Tide's Out

Photo & Text © 2011 Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved. No use, reproduction, alteration, or republishing in any media.

It's always hard for me to comprehend that the Pacific Ocean is actually about 100 miles west of Seattle. Living on the Puget Sound in this large port city sure seems like a typical west coast location. The tides still work on us, and we've had some very low tides recently that sent lots of folks out looking for all the interesting critters and objects that had been left behind on the beach. Naturalists are frequently available to lead tide pool walks around the Sound. There can be a 15 foot difference between high and low tides this time of year, so an awesome number of tidal critters are on view! This is Alki beach in West Seattle. There were no naturalists present, but people were exploring on their own. In the distance you can see the south slope of Queen Anne Hill and Seattle Center's distinctive Key Arena roof and the Space Needle.

Tide's Out

Photo & Text © 2011 Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved. No use, reproduction, alteration, or republishing in any media.

It's always hard for me to comprehend that the Pacific Ocean is actually about 100 miles west of Seattle. Living on the Puget Sound in this large port city sure seems like a typical west coast location. The tides still work on us, and we've had some very low tides recently that sent lots of folks out looking for all the interesting critters and objects that had been left behind on the beach. Naturalists are frequently available to lead tide pool walks around the Sound. There can be a 15 foot difference between high and low tides this time of year, so an awesome number of tidal critters are on view! This is Alki beach in West Seattle. There were no naturalists present, but people were exploring on their own. In the distance you can see the south slope of Queen Anne Hill and Seattle Center's distinctive Key Arena roof and the Space Needle.

Pressing On

Photo & Text © 2011 Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved. No use, reproduction, alteration, or republishing in any media.

Going green can be an uphill effort on some of our steep streets :-). I'm seeing more cyclists out and about as the days tilt from rainier to sunnier. This guy, though, I'm sure is probably out there rain or shine.

Pressing On

Photo & Text © 2011 Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved. No use, reproduction, alteration, or republishing in any media.

Going green can be an uphill effort on some of our steep streets :-). I'm seeing more cyclists out and about as the days tilt from rainier to sunnier. This guy, though, I'm sure is probably out there rain or shine.

Shadows & Upheaval

Photo & Text © 2011 Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved. No use, reproduction, alteration, or republishing in any media.

Since childhood I've had a love of trees and how they frame our world with a canopy of color, filter light, rustle in the breeze, cast shade in heat. It wasn't until I married my husband that I learned some people consider yard trees to be a major headache :-). The former owner of our Seattle home was an avid gardener and had planted many trees, one of which was towering between our house and our neighbor's. My husband had a tree company take it out, fearing it would crash into one house or the other in a wind storm. There were still 4 smaller trees left on that side of the house, so it wasn't as heartbreaking to me as it might have been. After our first windstorm here, I was glad he had been proactive about it. I have an arborist look after our remaining trees and get them trimmed and inspected every couple years.
At first sight I just loved seeing the shadow of this large old lovely along a Capitol Hill street, then I noticed the brick gutter (a common feature in Capitol Hill) was a victim of serious tree roots. One of the downsides of lovely tree-lined streets. The Department of Transportation recently started requiring certain new developments install blocks around the root systems of new tree plantings to prevent this kind of damage to sidewalks, curbs and streets.

Shadows & Upheaval

Photo & Text © 2011 Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved. No use, reproduction, alteration, or republishing in any media.

Since childhood I've had a love of trees and how they frame our world with a canopy of color, filter light, rustle in the breeze, cast shade in heat. It wasn't until I married my husband that I learned some people consider yard trees to be a major headache :-). The former owner of our Seattle home was an avid gardener and had planted many trees, one of which was towering between our house and our neighbor's. My husband had a tree company take it out, fearing it would crash into one house or the other in a wind storm. There were still 4 smaller trees left on that side of the house, so it wasn't as heartbreaking to me as it might have been. After our first windstorm here, I was glad he had been proactive about it. I have an arborist look after our remaining trees and get them trimmed and inspected every couple years.
At first sight I just loved seeing the shadow of this large old lovely along a Capitol Hill street, then I noticed the brick gutter (a common feature in Capitol Hill) was a victim of serious tree roots. One of the downsides of lovely tree-lined streets. The Department of Transportation recently started requiring certain new developments install blocks around the root systems of new tree plantings to prevent this kind of damage to sidewalks, curbs and streets.

Garden Gate

Photo & Text © 2011 Seattle Daily Photo. All rights reserved. No use, reproduction, alteration, or republishing in any media.

I spied this garden gate while out on a morning walk in Capitol Hill. It was interesting to see two types of leaves on one tree, half oak, half elm, perhaps?