Category Archives: Other Local Places

Signs of Fall

Posted on October 5, 2014 | 1 comment

These pheasants are safe for a few more days.


The first photo shows the pheasant pen that’s been featured in the Mud Bay Blog a couple of times. The pheasants live there for a few weeks in September and October before being released for the fall upland game bird season. Interestingly the pen is on Wilkinson Road. Last Friday, when I took the photo, two pheasants had escaped but were nervously hanging out near the security of the pen almost as if they wanted back in. Did they instinctively fear the coming danger of nightfall when raccoons and coyotes would be out hunting in the rural Belfair valley where the pen is located? Death by critter or death by hunter. That’s the fate that awaits most of them.
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Posted in Biking, Other Local Places

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Dancing Man in Belfair

Posted on April 11, 2014 | 1 comment

The parts come with a great guarantee.


The dancing man phenomenon has spread to Belfair. Local Wrench auto repair, located at 23530 NE State Route 3, just added one of the quirky inflatables to advertise that they use genuine ACDelco parts. Local Wrench provides auto repairs and services for all makes of foreign and domestic cars and trucks. So, along with the General (GM), perhaps auto makers everywhere are dancing for joy.

I’m not an expert on dancing men, despite numerous previous posts about them, but this one looked new when I stopped for a photo this afternoon. It could be his first week on the job.

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Posted in Business Beat, Other Local Places

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Used Horseshoes Wanted

Posted on March 30, 2014 | 1 comment

An unusual request


I have no idea why Kitsap Muffler in Gorst wants used horseshoes (see photo). Nor do I know if they are seeking the outdoor game pieces or the metal objects that protect a horse’s hooves. But since you don’t see a sign like this often ever, I figured it was worth a blog post. The phone number (360-373-3101) is a bit hard to read; it’s the number for the shop in Gorst.
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Dancing Tax Man

Posted on February 20, 2014 | 2 comments

A dancing Uncle Sam


It’s tax season. In case anyone didn’t know that, a few weeks ago Liberty Tax Service on Kitsap Way stationed an employee out front who waves a sign urging people to come in and get their taxes done. Dressed as the Statue of Liberty, he’s there rain or shine and never seems to tire. Apparently more street-level advertising was needed though, as today they added a dancing tax man (see photo). I like the patriotic look, but I hope the new dancer doesn’t replace the real person. Although the photo doesn’t show it, the inflatable is unusual in that it has two blowers—one for each leg.

The Mud Bay blog can’t resist adding a post every time a new dancing man is spotted in the area. Previously I have run photos of dancing men in Silverdale, Port Orchard, and various locations on Kitsap Way. Where is the next one going to show up?

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A New Business in Chico

Posted on January 9, 2014 | 3 comments

What matters is what’s inside.


Creative Looks, a hair salon, opened in Chico this week. I know this because Cindy, the lady who cuts my hair, works there and today was haircut day. Chico is a small community on Chico Bay in Dyes Inlet northwest of Bremerton.
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An Effective Sign?

Posted on January 1, 2014 | 1 comment

Honest, I just stopped for a photo op.

The sign (see photo), hand lettered, reads: “This Is Not Your Wood! If I Catch You Cutting or Removing Any I Will Prosecute You!” I spotted it along the Old Belfair Highway during today’s bike ride. Left unexplained is how anyone could cut up the wood and load it without making a lot of noise. The rounds must weigh a couple of hundred pounds each. Perhaps I was late to the party and all of the wood that could easily be rustled is already gone.

After my bike ride I drove back to the sign’s location. While I was taking pictures, I noticed a small SUV pulling into the nearest driveway to the wood. It stayed at the edge of the road, engine running and brake lights on. I wondered if it belonged to the wood’s owner, ready to catch me in the act and hand me over to the Kitsap County prosecutor. If so, he didn’t need to be so vigilant. My fireplace burns gas, not wood. I just like taking pictures of signs.

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Posted in Biking, Other Local Places

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From Movies to MJ

Posted on December 20, 2013 | 2 comments

A great place to sell pot?


Tad Sooter, a business reporter at the Kitsap Sun, recently blogged about the applicants for marijuana retail licenses in Kitsap County. Curious, I perused the list he provided to see if a pot shop will be opening near me. Assuming the licenses are granted and business plans succeed, there will be several, with two businesses indicating that they want to operate out of former video rental stores.
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Posted in Business Beat, Other Local Places

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Santa Has Landed

Posted on December 18, 2013 | 1 comment

Cleared for takeoff

With a week to go until Christmas perhaps it would be more accurate to say that Santa is about to take off (see photo). One thing is for sure, this Santa won’t need any help from Prancer, Dancer, and the rest of the reindeer this year. I spotted Santa’s plane on a grassy lighted landing strip along the North Shore Road just west of Belfair State Park during today’s bike ride.

Wheels up, Santa. And stick to your flight plan no matter what the FAA says.

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Trellis Envy

Posted on April 12, 2013 | 2 comments

Why can’t our trellis look like this?


What is the name of the trellis plant shown in the above photo? Not only is it gorgeous, it’s doing exactly what you would want—covering the trellis with no apparent extra effort by the homeowners. Their home is on Phinney Bay Drive, a main route into Bremerton, so almost every day I’m reminded how much better their trellis looks than ours.
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Posted in Home, Other Local Places

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Found: Timberland Regional Library’s Old Bookmobile

Posted on April 10, 2013 | 1 comment

Rusting away in Neilton, Washington


The Timberland Regional Library is a far-flung empire. Serving five rural counties in Western Washington, it has 27 community libraries, two cooperative library centers, and three library kiosks. It also used to have a Bookmobile (see photo). The old workhorse is retired in Neilton (population 315) on Route 101 in rainy Grays Harbor County. I took the picture yesterday on the way home from an overnight stay at Kalaloch Lodge on the Washington coast.

Neilton is about five miles south of Amanda Park, a small town on the Quinault Indian Reservation. Perhaps the Bookmobile feels at home in Neilton because Amanda Park is the location of Timberland Regional Library’s most remote branch. I wonder how many miles the Bookmobile logged and readers it served in the five-county area before being parked for good.

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