Hometown: Brownsville Marina, Washington

I'm going to start this weekend hometown series with my hometown. This is not where I'm from originally. We'll get to that town later. But it is my home at this time, and it has been for nearly two years. Brownsville is not its own city. It is part of East Bremerton, and my address reflects that, sadly enough. Brownsville, with its unique character and flavor, is light years away from East Bremerton, even though it is only a few miles away. Brownsville is a very small village really, consisting mainly of a marina, which also houses what I am told is a world famous deli, a fire station, and a general store of sorts. I walk down to the deli sometimes for a quick sandwich or snack of some sort. I also walk down to the marina to get my mail, since Brownsville residents (and there aren't many of us) have our mailboxes all together right at the marina. In fact, in at least one of the photos and website links, you'll be able to see my mailbox. You'll also be able to see my house on the water, if you know exactly where to look. The Brownsville volunteer fire station is in nice condition, although I've never actually ever seen a firetruck of any kind there. It is a well-maintained, if not often used, building.

The first link is the official Port of Brownsville website. The top photo on the home page shows my house plain as day, if you know where to look. It's a little hard to explain where it is, so you can just trust me on this. It also shows, in the backdrop, the Olympic Mountain range. Before I moved here, I lived on the other side of Kitsap Peninsula on Hood Canal in unincorporated Poulsbo. I had a nice view of that mountain range from my cabin there. I can still see the mountain range from many places around this area, and nearly always do see it if I'm running errands, so I'm never far from it. I have a small view of a piece of the Cascade Mountain range at the very edge of my front yard along the water's edge. The view from my living room windows is of Puget Sound. Burke Bay is the name of the small protected harbor that Brownsville marina calls home.

http://www.portofbrownsville.org/

The Port of Brownsville website also contains numerous links to the history of Brownsville, as well as an event calendar, so you can stay up to date with whatever is happening around here. There are two events that happen yearly here, which I like the best. The first is when the tall ships come for a stay in Brownsville marina during Brownsville Appreciation Days (BAD) in August. The Lady Washington sailed into port the day I signed the lease papers to move into my little rental here. I think it was an auspicious event to mark my arrival in this unique little spot in the world. My second favorite event is the parade of the Christmas ships, when the members of the Brownsville Yacht Club decorate their boats with Christmas lights and sail along the waterfront, circling around in front of the marina and then finally settling back into port for the night. The yachts generally stay lit up for about a month during the holiday season.

One of the neatest things about living on the water at Brownsville is that the view changes constantly. Varying weather and light changes, as well as tidal shifts, provide a nonstop array of light and rippling effects on the water. My favorite times are sunrise and tidal changes, when it appears that the tide is both coming in and going out all at the same time. Natural changes are exciting, but even the change in what sort of vessels are passing by provides endless hours and days of visual stimulation and entertainment. At night, you can sometimes see the spooky green lights on the vessels as they sail past or into port. The marina lights below the hill upon which I live provide a scenic view at night if you turn out your inside lights and look out.

I've included photos of a few of the sunrises I've experienced here. They're not always this dramatic, but I haven't seen a bad one yet.









Editor of AGNADL

It's Arbor Day--Go Plant a Tree!

Today is Arbor Day in the United States. The very first Arbor Day was celebrated in 1872 in Nebraska. Since then it has spread to all fifty of the these United States and has become a national holiday. In 1970, President Nixon proclaimed the last Friday in April as our national Arbor Day. Other countries celebrate a version of this day as well. If you don't have time or opportunity to go out and plant a tree this weekend, then I urge you to make a donation to the Arbor Day Foundation. I already have a penchant for planting trees, so I think I'll make a donation and order more trees from the Arbor Day Foundation and get to work. I personally have a thing for Colorado Blue Spruce trees. Don't ask me why. I just think they're beautiful. I've already grown about a dozen to a height big enough to donate them to local parks and friends who wanted them on their property. They were very glad to receive them, and I was delighted to share my trees with them.

http://www.arborday.org/

For more information on the history of Arbor Day, click on the link below.

http://www.arbor-day.net/

Editor of AGNADL

Happy St. George's Day

Today is St. George's Day in England and a number of countries throughout Europe, though technically, they've all gone to bed now. I thought I'd tip my hat to their special day since I'm still awake anyway, and it is still April 23rd here. I hadn't really heard of St. George's Day until today, so I had to look it up on the internet so I'd sort of know what it was all about. Apparently the Queen makes new appointments to the Order of the Garter on St. George's Day. Yes, I then had to look up the garter thing too because I wasn't sure how seriously that should be taken, and I have to wonder if garter means quite the same thing over there as in the United States. The answer to that question is: I have no idea. So, I'm going to stop revealing any more of my ignorance about English traditions, holidays, and history, and give you a few links so you may go and find answers yourself.

The one thing I did perhaps conclude is that they don't actually slay any dragons on St. George's Day, and I was very glad to hear that since I am fond of dragons and all. Without dragons, what good would all those fantasy novels and movies be? They'd be less than worthless, no doubt.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_George%27s_Day

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5iZWRHTB_l1w1dl8jKjNWowmvrgow

http://www.britannia.com/history/stgeorge.html

Editor of AGNADL

All Earth News All Day Long

Today is Earth Day, and while we publish a lot of articles about greening our planet, today everything we publish will be about Earth Day. Tips on how to live a greener life on the earth, ways to celebrate Earth Day, and ways to make every day Earth Day.

Earth Day News Flash:
EPA set strict limits on mercury emissions.

http://www.earthjustice.org/news/e-brief/april-2009.html

This link is about living greener all the time:

http://wilderness.org/content/earth-day-your-best-tips-combating-global-warming

Earth Day Video:

http://blogs.edf.org/greenroom/2009/04/21/happy-earth-day/

Editor of AGNADL

Earth Day is Tomorrow

While we should celebrate Earth Day every day by making changings in how we walk on this planet, this is a reminder that tomorrow is the official celebration of Earth Day. Check your local papers for events and activities special to your area. Following are links for information and events:

http://www.earthday.net/earthday2009
http://earthday.envirolink.org/

Editor of AGNADL

Save the Frogs Day on the Way

One week from today is Save the Frogs Day. That's right April 28, 2009 has been declared the very first Save the Frogs Day by the Save the Frogs conservation organization. This is an event that is to be celebrated annually in many countries around the world, including the United States, Canada, Italy, China, and Australia. The goal of the event is to make people more aware that frog species around the world are rapidly disappearing. Nearly a third of the world's existing species are now threatened with extinction. Already more than 150 species have disappeared since in the past thirty years alone. To learn more about how you can help and/or participate, check out:

http://www.savethefrogs.com/day/



Editor of AGNADL

More News Blowing in the Wind

First Wind has filed a permit application with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection to build a proposed 51 megawatt wind project. The location for the project is Aroostook County. The proposed Oakfield Wind project will produce enough energy to power more than 20,000 homes. For more information, click on the provided link:

http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/39721

Editor of AGNADL

Former Auto Workers Employed in Green Jobs

While it may not sound like a lot of jobs, it is a step in the right direction. 120 new jobs will be filled by former auto-industry workers in Michigan over the next three years, when Mariah Power opens its new wind turbine factory for production. Manufacturing will commence in a retrofitted auto parts automation manufacturing facility. The employees will be former auto workers with prior experience working with steel, auto assembly lines, and auto robotics. This is part of the state of Michigan's Green Jobs Initiative. To read more, click on the link below:

http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/39722

Editor of AGNADL

Get Outside and Enjoy Spring

Cherry blossoms exploding near Vancouver, BC



Contrasting tulips near Vancouver, BC



Sunrise near Poulsbo, Washington



Sunrise near Poulsbo, Washington

Go outside! What are you waiting for? An engraved invitation from Mother Nature? This is it. Go out and find your own beautiful scenery and share some of your photos of spring with us.

Editor of AGNADL

Larry the Sheep and His Brothers, Darryl and Darryl

(Reprinted from the blog http://slicesofmylife.net by Beth Mitchum)

I just never know when I'm going to go around another bend in the road and find wonderful new life experiences. Right now I'm in the middle of a pet sitting stint that turned into a pet sitting and livestock sitting stint. My landlord asked me a couple weeks ago to look in on their cats while they were gone. He was going to have someone else do the livestock, but I told him as long as I didn't have to sheer the sheep, I was fine doing all of the animal care for them. So two days ago I embarked on what is turning about to be an adventure that I have been sharing with friends and family on Facebook. While I've done a lot of pet sitting in the past, this is turning out to be the funniest and most fun of all the jobs I've taken on for people.

I want to introduce the colorful cast of characters (the livestock at least) I'm interacting with this week. I went the day before the owners were leaving to meet the animals and go over the instructions for feeding and watering everyone. I was introduced first to Larry the sheep. My first thought was "Larry? Who names a sheep Larry?" Then I took a look at his face, and yup, sure enough, he looks like a Larry. I'm going to try to get a better photo of him tomorrow, so you have a clearer shot of his face, from a little more of an angle because then he looks more like a person. His bleat is a sharp baritone note, which is rather startling but not at all unpleasant. It's sort of like a hearing a large, round-bellied man (think happy Buddha here) belch suddenly and very loudly. They are all really big sheep, so none of them have the higher-pitched bleating sound I usually associate with the creatures.

In the photo below, Larry is the one on the right looking into the camera. The other two are the ones I've dubbed Darryl and Darryl, because the owners didn't tell me their names. The situation just reminded me of the character, Larry, on the Bob Newhart Show from years ago, who would introduce himself as Larry, and then proceed to introduce his brother Darryl and his other brother Darryl. I always found that so comical and quirky and this new situation in my life seemed to fit a similar level of quirkiness.



Below is a close-up of one of the Darryls. The Darryls like to stick their heads down in the feeding trough while you're still pouring out the feed. So their woolly heads get filled with bits of feed. The pygmy goat, whose name is Houdini, stands in the trough while eating. This is, no doubt, because he is way smaller than the sheep and would never get any food if he didn't jump into the trough and nose his way to the feed.



Below is the other Darryl, but I need to get a clearer photo of him too.



Next is Houdini, the pygmy goat, stepping into the feeding trough, and below that he is in the feeding trough between good old Larry and one of the Darryls.





Last is a shot of the idyllic waterfront pasture where these characters live. Not a bad lifestyle for a sheep named Larry to share with his brother Darryl and his other Brother Darryl, as well as with the great pygmy goat, Houdini. Yes, I asked. He was named that because he used to escape a lot. I guess he's given up trying to escape because what's the point? What a cool place to live!



Editor of AGNADL