Double Bluff Beach and Dog Park is located on Useless Bay on the west side of South Whidbey Island. This is a place where you can be one with your dog. Double Bluff beach park has an off-leash area that will knock your socks off!
If you visit during a low tide you can walk to the north end of the beach which is about 3 miles; the 6 mile round trip is a pretty healthy trek.
This is a great sand beach that is good fun year around; perhaps a bit more appealing in the spring and summer.
The remnants of a beach christmas tree:)
Even some strange looking structures have started appearing on the beach?
Today was a cool and wintry day but there was still some activity; not that the beach can’t be fun just by yourself. I saw a brave soul out in the bay with his parasail.
One of the bluffs on Double Bluff Beach.
Surf was up just a little; a good storm would be fun.
You’ll find a great little beach community with an assortment of styles and architecture.
This home looks like something that you would find on Cape Cod.
Sam and I had a great time and we will surely be back for more.
Have a Happy New Year!
The Inn at Langley
The Holiday Season didn’t bring the white stuff to Langley this year and I’m sure the merchants were very happy. I took my constant companion Sam for a stroll through Langley this last Saturday. Sam is a 4 month old Black Lab and Boxer mix who is extremely friendly and I was able to meet quite a few visitors to our city.
The Saratoga Inn
The photos that I took are not the most artistic; hard to do when you’re trying your best not to get tangled up with your pup. It was a nice sunny day and the people were friendly so all and all a good outing.
The Langley Public Library
The Langley Post Office with Sam in the foreground.
A look down Candy Cane Lane.
The Village Pizzeria in Langley.
Langley is a great place to shop and browse for art.
The one thing that I like about writing a blog is that I’m not limited in the photos that I can put on the site. Photos can sometimes just stand on their own.
A view of the mountains and water from below the city of Langley looking north.
The 2nd St Wine Shop and Tasting Room
I hope you enjoyed the photo shoot; Langley is a great little town. Nothing like a short ferry ride and spending a little time in a not so complex little town.
I hope you had a great Christmas; I spent mine in Seattle with family and friends.
In July of this year I wrote a post entitled “Kids Helping Kids in Africa.” I thought I would post it on this new site since it describes a little about myself and family.
The actions of a few can change the world. It all begins with small steps; random acts of kindness and focused attempts to help one another.
If you haven’t noticed; young people are getting involved. My daughter’s husband, Joe, spent time in Kenya a couple of years ago working at an AIDS hospice. While he did have a bout with malaria; his real memories come from the time spent helping the people. My daughter, Meredith, spent time working as a children’s counselor for Americorp helping those with less. Now the two of them will begin a trek to South Africa; setting aside time in their lives to help others.
This is a bit of an anniversary event! Forty years ago, in July of 1969, I began a very memorable year in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. I was stationed at the Ethiopian Mapping Mission; they were mapping Ethiopia.
I remember being surprised to find high-rise buildings and telephone poles. Most of what I knew about Africa came from National Geographic or from watching “Abbott and Costello in Africa”. The biggest surprise came as I was walking into town and came across a television store; right in front of me was Neil Armstrong stepping down on the Moon!
July 20, 1969 - ”That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Sound familiar?
There is much that can be learned by experiencing another person’s culture. This type of education is not in books; it flows to your heart and soul. People are wonderful everywhere you go, that is why it is such a great experience to give. Joe and Meredith will be blogging back to the Generation Joy Foundation that they are involved with; barring any technology issues there will be more from me.
The Generation Joy Logo is a symbol of unity in diversity; oneness of humanity in spite of cultural differences.
Curtis Betzler the founder of the Generation Joy Foundation is a science teacher at Beaver Lake Middle School in the State of Washington. He says that the idea of “kids helping kids” began eight years ago on a personal trip to Ghana.
Betzler found that there was an incredible need for educational resources and the basic needs that we all take for granted.
“Knowing that I teach in a place where, in many cases, we have an excess of resources and most all of our basic needs are met, I began working on a way to connect the two regions. I truly believe, that in the right environment, all people want to learn and also that all people like to share.”
“This idea really took off due to the efforts of the children in the community where I work. They readily gave not only resources, but time, energy, planning and commitment to see this project through. The effort was rewarded when I witnessed the joy of children in Africa when receiving these resources and the impact it has had on their lives and community.”
Last year, Generation Joy filled two 40-foot freight containers with supplies. Among the thousands of goods packed in those vessels were 11,000 books, 170 computers, 60 bicycles, and hundreds of soccer balls.
“The potential is endless,” he said. “I think kids enjoy giving. They just need an outlet and a resource.”
Generation Joy needs donations of educational supplies, reading materials, new clothing, sports equipment, new and gently-used shoes, First Aid materials, and comfort items such as dolls, blankets, and baby bottles.
Here is a link to the Generation Joy website.
Do you know someone who can take that small step right here on Whidbey Island?
Lastly, here is a video showing “kids helping kids”. Just click here.
This weeks Green Links Whidbey Island starts with a view to the future of flight and fuel efficiency. The article written by Lora Kolodny is relevant to us on Whidbey Island since the new Boeing Dreamliner is discussed. If you click on the photo below it will take you to a video on the new Dreamliner.
Lora also tells us about the SpaceShip Two; private enterprise does have a way with these types of innovations. There is a great video, as well, on the new spaceship just click the photo below.
Back to Green Links
You might find it comforting to know that NASA has just launched a Solar Powered Asteroid Detecting Telescope a couple of weeks ago. Inhabitat writer, Ariel Schwartz, gives you some photos and discussion as to what it may be able to do to protect the Earth.
Michael Graham Richard reports in treehugger that you will find a few environmental themes in the new movie Avatar. There is nothing in the article that you can’t find in the movie trailer; no scene spoilers.
This is my first post on Whidbey Island Food Links; the links are not really from Whidbey Island. I’ve tried to put together a collection of great food blogs that we can all enjoy. If you know of one on Whidbey let me know with a comment. The photo above is in Langley, Washington on Whidbey Island. Snow last year; this year nothing serious yet.
Italian foodies is one of my favorite links and this week LaCucina has put up a nice piece on the Holiday Season called “the tree is up.” Be sure to check out her home page; I think you’ll understand why this site is worth spending some time at.
The Proud Italian Cook has a little bit of comfort food for breakfast, Eggs al Forno, meaning cooked in the oven.
Grilled Lamb Kebabs + Tzatziki is a recipe from the Smitten Kitchen. This is a recipe born out of food cravings during pregnancy; Greek in particular.
Here is a recipe from Amy at We Are Never Full. Warm Buttered Pea, Potato, Herb and Prosciutto Salad. This blog covers the border-line food and drink obsession of two Brooklynites (Amy’s American, Jonny’s English) with anecdotes and recipes from their weeknight meals at home, special occasion dinners out, and vacations studiously built around the search for the authentic, the fresh, and the delicious.
If your looking for a Nursery in Langley the Bayview Farm and Garden is the one for you. I had a chance to meet with the owner Maureen Murphy and I was immediately impressed by her love for her business, her employees and the community that she serves.
Maureen is a hard working owner who enoys the physical and outdoor aspects of her business. She talks about her flowers and the interaction that takes place with visitors; “following the color and the light.” It is their job to be the caretaker and then let the plants do all the work; grabbing your attention.
The Christmas trees are ready for you!
Wow! This is the spring time view; pretty special place.
There is a farm center on the site as well; fresh hay and just things for the farm and home.
This is a green garden facility with a non-toxic approach to gardening. There is a good flow to the nursery and the coming of Spring will enhance everything in a wonderful fashion. Maureen takes prides in the health of her plants; if the plants aren’t healthy “they go away.”
You’ll want to make a point of stopping by by the nursery during this Holiday season. The nursery has everything you need: unique gift items, wreaths, holiday greens and garland, and living and cut Christmas trees!
The Bayview Farm and Garden is located off Hwy 525 at Bayview Corner at 2780 Marshview Ave. Langley, WA 98260. Their phone number is (360) 321-6789. You can visit there website by clicking here.
You might also enjoy this video from Maureen.
I hadn’t been to the Earth Sanutuary since 2005 so I decided to take a hike through the sanctuary. There are plenty of trails and I found that the Celestial Trail is pretty extensive; maybe three miles round trip.
The photos that I took show you the sanctuary in the Winter. It doesn’t seem as though things have changed much; which is to be expected. This special place gives one the opportunity of just spending some time with nature and letting your mind wander.
Earth Sanctuary is open to visitors every day of the year during daylight hours. There is a fee of $7 per person to visit Earth Sanctuary. There is a registration box on the bulletin board by the parking area with registration envelopes. The fee may seem a little steep but you have to take into consideration what is being done on the site. You can also apply for an annual pass for only $35.
The Earth Sanctuary is a great place to give renewed birth to your soul and truly spend time with nature and the Universe. The forest is a living soul and the ponds and wetlands provide a wonderful backdrop for reflecting on life.
Only love is real and you can experience that feeling anytime and any day you choose.
Chuck Pettis is the founder and owner of Earth Sanctuary, a 72-acre nature reserve and meditation parkland on Whidbey Island, Washington. As a dedicated practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism, he deeply believes in the value of meditation. He says “I don’t know anyone who meditates or prays too much. With Earth Sanctuary I’ve tried to create an environment that motivates and facilitates spiritual practice.”
You can visit the Earth Sanctuary website by clicking here.
Green Links Whidbey Island starts with an article posted in treehugger from Mathew McDermott. This link will provide you with a slide show of the Demonstrations in Copenhagen. The photos are from Mathew McDermott.
Continuing in the same vane is an article again from treehugger from Sami Grover. You’ll find a video on how climate change is effecting snowboarding. As cold as it may seem here on Whidbey there are some things going on that we need to think about.
Susan Kraemer writing for CleanTechnica talks about the New Manhatten Project. The Clean Energy initiative is being driven by the Obama administration and is something that we haven’t seen since the Carter administration. Click here for the link.
Inhabitat’s Evelyn Lee shows us the top 5 Green Cars at the LA Auto Show. The designs they are a changing; here’s a look at what’s new.
The last link comes from Katherine Butler and Eco Salon. Want to take care of those wrinkles organically? Here is the link.
The manufacturing of green detergents is not a simple task since there are many factors that have to be considered. The world is going green and that means using less water and conserving energy. This in turn means that we have to develop technology that can produce more concentrated detergents that work with less water. Additionally, these detergents need to work at lower temperatures.
Green detergents need to be biodegradable and free of phosphates and chlorine chemicals. Their ingredients need to be from renewable sources and not petroleum based products. Some of those renewable sources are from plants like coconut or palm.
I read an extremely detailed article by van Zeeland, Michiel’van Deurzen, and Marion de Nobel at the Entrepreneur website; their findings on green detergent innovation were very informative. I’ll try to simplify what the scientists are saying. Maybe, my degree in Chemistry will come in handy after all!
Water temperature and energy conservation:
Washing your laundry at 86 degrees F rather than 104 degrees F can save up to 40% in energy usage.
Conserving water
Photo courtesy of the City of Santa Barbara and EPRI.
The typical washing machine in the U.S. with a vertical axis uses about 16 gallons of water per wash. I have experienced the use of European washing machines that use a horizontal axis and the amount of water used is considerably less. These washers use only 4 gallons and some are now down to 2.6 -3.1 gallons. That is true innovation and something that we need to appreciate.
Detergent Innovation:
Most detergents don’t perform as well in a low temperature environment. Bleach activators don’t work below 104 degrees F. The problem for manufacturers; when the temperature is lower the soil removal is less efficient.
High performance enzymes are being used to compensate for this lower temperature issue. Enzymes are more efficient but they also perform less well in a lower temperature environment. They can be engineered to work; sounds like genetic engineering. The right enzyme selection can enable washing at lower temperatures and shorter washing cycles. Enzymes created by bacteria may be the answer to helping the nvironment.
The bigger challenge may be in the developing world where most washing is done with bar soap. Affordability then becomes a major issue, along with very low temperatures and high hard water conditions.
Okay, now that we have the technical side; let’s consider some product ideas. These will be directed toward cleaning products and not washing machines; maybe another post on that later?
The links that I’m providing you will cover:
Laundry detergents, bleach alternatives, serious stain busters, dishwashing liquids and all purpose cleaners all with an eye toward going green.
A green water heater is tankless; so what does it do?
A tankless water heater provides heated water on demand. The technology heats your water only when the demand for it is detected. There is no reheating of the same water as is the case with tank-style water heaters. This is a much more efficient and green system for delivering hot water. Tankless water heaters use 50% less energy than tank-style water heaters.
Here is a photo of a Rinnai tankless water heater.
When you turn on the hot water tap at your sink, for example, the tankless water heater senses the demand and starts to deliver a continuous stream of hot water.
I think we all have had to deal with water heaters that leak or flood the area where it has been installed; not a fun experience and the replacement cost is large.
Another issue is when you deplete all the hot water. It can take electric water heaters an hour to recover or a gas water heater 30 minutes to recover. If you have a large household that can be a problem.
Below is a photo of the digital controller for the Rinnai tankless water heater.
The digital controller unit allows you to set the desired temperature of your hot water system.
Additional controllers can be placed in the home as a safety precaution for small children and the elderly. These systems allow you to keep the temperature where you want it to be. Pretty cool!
The units can be installed indoors or on the exterior of your home.
I guess the bottom line is that we should all own one! There are tax credits available and leasing is an affordable option.
Here is the Rinnai website where you can get more information.
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