Category Archives: Treasure Island

Lovely Fall Days

Sun and shade on a Saturday afternoon in early October

The photo of my back deck could be from almost any day this week as the weather seems to be conspiring to keep me living at Treasure Island well into the fall. Because of the warm sunny afternoons, I have been putting off the move back to Mud Bay and Rocky Point for the winter. About the only change in the view since I took the photo last Saturday is that there are fewer red leaves on the maple. Perhaps rain and cooler temps will motivate to start on my relocation checklist soon. But right now they are only in the forecast with their exact dates uncertain.

Life Is Good

A raft of California sea lions

Life is good for this raft of California sea lions snoozing on a floating dock in the Grapeview Channel (see photo taken on a sunny Saturday in September). Their biggest threat — the Orca pod that sometimes frequents Case Inlet — is long gone, and there are apparently abundant schools of herring and juvenile salmon nearby to feed on. Unlike humans, who are now being told that AI is an existential danger to our very existence, the sea lions’ top concern might be whether the entire group of about a dozen individuals can fit on the floating dock without sinking it.

Three-Day Gray

Gray whale surfacing and exhaling

A large gray whale arrived in the Grapeview channel on Saturday. By Tuesday morning it had moved on. Call it a three-day gray.

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Rubble Mystery

A serious amount of rubble in the upper yard

The rubble in the upper yard at Treasure Island (see photo) didn’t get there on its own. Nor was it carried off by aliens. Where it came from and what happened to it are puzzling. Spoiler alert: I haven’t been able to solve the mystery.

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Rooster Needed?

The Treasure Island garden with its new raised beds

The garden at Treasure Island (see photo) has undergone a few changes this summer, all for the better. Plus it will be getting a name next year — Garden with a View — when a new gate is added as part of upgrading the perimeter fence. But does it need a yard-art rooster as a sentry when members of the garden team aren’t onsite working?

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Ant Wars

Maxforce Ant Bait Stations – the nuclear option

Every summer my war against the ants at Treasure Island enters a new campaign. It’s not a fair fight. The ants are always on offense while I’m always on defense trying to protect a long porous border. There are no peace talks, no MOU that buys time for negotiators to work out a settlement. That’s why I usually resort to the nuclear option (see photo).

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A Simpl(icity) Solution

Everything about the new vacuum cleaner is better.

I’m slow to change what other people have done. Accordingly, I end up living with thing I don’t like for years. Such was the case with the Shark vacuum cleaner at Treasure Island—a clunker I hated as much as any appliance I have ever used. Last week it died, and hate has quickly turned into love for its replacement (see photo).

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No Leaks

Grumman canoe ready for summer use at Treasure Island

My life is plagued by leaks. I’m not referring to divulging secrets (although I can’t be trusted with them). Instead, my continuing fate is to be challenged by a series of plumbing and roof leaks that never seem to end. But when it comes to boats, the few I have owned have always been leak free. That includes my new (to me) Grumman canoe (see photo).

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A Convenience Sample

The letters “IP” stand for Initiative to the People.

I signed up on the Let’s Go Washington website as a volunteer to help IP26-645 (see screen capture) get on the ballot in November. IP26-645 is an initiative to the people that would repeal the 9.9 percent tax that was passed by the legislature in March and is to be levied on annual incomes above $1 million starting in 2028. Although the sample of people I talked to while collecting signatures is unscientific, that doesn’t keep me from having some observations about the process.

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The Greatest Battle

This post’s title refers to a slim paperback, written by Ronald J. Glaser, MD, that offers a plan for winning the war against cancer, our most terrifying foe. I have never read the book and don’t remember when or how I got a copy. Today, I took a closer look at it after getting the saddest news there is about D. J., a close friend from Treasure Island.

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