Pillowy Softness

The depth and quality of the new snow on Saturday was truly fantastic. Venturing off the trail rewarded the snowshoer with successive steps through pillowy soft conditions. As long as hollows under trees were avoided, it didn't really matter where you stepped. The form of the trees was whimsical, as though they were arranged by Dr Seuss himself.

Heather Lake Snowshoe

Heather Lake is the next valley over from Lake Twentytwo. The hike up is very similar: a bit over 1000ft elevation gain over two miles.

However, the conditions were vastly different this time. Perhaps two feet of perfect, powdery, and recent snowfall covered every surface, and it was well below freezing, so the snow adhered to every surface (instead of slumping off the trees). It was overcast and actively snowing, so the blue skies and sharp shadows were replaced with softer light, and complete silence.

Hamamelis

Spring is on the way when witch-hazel starts blooming. This branch was seen in Columbia City on a warm February afternoon.

Disused Mooring

Magnuson Park began life as the Sand Point Naval Reserve. Since then, bits and pieces of it have left federal ownership and most is now run by the city parks department.

Here is a large and capable wartime dock, adjacent to the NOAA land at the north end of the park. NOAA keeps a ship or two of their own docked on their side, and they're big enough to require the four lift bridges along the ship to open at their request (even during commuting hours).

It's now just the edge of a parking lot.

A Little Early

These eager crocuses have a bit more winter to endure before there will be any insects around for them to attract. These are the first heavy flakes of snow ahead of a few inches expected in the coming days. The ground isn't quite yet freezing, so the snowflakes are quickly melting. The cold will win out later tonight, and I doubt I'll even see the top of them tomorrow.

Untouched Trail

I can't resist another photo from Saturday's snowshoe. Although perhaps five parties had reached the lake prior to our arrival, nobody had gone any distance on the trail by the banks of the lake. Perhaps 2-3ft of new snow covered every surface.

The blue wall in the distance is the bottom of 2500ft of steep mountain face that guards the south end of the lake.

SDOT Stair #252

SDOT Stair #252 connects E Alder St and Randolph Ave in Leschi.

It's a neighborhood that is hostile to uninformed exploration, as the topography leads to expensive detours to get around unconnected roads.

Lake Twentytwo

Lake Twentytwo is a fantastic spot that we haven't yet had a chance to get up to in summer. This wintertime hike gave us a feel for the area under snow. It was spectacular.

The general avalanche forecast for Stevens Pass and the North Cascades was moderate for our hike, and it is not risky terrain. Nonetheless, an avalanche overwhelmed a party on the trail in 2008, and one hiker died. The incident report notes, "This is indeed an unfortunate accident that occurred at a low elevation area not known for instability or avalanche problems."

Hooded Merganser Drake

This sharp-looking diving duck is a Hooded Merganser. He probably has a green card, as Seattle is part of their range of permanent residency.

He didn't seem to have a hen in attendance, so perhaps he's a bachelor this year.

Good LED, Bad LED

LED signage and lighting needn't be all bad. The entire area bounded by the Ship Canal, Lake Washington, 65th St, and Puget Sound has now been converted to LED streetlights.

You'll notice the natural character of the light, as compared to the terrible spectrum coming out of high pressure sodium lighting still in use elsewhere.

It's challenging to make straightforward comparisons between LED and HPS lighting. The most thorough study of the topic seems to have been undertaken by the ... er ... urban cultivation community.

I90 Westbound

This variable speed limit reads 60mph, but a fast shutter (or a blink of your own eye) can catch it in a state where very little is shown. LED displays suffer from a terrible flicker if they are driven by inexpensive circuitry.

Unlike elements on incandescent displays, a LED stops producing light the moment it is unpowered. Consequently, this sort of display shows these sort of ill effects if strobed at anything approaching a visible frequency.

Sghr hr mns z bktd.

Found on Lake Dell Ave, which was visited by Google before this lettering was attached.

But what does it mean? My first thought was rot-13, but that didn't produce anything meaningful. A single letter advance provided the answer:

This is not a clue.

Snowy Hot Tub

Being wet and near-naked outside during snowfall is not typically an enjoyable state of being.

However, with two hot tubs and a pool to choose from, the snowy environs become a lot more pleasurable. Muscles exercised during a day of skiing were soothed, and spirits were revived.

Hemlock Dew

Dew covers most surfaces of this western hemlock. It was somewhat above freezing, so most of the snow had slumped off the trees.

The lighting here was very interesting in that the undersides of many branches were lit more brightly than the top sides, by reflection from snow on the ground.

Permitted Graffiti

The Monique Lofts had a graffiti problem, until one of its owners commissioned Nko Reynolds and Joe Martinez to put something up that wouldn't be defaced.

Somehow they squeezed $15,000 out of the city and local businesses, and this is the result. Some grumble that the ghost signage shouldn't have been interfered with, but I think it looks pretty sharp.

Nko pollutes the city with his tags, and then gets the city to pay for legitimate work? Nice gig.