Kimberly, Author at Wallyhood

Wassailing The Apple Trees

Kimberly January 5, 2018 3 Comments

Wassailing is an old winter time tradition from the apple growing regions of southern England. It involves traveling around the local orchards singing and toasting the apple trees to encourage them to bear a good crop. Apple trees are everywhere in this region, even in the heart of Seattle. Sound and Fury, a local group of Morris dancers, hold an annual wassail to celebrate this beloved fruit.

In a special free event at the Meridian playing field this Saturday, January 6 from 1:30 – 2:30 pm, members of the public are invited to join in the celebrations. Cider and apple …

May Day Festivities at Gas Works Park

Kimberly April 29, 2017 7 Comments

Bring Up the Sun, Bring In Summer!

It’s been a long winter. As if the post-election pall weren’t bad enough, we’ve broken the 122-year-old record for wettest winter, and another record for the sheer number of wet days between October and April.

How do you cope with such dismal weather? Take excessive doses of Vitamin D? Book a trip someplace sunny? Complain while binge-watching Netflix?

How about getting up before dawn on May 1^st to bring in the summer!

It may sound crazy, but rising before dawn on May Day has a long and venerable tradition in olde England, …

Health to the Apple Trees

Kimberly January 8, 2016 Comments are off

This Saturday, January 9th, the Sound and Fury Morris Dancers will host their Fifteenth Annual Wassail (what’s Wassailing? See here). They would like you to be a part of it!

Friends and neighbors of all ages are invited to join in this Olde English celebration by bundling up warmly and meeting them in the apple orchard located in the field at Meridian Park. The festivities will begin at 1 pm and last about an hour.

During the course of the Wassail, songs will be sung, dances will be danced, noise will be made to scare away potential evil spirits, and …

Hamilton Wants to be Pesticide Free

Kimberly May 17, 2015 6 Comments

A few weeks back, when I posted about pesticide use at Wallingford Park, I heard from several families at Hamilton International Middle School. As noted before on this blog, Seattle Public Schools routinely utilizes pesticides at public schools, because it is more cost-effective than hand-weeding. There are so many concerns about the use of pesticides around children and pregnant women that I don’t even know where to begin my rant about this short-sighted behavior, so I will point you to the fact sheets available at the Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP).

Seattle Public Schools has an official Integrated …

Pesticides at the Parks

Kimberly April 30, 2015 12 Comments

Last week, after reading this piece about Wallingford’s sewage ending up in Lake Union and the new incentive program for building rain gardens, I contacted the RainWise program through the City of Seattle. My children attend school in the Lincoln High building, which I learned is eligible for the rain garden program due to its proximity to Stone Way N. So, imagine my surprise when I walked past this a few days later:

This sign was posted in the shrubbery that is just below the west side of the basketball court at Hamilton Middle School (one block from the Lincoln …

Urban Nature Lovers Needed

Kimberly March 12, 2015 6 Comments

Have you ever walked past an overgrown, untended plot of the urban landscape and thought to yourself how much better that little bit of green space would be with some love and attention? You are not alone! In fact, Seattle is filled with noticers, and some of them have noticed that Wallingford has a few places that could use some love – like the neglected areas at 46th and Midvale, 45th and Midvale and Aurora at 46th. These lovely noticers have even taken pictures and compiled a list of places in our fair city that could use a little loving.…

Pruning without Butchering

Kimberly February 5, 2015 Comments are off

When I head outside with a pair of pruners, I am pretty sure my plants cower. My technique is haphazard at best. Pruning to promote a good crop of fruit – well that remains a mystery.

Luckily, the world has Ingela Wanerstrand – friend of fruit trees and professional pruner. If your skills could use some sharpening, you are in luck! Ingela is teaching a pruning class Saturday at the Freeway Estates Community Orchard.

Ruth writes:

Ingela Wanerstrand is a professional pruner with over 20 years of experience. She has a permaculture certification, teaches numerous workshops, and is an instructor …

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