Friday cat


photo by Ballard Avenue

At long last a different porch and a different cat.

NoMa


photo by Ballard Avenue

Ballard is the hottest real estate market in the area and this is part of it. "NoMa"is a condo under construction north of Market Street (Get it? Aren't they clever...)

There are nearly a thousand condo units under construction or permitted in central Ballard. Ballard merchants love it. Ballard old-timers hate it. We're resigned to it and simply hope for the best. After all, there might be some kids our age moving in and that could be fun.

Tulip and snail


photo by Ballard Avenue

Continuing the tulip theme, we offer this snap of a particularly psychedelic tulip with snail attached. Only a snail could sleep amongst this riotous color.

Sunset Hill Tulip Festival


photo by Ballard Avenue

And as with the Cleopatra Avenue Tulip Festival, we just don't have the crowds here that they do up north. That's a good thing.

The sun sets every evening


photo by Ballard Avenue

And so you get another sunset shot. Soon the sailboats will return to their berths in the marina. Lines will be coiled, gear will be stowed, and it will be time for a drink and a story or two. "Aye, and the seas were vertical, I'm tellin' ya, but lashed to the wheel I was and we sailed to safety and the waiting arms of those we left on shore." See, it's not so hard to write that seafarin' stuff. Certainly easier than reading it, that's for sure.

Friday cat


photo by Ballard Avenue

Nice cat. We liked this one a lot.

Sunset


photo by Ballard Avenue

You know, they don't call our part of Ballard "Sunset Hill" for nothing.

Cherries under construction, part 3


photo by Ballard Avenue

Gravity always prevails over beauty.

Heading north


photo by Ballard Avenue

We walked over to the park the other evening and saw this tug and barge heading north on Puget Sound.

Tonka trucks are built to work!


photo by Ballard Avenue

Some folks on 70th Street have lined up this fleet of dump trucks. Are they planning some major earthmoving and construction? We'll follow this developing story closely.

Friday cat: Working hard


photo by Ballard Avenue

Since you woke me up I'll have a good ear scratch and call it a day's work well done.

Klingon Accordion


another photo found whilst rummaging around the 'Net

Well, more precisely a Klingon concertina, or perhaps it's a Klingon bandoneĆ³n, which leads to scary daydreams about what Klingon tango would be like.

Friday cat: Waking up


photo by Ballard Avenue

You disturbed my nap for what?

Lady of Spain


Photo found somewhere on the 'Net. We thank its contributor.

Holy cow! Check out that Titano!

No one around here looks like this but we've been strapping on the squeeze for a while now. Accordion lessons Thursday and really-not-enough-practice the rest of the week. But perhaps someday we can aspire to tackle "Lady of Spain" in frenzied triplets Dick Contino style. (Give the link a moment to load. Thank you Amazon.)

9/11 changed everything, they say


photo by Ballard Avenue

Well, it certainly changed the Coast Guard. They bought racy little patrol boats and now sometimes escort the ferries plying back and forth across Puget Sound. We had occasion to ride the Southworth ferry a couple weeks ago. It was a lovely day and one of our group said, "I bet we'll see the Coasties. Do you think that on a day like this they're going to spend the afternoon doing paperwork?"

Sure enough, we found the Coast Guard on duty, intercepting the sailboat that came too close to the ferries passing each other off of Vashon Island. Reassured that Osama bin Laden wasn't at the helm, the Coasties sped away and all in all, it was a splendid day out for everyone.

Big ass bee


photo by Ballard Avenue

Damn, that is one big ass bee! There must be one big ass honeypot back at the hive.

Swedish pancakes


photo by Ballard Avenue

Now that's a classic Ballard breakfast: Swedish pancakes with lingonberry sauce, whipped cream, smoked salmon, and a hunk of cheese. Don't forget good strong Swedish coffee!

While this is a classic Ballard breakfast, what you see is actually served at IKEA in Renton, believe it or not. Global village, indeed.