The garden at Treasure Island (see photo) has undergone a few changes this summer, all for the better. Plus it will be getting a name next year — Garden with a View — when a new gate is added as part of upgrading the perimeter fence. But does it need a yard-art rooster as a sentry when members of the garden team aren’t onsite working?
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Every summer my war against the ants at Treasure Island enters a new campaign. It’s not a fair fight. The ants are always on offense while I’m always on defense trying to protect a long porous border. There are no peace talks, no MOU that buys time for negotiators to work out a settlement. That’s why I usually resort to the nuclear option (see photo).
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Last week I took my annual bike ride through the Skokomish Valley. It was a perfect ride on a perfect day and not just because it was my birthday.
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Yesterday my 2016 Subaru Crosstrek passed the 100,000-mile mark. I knew the odometer was close to rolling over, but I didn’t observe the magic moment when the digits all changed at once. I was too busy daydreaming about things I needed to do. The event made me wonder though how my odometer miles and driving habits compare with other drivers.
Continue readingPosted in Cars
Is it too late to ask President Trump for a birthday present for the nation given that tomorrow marks our 250th? It might be if the gift is something that can be unwrapped. But this isn’t a request for anything material. Instead, we need an intangible present — behavioral changes in the form of things the president could stop doing.
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I’m slow to change what other people have done. Accordingly, I end up living with thing I don’t like for years. Such was the case with the Shark vacuum cleaner at Treasure Island—a clunker I hated as much as any appliance I have ever used. Last week it died, and hate has quickly turned into love for its replacement (see photo).
Continue readingPosted in Business Beat, Home, Treasure Island
My life is plagued by leaks. I’m not referring to divulging secrets (although I can’t be trusted with them). Instead, my continuing fate is to be challenged by a series of plumbing and roof leaks that never seem to end. But when it comes to boats, the few I have owned have always been leak free. That includes my new (to me) Grumman canoe (see photo).
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I’m a big fan of John D. MacDonald (1916–1986). Other than his sci-fi novels, I’m pretty sure I have read every full-length book he wrote. As a JDM book collector, I own all but a handful of them. So, it was a surprise for me when an Internet search turned up an unfamiliar title.
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I signed up on the Let’s Go Washington website as a volunteer to help IP26-645 (see screen capture) get on the ballot in November. IP26-645 is an initiative to the people that would repeal the 9.9 percent tax that was passed by the legislature in March and is to be levied on annual incomes above $1 million starting in 2028. Although the sample of people I talked to while collecting signatures is unscientific, that doesn’t keep me from having some observations about the process.
Continue readingPosted in Current Events, Government, Mud Bay & Rocky Point, Treasure Island
Tagged "Millionaires" tax, IP26-645
The cutting board in the photo is not just any cutting board. It was a present from my sister. As the “before” view shows, I went far too long before attempting to restore it. As the “after” view shows, the product I used helped refresh the board’s original matte luster.
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