The End of the Pink Season

The last of the double-blossomed Japanese Cherry trees are dropping their petals, and blankets of the pink snow are covering the lawns, drifts piling on the edges of trails and roads. We have passed through the gateway to Spring.

Caped Cascadia: Sustainability Superhero

Lover of the great outdoors, Caped Cascadia fights for environmental preservation and animal protection across the Pacific Northwest. She bravely forwards her cause through volunteering, voting, advocating, tithing to the cause, and walking her talk to lead humanity toward a humane, sustainable culture. Her superpower is her ability, through the powers of informed logic and articulate debate, to transform even the most self-indulgent, irresponsible consumers into mindful, conscientious citizens of the earth.

Note her sturdy runners and walking stick for long hikes, all purpose gloves for organic gardening, kayaking or snow shoeing, yoga tights and leotard, “whale pin” donation thank you gift from People for Puget Sound, short-cropped hair for easy care when swimming, camping, and participating in old growth forest sit-ins, the forest twigs that nonetheless got caught in her ‘do when she was sitting up in the ancient Douglas Fir, belt of quarters for riding the bus, and her “big dog” companion Gifford (all Cascadians love big dogs).


Thanks to Becky at “Girl in Short Shorts”, who clued me into the Superhero Creation Tool!

A P-Patch Post

Winding your way over the hills of Seattle, weaving through the neighborhoods, you will inevitably happen upon a small or large plot of land, sometimes in the most incongruous place, overflowing with dahlias and raspberry canes, bok choy, pea vines, and heirloom tomato plants. This is one of the many P-Patches in the city, small urban farm plots tended by local residents

There are well over 50 community gardens available to all residents and another 15 or so specifically for low income housing residents. Many P-Patchers are first generation immigrants and the produce they raise is a significant source of their families’ food. Community Urban Gardening has been a growing tradition in Seattle for over 40 years.

From Historylink.org on the origin of the P-patch tradition in Seattle:
"In 1922, Italian immigrant Ernesto Picardo bought four of the blocks and began raising vegetables. In 1965, the last Picardo retired from farming. Darlyn Rundberg saw the Picardo farm going unused and she envisioned a community garden. With the help of City Councilman Bruce Chapman, she got the city to lease the land and to pay the outstanding taxes of $688. Three acres were turned over to the Puget Consumers' Cooperative and the plot became the 'P' Patch. By 1971 there were 180 plots being cultivated. The land was purchased by the city in 1973 and the program expanded." In 2001, the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods had 38 P-Patches with 1900 plots and 4,600 gardeners on 12 acres of land.


Each P-patch has a different personality based on its location and gardeners. Some are very tidy, ornamental, and artistic. Some are purely utilitarian agriculture. Some are populated by folks wanting the simple opportunity of digging in the dirt, puttering around. Others are a mix of all the above.

The program is supported by both the City of Seattle which helps manage the sites and recruit/organize gardeners, and a non-profit land trust called
the P-Patch Trust which acquires land for the program and works on community development through the program.

The Pink Season

There is a fleeting season in Seattle, a brief time when all of the many Japanese cherry trees are in bloom… the pink season. It might be the profound Asian influence on Seattle, due to its Pacific Rim location and long history of Japanese immigration. Or, it could be just that these lovely trees thrive in the Northwest and provide one of the first glimpses of the coming season. For whatever reason, Seattlites though the years have planted and tended thousands of these stunning arbors.

The blooms last only 2-3 weeks, depending on the weather. Some blossom later than others (like the double-blossomed type), stretching the spectacle to about six weeks. Their impact on the early spring season is profound. When the trees are in bloom, one can find stretches of boulevards lined with big pink puff balls. When the petals fall, it is a blizzard of soft, pink snow that drift against the curbs and tree trunks and bunches of blooming daffodils. The leaves are bronze-green, lending a warm, rich tone into summer and fall.

Some folks are not impressed with the city’s fondness for these trees. Maybe these ornamentals are not modern enough, or pink is not chic. Admittedly, these are pretty trees, not dramatic in branching habit, or exotic in leaf shape or color. They have been in the landscape for ages, so are not on the cutting edge of landscape design fashion.
They are old-fashioned like the snowball bush, lilac and forsythia. In that way they are comforting like chicken pot pies and laundry lines filled with blowing linens held in place by wooden pins. And, they mark the coming of a welcomed season when the returning sun warms faces, loosens the soil, rouses flowers and birds, and lingers later every day.

A "Co-operative" Culture

Cascadia abounds with joiners. There are so many organizations to be members of, and we do tend to jump on the bandwagon: charities, political organizations, and affinity groups (clubs) fill our lives. The Northwest also has a strong history of building and supporting a range of co-operatives. Some of the country’s oldest and largest co-operatives (“co-ops”) reside here in Cascadia.

What’s A Co-op?

Per the International Co-operative Alliance, a co-operative is: “"an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise." They "are based on the values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity. In the tradition of their founders, co-operative members believe in the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others."

Very idealistic, non? Also, very practical. Co-operatives are created by their members to further mutual values and goals such as to create/ensure: access to organic food for consumers, access to commonly-owned processing equipment for farmers, affordable and healthcare. There are all kinds of co-ops. Here’s a sampling of a few you will find here:

Co-operative Banking (Credit Unions): Boeing Employees Credit Union

Started in 1935, BECU is ranked the fifth largest credit union (by asset size) in the United States and claims over 460,000 members. Their mission is to uphold our fundamental responsibility to actively serve people within their field of membership, and as appropriate, the communities they live in. They deliver a range of low-cost products and services to members. As stated on their website, “We will continually, in all facets of operations, demonstrate the value of membership in BECU while we look for better ways to reach out to the under-served.” Providing fair, affordable banking services and a commitment to improve quality of life in the community by reaching out to in-need communities in the area is the core of their purpose.

Consumer Co-operatives, Food: Puget Consumer Cooperative

PCC started as a food-buying club of 15 families in 1953. Today, it is the largest natural food co-operative in the nation. Their mission is to: 1) Provide the highest quality natural foods and products, 2) Create and cultivate the marketplace for locally grown and organic products and are a vital community resource on food, nutrition and environmental issues, and 3) Create and deliver the most satisfying natural foods shopping experience in the Northwest. PCC actively addresses issues such as farmland preservation, genetically engineered foods, organics and sustainable seafood through its buying policies and through advocacy activity.

Consumer Co-operatives, Outdoor Clothing and Equipment: Recreational Equipment, Inc. (REI)

REI was founded in 1938 by a group of Seattle-area mountaineers who wanted access to quality outdoor recreational gear at reasonable prices. It has grown to be the country's largest consumer-owned co-operative far exceeding 2 million active members. They focus on serving the interests of our customers through providing high quality clothing and equipment at fair prices with a liberal return policy, promoting environmental stewardship, and giving back to the community. Per their website, REI: “…donates millions of dollars to support conservation efforts nationwide, and sends scores of volunteers to build trails, clean up beaches, and teach outdoor ethics to kids. Through responsible business practices, we strive to reduce our environmental footprint.”

Healthcare Co-operatives: Group Health Cooperative

Group Health Cooperative was opened in 1947 by a community coalition dedicated to making quality health care available and affordable. Group Health is a consumer-governed, nonprofit health care system that coordinates care and coverage. Based in Seattle, the Group Health network serves approximately 568,344 members in Washington and Idaho. Per its website: “Today it is one of the few health care organizations in the country governed by consumers rather than internal executives. Its 11-member board of trustees — all Cooperative members elected by other members — work closely with management and medical staff to ensure that the organization's policies and direction put the needs of patients first.” GHC’s stated purpose is to transform health care, working to improve the care and well-being of their members and communities.

Housing Co-operatives

There are a range of forms of co-operative residences. None are large organizations, but are based on a singe home or small group of homes in the same area. Seattle Wiki has a list.

Co-ops provide viable and competitive options for purchasing goods and services for both individuals and small businesses, like farmers. Since the “shareholders” are the consumers (members) themselves, benefits including profit, is returned. Also, a lack of profit-motive helps ensure that the values and goals the co-ops are founded on do not erode under the pressure to reduce costs and maximize revenue. They are organizations in balance, or least strive to be. Each co-operative is led by a board of directors that represent the membership, ensuring the organizations management and staff operate efficiently and effectively in the organization’s interest. The success of co-ops, despite their relatively minimal marketing and other promotion, in the Northwest proves their relevance and necessity here. For-profit organizations aren’t meeting all needs of a market place that demands values of honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others as well as quality products at competitive prices. Viva la co-op!

The Mountain is Out

“The Mountain is out!” If you say this, just about any Washingtonian will turn to look, because they know exactly what you mean. There in only one Mountain (with a capital M). It is Mount Rainier. This is because, on a clear day, it is visible to almost everyone who lives here. Standing over 14,400 feet tall, it is not only the highest peak in Washington State, but in the entire Cascade range. (A unifying symbol of a state with diverse landscapes and communities, the Mountain was chosen to represent Washington on the state’s quarter.)

Left: A view of Rainier from Seattle.

The Mountain is a magnificent place… a wonderland of old growth, temperate rain forest, alpine meadows that bloom like a festival in early summer, and wicked glacier fields and craggy peaks year around. It is a magnet for hikers, climbers, skiers and other wilderness sport enthusiasts. The entire mountain resides inside Mt. Rainier National Park and the vast majority of the park is designated as wilderness, which means it is protected by strict conservation laws but is also accessible for certain types of (non motorized) recreation. Rainier is a live volcano (although there has been no significant activity for over a hundred and fifty years) and lahar (volcanic mudslide) warning systems are installed in towns near the mountain.

It is also, simply, a sight to behold. Rising from surrounding miles of evergreen forest, it dominates the skyline. And, when someone says “the Mountain is out,” it is the best of days. It means the sky is clear and the beauty of the region is in its full glory. Like today.

Campfire Girl

Well, here we are on day four after the big, Seattle windstorm and parts of the city, including my neighborhood, are still without power. It has been an inconvenience, but not a hardship. My husband and I are fortunate to have a fireplace and a gas-powered water heater. Although there have been invitations from friends to stay with them in heated and lit homes with operative stoves, refrigerators, stereos and DVD players, we have declined. We keep believing that it just CAN’T go on much more than a few hours. We live in the city, for heaven’s sake. But… what do we know? (There are also the pets to consider, and the cat does not cotton to slumber parties away from home.)

Nonetheless, we keep waking up to yet another cold morning. And with flashbacks to episodes of “Little House on the Prairie,” we stoke the fire, pop an enameled coffee pot in the flames, and make our morning coffee by hand. It’s amazing how much energy it takes to keep a room warm with a fireplace in cold weather: gathering and hauling wood, setting/starting the fire, keeping it stoked, gathering and hauling more wood. In some ways the cold temperatures that followed the storm (below freezing at night and not above 40 during the day) are a blessing as all our food is in coolers outside. A lot would have been wasted otherwise. However, keeping ourselves and the animals above freezing has been a continuous task in the mornings and evenings.

Performing this daily ritual has me thinking back to my days as a Campfire Girl. Growing up in Cascadia at the time I did, Campfire seemed a much more relevant girls’ club than Girl Scouts. Campfire was largely focused on outdoor and survival skills. Being outside and in nature as much as I was as a kid, it was truly useful to understand how to use a compass and read a map, to identify plants (what to not touch or nibble), what to pack even if you were going out for a little day hike (whistle, 1st aid kit, jackknife, extra food and water, matches, etc), and how to build a fire, particularly in wet and cold conditions. Terms such as “tinder” and “kindling” have come floating back, as have recollections of how to set a fire the right way so it will start easily without over-fueling it (which is wasteful as well as potentially dangerous in the woods), and how to improvise a cook stove over and around the flames.

Granted, given that I AM a city-girl now and that most of Seattle is back on the grid, we have used our outage as a likely excuse to dine out each night. Another bright-shiny silver lining to our predicament. I am hoping, however, that we won’t be out again tonight. And, with all due respect to my old camp counselors and Laura Ingalls-Wilder, we won’t forgo dining out to bake chicken in tin foil in the embers. I would like my lights back please. I prefer my camping in small doses.