Wildlife

Read more about the article Wallyhood Waters: The Big Dark!?
Lake Union

Wallyhood Waters: The Big Dark!?

A Wallyhood Waters series Every winter season, I read about Seattle’s “Big Dark,” the time when the sun starts setting before 4:30, and our nighttime is longer than our days. Despite this, I can’t recall seeing a dark, starry night in a long time. This is because Seattle is in a perpetual state of dusk due to artificial light at night (ALAN). While our wintertime lights make us feel safe and bring us holiday cheer, I recently learned that they also…

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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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Read more about the article Pesticides at the Parks

Pesticides at the Parks

Last week, after reading this piece about Wallingford's sewage ending up in Lake Union and the new incentive program for building rain gardens, I contacted the RainWise program through the City of Seattle. My children attend school in the Lincoln High building, which I learned is eligible for the rain garden program due to its proximity to Stone Way N. So, imagine my surprise when I walked past this a few days later: This sign was posted in the shrubbery that…

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Moles – do we love them or hate them?

The signs are familiar: mounds of fresh crumbly soil, raised shallow ridges of earth, or a lumpy area in the garden that collapses when you flatten it down; moles are busy. Some people have especially sharp reactions to moles - or mole-signs more precisely. Those of a tidy nature tend to think that mole hills and tunnels ruin the perfect greensward of a lawn. There is often a suspicion of plant damage. I am happy to accept the little guys as…

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The Garden in Winter

Getting the garden ready for winter is often enlightening. As you are out cleaning up old stalks, raking leaves, or picking up wormy apples, you might also find some interesting ground beetles or other insects searching for food on a semi-dry or warm day. It’s often the first clue that there is more going on out there than it seems. This is a good time to think about how your garden serves the creatures who stay here for the winter –…

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Cougar Capture

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We're catching up from our vacation (and noticing that some of our clever robot posts did not work out as cleverly as we planned). We did note that the cougar story has reached an happy ending. We saw this news release from yesterday from the City: Seattle Parks and Recreation will re-open Discovery Park at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 6, after the capture of a cougar that had been seen in the park. Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) officials…

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Cougar sighting

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@Cherrrylll just tweeted a warning for folks in the Wallingford / Green Lake / Woodland Park neighborhood: *COUGAR* sighting near Woodland Park. Keep small pets indoors!!!!!!! We assume she means the wildcat kind, not the other kind. Also, while the Woodland Park Zoo is near Woodland Park, we figure she doesn't mean one behind bars. That's all we know. We'll keep you posted as we learn more. --- Update (10:23 pm): According to NWCN, State Wildlife officials have confirmed the cougar…

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