52 WoLP: #33-35: hot town, summer in the city….

A long time ago, eons it seems, I started blogging. It was great, the whole brave new world of Web 2.0 (sounds so antiquated now) was exciting. A little later I started playing around with Flickr, then Facebook, then twitter, then tumblr, then….well, then I started feeling a teensy bit addicted to the constant connection.

What has that got to do with Lincoln Park in West Seattle, you might wonder….good question. In the past couple of years, I’ve tried to stay offline for longer chunks of time now and again. Usually when I find myself mindlessly posting and surfing.

I’m feeling a little bit encouraged that others might be going offline when I see how traffic has dropped on all the usual haunts. This has happened every summer for the last few years, and this year seems to be a banner year for disconnecting. Don’t get me wrong, I still think the Internet machine is cool; I just also think summer is pretty hot, as in awesome,and we should all go where the energy is.

So….I don’t have a lot to say about Lincoln Park because I’m actually out playing in Lincoln Park…and various other parks, campgrounds, lakes, beaches, hiking trails, etc etc. And I pointedly have avoided posting, tweeting, uploading, commenting, or sharing online about most of it.

The fact is we are having the best summer in anyone’s memory up here in Seattle, and I as well as everyone I know can’t get enough of it. So much goodness, I’m starting to feel a little tuckered out by it all, but that won’t stop me from going full throttle till the rains come.

So my project, 52 Weeks of Lincoln Park, has taken a wee hit this summer, but it’s all good, it’s for the best possible reasons: summer this year is drop dead gorgeous.

I’ll close with a few things I’ve noticed and loved in the park the past couple of weeks: how the setting sun hits the coppery bark of the madrones; how everyone and their brothers, cousins, aunts, uncles, seals, osprey, and eagles are out at the point fishing; how the leaves fall on the surface of the Colman pool as you swim down the lane, letting you know in the most poetic way what time of year it is; how the trails are dusty like they get after a season of hard play and warm temps.


So, till the rains start, you’ll find me outside loving every last minute of this fabulous summer.

Enjoy!

52 WoLP #25: Big Sky

This week the skies over Lincoln Park have been particularly spectacular, as storms rolled in and out, drenching rains, thunder, a bit of lightening and a particularly auspicious sky the evening before the historic announcement from the Supremes….Beautiful!

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52WoLP #20: Opening Day!!!

For lots of swimmers in West Seattle and beyond, today is the first day of Swimming Season at the Colman Pool.  The Colman Pool, a saltwater outdoor pool, first opened in 1941, replacing a man-made tide filled swimming hole that  had been popular since the 20s. The Colman Pool, made possible by a very generous donation by the Colman family, has long been a favorite spot for swimmers, sunbathers and families all summer long. Here are a couple of snaps, then and now.

MoHaI photo of the pool when it opened

The pool today, May 25, 12:07 pm.

Enjoy!  52 Weeks of Lincoln Park is a year long observation of the many aspects of Lincoln Park, the gem of West Seattle.

52WoLP: week #9 and Animal Presence

I can’t help it. I’m still enveloped in the pleasure of swimming with green sea turtles in Hawaii for the past two weeks, and am not yet finished replaying the sensation over in my imagination.  Those great bodies moving so gracefully through blue green water, coming up for a gulp of air and a look at the odd but apparently harmless creature swimming alongside–I will not soon forget the glint in the turtle’s calm, accepting eye.

What does this have to do with Lincoln Park, you might ask. Well,  I was reminded of a post on the subject of animal presence by the eloquent Trileigh Tucker, intimate friend of Lincoln Park and all of nature. Her post is this week’s contemplation of LP, because it’s an awesome post, and because we are heading into a period of intense animal presence in and around the park.

How rare it is for us humans to be encountered in the wild by an animal who seems without fear of us, and even more powerfully, to whom we are of calm interest. To see ourselves in their eyes, to be recognized in some way as having a presence, perhaps even being of a kindred nature, perhaps, ultimately, with personhood — such an experience reminds us who we are….Some deep part of us yearns for this recognition.

Personally, I wait each year for the ruby crowned kinglets–skittish little lovelies with beautiful songs.  Yesterday I noted on WSB Facebook that a neighbor had seen a coyote on the perimeter of the park three days in a row, a seasonal presence to watch for. There are owls, bald eagles, wrens, tree creepers like nuthatches and browns, song sparrows and squirrels, of course. We can watch them, and there’s a sense that they might enjoy watching us.

May you be in the presence of the animals that make their home in LP; coexisting with them is deeply, deeply soothing to the soul.  Thanks Trileigh!

52WoLP, week 7: A most beautiful thing

This week in 52 Weeks of Lincoln Park, we meet Sky Darwin, a local artist you might see if you’re very lucky along the shores of the Salish Sea in Lincoln Park. He does beautiful things with driftwood. Beautiful. His sculptural works made me think of mandalas, because surely the delicately balanced pieces he was fine tuning would be washed away with the next high tide. And that, of course, only added to the pleasure of his creations. Take a gander:

Sculptural balance/Lincoln Park, by Sky Darwin

Driftwood fishsticks/Lincoln Park, by Sky Darwin

Driftwood fishsticks/Lincoln Park, by Sky Darwin

Delicate balancing act, driftwood sculpture/Sky Darwin

Backlit driftwood sculpture /Lincoln Park, by Sky Darwin

Driftwood sculpture/Lincoln Park, by Sky Darwin (1)

Sky studied at Cornish and has been working on these all-too-brief sculptural installations since Sept. 2012. He has a background in dance, music and design–all in evidence here. He took videos of the finished product but as yet they’re not up on vimeo or youtube. On the other hand, they are up on his facebook page so maybe look him up–the vids are great because you can hear kids marveling at the pieces moving gently in the sunset breeze.

These pieces were beautiful. And as predicted, I cruised by the spot where they were a day or so later, and they were gone. Beauty is fleeting.

Thanks Sky!

Addendum 3/4/13: Sky now has an official Facebook page–https//:www.facebook.m/ShiftwoodSculpture check it out, he put more pictures and videos there, and will keep it fresh with new stuff for our pure, unadulterated enjoyment. Live aloha!

52 Weeks of Lincoln Park: Discovery Park

Hey wait a minute. This is supposed to be about LP, how come we’re talking about DP? Good question, read on….

view of the Sound from Discovery Park, Seattle

The upper trail, Lincoln Park West Seattle

Discovery Park is the biggest park in Seattle, and has its share of interesting history.  Originally an army base, Fort Lawton, it was given to the city of Seattle as surplus land in 1970.  Seems the ball was immediately in play and many forces, including national ones stepped forward with plans for utilizing those vast acres of sweeping views and winding trails.  In 1974, a focused group of citizens came together as Friends of Discovery Park to protect and preserve the wild natural beauty of the park–and it seems they were (are) fierce.  No push-overs these, and that’s where it gets interesting.  Their mission statement made me sit up and take notice:

In years to come there will be almost irresistible pressures to carve out areas of the Park for structures or activities, because it would provide “an ideal site at no cost.”  There must be a deep commitment to the belief that there is no more valuable use of this site than as an open space.

To me, that statement is revolutionary.  To proclaim that open space is worth fighting for, that there will always be someone thinking about ways to monetize, utilize and rationalize something that is uniquely and stunningly beautiful as it is, especially in an urban setting…well, take a bow, Friends of DP.  You deserve a round of applause.

Every city has its great parks, and those parks go through good times and bad.  Central Park in NYC was on its last legs in the 70s when a group of civic leaders, Central Park Conservancy, was founded to reverse the decline. Last night at the Fauntleroy Community Association, a group that grew out of the Go Ape fiasco of last summer, presented its ideas, concerns and its mission to protect and preserve the West Seattle gem that is Lincoln Park introduced itself.  You can read about last night’s meeting here in WSB--the response has been very very positive and while it’s early days yet (we don’t have a website etc), we have a vision and plenty of passion.  It’s going to be a good year!

(week #6)

52 weeks of Lincoln Park: the art of nature

Week #4 finds us careening towards February, which means Valentine’s day which means love. Denise Dahn, another West Seattle artist and Lover of Lincoln Park, sent me a couple of photos of a few of her favorite things in Lincoln Park: The Dancing Otter and The Cedar & Doug entwined trees.

The otter is down along the water, north of the pool, and Cedar & Doug can be found on the trail that heads east from the fence trail, between the main Colman Pool trail down, and the Beach Trail a little further South. Well, might’s well just take all the trails, you’ll love it.

Cedar & Doug have grown together and are completely entwined at this point, roots, trunk and all.  They make a stunningly beautiful couple.

I added of my faves, too–what Denise calls the Pock Marked tree ( a tree which has become a virtual cafeteria for flickers and woodpeckers, and they are so systematic, it’s awesome) and finally, a semi permanent text based outdoor installation of found objects 😉
If you have any faves, let me know or share them here. Coming up soon: the birds of spring.

52 Weeks of Lincoln Park: good bones

The Collins Precise English Dictionary defines “good bones” as “having admirable, pleasing, superior, or positive qualities.” When I think of Lincoln Park, I think of the beautiful path that hugs the Salish Sea, of the nearly always blustery point, of the cliffs and hillsides with their winding trails and proud madronas, oaks and pines.

WPA stamp 1936, Lincoln Park path

Many of the features we’d call “good bones” today were actually put in place in the 1930s, first by the Civil Works Administration and later by the Public Works Administration (depression era endeavors, “Roosevelt was convinced that jobs were much better for everyone than cash handouts”), small armies of unemployed men given projects that were so smart, so right, that we still enjoy them today.  And others were a good start, that met with challenges.  The seawalls–which are currently getting hit by ever rising tides during our annual King Tide fest–were finished in 1936. For the most part, they still hold the shore.  You can see in one shot that the new wall and adjacent road quickly met their match with the tides and winter storms.  No matter, the collapse was filled in with gravel and has since been a great little running path along the water. Enjoy!

Sea wall, south side of point

Pathway from beach to park, behind shelter #1

Stairs in sea wall, north side of point

Our very own sculpture park, new work added daily

Week #2 of 52WoLP.

Zipline in Lincoln Park? Thanks for the offer, but, uh…No Thanks.

There is a proposal to install a Zipline and ropes course amusement area in Lincoln Park (you can learn more about it here on WSB, Tracy’s article garnered more comments than any in the history of the blog).  There is a wave of activism against this proposal and this coming week will include a presentation by the offending developers to the Fauntleroy Community Association Tuesday at 7pm, Fauntleroy Hall.  More informal meetings of outraged west seattleites are happening throughout the week.

Lincoln Park in West Seattle is a pristine old growth forest in an urban setting, a unique gem on the Salish Sea

There are two Facebook Groups you can join, just search on Zipline Lincoln Park or anything like that and you’ll find them.

There are a few blogs springing up in an effort to get the word out, such as this great one.

Here are a few things I’m thinking about regarding the numbskull idea:

–Go Ape says the park will handle *only* 14 riders per hour.  14.  That’s likely 20-30 more cars at any given point during the day in the parking lot, if you consider the inevitable wait lines for riders.  There is talk that this will necessitate a new parking lot in the park.

–No trees will be harmed in the process of building and maintaining the park, the developers say.  It only impacts the tree tops.  THE TREE TOPS, where our eagles, hawks, owls, herons and other large birds roost and hang out.  Loss of predator birds will result in a burgeoning rat infestation, which will be helped along vigorously by the waste and trash produced by the concession stands.

–Traffic along Fauntleroy—do we really need to discuss this?  Sometimes the ferry lines stretch back 4 or 5 miles.

–No alternative revenue ideas to help defray the costs of maintaining the park have been investigated or attempted.

There are many communities that have successfully pushed back on these development plans and specifically against Go Ape.  A few are:

Napa Valley
Monterey County
Woodinville WA

Let’s all just say No.

Send in the clowns: Parrot Tulips

Parrot Tulips, originally uploaded by seacat.

I’m really into capturing spring this year in our garden. This tulip is a favorite, always makes a late and dramatic entry. It’s almost tough to shoot because they’re a bit on the garish side. Enjoy!

Running after 50: The Hills of Seattle (a cool map)

Winning a Cold-War with myself so I’m laying low, just walking my run routes the last coupla days.  But someone sent me a map of the steepest hills in Seattle, kind of interesting.

Running after 50: for the newbies amongst us

I’ve spent the last few years on this blog focused on environmental changes I can make by myself (My Life with Car series) here in my own home and my own life.

Oddly, among the changes my own environmental experiments have wrought, I count my three year old passion/torture: running.

For one year, I tracked my driving habits in order to reduce needless driving, use my bike more, use mass transit, combine tasks, what have you.  While lots and lots of changes–big and small–came out of that year, one change was completely unexpected: my addiction to running.

I’ve never been a runner–not ever.  And some would say, with my paltry collection of 5K bib numbers, I’m still not a runner (my neighbor has indicated that a 5K is not a race, as she can do it in her sleep.  Oh well.).  I recall back in high school going through the motions required for 100 yard dash tests and such, and not enjoying one second of it.

But that’s not to say I’m not athletic at all–I’ve been an avid bike rider for a long time, commuting to work, touring, stuff like that. And then there’s hiking, river rafting…I’m not a total couch potato, but running just has never, ever been on the agenda.

So how did this start?  I used to belong to a gym, and used to drive to the gym.  I really enjoyed the gym but over-use taught me the value of using different muscle sets.  One day I tried the treadmill and was astonished to find I liked the sensation of running–slowly, for sure, but still.

I kept at it and a 10-15 min run on the treadmill was soon part of my normal workout.  About this time, I realized there was something uncomfortably ironic about driving my car to workout at a gym when I live a block from a gorgeous park on the Puget Sound with great running trails.  One day I tried running down along the beach front–hello.  Running on ground is REALLY different from running on a treadmill.  But I liked it! I felt great afterwards.

And I was totally pleased with myself that even though I was over 50, I was sort of kind of picking up this new sport that seemed to be the realm of the long and lean (definitely not me.) This was three years ago.

running in the rain

After about a year of splitting between outdoor runs and the gym, my attendance at the gym had really started to decline. I made the decision earlier this year to cancel my gym membership and focus solely on running outdoors.  This was huge–especially since I view the Seattle outdoors during 6 months of the year to be uninhabitable.  But I did it.

This past weekend I decided that this journey which has honest-to-god changed my life was worth sharing with others who are over 50 and learning to run, or thinking about it, or curious or whatever.  So begins a new chapter in this blog: Learning to run after 50.

The power of those doggone Internets: Rally in Seattle…and the world

Yesterday saw the eruption of equal rights rallies around the globe in response to the pro-discriminatory Prop 8 victory in California. Rallies come and go, but I have a feeling this is just the beginning of a I’m-mad-as-hell-and-I-won’t-take-it-anymore movement to demand equal rights for ALL citizens, regardless of religion, gender or orientation. I also have a feeling that there is a wave out there that is coming to shore, and here’s why:

One week ago, Amy Balliett of Seattle talked to a friend on the phone and both decided they needed to take some action on the Prop 8 issue–globally. One week later–ONE WEEK!–rallies took place all over the world with thousands of people participating. Estimates in Seattle alone are 6,000 attendees. How did they do it? They used the massive power of social networks and tools on the internet.

They set up a wiki overnight that connected multiple cities and organizers and facilitated info share and networking easily and instantly. They spread the word through twitter, through email, through facebook. Before anyone knew what was happening or how far the news had spread, Saturday was here, and thousands took to the street. Awesome, truly awesome.

And now, we move forward from here. The big message was as simple as it is challenging: talk to one person every day who may not share your opinion about marriage equality. Talk to the person in the cube next to you. Talk to someone who hasn’t really even thought about the issue. Talk openly, not aggressively. Listen. Share. Because at the end of the day, opposition to equal rights is usually more about Fear than it is about hatred. We have to believe that in this world that is getting smaller and more complex every day.

And getting the same rights as everyone else who pays taxes, works, votes, participates, and lives in our neighborhoods and cities and states and country is not too much to ask. It’s the very least we can ask for.

Onward.

VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! info here, in case you need it

How to find out where you should vote:

League of Women Voter’s Site

Local elections site

The Seattle Stranger endorsements (Laugh While You Learn!)

Legal help of any kind re elections: 1-866-OUR-VOTE

Free stuff for voters in Seattle: Starbucks coffee, Babeland, Cupcake Royale, Ben & Jerry’s

Make history and have fun: go vote!