The orchard mason bee, also known as the blue orchard bee, is the Western native pollinator that appears each year in late winter and early spring to pollinate the early-blooming fruit trees and flowers. Its scientific name, Osmia lignaria propinqua Cresson, describes the … read more

Last month, my husband and I visited a small public garden in Southwest Washington called the Wildlife Botanical Gardens. The garden is a project of the NatureScaping organization, devoted to showing homeowners ways to attract birds and other wildlife to their yards by … read more

All plants have stories. Perhaps the plant was Grandma’s favorite cut flower. Or it was that green bean variety passed down through generations of family gardeners. Or that pretty veronica whose name you learned on that hike at Mount Rainier. Every kind of … read more

Namibia. Where, you say? You’re not alone. Few American tourists have heard of it, let alone ventured here. But this vast and undiscovered country in southwest Africa is the new safari destination for Africa, as well as so very much more. The scenery … read more

The Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with the Office of the Kitsap County Clerk, is warning county residents of an ongoing telephone scam that has resumed, once again, in the West Sound area. Both the clerk’s and sheriff’s offices have received information … read more

Successful entrepreneurs often have an “ah-ha” moment or two that can change the course of their company. Angelo Toglia’s epiphany occurred one hot summer day 15 years ago while he was returning from Seattle on the Bainbridge ferry. Toglia, co-owner of Bainbridge-based AGS … read more

People aren’t the only ones who love to spend time in the family yard during the summer months. For the family pet, the outdoor living room serves many purposes — providing a place to relax, burn off some energy, play safely with friends … read more

Back in the ’50s, Dennis Jacobson’s family vacationed in a rented cabin less than a mile down the road from the retirement home where he and his wife, Betty, live. He knew then he wanted to live right on the water someday. As … read more

Bainbridge artist Amy Williams D’Apice is a self-described gypsy. A pixie whirlwind of Jersey accent (she was born in Gloucester City, the eighth in a family of nine children), peripatetic in where she calls home and in her work as an artist and … read more