonight, flashing their lights and sounding their sirens/horns, that was just the second week of “Friday Night Lights” (explained here).
Also from Seaview, Josie tweeted photos:
@westseattleblog just now on 49th in Seaview! #thankyoufirstresponders pic.twitter.com/kVNSmOvYGe
— Josie Gawlowski (@josieliming) April 25, 2020
We’ll find out next week if they’ll do it again on May 1st.
Life goes on, with adjustments. The video and report are from Bill Schrier:
Nancy Morrison is a long-time resident of the North Admiral District. Today a bunch of her neighbors got together to sing her Happy 91st Birthday, from the street and with social distancing.
Quyen emailed tonight to say, “The world is in chaos right now but West Seattle is more peaceful and breathtaking than I have ever seen,” sharing this photo:
… which reminded us that others have sent some beautiful photos lately and we needed to stop down for a few minutes to share them with you.
That’s last night’s sunset, photographed by Victoria Gnatoka. Below, Tuesday afternoon at Alki, by James Tilley:
Tuesday’s sunset, by Fatiha:
The Tuesday sunrise, by Stephanie:
And “The Mountain,” by Theresa Arbow-O’Connor:
Thanks to all!
Three reader-contributed scenes from today/tonight before we move on with more news…
SUNSET: Thank you to John Brosnan for sharing that view. (added) Here’s the Lincoln Park view from Fatiha:
And from Lynn Hall:
FLYING PIANO: Jim Borrowsaw that from Upper Alki this morning – apparently a piano being lifted by crane to a buildings upper level:
And speaking of flying … bird news:
THE WEST SEATTLE TURKEY … seems to be in danger of becoming The Burien Turkey. Late today, it was seen in Seola, and then this video came from Tom Myers, who saw TWST this evening at “the west end of SW 116th”:
She apparently had been southbound all day, because we got earlier reports from south Arbor Heights and Seola.
Along 59th SW in Upper Alki, south of SW Admiral Way, those signs of gratitude have sprouted along the embankment that divides the road. Above is what you see if you’re headed north; below, the individual signs along the southbound side:
If you couldn’t read all the signs in the video clip – bumpy road! – they thank doctors, first responder, transit, truckers, janitors, lab techs, teachers, and retail workers, while the signs in the individual photos thank nurses, delivery drivers, all clerks, farmers, EMTs, restaurant workers, and volunteers.
P.S. Thanks to Tom Rasmussen, West Seattle-residing former city councilmember, for the tip!
First someone texted us this sighting from along West Seattle’s northern shore …
Looked like an interesting study in social distancing, but we had no info otherwise. Then – another photo arrived, in explanation:
That one’s from Lynn Hall, who explained, “Happy Birthday Serenade with social distancing for a friend standing at her front door on Alki Avenue.” Mystery solved!
The montage was sent by Jim, who explains:
We thought people might find this interesting. Our neighborhood has an established collection of Little Free Libraries and some changes have emerged in this era of Covid-19. Toilet paper and hand sanitizer. It’s kind to donate a roll for those in dire need but it might be best to seal it in a bag before leaving it.
If you are a longtime WSB reader, you know that most days, we feature West Seattle bird photos with the daily calendar highlights. But the no-event orders mean no highlights. However, thanks to your neighbors, we have bird photos to share anyway!
That’s a Red-Breasted Sapsucker, photographed by Mark Wangerin. Below, the even-more-colorful Golden Pheasant:
That photo’s from Lori on Genesee Hill; Riley spotted it this week too. Sightings have recurred in recent years, including last spring, about the same time this celebrity bird first showed up in West Seattle:
This afternoon, The West Seattle Turkey turned up on Snake Hill, sipping from that pothole near 31st/Findlay; Tyler and Gabbi sent the photo. Yesterday, TWST wandered north to 35th/Edmunds – this photo was texted:
And from Chris Frankovich – a Bald Eagle:
Thanks to everyone who sends photos – birds, breaking news, bears, or … westseattleblog@gmail.com or text 206-293-6302!
10:28 AM: Yes, it’s OK to go out for a walk (or run, or bike ride) during the stay-home order. We’ve featured a few neighborhood displays meant to provide something for neighbors to see on their walks – and this one seems to be gaining traction here as well as across the nation. Sean is the latest to send word of sightings for “teddy-bear hunts” – if you have a bear, put it in your window, so kids walking by will see it. The photos above are from a friend of his who spotted several in Highland Park; Sean has one in his window near 35th/Thistle. What’s in YOUR neighborhood windows? westseattleblog@gmail.com or text 206-293-6302 – thank you!
10:57 AM: Thanks to the texter who sent that photo from North Admiral (near 45th/Seattle)!
4:28 PM: Thanks to 6-year-old Tino for the photo from 12th/Holden!
ADDED THURSDAY NIGHT: Three bear photos via text – 20th/Thistle:
31st/Findlay:
And from Julia on 41st in North Admiral:
ADDED: From Valerie near Madison Middle School:
And from Monica on Palm Avenue in North Admiral:
Thanks for the photos!
First, two sunset scenes … above, from Robin Sinner; below, from Jan Pendergrass:
Next, from Gary Potter of longtime WSB sponsor Potter Construction, his neighborhood’s “6-foot happy hour” tonight:
And last but by no means least, from Richard Hill:
If you could use something to look forward to … the next change of seasons, the summer solstice, will be on June 20th.
Nathan emailed this morning to ask, “If you are out, can you see if the green stripe has been painted on 41st? Everyone could use some St. Patrick’s cheer.” So we went over to look – and yes, it’s there, on 41st SW in North Admiral. While so many things have suddenly stopped or dramatically changed, not this … so, thanks, Mystery Stripe painter(s)!
(We should add, for newcomers – this has been a St. Patrick’s Day tradition on this block for many years.)
Thanks to Karl at Potter Construction (WSB sponsor) for the photo! That is a truckload of Girl Scout Cookies. Karl helped out as troops – including his granddaughter’s West Seattle troop 45305 – picked up their orders at the Alaska Marine Lines loading dock on Saturday. Cookie sales start in 12 days, according to the Girl Scouts of Western Washington website – February 28 through March 15th. As usual, you can find cookie-sale locations via the online lookup. (Wondering about the cookie varieties? Go here.)
if you missed the evening’s two-part beautiful start, no worries, your neighbors sent photos! Above, the moonrise photographed by David Hutchinson from Don Armeni Boat Ramp; below, a wider view of the moonrise, photographed by Jamie Kinney from Seacrest:
Before the moonrise, a vivid sunset – this photo is by Jim Spraker:
Chris Frankovich caught the sunset’s pink glow on Mount Rainier:
It’s been a must-see Sunday … thanks to everyone who shared their views!
A surprise show at California/Alaska a little more than an hour ago – that’s Filthy FemCorps, the band with the self-description “a hot bag full of fierce women who aren’t afraid to be weird, genuine, raw, sweaty, confident, honest, loving, and real.” They pop up now and then, here and there – same spot 10 months ago, in fact – but you can also catch them at pre-announced events, like the annual street-band celebration HONK! Fest West.
The photo and report are from Doug: “This bike was dumped at 44th and Genesee last week, it was on the median for a couple of days so I brought it to my house hoping it could be re-united with its owner.” If it’s yours, let us know and we’ll connect you.
Missing a bicycle like that, or know someone who is? Wayne sent the photo, saying it turned up “next to our garbage cans at 47th and Lander.”
Commenters have wondered if The West Seattle Turkey would find a safe place to hang out until Thanksgiving was over. This photo just might be the answer. It’s from Chris at Compass Construction, which has West Seattle’s only current tower crane up and running along Fauntleroy just south of Alaska: “It looks like our feathered friend found a new perch on our tower crane!” This is the first turkey sighting we’ve heard of outside the south/east Admiral area since it settled in that area last spring.
As previewed in our Sunday highlight list, a camel – technically, a dromedary – was at Ounces in North Delridge this afternoon as part of the beer garden/taproom’s third-anniversary celebration. Crackle is from a farm on the Eastside. (We would have photographed Ounces’ proprietors too, but Laurel and Mike Trujillo had stepped away just before we got there. Happy anniversary!)
(WSB photos)
In The Junction, flags go up for many national holidays, and this morning, volunteers led by West Seattle’s American Legion Post 160 put these in place.
You can help remove them this afternoon – meet at 4 pm on the northeast corner of Califorrnia/Alaska. Also in The Junction:
We found Nathaniel Cook, Nate Ford, and Michael Gross from West Seattle’s DAV Chapter 23 outside Husky Deli with forget-me-nots – they said you can get yours there, at Chelan Cafe, or at West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor) today until 2 pm.
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