the town of or

We love Kitt yes we do! We love Kitt, how 'bout you!? Kitt - thanks for fixing our blog....it's awesome!

We found a tree with big scary scratches on it, just 100 feet from our front door - what could have made them? A bear marking its territory? A cougar sharpening its claws? A visit from our friend Mark Jordahl (who is an expert tracker and naturalist) revealed the answer - the gouges were made by a deer (a buck) scraping its antlers.

How do we know? The scrapes were made with an upward motion, which is typical of antlers. Bear and cougar claw marks would typically be downward unless they were climbing the tree. A few minutes after Mark paid us a house visit, another friend - Stan Rullman (who is also an expert tracker and naturalist) - came to the same unprompted conclusion. See detail of scratches below.

Dad took Jake to the pumpkin patch on Bainbridge, where we found lots of great pumpkins and a very impressive tractor.

Bainbridge is prone to power outages, because our power lines are above ground and there are a lot of trees to fall down on them. But, this week the region was socked by a major wind storm that caused a massive power outage throughout Seattle (not just us folks who live in the woods). Over 700,000 people lost power. Of course, our home was no exception.

For three nights with below-freezing temperatures, our little family huddled under extra comforters while our home got down to 48 degrees. We lost some of our tropical fish and some of our food from the freezer...but otherwise we are none too worse for the wear.

Last week, I flew in a sea plane for the first time! It picked us up in Blakely Harbor at a friend's dock, and we flew up to Orcas (in the San Juan Islands) for the day. The flight took 45 minutes vs. 5+ hours by car. Flying over the Puget Sound area...there's so much water and so many trees everywhere! It's remarkable how green it all is, and I feel lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the world. Here are a few snapshots from the day including a foggy view of a ferry in the morning; the space needle at the end of the day; and an aerial of IslandWood's bog and marsh.

For the last couple of years, Ben and the IslandWood team have ridden in the Island's Chilly Hilly Bike Ride. The ride features thousands of riders (many from Seattle) and takes place over a 33 mile course with 2,675 feet of climbs. Set in February, the name says it all! Shown here is a picture of Ben and his IslandWood co-rider WaqWaq (Lushootseed for "Frog") enjoying the race.

One of the best parts about living in a small town is the (relative) lack of crime, as evidenced by the police blotter in our newspaper. Consider these gems from the Bainbridge Review:

• Dog Altercation - A man reported that while he was walking his dog on Palomino Drive, another neighborhood dog ran up and attacked. His dog defended itself and neither animal required the attention of a vet. The report was for documentation only.
• Nude Teens - Officers responding to a noise complaint on Cherry Avenue found four nude and scantily clad teenage girls running from the West Point country club pool. Two had been consuming alcohol and were cited for MIP. There were no trespassing charges, as the girls were club members.
• Daughter late - The mother of a 16 year old girl on Eagle Place reported that her daughter was overdue from a Bainbridge High School dance. The daughter was supposed to be home by 11:30 p.m. and the mother called the police around 3:00 a.m. The girl came home half an hour later.
• Ring Returned - A runner near the intersection of Hwy 305 and Day Road found a silver ring and gave it to police around 9:30 am. It's being held until it's claimed.
• Hedge Trimming - An ongoing dispute between neighbors over the cutting of a hedge was reported on Manitou Park Boulevard. Both residents were contacted and the incident documented.
• Dead Horse - Officers responded to a Lovgreen Road animal-rescue facility where a horse had died. A person believed that a neighbor's fireworks scared the horse to death the previous night.

When you live in a small town...be careful when you send a letter to someone who just happens to be a newspaper editor. (S)he may inadvertently mistake the "Letter to an Editor" as a "Letter to the Editor." I woke up this morning a bit surprised to see that a letter of mine had been published in the editorial section of our local paper - the Bainbridge Review. Since I hadn't written a letter to the paper, it took me a moment to realize that my team at work had recently sent a very similar letter out to 2000 local residents under my signature. One of these residents, it turns out, just happens to be the editor of our local newspaper. Apparently, he assumed my letter wasn't for him personally, but instead was meant as a "letter to the editor."