Mukilteo Musings

ONLY IN SEATTLE

1. Only in Seattle does lightening strike the Space Needle and it makes the news. Yes, yesterday, lightening hit the Space Needle and there were some fantastic images of the event on King5.

2. Speaking of weather, only in Seattle has winter returned. Finally we are getting some snow in the mountains and the North Cascade's Highway which had reopened earlier than ever before has now closed again. This makes us all feel better. Maybe we won't turn into crispy critters by the end of May after all. When we first moved here, I could not get over the fact that we could go cross country skiing 40 minutes from our front door in a complete winter wonderland in March and then we could drive down from the mountains to see green and growing grass, leafed out trees, and flowers everywhere.

3. Only in Seattle are the Blue Herons pitted against the Bald Eagles. And no, these are not sports teams. Evidently, in a neighborhood near Microsoft the eagles and the herons seem to like the same trees for nesting and sitting and they are not getting along. Oh my, controversy in the suburbs over turf is not exclusively human according to King5 news. We have both Blue Herons and Bald Eagles living on our street. Actually we have about four herons and two eagles. So far, we have enough trees for all of them. You see, they have a great view of the water and fish from the tall trees. At dusk, the herons get a little testy--like if you are walking your big baby of a Golden Retriever and you disturb one of these huge creatures, they take off and fly low over your head, looking like a damn pre-historic pterodactyl, and they SQUAWK really really loudly, and they scare the bejeebers out of you and your fraidy cat dog, and your heart momentarily skips a beat, and you think you may be attacked by a flying dinosaur and...and.....no wonder Bald Eagles don't get along with them.

4. Speaking of Microsoft, Only in Seattle is Bill Gates "secret" compound not really a secret. Evidently, the Wall Street Journal reported on Bill Gates "think week". Twice a year Bill Gates spends a week alone in his cottage with a view of the water and the Olympic Mountains. He reads, he writes, and becomes inspired in his cabin on the water which according to the WSJ is a "secret Northwest locale". Everybody I know knows exactly where it is. In fact, pretty much everybody in Seattle knows exactly where it is--nothing secret about it as noted in today's Seattle PI. It is just that here in Seattle we do not bother people and we respect the privacy of others; it is a supreme part of our culture. Bill Gates can drink his diet Orange Crush in complete seclusion and nobody will bother him because his inspirations tend to be exciting and a benefit to all of us in this area.