Make Way for Ducklings at Northgate!

Mama duck and 4 ducklings meandering through the rushes at the Thornton Creek Water Quality Channel at Thornton Place. 

Mamma Mallard and 4 ducklings sighted at Thornton Place
ph credit - Janet Way

Wildlife where there was once nothing but asphalt. How fun is that? 

One duckling leading the way at Northgate.
Maybe he wants to head up to Nordstrom for a sale?
ph credit - Janet Way

Martha Rose on NPR Today "Rolling the Dice!"

Local Builder Martha Rose Featured on NPR as "Survivor"  and Heroic Woman Contractor


Go Martha! 

Martha visits with folks at
Fish-Singer Place Open House

Of Paramount Importance featured Martha Rose Construction last year on her Fish Singer Place project.
http://ofparamount.blogspot.com/2010/04/fish-singer-place-grand-opening-big-hit.html

We also have her blog featured in our favorites to the "R".

This morning on NPR's Morning Edition, Wendy Kaufman featured a story of how Martha has been a survivor by rolling the dice and spending money to stay afloat. She has also made some changes by changing her staffing structure and other things.

Martha is known as one of the best "green builders" in the region, such as the Fish Singer Place and Queen Ann Townhomes, City Cabins and many others have shown the way. Even though it was a struggle in this economy, she finished these projects and followed through on many green features such as, roof gardens, pervious pavement, total energy efficient construction, reuse of existing materials and so much more.

Congratulations Martha!  So great to have your projects in Shoreline and all over the region.

Homebuilder 'Rolls' Along, Deals With Hard Times

by WENDY KAUFMAN

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EnlargeWendy Kaufman/NPR

Martha Rose has been building houses for nearly four decades. Despite the hard times, she's upbeat and optimistic.

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June 17, 2011

Construction of new homes rose more than expected last month. But with the glut of foreclosures and other houses already on the market, home prices in many places continue to fall. For homebuilders it remains a very tough market, and many are struggling to survive.

Martha Rose has been building houses for nearly four decades, and despite the hard times, she still loves it. The Seattle-area homebuilder refers to herself as a building nerd and worries about every detail, from the overall plan and energy efficiency of a project to how a particular corner will be built..

On a recent morning, she was clad in a blue bomber jacket with the name Martha stitched on the front — poring over construction drawings at the site of her latest project. She's building two town houses in the city's Qnee Anne neighborhood.

Rose is friendly and given the circumstances, surprisingly upbeat. She says you have to be an optimist to build on spec — that means you build a house and then hope someone will buy it a at price that allows you to turn a profit.

Rose says she's not usually nervous during construction; that part comes later.

"It's not until we are getting ready to list the property for sale, that's when the nerve-racking time [is]," she says. "If you build it will they in fact come? Does that work?"

It hasn't worked very well over the past three years. She built lots of houses, and lost money on just about all of them.

'Throwing The Dice'

Obstacles were and still are everywhere. For example, in the boom years, getting a construction loan was easy. But by 2009, Rose says, the routine approval process had turned into a two-hour ordeal.

"Sometimes you felt you were in a deposition," she says "You were grilled. It was intense."

She was rejected 10 times by 10 banks.

Rose ultimately got a small bank loan, but not before she drew down her savings so she could begin what she thought would be a fabulous four-house cluster.

"I gambled, I did," she says. "I threw the dice."

It was a terrible bet. For example, she had hoped to sell one of the houses for $639,000, but it didn't work out that way.

"It got down to 439 and people are offering 398, it felt like I was laying on the ground and people were kicking me," she says.

Asked why she kept building when the market was falling, Rose says simply that she's a builder. It's who she is and what she does, adding, sometimes you have to spend money to get yourself out of a hole.

Making Adjustments

In an effort to stay afloat, she's made some changes in the past few years. The biggest one is that she no longer has employees.

Instead she hires general contractors and subs only when she needs them. Gone is the expense of Social Security, unemployment and workers compensation payments. The latter could cost up to $3 an hour per worker. The staffer who dealt with all the forms is gone, too.

"I can't see having a business that is that complicated again," she says. "The idea is to get leaner and meaner, not literally meaner, but to get your business down to bare essentials."

Worrying about all this is tough, but Rose has discovered the perfect place to get away and gain perspective.

She's headed off to go roller skating.

She says she goes there and thinks about staying on her feet and not falling down.

"The floor is slippery until you get used to it, and you go with the flow, you do your best, you pay attention and you try to stay vertical," she says.

Just like she's trying to do in her business.

Rose slips into the crowd and makes the first turn looking confident.

Copyright 2011 National Public Radio. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

Local Pollinator Plants - Featured in NWF Newsletter

Local Volunteer Naturalist Chris Southwick's Photo is featured in the National Wildlife Federation newsletter on Native Plant Pollinators. 

“My favorite native plant is the snowberry. In late spring and early summer, both Anna’s and rufous hummingbirds entertain while drinking nectar from its dainty pinkish flowers and vying for dominance. The round leaves are visually pleasing, and other birds often dart out from under its shelter. In the winter, the small white orbs for which the plant is named gleam in the sun, accent cloudy days and even look pretty in the rain. Since snowberry is a Northwest native, it requires almost nothing from me—nature takes care of its needs.”—Christine Southwick of Shoreline, Washington

Chris is a frequent contributor to Shoreline Area News with excellent articles on birdwatching. She is a board member of the Puget Sound Bird Observatory and has done extensive work on bird banding studies for the Shoreline Community Backyard Wildlife Project.

Chris banding a chickadee

Pollinators include many species such as Honey Bees, Butterflies and Moths, Hummingbirds and even bats.

Snowberry is a NW Native and can grow into large patches. It like sun, and wetlands. It is also known as a beautiful winter plant because of it's distinctive white berries that are attractive to birds in winter.

Snowberries
ph credit - Greg Rayborn
KC Native Plant Guide
http://green.kingcounty.gov/gonative/Plant.aspx?Act=view&PlantID=36

The newsletter is featuring Plant Pollinators for this week. It is National Pollinator Week.

Plants for Pollinators: A Collection of Favorites

Wildlife gardeners across the country share photos and descriptions of prized native plants that attract pollinators to their yards (Updated 6/3/2011)

06-07-2010 // Edited by Kelly Senser

http://www.nwf.org/News-and-Magazines/National-Wildlife/Gardening/Archives/2010/Native-Plants-for-Pollinators.aspx

The fifth annual National Pollinator Week takes place June 20-26, 2011. To celebrate, we asked gardeners across the country who’ve created wildlife-friendly habitats to talk about some of their favorite native plants for attracting bees, butterflies, birds and other pollinating species. Following are the descriptions and images they shared.

Goats Will Be Munching at Horizon View in LFP

A fun day will unfold and Billy and Nanny are sent onto the hillsides of Horizon View area to tackle the invasive weeds. 

The Lake Forest Park Stewardship Foundation has made the event into a fun day for all with Petting Zoo, Temp Tattoos, Coupons, Coloring Books and kid activities. There is also a Secret Garden Tour and other fun this weekend.


What a great way to tackle this huge invasive challenge. Way to go  LFPSF!

Goat Days are this weekend!   Please join us for a day of family fun, free food and games for LFP's 50th Anniversary June 18th - 22nd   On June 18th, Horizon View Park will be transformed into a huge carnival site with 250 goats devouring the invasive blackberries! Goat Days activities will include:   A petting zoo for children Kids tattoos Things to color Free coffee Free kids pizza coupons The city is providing:   Games for children Free hot dogs, ice cream and drinks   Don't miss the   Secret Garden Tour   and other activities at the Towne Center during this weekend.

Green Seattle Partnership - Fun Summer Activities

Volunteers gather at Green Partnership
Work party.

There are lots of opportunities for stewardship in Seattle this summer. 

Thornton Creek Park #6 is one place that needs help.
View of beaver dam. Many volunteers have made a difference in this park.
ph credit - Janet Way

The Green Seattle Partnership is working to improve the urban forest infrastructure, by deploying volunteer corps of youths to remove invasive species and plant natives throughout the Seattle area.


You can get involved in your neighborhood park or any of the other many sites where they will be working this summer.


http://greenseattle.org/


GSP partners with Earthcorps to get the job done. They bring in hundreds of young stewards from around the world to work and learn about how to protect and improve the urban forest ecosystems.

The Green Seattle Partnership has a vision of a city with diverse, invasive-free, sustainable forested parklands.  It is a vision where Seattle’s urban forest will be supported by an aware and engaged community in which individuals, neighborhoods, nonprofits, businesses, and City government work together to protect and maintain this resource.

GSP Goals

• Restore 2,500 acres of forested parkland in the City of Seattle.
• Create an informed, involved and active community of citizens, City staff, educators, business leaders, and conservationists.
• Ensure sustainability of our forested parklands through proper, long-term maintenance and community stewardship

Free Low Impact Development Workshop - Tuesday

There are so many possible alternatives to lawns and pavement. Here's a great way to get the information you need on how to create a Low Impact Development garden solution for your yard.

Attract more wildlife and improve drainage and add beauty to your yard. The Environmental Science Center has the answers. 

Join the Environmental Science Center for a FREE workshop.

Natural Yard Care: Learn natural and chemical-free ways to care for your yard!  Tuesday July 12, 2011 from 6:00p – 8:00p

at the Burien Library – 400 SW 152^nd St. Burien, WA

to Register:

 email programs@envsciencecenter.org or call 206-248-4266 

Flamingo Invasion!

Yikes! The Howes Family, in Ridgecrest has suffered a flamingo invasion! 

Out of control pink flamingoes take over Ridgecrest yard!
ph credit - Janis Howes

Well, we love wildlife, but this is just too much!  Call the garden police! 

(Thanks to Janis Howes and family for this wonderful photo.)

Janet