West Seattle, Washington
30 Friday
Every year while out on Halloween, we notice more and more decorated homes – not just carved pumpkins, but also lights, creatures, silhouettes, all sorts of spookiness. Susanne sent us these photos from Gatewood.
We also featured some Belvidere creativity, courtesy of Rose, with this morning’s highlight list. Thanks to everyone for sharing what you’re seeing!
ADDED: A display in Admiral, shared by Ryan:
Thanks to the reader who sent photos tonight of the Genesee Hill house – mentioned in the WSB West Seattle Halloween Etc. Guide – with more than 100 carved pumpkins on display!
Jason told us he displayed more than 50 last year, and doubled it this year.
You can see them through Halloween in the 5200 block of SW Dakota.
Thanks to Kay for the tip! Goats are clearing an overgrown slope by MacDonald-Miller in southeast West Seattle. While we were scoping for the photo op, a staffer told us they bring in the goats every year.
Thanks to the texter who sent that photo of a new Desmond Hansen signal-box portrait – it’s at Delridge/Genesee, a tribute to Mark “Monk” Hubbard of Grindline, designers of the nearby skatepark and many more. The artist tells a detailed story on Instagram about an encounter with the skatepark luminary, a West Seattle resident who died last year. While checking Instagram for more on that box, we noticed Hansen also has just completed one featuring wildlife, so we went by for a photo:
(WSB photo)
That one’s at Fauntleroy/Dawson.
Thanks for the tip! A film crew is at Don Armeni Boat Ramp right now, working on a Jeep commercial.
Along with all the activity in the park, Harbor is lined with several big trucks that transported the Jeeps:
A crewmember told us they’re filming at multiple locations around the city and will be at this one into the evening.
Arriving in Alki a few hours ago to visit the Log House Museum (story to come), we noticed a lineup of classic cars that had us wondering how we missed word of a car show.
Turned out, it wasn’t a show – it was a picnic, with some of the participants’ rides parked nearby.
(Nobody’s come forward to take over the West Seattle Car Show, by the way, so no show this year.)
On a quiet Saturday night, turkey sightings to share:
That photo was sent by Monica Zaborac, who spotted The West Seattle Turkey (aka Admiral Belvidere) atop a car. The Turkey seems to have a taste for dandelions, as noticed by West Seattle visitor Tommy Jamison:
Tommy is visiting from Auxtin, Texas; friend Dan Ciske forwarded the photo. Another round of dandelion snacking was caught on video by Rob Braby:
The turkey’s origins remain a mystery, after 3 1/2 months of sightings.
The photo is from Alki photographer David Hutchinson, who explains: “Heard a siren a bit ago and looked outside expecting to see law enforcement or a medic – instead it was the Moby Duck with what appeared to be some of the sailors from the Seafair Fleet on board.” P.S. Here’s the schedule for the remaining Seafair Fleet Week tours of the sailors’ own ships.
‘
Didn’t get advance notice of this but happened onto it on our way to the Alki Art Fair: Marchers demonstrating in support of freedom for Lolita (Tokitae), the last Puget Sound-captured orca in captivity. They rallied at Luna (Anchor) Park and then marched along Alki Avenue. This was one of 16 awareness-raising events around the world today. Tokitae remains at the Miami Seaquarium, where she’s been for almost a half-century.
On this patriotic holiday, we note that the turkey has a unique American history – you can read about it here and here (among other places). So, it’s a great day for an update on The West Seattle Turkey, now in its third month on the peninsula. The top photo was texted to us this week; the next one, sent today by Christine:
The Turkey does enjoy finding new perches, as Joy discovered outside the West Seattle High School wood shop earlier this week:
Thanks to everyone for the ongoing photos and sighting reports. While we just call it The West Seattle Turkey, several have given it names – Rose, for example, has named it “Admiral Belvidere,” appropriate given the area in which The Turkey has settled.
(WSB photos)
It’s Pride weekend, and the 60-plus rainbow flags that the West Seattle Junction Association offered for “adoption” are up!
They were placed in the heart of The Junction this morning, will be taken down this evening, and put back in place tomorrow. It’s the first time The Junction has displayed Pride flags; all were adopted after the April availability announcement, and adopters had the chance to have messages displayed with their flags – if you can’t walk The Junction to see for yourself, the list is here.
Summer is truly almost here – the West Seattle Junction hanging flower baskets have arrived! It’s installation day, after the greenhouse-grown baskets were delivered this morning:
Right now they’re mostly greenery, but the blossoms emerge and intensify from summer through fall. Again this year, the baskets have been “adopted” by community donors (including us!) so when you’re in The Junction, look for the plaques on the historic light poles holding the baskets.
On Monday morning, Jim in Seaview “was walking to the bus … and found this random note on the sidewalk at the corner of 45th and Findlay. It put a smile on my face. I assume it was in reference to Saturday’s yard sale day that always is a great way to get neighbors together.” Whatever it was in reference to, we’ve been looking for a moment to share it. Thanks to Jim, and the mystery note-writer!
FRIDAY REPORT: Thanks to Lynn Hall for the newest photo of the “West Seattle turkey,” two weeks since we started hearing about sightings and receiving photos. It seems to still be headed north/east – Lynn spotted it along Alki Avenue this morning; that’s where Jan Pendergrass saw it on Thursday:
Sighting reports started in Seola, moved through Arbor Heights and Fauntleroy, along Beach Drive, to Alki Point, and now north/eastward along Duwamish Head. Still no word of anyone looking for a missing turkey. We’re checking with the Seattle Animal Shelter to see if they’ve had any reports from elsewhere in the city; three years ago, SAS speculated the turkey seen around town then might have escaped from a “private flock.”
SATURDAY UPDATE: Still headed east – but now south, with sightings in Fairmount Ravine and Belvidere:
That photo is from Catherine, who says, “Just saw the turkey this afternoon while walking through our neighborhood. Made me smile. Up on 38th Ave SW in the Belvedere neighborhood.”
SUNDAY REPORT: A photo from 10:30 am at 38th SW/Olga:
Thanks for sending the updates!
MONDAY UPDATES: Jody spotted it on “37th Ave SW between Stevens and Olga.”
Then it turned up in Tim‘s garden int the 2700 block of 38th SW:
After garden mayhem, Tim reported, the turkey took a nap.
TUESDAY UPDATES: The reports we received today were from the same general area. From Michael Ross:
From Regan:
There might be a reason the turkey’s lingered there. Rose De Dan of Wild Reiki and Shamanic Healing said she invited it to visit. She finally got to see it:
Tonight, around 7:30 p.m. I heard the very loud and distinct sound of a turkey gobbling! I looked out my front window which faces 39th and Lander, and there he is in all his puffed up glory, strutting down the street, gobbling away, and headed right toward my house. It is definitely a he, since only the males gobble. He is issuing a call to any lady turkeys in the nearby vicinity. Poor guy, I sincerely hope he finds a lady love.
He is definitely wild. As soon as I opened my front door he hightailed it in the direction of the greenbelt that runs behind the houses across the street from me. The neighbors have seen him fence hopping from yard to yard.
I did not see him again, but heard him gobbling away for a little while longer. I am so grateful that he came to call (literally), and I hope that he finds the female turkey of his dreams …
1:16 PM: Adah Cruzen was there this afternoon as the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce officially unveiled the new Welcome to West Seattle sign on the slope along the west end of the West Seattle Bridge long tended by her late husband Earl Cruzen. He was there in 1986 when the Chamber, for which he was a vice president at the time, put up the previous sign; last summer, with a photo of Earl as a backdrop, Adah announced a donation to fund a new one. Then-Chamber CEO Lynn Dennis was also at the site for today’s unveiling.
It was made by South Park-based Waypoint Sign Company, which installed the framework and base last month.
Members of the Chamber committee that worked on the sign project were there for the unveiling. Along with then-CEO Dennis, they were:
Tim Andes of Waypoint Sign Company
Paul Prentice, of Prentice Designs Inc.
Hamilton Gardiner of Holmquist and Gardiner PLLC
Gary Potter of Potter Construction
Pete Spalding of Verity Credit Union
Shannon Felix of Avalon Glassworks
The Cruzen donation also is to pay for a landscape-maintenance plan for the site.
ADDED 7:25 PM: Local historian, journalist, and author Clay Eals was there today too and shares this video.
One week ago – Arbor Heights and Seola. A few days ago, Fauntleroy. Now … still northbound:
Fred sent that photo after a Beach Drive backyard sighting on Sunday. Today, a texted photo from Alki Point:
Where will “the West Seattle turkey” turn up next? Is it the same one that wandered the peninsula exactly three years ago? We haven’t yet checked in with Seattle Animal Shelter but that year, they told us their guess was that the wandering turkey had escaped from “someone’s private flock.”
Same turkey (at least, that’s the majority vote on ID so far) as last Sunday in Seola? Charles sent the top photo today after the big bird showed up in his backyard near Lincoln Park; Jon sent the photo below after a backyard visit in Fauntleroy on Friday:
As noted last weekend, the previous wave of turkey sightings was right about this time three years ago.
Yesterday we featured a reader photo of the Golden Pheasant that’s been seen around southwestern West Seattle – today, these photos from Arbor Heights. Turkey?
You might recall the spate of turkey sightings three years ago (though some disputed what it was).
Susan is the third person in the past few weeks to email us about a Golden Pheasant sighting – first with a clear photo, so we’re posting in case you see it too. It’s been six years since the first time we published a Golden Pheasant report; species information we’ve found online suggests six years is the outer range of their life span, so no way to know if it’s the same one. We also received a photo last year. Wild? Roaming pet? Still a mystery.
We’ve received a few questions about the film crew at Don Armeni. All they would tell us is, it’s a TV commercial. They’re shooting intermittently on Harbor Avenue, with this camera-equipped car:
(Photos courtesy Waypoint Sign Company)
If you travel on the Fauntleroy end of the West Seattle Bridge, you might have seen the activity today – Waypoint Sign Company has begun the process of installing the new “Welcome to West Seattle” sign.
We received the photos and update from Cara at Waypoint, which is based in South Park. She tells WSB, “We are so honored to create this amazing sign.” Today, the base went into position.
Tomorrow, Waypoint expects to pour concrete. That’ll set for a few days before they finish getting ready to install the sign itself.
We’re checking with the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce for an update on the unveiling plans – as you will probably recall, the new sign is a Chamber project, announced last summer along with a donation from Adah Cruzen to fund it as well as a sustainable maintenance plan.
3:27 PM SUNDAY: If you have something to put in the mail, you won’t be able to use the drive-up/ride-up box outside the West Seattle Junction Post Office for a few days. We don’t know the backstory, nor do we know when it went out of service, but the sign on the side says “lock replacement Monday or Tuesday.” So we’ll check back. (Thanks to Lora for the photo/tip.)
10:08 AM MONDAY: We just went over to check – back in service already.
Thanks to Larry Murante for the photo. That’s Ladder 11 – based at Seattle Fire Station 32 in The Triangle – seen at Lincoln Park earlier today. No incidents logged to the park today, so we are fairly sure it was training (we’ll check on Monday) – SFD does a lot of in-service training, so sometimes you will see firefighters practicing in parks, by bridges, or even using houses/buildings that are set for demolition.
| 2 COMMENTS