It felt like summer today.
The high was near the record for this day on the calendar:
78°F (26°C) today, and the record is 81°F (27°C) recorded on May 6, 1957.
There will be cooler weather again for the rest of the week.
Tuesday/ felt like summer
Thursday/ May Day protests 
Three of us went down to Cal Anderson Park at noon, to protest in support of workers’ rights, and those of immigrants. (A panoply of other protestations were depicted on the posters that people had made). We joined the march to downtown that started at 2 pm.
The crowd that marched was not huge— reportedly somewhat over 1,000 people— and the protesters spanned two to three blocks as they walked.
We stepped out of the march by the Seattle Convention Center to look at the crowd and the rest of the protest signs. The marchers went further on down Pike Street, and turned on First Avenue to reach the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building.
Sunday/ a new condominium tower 
I walked around downtown’s Third Avenue this afternoon, and took a few pictures of the new First Light 48-story condominium complex at the edge of Belltown neighborhood. I had no access to go inside, but just look up “First Light Seattle” for glamorous pictures of the pool deck, and views of Puget Sound and the Space Needle.
It has 459 units that range from studios ($650k and up) to 3-bed, 3-bath penthouses ($3m and up).
The First Light condo tower has 48 stories.
That cantilevered structure at the top is a deck with a swimming pool and a hot tub.
Great for the condo residents and their visitors to have bus stops right there, but one has to wonder how many will actually use it.
There is an 8-level parking garage with 373 parking spaces below the tower!
The City of Seattle has made great strides at keeping the downtown streets tidy and clean. There actually were cleaners out and about today with their three-wheel bikes fitted with large baskets with brooms and cleaning supplies.
The First Light website says designer John Hogan’s “veil” of strung glass disks by the office floors diffuse the bland looks outside (parking garages and brick walls), and at the same time increases the privacy inside.
Sunday 
There was light rain this afternoon, but I took my umbrella and went for a walk around the neighborhood.
Friday/ a week of sun 
Happy Friday, and Happy Easter.
We had sunny weather all week here in the city, and today the temperatures touched 70°F (21°C).
It will be cooler with a little bit of rain over the weekend.
It is 6 o’clock, and sunset is still two hours away.
Tuesday/ sunset now at eight 
The first 8 o’clock sunset of the year is here.
The time stamp on the photo says it was taken at 8.02 pm.
Sunday/ U-district
It was time for a jaunt to U-district on the light rail today.
The books are from Magus second-hand bookstore and the other pictures are all from around University Way NE.
Thursday/ greening up 
Lots of green meets the eye, looking down Capitol Hill’s 19th Avenue by Stevens Elementary School.
Sunday/ rain
We had showers this morning here in Rain City, and a steady rain was sifting down all afternoon and into the evening.
When I ventured out with my umbrella, it felt a little colder than the 57°F (14°C) shown on my weather app.
Wednesday/ stormy, but no hail 
The storm arrived on cue at 7 pm with some lightning and thunder, and with heavy winds and rain, but no hail.
Power outages for now seem to be limited to one or two areas, and some flight delays at Sea-Tac airport were reported.
It is 9.15 pm as I write this, and I think the worst of the storm activity is over.
[Photo by Bettina Hansen / The Seattle Times]
Tuesday/ a stormy outlook 
It was a lovely day, just the way the weather prognosticators said it would be, with a high of 71°F (22°C).
I put on my shorts and walked down to the QFC grocery store on Broadway with my lily-white winter legs exposed to the bright sunlight.
There is a thunderstorm brewing off the coast, though, with some dire warnings in the forecast for Wednesday (see below).
(Lucky for us that we still have a National Weather Service— or is it about to be shut down with all the other government agencies?)
Monday/ a lot of gray 
Enduring sightings of the sun, since spring had started here in Seattle, are still hard to come by, but we had 57°F (14 °C) today. The high might bump up to 67°F (19°C) tomorrow.
Late afternoon, I walked all the way down to the edge of South Lake Union, and back up to Capitol Hill.
There it is, hiding behind the Onni South Lake Union apartment towers (completed May 2022) at 1120 Denny Way.
Friday/ at Westlake station 
Happy Friday.
Here are a few (very ordinary) pictures of Westlake station in downtown Seattle.
I was waiting for the northbound train bound for Capitol Hill.
The southbound train bound for the airport and Angle Lake arrived first.
Then just a few minutes later, another single southbound train car arrived.
It stopped, but it seemed that passengers were not allowed to board.
Then as that car departed, my northbound train was just arriving.
Sunday/ the Seattle waterfront 
I took the G-line bus to Colman Dock (the ferry terminal) and the Waterfront late this afternoon, and walked up to Pike Place Market.
(I had missed the G-line bus up at the 17th Avenue stop by a minute and now I’m walking down Madison Street to the stop on Boylston Avenue).
I could not resist taking a picture of the beautiful The Federal Office Building nearby— constructed in 1932 and ‘an exuberant example of Art Deco architecture’, says Wikipedia.
It was sunny today, but definitely not warm— 50°F/ 10°C for a high.
A Scottish band’s members are playing their drums and bagpipes for the crowd, but I don’t know the band’s name or if it was for a special occasion.
Saturday/ camelia petals 
There is wind and rain in the city this weekend, and snow in the mountains.
This camelia with its petals on the ground is by Aloha Street here on Capitol Hill.
Happy Pi Day 
Happy Friday.
Happy Pi Day.
The blood moon from the total lunar eclipse appears to perch on top of the Space Needle on Thursday night in Seattle.
[Picture by Nick Wagner / The Seattle Times]
Monday/ a new sunset
Sunset is now at 7.10 pm, so a quick walk after dinner and before dark is possible.
Here’s looking east at downtown Bellevue and the Cascade Mountain Range in the distance at 5.50 pm.
And how are those snowpacks doing?
On average, Washington State’s snowpack is at 84% of normal. Central Puget Sound’s number is the lowest in the state, at 60% of normal.
[Graphic and information from a post on X by Todd Myers @WAPolicyGreen]
Tuesday/ a close (and deadly) encounter 
SEATTLE (AP) — A pod of orcas swam close to shore and amazed onlookers in Seattle on Sunday by treating the whale watchers to the rare sight of the apex predators hunting a bird.
The pod of Bigg’s killer whales visited Elliott Bay and were seemingly on a hunt underwater just off Seattle’s maritime industrial docks.
The pod exited the bay close to West Seattle, where people were waiting to catch sight of them.
-Manuel Valdes writing for The Associated Press
[Picture by Jeff Hogan via AP]
[Kersti Muul via AP]
Friday/ more sun
Happy Friday.
The false spring here in the city continued today with temperatures reaching 58°F (14°C).
Late in the afternoon, I spotted sunseekers lounging on the lawn at Volunteer Park.
Nearby, stargazers by the Black Sun sculpture were already setting up their telescopes to observe the planets.
I hope the clouds at sunset didn’t thwart their efforts.
Wednesday/ feels like spring 
We had lots of sun and 57°F (14°C) here in the city today.
