Bee house

I hope it's just my imagination, but seems like there there were fewer bees on the alliums this year-- their favorite flower.

Happily though, the endangered bumblebees made a nest this summer under the garage/shed.  I watch them go in and out through a little hole in the ground. And some other variety of "good" bees have a hive in the birdhouse.  You can hear that sweet, low thrumming sound. 

It's a cute birdhouse, but picky bird parents shun it because it heats up in the afternoon sun.  For many years, the ubiquitous house sparrows nested there, but now they're completely gone from the yard.

West Seattle is becoming so urbanized. The scraps of land are worth more than the old houses, so some are torn down to build condos and modern-looking box houses that cover the entire lot.  People want maximum indoor living space these days, not the work and bother of wasted yards.

This French-provincial, stucco McMansion went up nearby, nestled among the wood bungalows.  I shouldn't trash someone's dream home, but it looks like it was dropped down from an Atlanta suburb.  And how about that concrete bunker in front?

Back in the 1990's, the city plan to designate West Seattle as an "Urban Village" sounded kind of quaint and European.  No one (except the developers) payed much attention to the zoning changes that opened the door for multi-story apartments and high density in our part of the city.

Not much happened as the recession came and went, but now we're in the middle of a tremendous building boom. Some would say bubble. The narrow streets are congested and pay parking is probably just around the corner. About 30 percent of new apartment developments here include no parking at all. In the Urban Village, we're supposed to ride bicycles, take transit, or walk to work. (ha ha)

Still we should count our blessings like green belts, parks, beaches, and thousands of backyards.  But we're at a crossroads as Seattle tries to hang on to its natural soul.