Tag Archives: Treasure Island

Last night was a perfect summer evening at Treasure Island. Perfect for everything but canoeing. Due to its minimal keel, my 15-foot Coleman Outfitter gets blown sideways by any wind exceeding about 5 knots. So after a brief battle against a stiff breeze, I brought the canoe back in and settled for a picture of a moored canoe instead (see photo). At 15.5 feet, the tide was one of the higher tides for August. The picture was taken a few minutes before high tide.

An emaciated juvenile gray whale died this week on a beach at Erlands Point in Dyes Inlet. The sad story was reported in the Kitsap Sun, which mentioned that the dead whale was examined by several marine biologists. In contrast a full-grown gray whale that spent part of a summer off the north end of Treasure Island about 15 years ago failed to attract any attention from the scientific community or the media.
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For the past few weeks I have been calling and sending email to get permission to use an old Bob Seger song as the soundtrack for a video tribute for the Treasure Island bridge. Today permission was granted. Although I almost gave up several times, now I can move on to the hard part—finishing up a slideshow that honors the bridge and respects Mr. Seger, not that he will ever see it.
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Encouraged by projections from signal-locator tools available at several web sites, I have been trying to get free local TV at our Treasure Island vacation place in rural Mason County. That’s right, tvfool.com and antennaweb.org tell you how to receive high-def digital TV signals without paying a monthly cable or satellite bill. Take that, WaveCable! Buzz off, Dish Network! So far, the actual results are disappointing as there’s a large gap between them and what’s theoretically possible.
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Despite unusually mild temperature since December the bats on Treasure Island are hibernating for the winter. For whatever reason they didn’t tell one little guy (or gal) where the big slumber party was going to be. Forced to improvise this bat chose a dry, relatively warm, and very public spot to bed down—the upper wall of my neighbor’s covered porch (see picture). So far, it hasn’t complained about the porch light, which is only a few feet away and is always on.
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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.

“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.