You have another chance for an early look inside of one of these trains. Photo by The Lebers -- thanks!Still psyched about the new light rail trains and can’t wait until next summer when you can ride them? This Saturday you can at board a Link Light Rail train, although it won’t be going anywhere. A train will be parked at the Columbia City Station during the Rainier Vista Boys & Girls Club Grand Opening celebration.
The celebration of the club’s new 40,000 square foot teen center is from 12:00 noon to 4:00 pm. VIPs including Ron Sims and Greg Nickels will be there to speak between 10:30 am and 11:30 am. Other activities at the celebration include free-throws with Sheryl Swoopes of the Seattle Storm, a performance by the Dangerettes drill team, football with Bobby Engram and Blitz from the Seattle Seahawks, and giveaways for kids and teens. The Club is at 4520 MLK Jr. Way South; the Columbia City rail station is one block south.
Farm animal on Beacon Avenue South, October 2008. Photo by Jason.Though South Beacon Hill looks suburban now, within living memory it was rural, with woods and farms. The large P-Patch near MLK and Henderson gives a hint of the old Beacon Hill and Rainier Valley, but that’s not the only sign of the old rural South Seattle.
A couple of weeks ago, Jason and I were down on Renton Avenue, near Vince’s, and decided to drive up the hill and try to take a good picture of the Chief Sealth trail. We did, and then kept driving a bit to see what else was up there. We soon found ourselves on the southeastern segment of Beacon Avenue South, which, though it seems to end when it merges with 39th Avenue South on South Beacon Hill, starts up again east of MLK and continues down to South 128th Street in Skyway. And there, near South Bond Street, we saw… a cow. The one you see in this picture. Right next to the road, happily munching away at some grass.
We stopped the car to take this photo, and heard the sound of horses whinnying. In Seattle, of all places.
It turns out that this cow is Vaca, the family cow at Sferra Farm, the last working farm in Seattle. The 20-acre horse farm has been there since 1919, and now it’s the last vestige of a South Seattle that once was. Recently the Sferra Farm made the news because the city’s new rates for drainage tax threatened its survival (the City Council later amended the drainage rate ordinance), and because of this you can see more pictures of Vaca and Sferra farm at Richard Conlin’s photo gallery and on Dori Monson’s website at KIRO radio.
The area where the farm is located is called Rainier Beach on the city’s neighborhood map, but just barely (the boundary on that map is MLK). The farm and its area are discussed in Chapter Four, “South Beacon Hill,” of Seattle’s Beacon Hill, by Frederica Merrell and Mira Latoszek.
I love Vaca’s fuzzy, soft-looking ears. It was a nice unexpected surprise to see a farm animal in the city.
The West Seattle Blog reports that several suspects have been arrested for a series of “BB gun burglaries” in West Seattle — but the suspects have been tied to crimes in the Beacon Hill neighborhood as well. More details at the WSB.
JvA visited Georgetown’s new Carleton Market and took some very nice photos, including one of what may be the oldest jar of mayonnaise in Seattle — Mid Beacon Hill
We noticed recently that the work on the east side of the 17th and Beacon intersection has reopened to traffic. The planters and pedestrian-scale lighting don’t appear to be there yet, though. With luck this will be a safer intersection for pedestrians crossing 17th at this spot. It doesn’t seem to affect those crossing Beacon to the library, however.
Does the “left turn only” sign mean that drivers can no longer cross Beacon and continue southward on 17th?17th and Beacon intersection, across from the library. Photo by Jason.
Abbey needs a home. Do you need a dog to love?(Editor’s note: We have been told that because Abbey was adopted from the Seattle Humane Society, her adoption contract requires that she be returned to the shelter for rehoming, and the shelter will find her a good home and make sure that her new family are aware of any issues related to her breed or behavioral profile. Thanks everyone for reading this and caring about Abbey!)
Last year my wife and I rescued a wonderful 2 year old fox hound from the Humane Society. We named her Abbey and she is a very good companion. However, as we are expecting a baby girl in December, Abbey will be too much for us to manage while attending to an infant. If you are a walker or runner, she is an ideal training partner. I take her out on a 2 – 4 mile run (rain or shine) at least 3 days a week and she loves being outdoors.
If Abbey sounds like she may be compatible to your lifestyle, or if you know someone looking for a pet, I strongly encourage you to first check out a description of her breed [See American Foxhound]. Also, if you own a cat, ferret or a similar non-canine creature, then a foxhound under the same roof is simply not a good idea.
One important necessity for her breed is a tall enclosed fence with no escape routes while you are away. If left alone for long periods, the fox hound will get bored and become curious to explore the various interesting scents wafting through the neighborhood. However as long as people are at home, Abbey has no incentive to run off and contents herself with sleeping on her cushion, that is, after you’ve taken her out to play. When people are around, she is a very good indoor dog.
We have grown very attached to her, and want to ensure that she finds a suitable home that would be conducive to mutual happiness with her owner(s).
Please respond to our email if you are interested in adopting Abbey: lacrowder@msn.com
Is this the vaccine standing between you and two weeks of misery later this winter? Photo by IamSAM -- thanks!It’s that time of year again: time to get a flu shot before the evil influenza virus comes around. Here are some places near the Hill where you can get a flu shot if you want it:
Walgreens, 4412 Rainier Avenue South: Flu vaccination clinic on November 14, 2:00 – 8:00 pm, and vaccinations available by appointment until December 15
Columbia Public Health Center, 4400 37th Ave South: Shots available Monday – Wednesday, 8:00 am to 6:00 pm (in by 5:30 pm), Thursday: 10:00 am to 8:00 pm (in by 7:30 pm), Friday: 8:00 am to 5:00 pm (in by 4:30 pm). Walk-ins allowed
If anyone knows of flu shot clinics available up here on top of the Hill (Red Apple, maybe?), please let us know and we’ll add the info to this post.
A couple of weeks ago we mentioned that Nancy Leson was looking for comments on “old-school” Chinese restaurants. Now she’s posted a review of several, including the former Beacon Hill landmark, Perry Ko’s South China Restaurant. (If you count Perry Ko’s old location, we’ve eaten at every one of these restaurants.) — Seattle Times
Blogging Georgetown brings us news of a new grocery store at Carleton & Warsaw, rather closer for our west-slope Mid-Beacon Hill neighbors than Red Apple or Safeway, and perhaps worth a trip from further out.
In our continuous quest to make this blog more useful, we’ve added a new feature: an Events Calendar. Any of the events we post about on the blog will be listed in the calendar as well, so if you are wondering what’s going on in the neighborhood over the next few weeks, that’s where you should go. The link to Events will be permanently located in the upper right menu of every page on the site.
If you really want to be on top of the neighborhood activities, you can subscribe to the calendar using a feed reader or iCal-compatible software:
Of course, for events to be listed in the calendar, we need to know about them. So please let us know by either emailing us directly, or posting the events to one of the mailing lists. Thanks!
, by Frederica Merrell and Mira Latoszek. 
