The unofficial summer kickoff in Gig Harbor starts with an annual fundraiser benefitting the Gig Harbor Kiwanis. The Eighth Annual Gig Harbor Beer Festival on Saturday, May 18, brings 25 brewers to the Uptown Gig Harbor Pavilion from noon to 5 p.m. — plus a cider booth, the popular Heritage Distillery and a live music […]
outdoors
Posted inBlog
How to Create a Plan for Your Rural Property
Editor’s note: These tips were adapted with permission from the brochure “Tips for Water and Rural Management for Puget Sound Rural Living” by the Puget Sound Conservation Districts, adapted from “Tips on Land and Water Management for Small Farms and Ranches in Montana,” Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Did you buy a place […]
Posted inGarden
Extreme Leaf Drama
Pull on your digging boots and grab your shovel. After reading this, you are going to need more garden space. Bigger is better, right? Maybe — yet for foliage, it depends on where the plant grows. For whatever reason plants grow humongous vegetation, they are flamboyant additions to the Northwest garden. Oversize leaves create drama […]
Posted inThe Outdoors
The Thrill of the Grill — Why Do You Do It?
Americans have a long-standing love affair with grilling. This relationship started many years ago. Our ancestors first learned to cook over an open flame, and today grilling has become a year-round lifestyle choice, with many preferring to cook outdoors on the grill. Why do Americans love grilling so much? The reasons are wide ranging. Some […]
Posted inGardeners Corner
How to Protect Your Soil while Preventing Pollution
Editor’s note: These tips were adapted with permission from the brochure “Tips for Water and Rural Management for Puget Sound Rural Living” by the Puget Sound Conservation Districts, adapted from “Tips on Land and Water Management for Small Farms and Ranches in Montana,” Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Living in the West Sound, […]
Posted inGardeners Corner
Know Your Soil Before You Garden
Editor’s note: These tips were adapted with permission from the brochure “Tips for Water and Rural Management for Puget Sound Rural Living” by the Puget Sound Conservation Districts, adapted from “Tips on Land and Water Management for Small Farms and Ranches in Montana,” Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. If you want to have […]
Posted inGarden
The Pint-Sized Powerhouse of Structural Engineering
Small songbirds are easy to overlook. Most people will notice a bald eagle on a pole but will miss a little gray bird in a nearby shrub. In the world of birds, the largest ones will always make a lasting impression. Someone seeing a brown pelican for the first time may think it’s huge. That […]
Posted inGarden
Gardening Books to Read This Spring
Now that spring is officially here and all the bulbs, annuals and shrubs are planted, perhaps there is time to breathe a little between pulling weeds and watering to do some garden reading. With the Pacific Northwest being a gardener’s paradise, expertise abounds, along with regionally specific gardening and nature books. Here are three in […]
Posted inGarden
A Walk Down Primula Lane
“Down by the banks of the sweet prim-e-roses, there I beheld a most lovely fair.” ~ Author unknown What is a primrose? Shakespeare would say in Romeo and Juliet, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Primulas are not roses, although some of the double flowers of these demure perennials are rose-like. […]