March 8, 2025 - A Sign of Spring

At 47 degrees latitude, Seattle has one of the most extreme dark seasons in the continental US. Even after the third driest January on record, the city is ready to be done with the Big Dark.   

Fear not! Spring is near!  Tonight, we move the clocks forward.  Today there will be 11 hours and 33 minutes of daylight. Our first post 6pm sunset in several months occurred earlier this week.  The cherry blossoms are starting to show.  (The University of Washington peak cherry blossom is about two weeks ago.)  

The Husky Open, the first home rowing event of the year, is a reminder that Spring is just around the corner.  On a brisk, gray day, the UW Women's Rowing team competed against one another and a few Oregon State University and University of British Columbia boats.  After the 8s and 4s were completed, they rowed back to the Conibear Shell House, changed up lineups and raced again.  A full slate of junior and masters races for boys, girls, men and women from high schools and clubs rounded out the morning. 

       

March 19, 2024 - Social Media and Sakura

 

The number of visitors to the cherry blossoms in the quad at the University of Washington has exploded.  Instagram started in October of 2010 and by 2018 had 1 billion users.  

The photo above was taken on a weekend of Spring Quarter of 1989.     

The photo below was taken this year during UW's Spring Break. On a Tuesday. At midday.  

March 20, 2022 - Spring is Pink

 

A red umbrella stands out amongst the hundreds of people gathered under the gray skies taking in the  pink cherry blossoms on the UW campus.

April 6, 2021 - Arboretum Blossoms

This was a fine day to catch the early blooms at Washington Park Arboretum.  The 230 acre arboretum is arranged around thematic gardens (Azalea Way, Winter Garden, Rhododendron Glen, etc.) as well as by taxonomic group.  The Pacific Connections Garden is one of these thematic gardens.  It has plants from Cascadia, China, New Zealand and Chile. The 2.5 acre New Zealand Forest in that garden features 10,000 plants!  

The Puget Mill Company owned and logged this land until the late 1890s.  While it became Seattle Park in 1900 it was also home to a horse speedway and a sanitary landfill.(?!?!)  It was largely undeveloped until after the Arboretum was established in 1934.  Currently the Arboretum is jointly managed by the City of Seattle and the University of Washington.  

April 5, 2021 - Tulipless

 

Mount Vernon's Tulip Festival is held every April.  At this point the tulips are still a couple of weeks away from full bloom.  The daffodils are blooming though!  There was even a Great Blue Heron and an Egret posing roadside for visitors.

April 7, 2020 - Pink Moon

This year's brightest New Moon - the Pink Moon - as viewed from West Seattle's Totem Pole Park at the Rotary Viewpoint.  With about 200 cloudy days each year, we're not often lucky enough to view the different new moons.  The Pink Moon is named after Phlox, the early blooming flowers, native to, and found throughout North America.   Other traditional new moons - Worm Moon (March), Buck Moon (July) and Sturgeon Moon (August) - don't have quite the aesthetically pleasing moniker as April's.

May 26, 2019 - Catching a Sunset

Fishing from the pier at the Edmonds marina was good on this night.  At least one regulation sunset and plenty of boats could be had.  Landing them is always the tricky part...

May 17, 2019 - Icicle Creek Gorge

In late May Icicle Creek runs high as it flows east 32 miles from near the crest of the Cascade Mountain range to meet the Wenatchee River at Leavenworth.  Barring a sudden weather event the flow won't be this high until this time next year.  By August the flow of water will be just 5% of what it is now.  The current water flow is near normal, but drought conditions are forecast.  An abnormally dry and warm March and April has left area snowpacks half their usual amount.

May 11, 2019 - Late Spring Bluff

After a mid-80s day, nearly 25 degrees above average, a sunset over Puget Sound from the bluff above Richmond Beach Saltwater Park is a great way to close out a summer-like day.