A lost chicken has been found around 26th Avenue NE and NE 62nd Street!
If you live in that area, check your flock! If you’re down one hen, contact me and I’ll pass along the fowl finder’s information.
Archives for November 23, 2010
Snow Day #2 in pictures (updated)
November 23, 2010 by 3 Comments
Round 2: Some pictures taken on the way to and fro the View Ridge PCC, where my Thanksgiving Turkey was awaiting pick-up.
Fountain of ICE
There’s a house down the street from me with a rather fascinating collection of yard art, among which is this fountain.
You can’t quite see the ice in this still photograph, but let me tell you: Everything but that horizontal jet of water is FROZEN. Can’t wait to see what the fountain looks like tomorrow!
Festive flora
These are a couple of savvy sledders at about NE 68th St and 28th Ave NE. Note the presence of helmets, keeping their noggins both warm AND safe.
Northeast Library
"It's STILL fall!" they shouted, as we walked past.
Headed back home, with turkey in tow
______________________
Round 1: Just back from a brief walk-about. Here are some of my pictures.
East-bound NE 65th St, in front of The Herbalist
Close-up of NE 65th St - bare and wet on the roadway most traveled
There’s a lot of side streets in this part of Ravenna that make for great sledding. And I would consider NE 68th Street as it crosses 20th Avenue NE to be the biggest and best.
Downward and west-bound, and sliding through NE 68th St and 20th Ave NE
But in order to slide it safely, you need a couple of responsible-types to stand on 20th to hold traffic.
Guard Number 1, for north-bound traffic on 20th Ave NE
Guard Number 2, watching for south-bound traffic on 20th Ave NE
The snow-covered hilly streets around here are a pain for drivers, but perfect for snow days like today. And, on a personal note, I just love seeing everyone coming out to play, and keeping it safe for everyone.
Yard waste bin sledding "marker" at NE 70th St and 21st Ave NE (looking west)
I saw a few of these on my walk as well: Big plastic bins or tubs in the center of intersections, at the bottoms of sledding hills. Definitely not as safe as having an actual person looking out for traffic, though.
Stay Safe: Driving in Winter Storms
November 23, 2010 by 4 Comments
Resident Ravenna Safety Girl, Shannon, has another emergency preparedness column for us this Tuesday. You may find it extremely relevant to your lives in the next couple days.
______________________
East-bound NE 75th St at 4 pm on November 22
You’ve all now seen first-hand the organized, thoughtful way most Seattle residents respond to winter weather. Here are a few more things to keep in mind as you go through the next several days:
Before you go
Keep your gas tank full
A glance at the television shows you the importance of this one. In heavy winter weather, there is no way to know how long it will actually take you to get somewhere, so a full tank will give you peace of mind and get you home. It’s also important to keep your car full of gas when the temperature drops, as it will help prevent your gas line from freezing.
Carry a storm kit
Before leaving for a trip or even a long commute, equip your car with blankets, bottled water and food (a jar of peanut butter or a bag of trail mix is good), flares or a safety triangle, car charger, and anything else you think is necessary for your trip. Put it all in a cardboard box and drop it in the trunk, and you’re good for the winter.
Remember to include a sack or two of cat litter for traction. If you are skidding, dig out the area just in front of your tires and pour some litter there to help get out of a slick spot.
On the road
Chain up
If you have chains for your car, make sure you know how to use them… the side of the road in Snoqualmie Pass is not the ideal time to learn the quirks of your particular set of chains. When you go out to chain up, pull the passenger-side floor mat out of the car to kneel on as you work– much better than lying in the snow. Use cable ties to help secure the loose ends of your chains, especially if your set just has S-hooks at the end.
Remember, if your car is chained up it is NOT safe to drive over 30 miles per hour. You don’t want to drive faster than that anyway though; if you’re driving at near-highway speeds and one end of your chain comes unfastened, it will chew up 4+ inches of your car fender in seconds.
Drive safely
Use your noggin here… if it’s a steep hill, don’t drive down it. If local residents have blocked off a side street, assume they have a good reason for warning you away from it. Stick to arterials, and leave extra time to get to your destination. If you can avoid driving in to work, do so- it’s safer to be on a Metro bus or a train in winter weather.
Learn to steer out of a skid! Braking is what will get you in trouble on snow and ice. Road Trip America has more information about how to recover from a skid.
And, of course, if you can telecommute or take the day off, it’s safest to just stay home in snowy and icy conditions.
An aside about power outages
If you’re at home and your power goes out, turn off your main breaker until the power comes back on (you can tell by watching the streetlights). Especially around dinnertime or during chores, it’s hard to remember what was turned on and what was hot after the electricity has been off for several hours.
Many fires are started after power outages end because people forget that they were cooking, using irons or hair appliances, or doing other work when the electricity was cut off. If we’re in the middle of cooking dinner and the power goes out, what do we tend to do? Go out to eat! In the hustle to get oriented and find a place to go, many folks forget that they left the stove on and so come home to a fire afterward. Turning electricity off at the breaker during an outage will keep you out of this situation.
You can get more local information at takewinterbystorm.org (they have a mobile site as well) or @WinterByStorm. Stay safe out there!
Snow-bound information (last updated at 4:44 pm)
November 23, 2010 by 6 Comments
I’m going to keep this page updated throughout the day on things that are open, closed, working, frozen, covered, etc.
Please email in your updates as you come across any information, and I’ll add them to the list.
Furthermore, if you have a question about whether something is open, closed, working, etc., send it on in!
______________________________
Newest information at the top:
Seattle Public Libraries – Closing today at 5 pm. Open Wednesday from 12-5 pm, and closed on Thursday (Thanksgiving).
Harrissa Mediterranean Cuisine – OPEN as usual, AND on Thanksgiving
Crepe Cafe – CLOSED
Ravenna-Bryant Community Center – Officially open from 1-4pm today. Tomorrow looks like 11 am-6 pm, but that is not official yet.
View Ridge (and other) PCC – OPEN (via twitter)
Seattle Public Utilities (garbage, recycling and yard waste) – Put your bins out on their normal day of collection. If they are not collected, leave them out for the next day. If your bins have still not collected after two days, put them back out again on your next regular pick-up day.
NO SOLID WASTE PICKUPS TODAY. Put bins out on next regular pickup day (twice as much for no extra charge). Updates here: www.seattle.gov/util.
Seattle Public Libraries – open at 1 pm as warming centers
Parks/Community Centers – to close at 4 pm
Postal Service – You know the jingle. They should be out there.
Seattle Public Schools – CLOSED. That goes for classes and activities alike.
University of Washington – CLOSED. They call it “suspending operations,” but they ARE a university, after all.
Stay Connected