Seattle – Page 29 – Willem's Planet

July 27, 2018September 3, 2019

Friday/ it’s hot

We had 90°F (32°C) here in the city today, and we will reach 93°F (34°C) on Sunday before it will finally start to cool down.

The **blue leadwood (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides)** on my back deck has started to flower. There is no true blue pigment in flowers, but the anthocyanins (water-soluble flavonoid pigments) in this flower makes it come very close to looking blue.

July 25, 2018July 26, 2018

Wednesday/ got the wandering porcupine

The African crested porcupine that I mentioned in a post in May, has been caught, in the Spanaway area (south of the city of Tacoma).
His new home will be the Oregon Zoo in Portland, Oregon.

Here is the Spanaway porcupine enjoying a banana shortly after being caught. The African crested porcupine is the largest species of porcupine in the world and one of the largest rodents in the world.

July 23, 2018July 24, 2018

I had not been to Mt Rainier ever since I had made Seattle my home, and so Bryan and I made a day trip out there today. We first stopped at the Sunrise Viewpoint to the northeast, and then drove around to the Paradise Viewpoint to the south. From there we hiked up the mountainside for an hour or so, to take a closer look at the mountain.

Mount Rainier is the highest mountain of the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest, and the highest mountain in the state of Washington. Elevation: 14,411′ (4,393 m). Last eruption: 1894.

Glaciers are slowly moving masses or rivers of ice formed by the accumulation and compaction of snow on mountains (or near the poles). The Sunrise Viewpoint is northeast of the mountain, and Paradise Viewpoint to the south.

This is the view of Mt Rainier and its summit, after walking up just a few hundred feet from one of the trails starting at the Sunrise Visitor Center. This is at 6,400 ft (1,950 m) elevation, the highest point that can be reached by vehicle at Mt Rainier National Park.

The Alpine style day lodge at Sunrise Visitor Center.

Here is the view of the mountain from the south, from the new Henry M. Jackson Visitor Center (at the Paradise Viewpoint). Elevation here is about 5,400 ft (1,645 m). The trail on the right goes up, up, up to where the brilliant green ends. The trail is very, very steep at its start, even though it does not look like it is. Further up, we found large patches of snow to step onto. With a lot of summer weather remaining, maybe a lot of it will still melt.

A waterfall of melting snow on the rock face on the south side of the mountain. To the north face of the mountain, the Whitewater river springs from Emmons glacier – a milky white river, running very low at this time of year.

This ‘paint by numbers’ view is found looking south, after we had walked up for an hour or so from Paradise Viewpoint. Look for the faint outline of Mount Adams in the distance, top right.

A yellow sub-alpine flower that I don’t know the name of, with a happy bug on it.

Mr Chipmunk saying hello. Chipmunks are small, striped rodents of the family Sciuridae, same as the one that tree squirrels and ground squirrels belong to. They hibernate in winter, but wake up every few days to feed on stored food (rather than fat reserves).

Another wildflower from the Paradise Viewpoint. I will have to look for its name online!

Here is the scary part of beautiful Mt Rainier, stratovolcano mountain that it is. A large eruption will result in debris flows (the red), and destructive mudflows called lahar further down (the yellow). It is amazing how far away from the mountain, communities alongside the rivers, and in the valleys, are at risk. The city of Seattle at the very top of the picture will come out OK, it seems (but Seattle has tectonic plates in the Pacific, and the economic fortunes of Amazon to contend with).

July 22, 2018July 26, 2018

Sunday/ hot summer weather

There’s a heat wave in Tokyo (102°F/ 39°C); it’s hot and dry in Northern Europe, and in the southern United States as well. Even here in Seattle the forecast says we are in for a seven-day stretch of day temperatures exceeding 88°F (31°C).

These black-eyed Susans (genus Rudbeckia) in a Seattle University’s garden seem to thrive in the hot weather. I’m sure they are getting watered regularly, though.

July 17, 2018July 18, 2018

Tuesday/ ferry to Kingston

I hopped on the ferry on short notice this afternoon, to go out to my friend Paul’s in Hansville.

The Spokane is a Jumbo-class ferry. She was built in 1972 by the Todd Shipyards in Seattle, Washington, and refurbished in 1990.

Wed morning 7/18: A few more pictures, from my return trip to the city.

Mr Seagull* .. maybe his name is Nelson (from a South African song from the 70s ‘The Seagull’s Name was Nelson’). Seagulls have palmate (webbed) feet. Cormorants are even better equipped for paddling and diving, with totipalmate feet (four fully webbed toes). *Western Gull (*Larus occidentalis*).

I’m on the Puyallup ferry, Wed. morning, and we’re just pushing away from the terminal at Kingston. The little skybridge on the left is for foot passengers.

A sighting of the Spokane ferry that I was on, on Tuesday, going out the the Kitsap Peninsula.

July 15, 2018July 16, 2018

Sunday/ South Lake Union walkabout

The mercury hit 90°F (32°C) here in the city today, and I waited for the fireball in the sky to sit a little lower, before I ventured out on my usual South Lake Union walkabout. Here are some pictures.

Amazon’s third downtown tower on 7th Ave & Lenora, is now built up almost to its top. That top floor (in the core by the yellow crane) is floor 38, and the plan posted on seattleinprogress.com says there will be 39 floors.

I caught the South Lake Union streetcar a little further down on Westlake Avenue. I’m sure The Hulk says ‘Puny humans make Hulk mad!’.

Moxy* is Marriott International’s new millennial-focused boutique hotel chain. I see this new one in SLU goes for $381 a night, right now in high season. It is shockingly more expensive than the one I almost stayed at, at Frankfurt Airport last year, at $87 a night (in the dead of winter, though). *A play on the word moxie? Moxie: a force of character, determination, or nerve.

Cute entrance sign at The Fox & The Finch apartments nearby. The building has 24 small one-bedroom apartments (600 sq ft). These will run the renter about $2,000 a month. Yes, it’s new, great location, but it’s twice as much what one would pay in many other cities in the United States.

Here’s the nicely outfitted ATM at Umpqua Bank on Westlake Avenue. The first Umpqua Bank opened in Canyonville, Oregon, a timber town on the South Umpqua River, in 1953. There are also several distinct groups of Native Americans in Oregon named Umpqua.

July 11, 2018July 12, 2018

Wednesday/ July is dry

A hummingbird interested in my fir tree. Maybe it mistook the lighter pine needles for flowers?They are known to drink tree sap, and maybe there was a little tree sap on the pine needles.

The weatherman says we’re going to hit 86°F (30°C) on Sunday.

July & August are dry months in Seattle with ¾ in. of rain each, on average. (As much as 5 or 6 in. of rain may fall each month from November through January).

The little patch of lawn in front of my house is already dry and mostly yellow. I only water the beds and potted plants in the backyard; not the lawn.

July 9, 2018July 9, 2018

Monday/ another ‘woonerf’

I spotted a building on Saturday at the street food fair on 8th Ave, that had a striking glass-faced box (picture below). So I looked up the design drawing for it (on seattleinprogress.com).

I see there is another woonerf in the making, next to it. (At least one more is planned for 12th Ave). Woonerf (pronounce VONE-erf) is a Dutch word, for a street with park-like surroundings, that is shared by pedestrians, cyclists, and cars (driving slowly).

The building on the right in the artist rendition, is the one in my photo below. The section of 8th Ave N between the two 6-story office buildings from Vulcan company, will become a ‘woonerf’, a modified street shared by everyone.

This enormous COF FEE sign is right across the street from the new building. Yes. One needs to know immediately where to find coffee when you want it, in Seattle!

July 5, 2018July 14, 2018

Thursday/ fireworks make a lot of smoke

Not to be a party pooper, but it may be time to look for high-tech options* to replace the massive fireworks displays for events such as Fourth of July. Prof. Cliff Mass reports on his weather blog that Puget Sound Clean Air Agency measured a huge spike of the dangerous PM2.5 particle in the aftermath of Thursday night’s show. From levels under 20 µg/m³, the readings increased to over 100 µg/m³, which is in the ‘unhealthy’ air quality index range.

*Using drones, like the ones deployed at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, is a possibility. But yes, I readily concede that drones do not explode with loud bangs.

Seattle Space Needle panocam views, looking south & slightly east. It shows Mt Rainier on the left of the top frame on the afternoon of July 4. The haze on Friday morning was from the fireworks display in the city on Thursday night – not from forest fires. The mountain is no longer visible.

June 28, 2018June 28, 2018

Thursday/ one to become six ‘net zeros’

Here’s another house nearby mine, that is now gone, gone, gone. The stately 1905 construction was completely demolished, and in its place will come two 3-story buildings with three net-zero condominium homes each. (A net-zero home has zero net energy consumption).

I am sure there will be stretches of winter months when the new homes will not achieve net zero energy consumption (cold weather, short days of sun for the solar panels) – but they will then make up for it in the summer months.

The 1905 home on the left is now gone (it’s 122 17th Ave), and will be replaced by two buildings (one front, one back) that look like the one in the black frame. The net zero energy use of the new buildings is mostly achieved by complete solar panel roofs. I wonder if some developers are starting to install Elon Musk’s Tesla Powerwall batteries.

June 27, 2018June 27, 2018

Wednesday/ squeezing through the Locks

The Star Legend passenger ship went through the Ballard Locks today to get to Lake Union from Puget Sound. News reports said it was the biggest vessel yet – but that must be by tonnage*. The Star Legend’s beam is 67.5 ft (20.6 m), and the lock is 80 ft wide (24.4 m), so there was room to work with.

*In 1975, on-lookers beheld the extraordinary sight of a wide floating dry-dock vessel 81 ft wide (24.7 m), that was manoeuvred through by listing the vessel on her side, here.

These are stills from drone footage recorded by King5 TV. 1. The big draw bridge with the railway line is lifted, the ship approaches the locks. 2. Entering the locks. 3. The lock behind the ship is closed, and water is pumped in to lift the vessel by about 20 ft (6.1m). 4. The lock has been filled and the front lock is opened. The ship can go on to Lake Union.

The Star Legend in the lock, with the rising water lifting the vessel. The vessel belongs to Seattle-based Windstar Cruises, a small ship cruise line with a fleet of six ships.

Not everyone was interested in the activity in the lock.

The lock is full. The mooring lines are being removed. After this the ship started moving – slo-o-owly, carefully.

This is a smaller lock, next to the big one. Four smaller vessels are cramming into it. In the distance, a flotilla of kayakers is patiently waiting. They came into the lock as well, so that they could go back to Lake Union where they came from.

June 24, 2018June 24, 2018

Sunday/ we are all gay at Seattle Pride

Today I went to the annual downtown mayhem on Fourth Avenue – called the Seattle Pride parade – and stayed for some two hours to take a few pictures.
Then I walked down to the festivities (food & trinket booths, fountain, sound stage) by Seattle Center, at the foot of the Space Needle. The Center grounds were packed with so many people, that one could hardly move. I took a few more pictures, and then thought: Alright, I did my part, let’s go home.

Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, Washington State’s 7th congressional district (where I live). The 7th is the most Democratic (read: liberal, progressive) district in the Pacific Northwest, and the most Democratic district on the West Coast outside of the San Francisco Bay Area or Los Angeles.

The crowds loved Blue Thunder, a roughly 33 piece drumline, that performs at games for the Seattle Seahawks (National Football League team).

Delta Dental health insurance company marched with giant balloon toothbrushes.

The big four tech companies showed up, of course: Google here, but also Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft.

Recognize this balloon logo? Microsoft, of course. Microsoft is said to have gotten its ‘mojo’ back under the leadership of CEO Satya Nadella (he took the position in 2014).

Here’s the fountain sphere at Seattle Center. It was warm enough (80 °F, 27 °C) to enjoy the spray from the fountain.

Happy Seattle Pride! The rainbow flag is up, and the Space Needle renovation is now complete.

June 21, 2018June 21, 2018

Thursday/ hello summer!

Tonight, the sun set at 9.10 pm here in Seattle. It will rise at 5.11 am.
I see our pitch black night length here at the summer solstice point is only 1 hr 43 mins, if one takes out all the kinds of twilight.

[Graph from timeanddate.com] I added the Sun of May from the Uruguay national flag to brighten the graph up. (Go Uruguay! They notched up World Cup victories against Egypt and Saudi Arabia & will play Russia on Monday). The graph below explains the different kinds of twilight. Solar noon is when the sun reaches its highest point in the sky.

[Graphic and explanation from **timeanddate.com**] Astronomical Twilight, Dawn, and Dusk. Astronomical twilight occurs when the Sun is between 12 degrees and 18 degrees below the horizon. Astronomical dawn is the time when the geometric center of the Sun is at 18 degrees below the horizon. Before this time, the sky is absolutely dark.

June 20, 2018June 20, 2018

Tuesday/ boxed water and new buildings

Boxed water, offered at the little ground-breaking ceremony yesterday. (Capitol Hill is a registered eco-district). A lot better for the environment than plastic bottles – but these still have heavy plastic caps. Why not do away with the caps altogether?

It’s been more than three years since the Capitol Hill light rail train station here in my neighborhood opened (March 2016).

The construction of apartment buildings on the surrounding open plots of land will finally start. There was a little ceremony on Tuesday, with a few farmers’ market vendors on hand, and displays of the proposed construction, as well as the expansion plans for the light rail.

Some future stations were marked ‘service starts in 2036’ and ‘service starts in 2041’. Whoah. Where will the world be, and what will the world look like, then?

The station & entrance on the left, are complete. The apartment building is one of three 7-story buildings that will be constructed. There will be an open plaza, and space for a farmers market as well. [From www.seattleinprogress.com].

June 18, 2018June 18, 2018

Sunday/ floating on a pink flamingo

Here’s the scene at Madison Park Beach* late Sunday afternoon.
*Not a true beach. It’s a pebble beach on Lake Washington, northeast of the city of Seattle.

Madison Park Beach. The State Route 520 floating bridge in the background, is now all tidied up after its complete reconstruction ended last year. The 84 ºF/ 29 ºC highs brought out a good sunbathing crowd. I love the pink flamingo.

June 13, 2018June 13, 2018

Wednesday/ a little rain

We had cool weather the last week or so. The high was 66°F/ 18 °C today, with a little bit of welcome rain here in the city. I see there is warm summer weather on the way for next week: low 90s/ 33 °C.

The rosebush in my front garden has started to produce its spectacular scarlet red roses. Long ago in South Africa, I had a whole rose garden in the front of my house in Pretoria (the roses were there when I bought the house). Just out of curiosity, I looked up the house on Google Street View. The rose garden is no more.

June 12, 2018June 12, 2018

Tuesday/ gone: the head tax

Wow. The Seattle City Council voted today to completely reverse the controversial ‘head tax’ that it had approved just on May 14. There had been considerable opposition to it, and a grassroots effort garnered enough signatures to put the issue on the November ballot. Word is that the City Council feared the head tax, as well as an education levy (already on the November ballot), would be overturned in November by the citizenry, so they cut their losses and voted to reverse the head tax.

The homelessness problem is very complicated. No question that housing is too expensive. (So – find money and build more public housing?). Yes, many corporations don’t pay their fair share of taxes, by using complicated offshore tax avoidance strategies. But it’s not just about affordability, either. Many people are on the streets because they are mentally ill, or drug abusers, and the services available to them are too thin and underfunded.