See more of the right-handed egret that took a left turn and ended up in Portage Bay on:
Have a great day on Portage Bay…where nature also lives in the city!
Larry
Passing by the market, neighbors will find the store dark and stools resting on the eating bar. CHS has shared what information they have found.
Part of a ripple of Seattle boutique grocery markets — and a member of a small but ambitious family of food+drink venture — has shuttered in Portage Bay after less than a year of business.
Click to continuing reading at CHS.
This weeks’ post on Union Bay Watch shows a wet but refreshed pileated woodpecker. If you would like to see the photos please visit:
Have a great day on Union Bay…where nature lives in the city!
Larry
Note: I am sorry but I have been unable to get my lead photo to load on to Montlake.net.
Sierra Club Photo: Montlake Elementary Rain Garden 2009
4th and 5th grade students on the Montlake Elementary’s Green Team wants you. The Green Team is working to restore the Montlake Elementary rain garden, the first for Seattle public schools, and is seeking out Montlake neighbors with rain gardens. They would like to to know what worked and didn’t when creating your rain garden. Additionally, the team hopes to create a map of all Montlake rain gardens and requests neighbors share their addresses. You may send replies to montlakegreenteam@gmail.com or submit comments via the form below.
We are particularly lucky to live in a city that is visited by Trumpeter Swans. Their grace and elegance, their impressive size and their astonishing white feathers are a heart-lifting combination, which is especially refreshing in the middle of a grey winter day. See more on:
Have a great day on Union Bay…where nature lives in the city!
Larry
This week’s post covers some of the trials and tribulations of a young eagle approaching maturity on Union Bay. The eagle’s outfit looks tattered and torn and ready to be replaced with something far more regal. See the photos and read the story on:
Larry
Montlake traffic is in the news again. Yesterday, the new west bound 520 off-ramp opened and, based on all of the press coverage, it does not appear the first day went very well. TV news cameras captured several cars running the newly installed stop signs at the intersection of Lake Washington Blvd and 24th Ave E likely because it was dark and the new signs are a major change.
I spoke to a KIRO news reporter who witnessed several close calls between cars and pedestrians so caution is advised. The problem is so bad the State Patrol temporarily posted officers at the intersection to help bring attention to the new four way stop. Another problem is the high volume of traffic using the exit during the afternoon rush hour resulted in cars being backed down the ramp and onto 520. This new off-ramp is just one one of many changes Montlake will experience as construction of 520 continues so please try and be patient. The Montlake Community Club along with other “safe streets” advocates will continue working with WSDOT and SDOT to try and resolve these and other problems because keeping our neighborhood a safe place is our number one goal.
Bryan Haworth
MCC President
Even though Townsend’s warblers surround us all year round they are usually shy and often out of sight. This week’s post features a beautiful male bird which I have started calling, Port. See his cheerful photos and enjoy what feels like a flashback to Spring on:
Have a great day on Union Bay…where nature thrives in the city!
Larry
Last Sunday night, Café Lago was hopping with Montlake neighbors, family, and friends enjoying the very first Montlake Holiday Light Fundraiser and what a wonderful evening it was! The event raised money to help the Montlake Community Club fund the festive white holiday lights you see throughout downtown Montlake and on the Montlake Boulevard Market. Something we want to continue year after year.
Café Lago generously donated 10% of their proceeds from the night while members of the Montlake Community Club board were on hand selling raffle tickets to those hoping to win one of four gift baskets filled with items donated by the Montlake businesses including Glam & Tonics, Jay’s Dry Cleaners, Montlake Boulevard Market, Fuel Coffee, Montlake Bicycle Shop, Mr. Johnson’s Antiques, Mont’s Market, Coven Salon, and Edward Jones Financial.
The Montlake Community Club would like to thank everyone who attended the event, the businesses and their amazing generosity, and those that donated their time, money, and effort to help make it a very enjoyable and successful evening. Photos provided by Jonathan Phillips.
Montlake Community residents are invited to attend a Photo with Santa event hosted by Windermere agents, Darcy LaBelle & Liz Suver on Sunday, December 13th from 11:45-1pm at the Graham Visitors Center in the Arboretum. Refreshments including hot cocoa, cider, coffee and tea will be served along with special treats.
RSVP to Darcy LaBelle 206-915-0916 or email darcy@windermere.com.
The Madison Park Community Council warmly invites our Montlake friends and neighbors to join us for the annual Madison Park Holiday Bash and Christmas Ship Parade.
We’ll have a live jazz band, beverages, cookies and more! Come warm yourself by the bonfire while you watch the parade of Christmas ships in our annual Holiday Bash!
The Christmas ship parade starts at 4:40 PM.
Bring friends, make reservations for any of the great restaurants in the neighborhood and enjoy an evening in Madison Park!
Sapsuckers are woodpeckers with a sweet tooth, not literally, but they certainly have a taste for the sweet stuff. In broadleaf, deciduous trees the sap stops flowing in the winter. During the cold months, the industrious little woodpeckers survive by switching to evergreen trees. This week, Eric the Red returned to the Arboretum and his favorite Spanish Spruce. Last year, he had stiff competition for the exotic sap. Find out if the competition continues on:
Have a great day on Union Bay...were nature lives in the city!
Larry
Please join us this Sunday, December 6th, between 5-9 pm for a special Montlake Holiday Light Fundraising Party at Cafe Lago. There will be free hot apple cider for the kids, a free glass of Prosecco for the adults, festive music, a raffle, and of course, fabulous food!
The holiday season is upon us and the Montlake Community Club wants our neighborhood, like many others, to have an inviting festive atmosphere, so the beautiful white holiday lights are once again up in downtown Montlake and on the Montlake Boulevard Market. Cafe Lago has generously offered to sponsor this fundraising event and will contribute 10% of their proceeds for the night toward the cost of the lights.
Please call Cafe Lago at 206-329-8005 to make a reservation or go to CafeLago.com. Thank you for your support, we hope to see you there!
Thursday, December 3rd, Seattle Parks Superintendent Jesus Aguirre will be at the Montlake Community Center from 6:30 – 8:00pm. This is one of many intimate community discussions Superintendent Aguirre has organized this year. He is “interested in hearing about your experiences – positive and negative, your desires for your park and recreation system and your ideas to make us (Parks) even better.” He will also share his vision for the future of Seattle Parks and Recreation.
Neighbors are encouraged to join the discussion and share thoughts on how improve our community center and park.
Thursday, December 3rd
Montlake Community Center
1618 E Calhoun St, Seattle, WA 98112
6:30-8:00pm
See more at: Superintendent Listening Tour
If you have been out to Foster Island since the windstorm on Tuesday you may have noticed this topless cottonwood tree. I have come to suspect that a female pileated woodpecker may have been roosting in the tree. In any case, she has certainly been renovating a new shelter. See the photos and read the story on:
Have a great day on Union Bay…where nature finds refuge in the city!
Larry