Category Archives: Treasure Island

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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A Simple Christmas Message

A Peace on Earth display designed for outdoor use

A simple Christmas message for this year, and every year, is shown in a lighted display attached to the water tank fence at Treasure Island (see photo). While it can be seen by everyone, members and guests alike, after driving onto the island, I hope it is heard more widely than that. Peace on Earth is not a new message, but it is one worth repeating, both at Christmas and throughout the year.

A Collector Stove

Tappan Gallery, made about 1970

If there’s such a thing as a malaise-era collector stove, I’m pretty sure I own one (see photo). It’s a Tappan Gallery electric range that was manufactured about 1970. While I cook on a gas stove at my home on Mud Bay, the Tappan gets daily use when I’m at my vacation place on Treasure Island.

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A Brief Halloween Poem

Beware, it’s that time of year.

Is Treasure Island really a haunted island in Case Inlet? No one knows for sure, but it certainly could be. Most of the summer crowd is gone by now, and it gets mighty dark at night this time of year. With Halloween season upon us, the Island reader board has posted a spooky reminder to the remaining residents in the form of a brief Halloween poem (see photo). Trick or treat?