Editor’s note: This excerpt was adapted from “Simple Decorating: 50 Ways to Inspire Your Home” by Melissa Michaels. Published by Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, Oregon. Used by permission. A home should be more than just something pretty to look at. Our homes should … read more

Editor’s note: Now that we know the benefits of mason bees, here’s what we can do to make West Sound bee-friendly. This is an excerpt from “Mason Bee Revolution: How the Hardest Working Bee Can Save the World One Backyard at a Time,” … read more

Many of today’s cleaning products, from what we use to clean our homes to our bodies, contain dangerous chemicals. We shouldn’t have to worry about what we’re using to clean things as much as the items we’re cleaning. The pioneers didn’t have aisles … read more

Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from “Mason Bee Revolution: How the Hardest Working Bee Can Save the World One Backyard at a Time,” a book by Dave Hunter and Jill LIghtner recently released by Seattle-based Mountaineers Books. In Part 2, learn about … read more

“Caring for Generations — Lutheran Charity on the Pacific Northwest Frontier” tells the story of the Rev. Ingebrit Tollefson and the founding of Martha & Mary Children’s Home between 1891-1912. This history of the early days of Martha & Mary, a nonprofit child … read more

The holidays are a time for resting a bit from gardening tasks and especially a time for friends and family. Since gardening and birds often go together, if you’re lucky, you may see a snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus) passing through this region. It’s … read more

Everywhere we go these days, we see people looking at their phones, their tablets, their laptops, their e-readers. Electronically generated information and entertainment are part of our daily lives. We love the convenience of it and the portability. And yet, in the West … read more

Millie Lindell gets to spend quite a bit of time with her five grandchildren. Both she and her adult son and daughter live on Fox Island, so the family spends a lot of time together. But Lindell wanted a special project with her … read more

Mountain Lions (Puma Concolor) Here kitty, kitty. Not really, but mountain lions are actually closely related to domestic cats. But when hungry, they can also prey on and eat domestic cats, so keep your cats safely indoors, at least during the hours of … read more