I like to peek into the new townhomes that appear around Capitol Hill when I go for a walk.
Here’s the first floor of the model townhome, one of 12 built in two blocks of six, at Capitol Hill’s 13th Ave E and E Roy St. Prices range from $900,000 (2 bed, 2 bath, 1,195 sq ft) to $1,285,000 (2 bed, 2 bath, 1,930 sq ft). This building is in a great location but one would have to be able to afford it— and accept features such as the galley kitchen (on the left, at the back of the first floor), and the flights of stairs connecting the three floors. Reflected in the window from across the street is 1910 landmark building The Maryland, a co-op with 20 units. Right next The Maryland it another 5-story building is under construction.The open space between the two buildings will feature lovely. I love this cute woolly thyme ground cover plants. Maybe I’ll get some for my own yard. It looks like I will have to find a spot with ‘full sunlight’, though.
There was rain today: a nice little late afternoon downpour.
It was only 58°F (14 °C) when I went out for a walk afterwards.
Spring is coming to a rough ending weatherwise, elsewhere in the country.
Places in southern Florida had been drenched with 24 in. of rain or more over the last few days, and it was 111 °F (44 °C) in Phoenix, Arizona today.
Although the weather was perfect for pickleball today, we had a reservation for the Sandman’s Courts in Columbia City.
We liked the clean surface and well-marked lines a lot.
The selection of background music was excellent and played at just the right volume .
The amigos played at Sandman’s Courts in Columbia City today. The facility has two pickleball courts. This one has clean lines, and the other pickleball court has equally clear pickleball lines but also basketball courts lines painted on it.
The amigos played a little pickleball today.
The courts at Mt Baker playground were full today, and we went to Beacon Hill playground instead.
The courts at Beacon Hill playground have beautiful new surfaces and lines. These courts are just a little more exposed to windy conditions than the ones at Mt Baker playground.There was a sign up on the fence at Beacon Hill courts, advertising this indoor space in Columbia City, and we went to take a look at it afterwards. This facility is called Sandman’s Courts— a converted warehouse that now has two beach volleyball (sand) courts, on the far end, and these two pickleball courts. Yay! Now we can play in rain or shine, rough or fine weather. These are not free the way the courts at the public parks are— $30 an hour in the daytime for these indoor courts.
I believe this is a flea, and not an alien! (sticker on the window). ‘Flea market’ is a literal translation of the French “marché aux puces” (an outdoor bazaar in Paris, France), named after those pesky little parasites of the order Siphonaptera that like to infest the upholstery of old furniture and rugs brought out for sale.
The long-abandoned grocery store building on 15th Ave East here in Capitol Hill will host a flea market the weekend after next.
This building will be demolished in another year or two, three— to make way for a proposed 6-story, 172-unit apartment building with retail stores.
The little parking lot is now open daily, but the flea market will only be open on one Saturday and one Sunday, and I guess that’s it. Maybe the market will be held here again later this summer.‘Quality Flea’ says the storefront wall and canopy.A poster in the window.
I can see clearly now the rain is gone I can see all obstacles in my way Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind It’s gonna be a bright (bright) Bright (bright) sunshiny day It’s gonna be a bright (bright) Bright (bright) sunshiny day
From the song I Can See Clearly Now (1972) by American singer-songwriter Johnny Nash.
The rain is gone, and there is a number of sunny days ahead in the forecast.
I believe an inch or so of rain was recorded in the city since Sunday.
It rained all day.
It looks like we will be getting all of June’s normal rainfall (1.45 in) here in the greater Seattle area over the next three days.
Two back-to-back atmospheric rivers are bringing in the precipitation.
Three amigos went out to Bellevue South station to ride the 2 Line light rail train today, and to check out the parking lot at the Tesla Service Center nearby at the Tesla Service Center in Bellevue.in Bellevue.
The current end of the 2 Line, Redmond Technology Center station.Hey! I spotted my first Tesla Cybertruck in ‘the wild’. This is on Bel-Red Road between Overlake and Bellevue.At the Tesla Service Center in Bellevue. (Red, white and blue for Memorial Day weekend, right?). The Cybertruck has a custom after-market matt black wrap on that goes well with the black trim and wheels of the truck.Heading back home, and crossing Lake Washington with Interstate 90’s floating bridge. The thick blue line on the display means the Full Self Driving (Supervised) function is active.
We had more than a half inch of rain in the city yesterday, which is a lot for a single day in May.
A tornado struck the small town of Greenfield in Iowa on Tuesday, killing several people and destroying a large part of the town of 2,000 inhabitants.
Elsewhere, across the Great Plains and the US Midwest, there has already been extensive damage from tornadoes this year.
I walked by the East Madison St – 14th Avenue intersection this afternoon where my Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (Supervised) function made a boo-boo yesterday (just to check it out again).
The green light shapes are ‘Straight Ahead’ arrows, and there is a NO TURNS sign on the beam as well.
Even so, as the car approached the intersection from Madison Street, the FSD turned on the turn signal, and turned left onto 14th Avenue.
There was no oncoming traffic, and I should have tapped the brake or held the steering wheel (to override the FSD controls) to keep going straight.
I had lunch at the Washington Athletic Club on Sixth Avenue today, and then stopped by the Seattle Public Library.
Beautiful blue skies and 74°F (23 °C) is what we had today here in the city. Fifteenth Ave E where I had planned to depart from is in rough shape, and the No 10 bus stop by Republican St is non-existent for now. (I walked down to the corner of 15th and John to the next stop).Now entering downtown on the No 10 bus, and here is the new part of the expanded Seattle Convention Center.This lovely lounge is on the second floor in the US Bank Building, part of the whole Cedar Hall public space renovation there. (Not many people around, and the vendor spaces for espresso and pastry shops downstairs are still mostly empty).Done with lunch and now I’m making my way to the Seattle Central Library. This is the IBM Building at 1200 Fifth Avenue, designed by renowned architect Minoru Yamasaki in 1964. The 20-story building features twelve stone arches, an elegant spiral staircase and a glass-enclosed and newly renovated, modern lobby.Another view of the arches of the IBM Building. That’s Fifth Avenue ahead.Seattle Public Library building with its 11 floors, and glass and steel ‘diamonds’ exterior, opened to the public 20 years ago, on May 23, 2004.I always feel compelled to take a picture when I take the escalator upstairs with the neon lighting and neon-yellow paint.I spent a little time going back in time (to the 50s, 60s and 70s) by checking out a few vintage magazines on Level 6 of the Books Spiral (a walkway that spirals from one floor to the next at almost imperceptible incline, with access to rows of bookshelves).
A zebra primer
Zebras are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats.
There are three living species: Grévy’s zebra (Equus grevyi), the plains zebra (Equus quagga), and the mountain zebra (Equus zebra).
Zebras share the genus Equus with horses and asses, the three groups being the only living members of the family Equidae.
[Source: Wikipedia]
Happy Friday.
We have a zebra (named Z, a mare) on the lam here in western Washington State. Hopefully Z is not too far from where she was last spotted in the North Bend area.
How did this happen?
Owner Kristine Keltgen recently bought Z and three other zebras and was transporting them from Lewis County to Montana, where she runs a petting zoo.
At about 2 p.m. last Sunday, the trailer driver hauling the four zebras stopped near Exit 32 & I-90 (in the North Bend area), to better secure the trailer doors at the back.
In the process the four animals got out of the trailer.
By Sunday night, three of the four had been recovered.
Update (late Friday night):
The last of four zebras that escaped from a trailer in North Bend, Wash., was safely corralled on Friday with the help of a former rodeo bullfighter, a lookout on a mountain bike and a package of white bread.
-Reported by Emmett Lindner for the New York Times
One of the four zebras* zebra that got loose Sunday when the driver stopped at the I-90 exit to North Bend to secure the trailer in which they were being carried. *This is a mountain zebra. Plains zebras have thin brown stripes in between the black stripes, and Grévy’s zebra has a narrow striping pattern. [Photo by Rick Johnson/Washington State Patrol via AP]
Eight new light rail stations opened today, on the Eastside. I went out to ride the train and take a few pictures.
The new 2 Line will connect to the existing 1 Line by end 2025. The extension of the new 2 Line to Redmond will come on line by early 2025.I started at the South Bellevue station. The festivities and crowds of the morning had died down somewhat, but the train was still very crowded as we left Bellevue Station.Here comes the train! This is South Bellevue station. The trains had only two cars today (I’m sure the platforms can all handle four cars).Here’s Bellevue Downtown station— close to downtown, but not right in downtown. Bellevue Square shopping mall is a good distance away. There is a Microsoft office tower visible on the left side of the picture.After leaving Bellevue Downtown station we are now crossing Interstate 405.Hey look! A reflection of the train in a mirrored pillar. This is somewhere in the Bel-Red district between Bellevue and Redmond.Part of a large mural art installation called “Dragon and Phoenix,” by Seattle artist Louie Gong, located above the light rail tracks at the new Spring District station.Passing the other two-car train at the Overlake station.There are several level crossings, and places where passengers have to cross the tracks to get to the other platform— never the best solution safety-wise, but as long as people don’t clamber over the gates and fences and ignore the giant red lights, it should be fine, right?A level crossing at a street intersection.Here’s the end of the 2 Line that opened today, at the Redmond Technology Center station.
Happy Friday.
Here’s a Newfoundland dog (‘newfie’) that I had spotted at a coffee shop in West Seattle.
Unfortunately I did not have an opportunity to inquire about the name of the big pooch with his double coat of black hair.
It has been nine days since my lawn got a fresh start with topsoil and grass seed mix.
I keep the soil damp, watering it up to three times per day with a watering wand and nozzle.
(It’s been mostly dry, with just a little bit of rain today).
A little bit of green is starting to show. Hey squirrels!—digging holes in the soil, and little birds! —pecking at the mulch— watch out for the Black Cat sentry that I have deployed. (It’s the neighbors’ cat, actually, and he shows up at random times).
Happy Friday.
State Route 20 opened today, a little earlier in the year than usual.
Snow clearing on State Route 20, during spring of 2024. [Photo: Washington State Department of Transportation] From washingtonstatestandard.com: The road closes each winter on both sides of Washington Pass due to heavy snowfall and avalanche hazards. Most years it reopens in April or May after crews clear snow and make repairs. This winter was light on snow, and east and west side clearing crews reached each other about a week ago. Last year, the pass opened on May 11. Highway 20 is the northernmost route in Washington across the North Cascades. Traveling from the west, the road runs out of the Puget Sound region, over Washington Pass, topping out at around 5,400 feet, and then dropping down into the Methow Valley before continuing east.
Anticipation of the total eclipse of the sun that is about to be visible in a large swath of North America, is at a fever pitch.
The eclipse will be visible starting at 12:06 p.m. CDT near Eagle Pass, Texas, before progressing to totality by about 1:27 p.m. CDT.
It will progress along its path to the northeast over the next few hours and the last of the eclipse in North America will be seen from Caribou, Maine at 4:40 p.m. EDT.
It does look like there will be cloud cover in several places along the way.
Here in the Pacific Northwest we will only see some 20% of the sun being obscured by the moon, and that is if the clouds allow it.
The Black Sun at Volunteer Park tonight. The sculpture of black Brazilian granite on a concrete base was created in 1969 by Isamu Noguchi.
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Tesla spotting
