Retiring in Wallingford: Our Walk Score is Our Best Asset

I recently read in an article in Seattle Magazine that Seattle has been named the most walkable city in the United States for 2025. That got me thinking about individual walk scores, which you can find by plugging in your address on Walk Score’s website. This came up after I commented in a Facebook group I belong to called “Retiring on a Budget.” I mentioned that I have a walk score of 99 because I live on the corner of Stone…

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Wallingford Walk: City Nature Challenge

Just a quick reminder, the Woodland Park Zoo will be coming to the library (well, the meeting room behind the library) this Saturday, April 28, from 10-11 to talk about the City Nature Challenge 2018. Afterwards, we will do our first Wallingford Walk of the new series, as we embark on a mini-safari seeking out wildlife to identify for the Challenge. Bring your smart phone or tablet, a sunhat, and ideas for future walks! See you soon, Dawn - your Wallingford librarian

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Save the Date: the Return of Wallingford Walks

As the new librarian for the Wallingford Library, I've been talking with folks and trying to get a sense of what sort of programming would work with our small library and amazing neighborhood. I decided to develop a series of educational programs that go outside the library, lead by people from the community, showcasing both local resources and library materials. Little did I realize that I was reinventing the wheel! I recently learned that Wallingford Walks previously was born as the…

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Wallingford Bicycle Excursion – Gasworks Park to Montlake Playfield

One of my favorite Wallingford excursions is taking the kids on the bike and going to Montlake Playfield. My route is almost all dedicated trail from my house and so I'm not too worried about the combination of cars and kids and bikes. My five-year old is hitched up to my bike on a Follow Me, and my two-year old rides on a co-pilot child seat. Montlake Playfield is a hidden gem of a park. The climbing jungle gym is a step up…

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Read more about the article Urban Nature Lovers Needed
Tree ambassadors get to do cool things like this at their annual picnic.

Urban Nature Lovers Needed

Have you ever walked past an overgrown, untended plot of the urban landscape and thought to yourself how much better that little bit of green space would be with some love and attention? You are not alone! In fact, Seattle is filled with noticers, and some of them have noticed that Wallingford has a few places that could use some love - like the neglected areas at 46th and Midvale, 45th and Midvale and Aurora at 46th. These lovely noticers have…

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Bootyland Moving to Wallingford Center

I stopped by Bootyland, the hip children’s clothing and toy boutique which moved from Capitol Hill into the former slot of Paron’s Closet in Wallingford Center. Jordan writes: Hopefully, they'll do better than Paron's Closet (http://www.wallyhood.org/2013/07/parons-closet-closing-notes/) and Izilla Toys (http://www.wallyhood.org/2011/10/izilla-toys-closing/), the latter of which made a similar move from Capitol Hill to Wallingford Center, where it discovered the hard way that Wallingford Center's organic foot traffic is fairly sparse. Although their opening was March 4th, they weren't quite ready for show…

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Increase your Solar Energy IQ this Weekend

Wallyhood sponsors Kris Murphy and Daniela Dombrowski invite readers to learn more about solar energy/NetZero, LEED, Built Green 5-Star certifications and green building materials and design this weekend at The Tangletown Twins located at 307 & 311 NE 58th St. Learn how these homes, nicknamed Sol and Solange, are Balanced for Efficiency, Powered by the Sun.  These two new homes are the first offering of new construction Green Canopy Net Zero Homes. According to builder Green Canopy, their NetZero homes "are energy neutral – balancing operational usage throughout the year by adding power…

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