Finding the Property Line

Posted on July 6, 2010 | 2 comments

Location of Surveyor Muller's 1975 mark


My neighbor to the north, whose large lot fronts on Mud Bay, has long been concerned about identifying the exact location of the line that divides her property from mine and the house just to the east of mine. I used the word “finding” rather than “surveying” in the title because she isn’t a licensed surveyor. But she sails, understands navigation and the use of a GPS, and owns a laser light. She put those skills to work and seems to have done an accurate job. Part of the evidence is that she uncovered a long-buried surveyor’s mark in an area that is underwater during the highest tides (see photo).
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Posted in Home

100 Thousand

Posted on June 26, 2010 | 4 comments

Parked along the Skokomish


The “Posts” section of a WordPress account keeps track of the number of posts published in a blog. With 99 prior to this one, the Mud Bay blog has reached a milestone worth perhaps two sentences—of which this is the second. So I’m writing instead about a different “100” that just happened in my life. Yesterday the odometer on my collector car (see photo) rolled over and now reads 00021 miles.
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Posted in Cars

Fishing Sculptures

Posted on June 24, 2010 | 1 comment

Sculptures in 2010


Can anything new be said about the controversial public art (see photo) that was installed this month at the intersection of Fourth and Pacific in downtown Bremerton? The sculptures, of a fish and a fisherman, have been criticized in blog entries, in letters to the editor, and in hundreds of online comments on the Kitsap Sun web site. The answer is probably no, but that didn’t stop me from writing about them.
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Posted in Government, Other Local Places

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2010: The Year of Easy Subtraction

Posted on June 20, 2010 | Leave a comment

This year the speed at which late 20th-century events are disappearing in the rear view mirror seems to be accelerating. That might be because of the ease of calculating the elapsed number of years between them and 2010. The calculation was also simple for the first couple of years of the new century, but back then the 20th century was only, like, you know, a couple of years ago. Now it’s been 10 years since we were worried about the millennium meltdown.
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Mud Bay and the SMP Draft Report

Posted on June 16, 2010 | 2 comments

SMP is an abbreviation for Shoreline Master Program, a comprehensive shoreline land-use plan that includes policies and regulations for the use and development of the shoreline. The Shoreline Management Act, passed by the Washington legislature in 1971 and adopted by referendum in 1972, directs local governments to periodically update their SMPs, which are the basis for implementing the state law. A task force recently issued a draft update to Kitsap County’s SMP. A section in it describes the Mud Bay shoreline.
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Posted in Government, Mud Bay & Rocky Point

Walking to SeaTac

Posted on June 14, 2010 | 1 comment

People walk to subway stations, bus stops, ferry terminals, and train stations. Why not walk to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport? I don’t mean from home. For me that would be more than 50 miles. I mean walking from the satellite parking lots along International Boulevard (SR 99) to the airport, or the other way around if you are returning from a trip out of town. There’s no good reason to do this, of course, other than exercise and the possible benefit provided by a good walk just before or after a lengthy airline flight.
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Posted in Travel

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“Quarterly” Payments

Posted on June 9, 2010 | 1 comment

I have been paying quarterly estimated tax for years. Today as I made out a check for the 2nd quarter of 2010 (due June 15th), I wondered for the umpteenth why the IRS Department of the Treasury doesn’t divide the year into 3-month quarters and make the payment due on the 15th of the month after each quarter ends. While looking for the answer, I came across a blog post on the subject that was so thorough further research was unnecessary.
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Posted in Economy, Government

Horn Rings

Posted on June 3, 2010 | 2 comments

Ford, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, De Soto, Buick horn rings (clockwise from upper left)


Automobile horn rings date back to the days of heavy exterior chrome, glitzy dashboards, and designers who were more concerned with looks than safety. The rings were functional as well as eye catching—press anywhere on the ring or its center emblem and the slowpoke in front of you instantly knew it was time to get moving. My small collection of horn rings has been in storage since I moved a couple of years ago. Recently I mounted them on a pegboard panel in the garage (see photo).
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Posted in Cars, Home

Wild Rhododendrons

Posted on May 31, 2010 | 1 comment

Rhododendrons along Gold Creek Road


It’s the end of May and coast rhododendrons, Washington’s state flower (Rhododendron macrophyllum), are in full bloom, showing off their attractive pink blossoms (see photo). Perhaps I should refer to them as “native” instead of “wild” rhododendrons, although one web site I consulted said they were imported from California rather than originating in the Evergreen State. Whichever modifier is used, they do quite well without any help from man. No one fertilizes them, prunes the old blossoms, or waters them during our hot dry summers.

Coast rhododendrons are found west of the Cascade Mountains growing naturally along the edges of forests and in clear-cuts and natural clearings. They thrive at sea level but can survive at elevations up to 4000 feet. Woodland areas near the Hood Canal are a particularly good place to see them. At maturity the plants are 6 to 8 feet high, but they can reach heights of 20 feet. With hundreds of varieties of rhododendrons available at nurseries, landscapers seldom use coast rhododendrons to decorate homes and commercial property. That’s fine with me, as I prefer to see them in their natural setting.

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Posted in Other Local Places

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A New Truck

Posted on May 29, 2010 | 2 comments

A nicely equipped Tacoma


My neighbor finally did it. Today he took delivery of a new 2010 Toyota Tacoma 4 x 4 pickup. I’m almost as excited as he is. ;) The new truck is gorgeous (see photo). He chose the Access cab and got it in super white (by far the best color) with the TRD sport package, an upgraded sound system, and a towing package. TRD stands for Toyota Racing Development. Our local Toyota franchise never seems to get any white trucks, so they had to make an interdealer swap with an outfit in Bellingham. This was key to the deal my neighbor signed last night.

After months of research, the negotiations were surprisingly quick and simple. The salesman showed him a printout with their invoice cost and offered a price $400 above it. My neighbor countered with the invoice amount and that’s about where the deal closed, although the out-the-door cost was roughly $3 grand higher, mostly because of sales tax (ouch). Obviously the dealer makes money when selling near the invoice price. The clincher was that Tacomas continue to sell well despite the lingering recession, their uninspiring gas mileage, and the bad PR other models suffered during Toyota’s recent recalls. This convinced my neighbor that Toyota is not going to offer a general cash incentive on them. Overall, he’s satisfied with the deal and happy with the truck. That’s what matters.

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Posted in Cars