Category Archives: Other Local Places

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?

2 Comments

Posted in Business Beat, Other Local Places

Tagged ,

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.
Continue reading →

3 Comments

Posted in Business Beat, Other Local Places

Tagged ,

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.

1 Comment

Posted in Biking, Other Local Places

Tagged

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.
Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in Business Beat, Other Local Places

Tagged

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.

1 Comment

Posted in Other Local Places

Tagged ,

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.
Continue reading →

2 Comments

Posted in Home, Other Local Places

Tagged ,

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.

1 Comment

Posted in Other Local Places

Tagged ,

North Shore Easter Decorations

Posted on March 16, 2013 | 1 comment

Bunnies, chicks, eggs, and more


They decorate their property for Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine’s Day. Now another holiday can be added to the list. “They” is a family who owns a home on North Shore Road just west of Belfair State Park. In the past, I have seen spooks and goblins, Christmas ornaments, and hearts hanging from the trees along their road frontage.

When I posted the Valentine’s Day photo last month I wondered if the next set of decorations would be for St. Patrick’s Day. But instead of seeing shamrocks and leprechauns on a cold, wet bike ride yesterday, I noticed all things Easter (see photo) in the area that I call “holiday woods.” The only thing the Happy Easter message from Hood Canal’s North Shore needs is some warmer weather to go with it.

1 Comment

Posted in Other Local Places

Tagged , , ,

North Shore Valentine

Posted on January 26, 2013 | 1 comment

Happy Valentine’s Day


From previous bike rides along the North Shore Road, I know that a family who owns property not far from Belfair State Park likes to decorate it for Halloween and Christmas. However, until today I didn’t know that they also put up a Valentine’s Day display (see photo). I’m not sure how long it’s been there as I seldom bike the North Shore Road this time of year. They probably didn’t beat local merchants though, who began showcasing Valentine’s Day items in the first week of January.

Now, I’m wondering what other days that we celebrate rate a display at what could be dubbed “holiday woods.” If we ignore the presidents, the next up is Saint Patrick’s Day. I will check back in late February or early March expecting to see shamrocks. Hopefully by then the weather will be good enough to rate at least a weekly bike ride along the Hood Canal.

1 Comment

Posted in Other Local Places

Tagged , ,

Heron Gates

Posted on December 11, 2012 | 2 comments

Unusual security gates


I don’t have a security gate because my driveway is too steep and I also don’t want to discourage the few visitors I do get. But if I did I would want it to be a heron gate (see photos). At least I think the birds are herons, although they might be cranes. I’m going by the crooked necks and long bills.

Great blue herons are regular residents of Mud Bay. By day you see them stalking the mudflats, patiently spearing fish in the shallow water when the tide is out. At night you hear their painful-sounding squawks in response to some threat real or imagined.

The owners of the gates in the photos must also feel that herons are symbolic of their waterfront properties. The top gate is from a home on Rich Passage off Beach Drive in Port Orchard. The exquisite bottom gate secures the driveway to a home on Erland Point in Dyes Inlet. I see the gates frequently as both locations are on regular bike rides. The photos were taken last weekend.

2 Comments

Posted in Mud Bay & Rocky Point, Other Local Places

Tagged ,