Views of Sequim, the Olympic Peninsula. . .and beyond
There’s a lovely terraced community garden at Carrie Blake Park. During the Lavender Farm Faire lush lavender bushes took center stage. More recently an eye-catching display of dahlias has brightened the landscape.
Here’s a broader look at the garden as it moves toward winter hibernation.
These shots end my tour of Sequim’s Carrie Blake Park. It’s a great resource for young and old. It’s fitting that Peninsula Daily News polling awarded it “Best of the Peninsula – Local Park.”
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The dog park at Carrie Blake Park is a go-to place for dogs to see and be seen. Well, to sniff and be sniffed. It’s also a good spot for their people to socialize with other dog-lovers. Although dogs must be on leash in other parts of the park, the fenced dog park allows romps for free range pups.
There is brightly colored playground equipment in the center of the park. And the periphery of the park has an abundance of play fields. There were pairs of men playing catch the morning I took these shots.
Kids and adults with younger bones than mine can use the skate park. It was being cleaned as I took pictures. A church is in the background of this shot, and Bell Hill is beyond.
And I even found a kiosk for people interested in circuit training.
Sequim’s Carrie Blake Park, recently polled by the Peninsula Daily News as “Best Park” in its Best of the Peninsula ratings, has a combination of the passive and active features that draw people to parks. Above is one of several ponds that offer a soul satisfying view of nature. The park has many benches for humans and the ponds offer resting spots for ducks.
Parks also serve as a community gathering place. The Guy Cole Center, above, was built in the early 1980s by the Sequim Valley Lion’s Club. Members donated over 5,000 hours to its construction. There have been recent discussions about upgrading the building but it’s been a clean and functional location for events I’ve enjoyed.
In addition to the Guy Cole Center, the Sequim Valley Lion’s Club also constructed picnic pavillions adjacent to the Center. These offer pleasant, shady spots for picnics and outdoor activities. The Lions donated over 500 hours building the pavillions.
Another well used venue at Carrie Blake is the James Center for the Performing Arts. There are free public band performances here through the summer. A big field adjacent to the James Center is the location of the summer Lavender Farm Faire and local bands play there throughout the Faire. The accoustics seem great.
Tomorrow I’ll show more of what Carrie Blake Park offers.
The Peninsula Daily News completed its Best of the Peninsula polling for 2012. Some Sequim “bests” stayed the same, some moved to Port Angeles. I’ll show you several of the new Olympic Peninsula “bests” from Sequim in the coming weeks.
The first warranted more exploring than usual. Sequim’s Carrie Blake Park was named best local park. Though I’ve been there a number of times, my most recent visit reminded me why Carrie Blake deserves “best of” recognition. I’ll start with shots of its Friendship Garden.
The Japanese style garden is lovely any time of year, with beautiful views from virtually any direction. It is dedicated to Sequim’s sister city, Shiso, Japan.
This garden welcomes as you enter Carrie Blake Park. But it’s just a beginning of what the park has to offer. I’ll show more in the coming days.
The Pumpkin Patch is open. This is one of the local go-to spots with a field of pumpkins, a small general store, pigs and piglets, and a pumpkin catapult. There’s also a cornfield maze for those who like to pay to get lost. (I easily do this for free without even trying.)
You can see the pumpkin cap of this tower year round from Highway 101 at the west end of town. The area at the base of the tower sells corn on the cob, corn dogs, and apple cider.
I’ve mentioned my frustration with the harriers that land on a post alongside the trail at Dungeness Recreation Area. How they’re always there when I’ve left the camera home. And at times I’ve gotten ridiculously close, without, of course, a camera. That white line in the picture above is one of the favored posts. And that tiny dot on top? That’s a harrier. If I didn’t know better I’d say he was teasing me.
I approached, up the grade, toward the perch. Quietly. Not too intent. I swear critters can feel the energy of an excited photographer.
Here’s the cropped last shot before he glided off. “Okay,” he seemed to say. “You can show that I perch here but I’ll be darned if I’m going to give you a shot with high definition feathers, you crazy paparazzi. Get a life!”
If you keep careful watch you can see paper wasp nests like these here and there. I thought paper wasps were somewhat solitary and their nests relatively small but this is a real tribute to animal architecture and there was plenty of activity as I watched. This nest is about the size of a basketball. Is bigger better? I got stung by a wasp this summer. I rather think not.