The End of a Rainbow

This fantastic rainbow greeted me as I drove down to the bottom of my street.  I scrambled for my camera and was able to capture one shot before it began to disappear.

And the Fog comes Rolling In...

Summer may have come late this year, but it's been beautiful since it arrived.  With the exception of a brief sprinkle in early September, we haven't had any rain since mid July. The morning fog has been starting to set in though, and by this weekend we should get our first real rain in nearly three months!   

Grey Days Made More Fun by Ferries

The ferry dock in Friday Harbor awaits the next ferry. 

Rainy Play Day

On a rainy Saturday afternoon I brought my daughters to our neighborhood school to ride scooters under the large covered play area.  Though the scooters were soon abandoned.  The call of the playground could not be detoured by a little rain.

Rain

A few damp students cross Red Square on their way to morning classes at Western Washington University.

Little Drops of Rain...

...gather themselves before taking the final plunge.

The Sunnyland Stomp

Every year our neighborhood has a celebration of art and community when we turn our backyards into art galleries and invite everyone in the city. Normally called the Sunnyland Stomp, this year someone dubbed it the Sunnyland Slosh because of the wet weather. Did we let that stop us? Heck, no! It was still an evening packed with music, amazing food, dancing, new friends, and, of course, some really great art. Here's a sampling of the event.

The perpetually popular Artisan Revival II gallery. A big draw for the beer from Grant St. Brewing and amazing food by chef Brian Pahl. By the time I got there our window of clear weather had passed, so I missed out on photographer Lauren McClanahan's work because the photos couldn't get wet.

An artist doing her thing at Artisan Revival II. I'm guessing it's Maryann Schmitt, who did the painting below.

Gorgeous cupcakes at the Color Pot gallery. I believe they were gluten free, too!

Holly Swanson performs at the Color Pot gallery.

Record art at the Ravenwood gallery.

Silk-screening t-shirts at Iron Street Printing.

The official sign for this year's Sunnyland Stomp was made by Fishboy, aka Randy Clark. All the gallery hosts got posters, and Iron Street Printing did t-shirts too.

And in my very own backyard gallery, The Crow's Nest, oil on glass by Chris Murphy...

...and art by Dani Compain.

Mother Nature couldn't resist reminding everyone who the ultimate artist is.

For more info, check out the Sunnyland Stomp site.

A Letter

Dear Pacific Northwest Weather,

Yes, I know it rains a lot in the northwest. I have long resigned myself to gray skies and wet sidewalks. When I take a walk, I expect to come back home thoroughly soaked, despite my boots and raincoat. The typical soundtrack to my morning blogging-and-coffee routine is the swoosh of tires on the puddled street. When people complain-- as they inevitably do-- about the incessant rain, I'm the first to leap to your defense, and point out the emerald surroundings that result from all the wet weather.

However, I'm sick of it.

Have you forgotten that we are approaching mid-May? Because it really feels like February out there. Actually, never mind. February was nicer.

You may have been bored with the typical spring weather of sunshine and temperatures in the mid-sixties, but you know what? We liked it that way. Hey, forget the mid-sixties, I'd be happy with hitting sixty degrees. It would be so exciting to leave the house without a jacket.

So if it's not too much trouble, could we lighten up a bit here? Maybe have more than one sunny day in a row, maybe even a couple warm ones? I have gardening to do... that is, if my vegetables become convinced it's spring. And I'm rapidly running out of the photos I took on rare non-rainy days. I have obligations, you know. People will probably stop visiting Bellingham Daily Photo if I only post pictures of my kids, my cats, and rain-streaked windows.

Please. I'm begging here. Please stop with the cold, the wet, the windy. Please bring back the sun!

Soddenly yours,
Lizziviggi

Weekend Reflections: Windows

Rain

Skywatch Friday: Sunstreams

Sun-kissed rain showers over Bellingham Bay

Three Ways Bellingham's Been in the News Lately

(There's some color for you, Magpie!)

1) In Sunset magazine's February issue, Bellingham is one of their ten "2011 Best Towns-- Places to Make You Happy". Each town in the feature was chosen for a different reason, and Bellingham, with 65 miles of multi-use trails within the city limits, was chosen as the best place to "play year-round":

To get a sense of the adrenaline-pumping possibilities around Bellingham, a seaside haven 90 miles north of Seattle, you need look only at the annual Memorial Day weekend Ski to Sea Race. The seven-sport relay draws nearly 500 teams of competitors-- some with Olympic pedigrees, some wearing tutus-- for a mettle-tester bookended by cross-country skiing on Mt. Baker and sea kayaking on Bellingham Bay.

"Geographically, we're in the right spot," says Ted Wang, president of the Whatcom Association of Kayak Enthusiasts. He's referring to the county's 143 miles of Puget Sound shoreline and 3,000 miles of rivers and streams, the San Juan Islands just across the bay, and the North Cascades National Park to the east. "There's more here than any of us will ever get to in our lifetime."

Worst-kept secret: It rains. Local consensus: So what?

2) In the New York Times article "10 Restaurants Worth a Plane Ride" featuring Willows Inn on Lummi Island, just outside Bellingham.

Willows Inn, on the tiny San Juan island of Lummi, is about two hours from Seattle by car and ferry. Yet it is about to become a destination restaurant, thanks to its new chef, Blaine Wetzel. The 24-year-old, formerly the protégé of Rene Redzepi at Noma, the Copenhagen restaurant that was ranked the “best restaurant in the world” for 2010 by S. Pellegrino, took over the kitchen at Willows last year. The restaurant itself reopens in February; expect a menu with an obsessive focus on local ingredients, in the style ofNoma. Since he was hired, Mr. Wetzel has been working with a farmer and an urchin diver who work solely for him.

3) Whatcom County ranked #2 in the United States in the "Indie City Index," which compiled information on the vitality of independent businesses. The Bellingham Herald article:

Whatcom County residents have a reputation for supporting local, independent businesses. Now it is being noticed nationally.

A new report about the vitality of independent retailers ranks the Bellingham metro area - which includes all of Whatcom County - second highest out of 363 metro areas studied. The top spot went to Ocean City, N.J.; followed by Bellingham, Medford, Ore.; Carson City, Nev.; and San Jose, Calif.

Metro areas at the bottom of the list include Kankakee, Ill.; Topeka, Kan.; and Auburn, Ala. The Indie City Index 2011 was put together by the American Booksellers Association and the strategic planning firm Civic Economics.

The methodology involved taking a metro area and calculating the amount of sales from major chain stores to determine market saturation. The less chain store saturation for the area, the higher the ranking in the Indie City Index.

Whatcom County's high ranking doesn't come as a surprise to Chuck Robinson, co-owner of Village Books in Fairhaven. He said the support of local, independent businesses was good when he and Dee Robinson opened the bookstore in 1980 and it's continued to strengthen, particularly in the past seven or eight years with the growth of the Sustainable Connections organization and its "Buy "Local" campaigns.

"Many more people we see say they've changed their buying behavior because they want to support local businesses, and I think a lot of it has to do with increased public awareness," said Robinson, who has previously been a board member for Sustainable Connections.

Many advocates of independent businesses believe there's an economic benefit to shopping local and keeping the money within the community. Robinson notes there are also cultural benefits to having a robust independent retail community.

"Not many towns have something like Hardware Sales or two great local brew pubs like we have here," Robinson said. "Having these unique businesses are important to the community."

Strong independent businesses in a community also benefit the local tourism industry, as people look for authentic places, said Derek Long, executive director for Sustainable Connections. He's also impressed by the amount of business Whatcom County companies do with each other, keeping the money circulating within this area.

"This area is relatively healthy," said Long, referring to the vibrancy of the independent business community. "The population here thinks carefully about how they spend money, and we're fortunate to have that here."

The tourism and business-to-business benefits are alive and well at Chuckanut Brewery & Kitchen, said co-owner Mari Kemper. While the brewery has a regular customer base, it receives quite a few out-of-area visitors wanting to try out the latest beer. In turn, Kemper said they try to buy their products locally, including from Bellingham Pasta Company and Barlean's Organic Oils.

"We have a lot of talented, creative people here and we want to do what we can to support them," Kemper said.

It's still a challenge, however, given the current economic problems and competition.

"The recession continues to be challenging and we still need to get the message out there about the importance of supporting local businesses," Kemper said.

The Indie City Index was released at the Advocates for Independent Retail National Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Jan. 20. To see the full report, visit IndieCityIndex.com.

So what are you waiting for? Come check us out!

Weekend Reflections: A Rainbow in Every Puddle

Drip...Drop...

...summer has stopped.

April Puddles

April showers bring rain to our raised vegetable garden, and puddles on the bench surrounding it.

Rainbow Houses

There's no sun shining through the rain

to create a rainbow

These colorful houses climbing the hill

are a nice stand-in though.

Skywatch Friday: Playground Rainbow

No children are outside
to witness the rainbow.
Instead they're inside,
faces lit with TV's glow.
No young eyes open wide,
Legs don't race to find the end.
Discouraged, the rainbow fades.
I guess I don't exist, then.

Clouds, sunsets, blue skies, and more rainbows.

Sunday Leaves

Slender trunks
tender and white as a girl
flash their sequin leaves,
bright with chlorophyll

Pearls of rain

Ahhh, Rain, old friend, welcome back!

The flowers and birds and I missed you!

Shall we have a cup of tea together?

I'll go put the kettle on.