How many locations are there for blue mailboxes in your zip code? Officially known as USPS collection stations, these sturdy steel containers, bolted to the sidewalk, do yeoman duty collecting mail and seemingly used to be everywhere. There’s a link at the end of this post to a web site that will tell you how many are near you. Before you click it, take a guess. Hint: The number is probably less than you think.
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Category Archives: Other Local Places
Blue Mailboxes
River View
Skokomish River
Before I left home this morning I already knew that the National Weather Service had canceled its flood warning for the Skokomish River. Yesterday’s storm, which dumped more than 2.5 inches of rain on the Skokomish River watershed, caused the river to rise but left it just under the 16-foot flood stage. While I didn’t see any flooding—except for a few spots where the high-water signs on the Skokomish Valley Road are permanently posted—my day trip took me past one of my favorite spots along the river.
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Evidence of Fall
Leaves on roof
By the calendar fall is at its midpoint, and the maples in Western Washington have shed most, but not all, of their leaves. The photo shows what happens when a gently pitched roof is nearby. Ironically, the building in the picture is a maintenance shed at Belfair State Park. There are several improvement projects going on at the park, including work on the campsites that border Hood Canal and construction of a path along Big Mission Creek. The shed’s roof will probably need to wait until more of the leaves are down before it gets any attention.
Did You Hear Any Salmon Today?
Chico Creek at the Taylor Road Bridge
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Game Birds
Staging pen for pheasants
In the rural Belfair Valley near the Union River, almost at the base of Gold Mountain, a man keeps pheasants in a pen that is easily seen from Wilkinson Road. Until yesterday, I thought he raised them there. That’s when I rode by on my bike to see this year’s flock, something I do every fall, along with checking out the salmon runs in local creeks.
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This Should Get People’s Attention
Please Conserve Water
Today Long Painting (Kent, Washington) began sandblasting the inside of the 150,000-gallon water tank at Treasure Island in preparation for repainting it with a Bar-Rust 233H coating. To reduce wear on the three well pumps, the water distribution team has been telling islanders they can help by using less water during the three weeks the tank will be offline. The vinyl banner I attached to the tank ladder this morning (see photo) is intended as a daily reminder. Certainly people will see it. As you drive up the hill from the bridge your eye is drawn to the dark green water tank—perhaps because it is the tallest structure on Treasure Island at 65 feet in height.
I have never put up a sign or banner in an attempt to get the public’s attention. Nor have I ever tagged a building or railroad crossing (well, not as an adult). Originally I thought we needed a conservation banner to use during hot late summer droughts. But in the last few years summer water usage has gone down, partly due to weather and partly due to fewer visits to the island by family members and guests. So I didn’t get approval for the banner until a couple of weeks ago when we were planning the tank job. I had it made at Signtown, taking advantage of their fall special. The price was reasonable. I just hope the banner gets its message across.
A Perfect Sign for Labor Day
An o not an e
This entry is part of my “sign” series, which features my favorite signs from local biking trips. You can also see great signs from the car, of course, but it’s a lot easier to stop for a photo if you are pedaling by. This particular one marks a vacation place on the Hood Canal as seen from the North Shore Road. When I told K about it, she gently pointed out that I was reading the sign incorrectly. The word moron wasn’t mentioned.
I still like the sign—although originally I thought the second word was “Leaf.” Obviously the second word is “Loaf,” to make the sign say “Let us Loaf,” a perfect name for a vacation place. However, “Lettuce Leaf” conveys a certain whimsy that appeals to me and, I assumed, the owners. I haven’t included a photo of the house, but their beach shack is painted the color of the popular salad vegetable. I should ride by the place on Monday (as American Labor takes a well-earned holiday) to make sure the owners are taking their sign to heart.
Living Faith Choir
These kids are good
“They’ve only been together since Wednesday.” That’s what K. W., my nearby neighbor on Treasure Island, told me after the Living Faith Choir’s performance in her backyard yesterday in front of parents, friends, and curious islanders. In four days not only did they master eight songs, the group of about 20 teenagers also had a lot of fun on the island plus they survived a serious downpour one evening (the boys were camping in tents).
No question that the kids were talented musicians coming into this. They could all sing and several could play instruments—bass, keyboard, and drums. All appeared to be seasoned performers in front of an audience. But it’s late summer and they haven’t been together since the previous school year (at King’s School in Seattle). And some were new. Several of the songs took a lot of practice. There were a couple of duets and some other numbers where they acted and sang. I think they nailed the performance and are in mid-season form already.
Duck Time
Great Kitsap Duck Race Mascot
The giant inflatable yellow mascot that advertises the Great Kitsap Duck Race and has come to symbolize Whaling Days was looking pretty good when I snapped its photo in Silverdale yesterday. Apparently there’s been a complete recovery from a humiliating incident five years ago (or the Rotary Club, the race promoters, simply bought a new duck). Unlike many recent posts this one has a connection to Mud Bay—tenuous but still a connection.
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Another Ten Feet Wouldn’t Help Much
PRF at High Tide
I was part of a group who appealed Mason County’s approval of a 110-foot pier-ramp-float (PRF) project (see photo) in the Grapeview Channel across from my vacation place on Treasure Island. We filed a petition last year with the Shoreline Hearings Board (SHB), a state agency that provides a final chance to appeal county decisions concerning shoreline development (unless you want to sue in Superior Court). In its January 2009 decision, the SHB didn’t prohibit the PRF completely, but it did reduce the overall length by 10 feet and required the applicant to add an additional nearby waterfront property owner to his joint-use agreement. The PRF was constructed last weekend, and for the most part things turned out differently than I thought they might.
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