Beach Drive Blog

Spring Cleaning & Bake Sale Tuesday, May 29th at The Alki Homestead

This info is via the Alki Beach Community Yahoo Group:

I just read this on the West Seattle Blog.
http://westseattleblog.com/blog/forum/topic.php?id=727&replies=12

The Alki Homestead is having a spring cleaning and bake sale. There
will be antiques, silver, crystal, stemware and kitchenwares not to
mention homemade cakes, cookies, and pies. The sale is this tuesday
the 29th from 3pm to 7pm we will accept cash, check, or credit card.

For those who have fond memories of that place, it is a good time to
bring some of those memories home. I made a call to the GM, Chris
Long. He had indicated that some people liked the idea and others
would like to see everything stay the same.

Chris had indicated that most of the stuff for sale had been stored
upstairs forever and they will most likely not be used again. For
what ever its worth, go take and look and decide if you want a piece
of Alki Homestead.

Surprise Sunset for a Drizzly Day

I didn't expect to see a pretty sunset today--this literally took my breath away.  I guess I shouldn't under estimate Mother Nature!

Odd Door to Door People Alert

I'm just returning home from picking up some flowers at West Seattle Nursery.  I no sooner got out of my car when a tall guy walked up to me wanting to had me a bright green card.  I said "no thanks".  He's walking with another fella wearing an orange safety vest. 

Sorry...that's all I have.  Just wanted to give my neighbors a heads up.  I've been noticing more strange people canvasing the neighborhood.  They're obviously not tourist or someone enjoying the views.

A Reminder to Post Your No Soliciting Sign

Larry Carpenter tells a story at West Seattle Blog about odd visitors at his front door.   I don't recommend opening your front door unless you recognize who's there...too many goofy people out there.

Buffy the Coyote Slayer

My neighbors and I call this the "Buffy the Coyote Slayer" picture. It was taken with a motion-detection video camera on April 18, 2008. The coyote is reportedly part of a family of four (two adults and two pups) who make Lincoln Park their home, according to Animal Control employees.

There have been many reports of sightings, including daylight sightings.

This one occurred at 10:30 p.m. Yes, is the cat's real name.

We have many feral or outdoor cats in our area just north of Lincoln Park. It appears the coyote was scavenging for food that may have been left-over from the outdoor cats being fed outdoors, AND NOT attempting to capture any outdoor pets, although they are apparently known for that. The video revealed a submissive posture from the coyote to the cat, but when a second coyote showed up, Buffy took off. I chased them off. Generally, a single coyote won't go after a cat, but they will team up on cats, so Buffy had the right intuition.

There is a Northwest Coyote tracking website which I reported two sightings to. It is an interesting site, but does not seem to be maintained since mid-2007.  The Seattle Times has a 2007 article on coyotes here.

It's a jungle out there!

Thanks to Ron Sterling for this contribution!

Are you ready for snow?

I cannot recall Spring weather like this.   I was convinced with our gorgeous warm Saturday that we had last week that it was "safe" to pull plants out of our garage...well today they're going back.   Here's the forecast for Seattle:

TODAY...NUMEROUS SHOWERS. HIGHS IN THE MID 40S TO LOWER 50S. SOUTHWEST WIND 10 TO 20 MPH.

TONIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS. PRECIPITATION MAY MIX WITH SNOW. LOWS IN THE 30S. SOUTHWEST WIND 10 TO 15 MPH.

SATURDAY...MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH SCATTERED SHOWERS. PRECIPITATION MAY FALL AS SNOW IN THE MORNING. HIGHS IN THE 40S TO LOWER 50S. SOUTH WIND 10 TO 15 MPH IN THE MORNING BECOMING LIGHT.

The marine forecast for Puget Sound:

...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM NOON PDT TODAY THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON...

TODAY...SW WIND 10 TO 15 KT...EXCEPT NW 10 KT FROM SEATTLE NORTH EARLY THIS MORNING. SW WIND RISING TO 15 TO 25 KT SOUTH OF SEATTLE THIS AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT BUILDING TO 2 TO 4 FT SOUTH OF SEATTLE THIS AFTERNOON. 

Bundle up!

An Otter Body Experience

This morning while walking my dog towards Emma Schmitz Memorial View Point, I noticed an otter swimming towards shore.   I stopped to watch him as I don't see as many otters as I'd like to and the little fella swam right towards me.   The tide is low this morning and I could see him under water as he made a few dives.   The otter then came out of the water right towards me and appeared to try to climb the tall bulkhead along the park when two crows decided they had an issue with him.   He scurried towards the rocks as I made a beeline back home hoping to capture a photo.   I missed my photo op but I'm very tickled to have had my "otter experience" this morning.   

If you capture any photos of otters or other local wildwife, please share -- I'd love to post them here at Beach Drive Blog.

Missing Pet--Have You Seen Daisy?

Daisy's poster must be on every pole in West Seattle.   If you've found or seen this missing Boston Terrier, please contact the owners at 935-1865.  There is a reward.

West Seattle's Community Garage Sale

The fine folks behind West Seattle Blog are organizing a gigantic garage sale on May 10, 2008 in "the spirit of community"...if you wish to be a part of this big event, the last day to register is April 25, 2008.   

For more information, click here.

PS:  Beach Drive Blog is happy to promote your Beach Drive Garage/Yard Sales on this date or any...just drop us a line and give us a heads up.   If you participate in the West Seattle Community Garage Sale, give me a shout with some of your "special items" and your address and we'll help promote your sale.

The Everlasting Gobstopper of Sunsets

Last night's sunset was incredible!  I took over 40 pictures...here are my favorites from the sunset that just kept going.