Author: Kay

Goodbye, 3 Crabs

It’s a mixture of bad news, good news.

The 3 Crabs Restaurant, a Sequim institution for decades, is being sold and will likely be closing after this summer. The purchaser is the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and the nearly 52 acres of land and tidelands at the property will be restored and improved for public access.

This is the marshland west of the restaurant. There is also marshland to the restaurant’s south. I’m not sure what the boundaries of the parcel are, but the location is wonderful. The parking lot fronts a beach on Dungeness Bay and has a great view of the New Dungeness Lighthouse to the north and Mount Baker and the Cascades to the east. Beach access now requires climbing over boulders and can be tricky for aging knees.

Invasion of the. . .


. . .caterpillars, tent caterpillars.

I’d never really noticed them before. But then I started seeing these bags of silky, thick webs on trees and shrubs. In an attempt to get over my aversion to creepy, crawly, insect-y things I decided to keep watching until something emerged from the bags.

A garden columnist wrote about them in the local paper last weekend. I can tell you that the critters go through six larval stages, they love to eat young leaves, preferrably deciduous, and their outbreaks are cyclical, which means I won’t necessarily have to force myself to study them yearly.

The columnist went on to talk about their predators, the unsightliness of their soiled nests, and, importantly, some stomach-turning ways to get rid of them. All of that heartily reinforced my insect aversion.

Here are the critters that emerge. Frankly, I’m surprised you’ve read this far. I would have kept on going as soon as the top photo loaded.

We are what we eat

I admit that oddities catch my eye. And I classify this as somewhere in the “food history” realm.

It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen a recipe that calls for lard, solid or semisolid rendered fat of a hog. I’ve seen it used in some ethnic foods I’m familiar with. But this “ideal shortening” certainly doesn’t seem to be front and center in a typical grocery store.

People used to eat more saturated fats. Now we eat processed foods and consume sugar in all forms, in foods where you wouldn’t expect sweeteners. It’s hard to control what we eat unless we make food “from scratch.”

Do you have time to make what you eat?

Native honeysuckle

One of my favorite scents on a warm summer’s day is honeysuckle. So it was a disappointment to discover that this native honeysuckle (lonicera ciliosa) which grows freely in the Dungeness Recreation Area landscape does not, alas, have a fragrance. But it’s bright, pretty, and the hummingbirds love it. That’s not bad at all.

My kind of grafitti, 2 of 2

Yarn bombing is a seemingly spontaneous art movement that’s popped up around the world. But to look at some of the work that’s now on display in Sequim, it seems like lots of people kept themselves busy all winter.

I can imagine conversations: “Now that looks interesting. What are you working on?” “Oh, just a little something for a chilly looking bike rack.”

The daffodil at top was in one of the “flower beds” on the plaza where this was taken.

I had a hard time deciding which photos to post. There were wrapped and garlanded trees, other decorated benches, and a snake draped over a street sign. It’s a unique and cheerful sight. Thank you, Fiber Arts Bombadiers!

My kind of grafitti, 1 of 2

Yesterday was International Yarn Bombing Day and Sequim became a target. Fiber artists – knitters, felters, weavers, crocheters – from the North Olympic Peninsula adorned our streets with random color and whimsy.

The Sunshine Cafe on Washington Street was one of the first targets earlier this week.

Nothing was safe as the city was cloaked in bits and pieces of fibrous splendor.

More shots tomorrow.