That's My World -- Ballard, WA

That's My World is hosted each week by Klaus, Sandy, Ivar, Wren, Fishing Guy and Louise. Click here to sign up and share your world with us!

Over the past months I have shared wonderful parts of my world in Oregon and Washington -- and many of them are truly awesome, but today I'm going to share the area where I actually live -- Ballard, WA, although it was annexed by Seattle many years ago. But as you will see the people of Ballard were not willing to give up their town.



Shilshole Bay Marina

Ballard today is known for its strong Scandinavian ties and for its character as a small town within the big city. Those reputations spring from its origins as the city of Ballard, Washington, established in 1889.

The city of Ballard prospered primarily because of its lumber and shingle mills along the industrial waterfront. By 1905, more red cedar shingles were being produced in the ten shingle mills here than in any other community nationwide.



Statue of Leif Erikson at Shilshole Bay Marina - a tribute to Ballard's Scandinavian ties.

Only a block from the mills, a bustling commercial district developed along Ballard Avenue. The business district remains largely intact today and has been protected by a Seattle City Ordinance as an Historic Landmark District. Its buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.



Like many small communities on the outskirts of a growing Seattle, Ballard quickly outgrew its resources. Primarily due to lack of adequate water for its population of 15,000, Ballard citizens voted to be annexed to Seattle in 1907. But annexation did not put an end to Ballard. The fishing and boat building industries, begun as small family operations, were growing in importance. In 1914, Fishermen's Terminal was established on the south shore of Shilshole Bay. Its facilities continue to grow today to accommodate one of the largest fishing fleets on the West Coast.



This is the new Ballard Library.

The Ballard Locks, built in 1912-1917, and the Ship Canal project (1911-1934), separated forever the fresh water shoreline from the saltwater tide and vastly improved the area for industry, providing livelihoods for generations to follow.



The Ballard Locks

Market Street became the focus of business in downtown Ballard in the 1930's. The Ballard businesses and the community continue to seek improvements for the commercial district, while seeking to maintain a balance of industry, history and community.





Ballard continues to be known for those aspects of its history that gave it its unique flavor - its immigrant heritage, its blue-collar population tied to maritime and lumber industries, and its wide residential community dotted with church spires. As you visit our neighborhood today, you will get an "inside" look at the homes and the people upon whom the community has been built.



This beach is a five minute drive from our house.

Evening Words, Wisdom and Beauty

The sky is the daily bread of the eyes.
Ralph Waldo Emerson



Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.
Frank Lloyd Wright



There is a way that nature speaks, that land speaks. Most of the time we are simply not patient enough, quiet enough, to pay attention to the story.
Linda Hogan



It is a wholesome and necessary thing for us to turn again to the earth and in the contemplation of her beauties to know of wonder and humility.
Rachel Carson

A New Exercise Program

The older we get the more important it is to incorporate exercise into our daily routine. This is necessary to maintain cardiovascular health and maintain muscle mass.

If you're over 40, you might want to take it easy at first, then do more repetitions as you become more proficient and build stamina. Warning: It may be too strenuous for some.

Always consult your doctor before starting any exercise program!

SCROLL DOWN...........





NOW SCROLL UP..





That's enough for the first day. Great job.

Have a glass of wine.

Thoughts for the Evening

These little reminders have been around for sometime -- they're still true.

Life is short,
Break the rules,
Forgive quickly,
Kiss slowly,
Love truly,
Laugh uncontrollably,
And never regret anything that made you smile.
Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we're here we should dance.

Shadow Shot Sunday!

Hey! Guess what? It's time to get outside and play with the shadows! Shadow Shot Sunday is hosted by Hey Harriet, click and join us!

Reflections on a pond at the zoo we visited last week.



Shadow of our deck on the Green Grass! Spring is definitely here! At last!



Lilac shadows in our yard and wisteria shadows on our neighbors deck.



My son was washing his Wrangler last weekend when I caught these shadows.

Evening Words, Wisdom and Beauty

The possession of knowledge does not kill the sense of wonder and mystery. There is always more mystery.
Anais Nin



Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone you may still exist, but you have ceased to live.
Mark Twain


The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say.
Anais Nin


He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still.
Lao Tzu




No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.
Buddha

Honest Blogger Award

Earlier this week I was given an "honest blogger" award by Joy at Babble On. I'm always very honored by the awards that I have been given and I'm grateful to those who have passed them on to me. I have found, however, that they do take a lot of time to respond to in a thoughtful way that is worthy of the reward. I do post them proudly in my sidebar, but I've had to stop participating because of the time problem. And I don't pass them on simply because I can think of so many bloggers that are so deserving of an award, that I find it impossible to choose and I also suspect they have the same time constraints that I do.

So, to Joy I say "thank you so very much for thinking of me" and to the rest of you, I would urge you to stop by her blog and check it out.

The Doomsayer

Maureen Dowd, NYT Op-Ed columnist had an extremely interesting column a few days ago about Dick Cheney. I was glad to discover that I’m not the only one asking serious questions about the former vice-president and just what he's up to these days.

Questions like, just what is it with Dick Cheney, anyway? The man who never talked is now the man who won’t shut up. The man who wouldn’t list his office in the federal jobs directory, who had the vice president’s residence blocked on Google Earth, who went to the Supreme Court to keep from revealing which energy executives helped him write the nation’s energy policy, is now endlessly yelping about how President Obama is holding back documents that should be made public.

Cheney was asked by Bob Schieffer on Sunday how America could torture when it made a mockery of our ideals and Cheney blithely gave an answer that surely would have been labeled treasonous by Rush Limbaugh, if a Democratic ex-vice president had said it about a Republican president. Doomsday Dick said, “Well, then you’d have to say that, in effect, we’re prepared to sacrifice American lives rather than run an intelligent program that would provide us the information we need to protect America.” And this in spite of the testimony from former FBI agent Ali Soufan and former Bush administration State Department official Philip Zelikow, both of whom have voiced serious concerns about Bush administration interrogation policies and just how effective they really were.

Cheney had five deferments himself to get out of going to Vietnam, but he would rather follow a blowhard entertainer who has had three divorces and a drug problem and who also avoided Vietnam, than follow a four-star general who spent his life serving his country.

Even Republicans are complaining. An official with Bush 1 recently said that he was sure that Bush 41 doesn’t appreciate Cheney acting out and that he is giving the whole party a black eye just as Jeb is out there trying to renew the party.
Cheney unleashed is pretty much the same as Cheney underground: He’s batty and he thinks he was the president. Even Bush 41 and 43 have come to see Cheney differently and I don’t think that either of them has any idea what makes Cheney tick.

He has no coherent foreign policy viewpoint. He still doesn’t fathom that his brutish invasion of Iraq unbalanced that part of the world, empowered Iran and was a force multiplier for Muslims who hate America. He left our ports unsecured, our food supply unsafe, the Taliban rising and Osama on the loose. No matter if or when terrorists attack here – and they’re on their own timetable, not a partisan red/blue state timetable – Cheney will be deemed the primary one who made America more vulnerable. He still loves torture, Gitmo and scaring the bejesus out of Americans. He’s still trying to pull the GOP into a black hole of zealotry.

When Cheney was in the first Bush administration, he was odd man out. Bush 41, James Baker, Brent Scowcroft and Colin Powell corralled Cheney’s “Genghis Khan” side, as it was known, and his “rough streak.” Cheney didn’t care for Powell even then.
According to Dowd, with W, “Back Seat” – Cheney’s Secret Service name in the Ford Administration – clambered up front. Then he totaled the car. And no amount of yapping on TV is going to change that when history is written.

Sky Watch Friday

Time again to show and share your skies with us! Sky Watch is graciously hosted each week by Klaus, Sandy, Ivar, Wren, Fishing Guy and Louise. Click here and sign up to share and show your skies!

The moon was so beautiful here the other night I just had to try to get a shot. I had to do it through a window where I could set up the camera on my little tripod. The neighbors had their lights on and it's the first nightime shot I've ever taken, but I had to share it! Thanks to Darlene, I went back and managed to crop it -- not the most professional job, but I'll learn. Please do click on the pic to enlarge and see the clouds as well as the moon. A dear friend of mine has bought me a new camera of my own and I am so excited! I should have it in the next few days so I hope to be able to get even more fun sky photos!



With a few more sunny days here in Seattle lately we've been getting our usual wide variety of skies, all different, all lovely!

Evening Words, Wisdom and Beauty

Dreams are necessary to life.
Anais Nin



Dreams pass into the reality of action. From the actions stems the dream again; and this interdependence produces the highest form of living.
Anais Nin



Each contact with a human being is so rare, so precious, one should preserve it.
Anais Nin



Each friend represents a world in us, a world not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.
Anais Nin

Humorous Hints for the Morning

How to wash a toilet

This was simply too much of a time saver not to share it with you.

1. Put both lids of the toilet up and add 1/8 cup of pet shampoo to the water in the bowl.

2. Pick up the cat and soothe him while you carry him towards the bathroom.

3. In one smooth movement put the cat in the toilet and close the lid. You may need to stand on the lid.

4. The cat will self agitate and make ample suds. Never mind the noises that come from the toilet, the cat is actually enjoying this.

5. Flush the toilet three or four times. This provides a 'power-wash' and rinse'.

6. Have someone open the front door of your home. Be sure that there are no people between the bathroom and the front door.

7. Stand behind the toilet as far as you can, and quickly lift the lid.

8. The cat will rocket out of the toilet, streak through the bathroom, and run outside where he will dry himself off.

9. Both the commode and the cat will be sparkling clean.



Yours Sincerely,

The Dog

ABC Wednesday - Q

Time for the alphabet game! ABC Wednesday hosted by Mrs. Nesbitt. Click here to sign in and play.

And today's letter is Q as in Quail
Thanks to my friend, Miles Per Hour, I went back to search my Quail picture and this is what I found. "The most common North American quail is called the bobwhite in the North and the partridge in the South. It ranges from Maine to South Dakota, southward to Florida, the Gulf Coast, and southern Mexico. It is the only quail that nests in the eastern half of North America." That man does keep me on my toes! Thanks, M!

And Queen -- remember them? One of my favorites!


And Queen Latifa



And Quarter horse, owned one of those many years ago!

Evening Words, Wisdom and Beauty

Delight in the beauty that surrounds you.



Some people, like flowers, give pleasure, just by being.



Poetry is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary.
Kahlil Gibran



The best thing about animals is that they don't talk much.
Thornton Wilder

That's My World -- Woodland Park Zoo

Time to show and share your world again. That's My World is graciously hosted every Tuesday by Klaus, Sandy, Ivar, Wren, Fishing Guy and Louise. To sign up and share your world with us click here.

Since Sunday was Mother's Day and my son knows how much I love zoos and animals, he handed me the camera and told me we were going to the Woodland Park Zoo for a day with the animals. It's a lovely zoo in a very heavily wooded area that is as close to a natural habitat as you can have for animals in the middle of a large city. They sponser more than three dozen field conservation projects around the world, helping everything from butterflies to elephants. Remember to click on any of the photos to enlarge and get a better look.



They have numerous programs designed to help acquaint and educate the public. Programs such as Giraffe and Elephant Feeding, African Village Storytelling, Raptor Flight Programs, Upapi! (African Beading) and general information programs called Keeper Talk. There is also a variety of summer events.



Adam and I had a grand morning there and I wanted to share the fun with you today!



It really feels like a kind of natural habitat as you don't see any cages, there are lots of trees, watering spots, open fields for the animals to enjoy as well as the two-legged visitors.

















A great Mother's Day and lovely part of My World!