Barred

It's been a while since I've visited the Yesler Swamp. Pretty cool to see the changes that have happened hear over two years. Like this boardwalk! It's made of rot resistant heartwood cedar and is designed to be low-impact on the surrounding fragile swamp environment.

Tyler ties pink tape around a native tree signaling to Swamp visitors to take heed of where to step.

Then I saw my very first barred owl!!

The boardwalk is about 2/3 finished. The Friends of Yesler Swamp is currently looking for funding sources to continue and finish the project. 

  Even in the middle of a highly urban area, you can still find pockets of greenery and wildlife. The Yesler Swamp is a prime example of a community coming together to help preserve and tend to shared green spaces.

Dani and Snike

Before Dani heads off the D.C. and then Arizona in the next couple of days, we decided one more photo session was only appropriate, this time featuring Snike the snake! They are a great duo and it was fun to get back into portraits. Good luck with your fellowship Dani!

Complete Set

Northwest Asian Weekly

Last week I took photos for the Northwest Asian Weekly newspaper. The Chinese American Citizens Alliance had a conference in Seattle and the group was schedule to tour the newspaper office, so I hung out around the ID to snap some photos. It felt good to have an assignment again. This whole post-grad situation is weird, and some days are better than others. Having something like this to do added a little excitement to the monotony of finding actual employment..

Deception and Coincidences

Not a bad view for a wrong turn.

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Explaining intertidal species and good shoreline management to anyone who'll listen.

*senior portraits*

Thank you, ma'am, for your great seating choice.

What are the chances of running into three of your classmates over spring break? What are the chances of getting to the same park one minute from each other? Too many things had to go wrong/right for this to happen, and I'm so glad they did. Obligatory celebratory selfie coming right up.

Many of these photos came from this guy. Thanks for your help Ryan!

Park?

I've talked about Privately Owned Public Spaces (POPS) before on this blog (see full map of them here), and I want to talk about them again. Earlier this week I was walking around Pike Place Market and had the opportunity to visit another green space in the middle of downtown. Located on Union St. and 2nd Ave on the 17th floor of the Russell Investment Center (enter building on 2nd Ave, there are elevators to the left), there is a beautiful, perhaps overly manicured, space open to the public. (To be clear, this spot is not officially listed on the seattle.gov website as a POPS, but my experience of getting to this space was very similar to my previous POPS account, which leads me to think this might also be a POPS or something close to it.)

Being here gave me the feeling that I had stumbled into some exclusive club, but there was no indication that I was somewhere I wasn't allowed to be. These places are weird and underutilized. They are beautiful, but mostly empty. Public, but not publicized. I see a place like this and I'm disappointed that it's not being appreciated (or even known) to its full capacity. I guess my part in all of this is letting you know that this exists. Should you be wandering near Union & 2nd one of these weekdays, know that there is some calm and quiet waiting for you on the 17th floor.