Viewing Tandy Hills Art Installations & Thinking About Ivar's Puget Sound Style Clam Chowder

This Saturday at noon I entered the Tandy Hills from View Street for the first time since the Prairie Fest, two weeks ago.

All that remains from the Prairie Fest is some orange markings on the grass and the art installation you see in the picture.

I know, post Prairie Fest that I read what this art installation was called or was supposed to signify.

But, my pathetically bad memory, combined with my pathetic case of AADD, has rendered that memory missing.

I think the forest of stick phalli, arranged in a circle, was signifying the fertility of spring. Maybe. Was it called "The Fertile Spring?" I wonder how many years this art installation will remain standing?

I saw today that the Tandy Hills Bamboo Teepee art installation is down to only 3 poles. If it loses one more pole that teepee is coming down.

I had an encounter with a coyote today. I was coming down a hill, it was heading up. It saw me and quickly turned around and ran off. I had no chance to take a picture. I have now encountered both a coyote and a roadrunner on the Tandy Hills.

After hiking like a maniac on the HOT Tandy Hills I took my HOT self to Town Talk, just like I do every Saturday.

Today I saw something at Town Talk that there was no way I was not buying. "Estilo Puget Sound Sopa de Almeja Con Tocino Receta del Restaurante Ivar's," it says on the package. Along with "Ivar's Since 1938." And "Acres of Clams."

Ivar's is a Seattle institution. Ivar was a restaurateur who had a famous Seattle waterfront restaurant, which in his later years, he greatly expanded, opening Ivar's in many locations. Wikipedia has an article about Ivar Haglund.

Why Ivar's is selling clam chowder in packaging in Spanish and where it is being sold is a mystery to me. Well, I know it is being sold today at Town Talk, but where did Town Talk get it? When Town Talk gets a new thing, like this, at checkout they give you a piece of paper with the directions on how to cook it.

The title at the top of the instructions says, "INSTRUCTIONS FOR IVAR'S PUGET SOUND STYLE CLAM CHOWDER."

You reading this in the Puget Sound zone, did you know there was a Puget Sound style clam chowder? I sure didn't.

I Came Back From The Tandy Hills Today To Learn I Have Been Handpicked To Help The Prairie Fest Get Setup

I made it to the Tandy Hills in the noon timeframe today for the first time in a few days.

It is not being particularly hot today, only in the low 70s. But it is being very windy. The windiest I've ever experienced on the Tandy Hills. Earlier today the gusts were up to 55mph. Currently 35mph.

The pink wildflowers in the picture look like they'd be blown apart by heavy wind, but they seemed to be surviving just fine.

The horizon to the north was looking very smoggy as I drove back from the Tandy Hills. I suspect this heavy wind is blowing in some wildfire smoke. I'm going over to Miss Puerto Rico's in a bit to take a picture of the panoramic view to the north from her balcony. And feed the cat.

I got an urgent message from Don Young a short while ago. Congratulating me for being a hand-picked individual. Below is the message....

Congratulations! YOU are among a few hand-picked individuals invited to be on the Prairie Fest set-up Posse. Your help is needed to prepare for the festival site for the 4 - 5,000 people who will attend Prairie Fest.

We need your help the day before the festival doing the following:

-Setting up a few tents
-Installing signs and banners
-Setting up the stage
-Arranging barricades and hay bales
-Unloading and setting up tables and other equipment
-etc.

• We need reliable individuals with willpower and stamina. Handyman-woman skills are a plus.
• Work will start Friday April 22 at 10 am and end about 7 pm with breaks for lunch.
• Bring tools, wheel barrows, garden wagons, hand-trucks, gloves and whatever else you need. Water will be available.

This is an URGENT request for assistance. RSVP.

Yesterday I told you I ran into Stenotrophomonas on the Tandy Hills, picking up litter and putting it into a black garbage bag.

Today, part way up Mount Tandy, I found a black garbage bag sitting beside the trail.

Was this the Stenotrophomonas bag?

My best guess is that his bag burst open, so Stenotrophomonas left it in this location til he could return with more garbage bags.

The wind was not impacting too strongly on the damaged bag. I'll bring a bag with me tomorrow in case this abandoned bag is still being a hazardous waste site.

I Found The Legendary Stenotrophomonas Doing Maintenance On The Tandy Hills Today Along With Possible Poison Ivy

A 10 o'clock doctor visit, this morning, rendered my regular noon aerobicizing not doable, til later.

It was 85 when I hit the Tandy Hills today. And very windy.

The wind was blowing clouds in front of the sun, making taking a picture of the Shadow of the Tandy Hills Thin Man slightly difficult. It was as if the lights kept getting turned off right when I clicked the shutter button.

As you can see, a buzz cut has my head looking like it's shrunk. A buzz cut makes for a much cooler hiking experience.

Today I had 3 Close Encounters of the Human Kind on the Tandy Hills. I can go weeks without seeing another human on the hills.

The first encounter came as I reached the bottom of Mount Tandy, at the point where the trail enters the Tandy Highway. A guy was walking towards me, picking up stuff and putting it in a black plastic bag.

As our paths crossed I said howdy, to which the guy with the black bag said, in a quizzical tone, "Durango?"

"That would be me" said I. "Who are you? I asked.

"Stenotrophomonas" came the reply.

I was face to face with the legendary Stenotrophomonas.

I continued on. A mile or so later I saw movement across a gully. Soon another human came into view. I'd seen this guy before. He had some sort of music playing device in his ear. So his "howdy" was quite loud.

The Third Encounter of the Human Kind occurred in the dark, foliage thick area you reach from the north side of Tandy Falls. I was coming down the trail that leads to the falls. Suddenly this guy hollers at me some sort of warning. I was a little concerned.

Turns out he had found what he thought to be a lot of poison ivy. I've no idea if it was poison ivy or not. But he was quite concerned. He was wearing one of those identity cards, like people who work in a hospital have.

The new wildflower, for the day, I found on top of Mount Tandy, near the Tandy Hills Shrine. It is a humongous wildflower.

In other Tandy Hills news, today I learned I will be in a booth at the Prairie Fest on Saturday, April 23. Currently I am scheduled to be at the Prairie Fest starting at 2 in the afternoon, til, I assume, closing.

I have never spent more than an hour or two at the Prairie Fest.

The last time I was in a booth, at a festival type event, it was in Seattle at the Fremont Sunday Market. That time I was in a booth with a crazy, raging sociopath who weighed 5 or 6 hundred pounds and looked like Jabba the Hut. This time I will be in a booth with a relatively sane person who is a skinny little thing who does not look like Jabba the Hut.

Two Weeks Til The 2011 Prairie Fest On The Tandy Hills Hopefully With Lots Of Wildflowers

Two weeks to go til the 2011 Prairie Fest, with the Tandy Hills Wildflowers needing to get serious about amping up their bloomage.

It was in the low 80s when I hit the hills today. And windy. Very pleasant.

I saw several of the wildflowers you see in the picture today. Each day there are more wildflowers, but some areas, like Lost Sunglasses Ridge are still bloom free.

A lady with a little kid was flying a kite on top of Mount Tandy today. The little kid had rolled the toy stroller, that is part of the Tandy Hills Shrine, over to where his mom was flying a kite, in case the Tandy Hills Shrine Keeper wonders why the stroller moved.

The top of Mount Tandy does not seem, to me, to be a good kite flying location, due to all the cables anchored to the ground from all the towers. I guess the worst that could happen is the kite gets tangled in a cable.

Tomorrow we are currently scheduled to get heated to a high of 92, with a strong Thunderstorm. I don't know at what time Sunday the T-Storm is expected to arrive.

A pushy lady on Weight Watchers convinced to buy a big loaf of gingerbread at Town Talk today. She had several people chiming in on how good this gingerbread is. Having never had gingerbread I would not know good from bad.

I'll let you know what I think of gingerbread when I get around to trying some.

In the meantime, I am going swimming again.