Sequim July Summer Round-up

Dear Sequim visitors,

Well, to tell you the truth, so far Sequim and the Olympic Peninsula did not really enjoy a summer, yet. The annual precipitation is already over 10" very close to our annual average of 12". Too many gray and rainy days and only sporadic days of sunshine but our Sequim vacation rental guests are so happy to escape the long lasting heat waves in AZ, TX, NM or PA. What can we say? We still feel blessed and comfortable to be able to enjoy the cooler weather in Sequim this summer when 22 states of the rest of the nation are exposed to sweltering temperatures. So what's happening this summer in Sequim?

Sequim Lavender Festival

Despite the rain during this year's Lavender Festival - long time Sequim residents told us that this is a first - I think it was a success. When I visited the new Lavender Festival in the Park on Saturday I missed a bit the vibe of the Street Fair in Fir (we had some drizzle rain then), which we enjoyed on Sunday noon. Great audience, beautiful arts and crafts. Everybody had a great time! I did not go to a farm with the tour bus but saw that the buses were crowded as usual. Yesterday I shopped at Jardin du Soleil and they told me that they had a great crowd enjoying the lavender fields and their lavender products!

You pick Berries in Sequim

The Camron Strawberry and Graysmarsh Berry Farm opened late this year in June for picking strawberries. However, since the rainy weather fruits were not really big and sweet, so u-pick strawberry season was not a big success this year. Yesterday I picked for the first time raspberries at Graysmarsh after I had picked the first sweet berries at my bushes. Raspberries obviously loved the rain. The fruits are big, juicy and sweet. Graysmarsh sells them for $2/lb I also checked their early blueberries which should be ripe for picking by the end of the week.

2011 Tribal Canoe Journey

When walking to SARC yesterday, where Keoki is teaching his Easy Stretch class, I noticed in Fir St next to the Sequim High School tennis courts tons of tents on the grassy area which had a sign for the'2011 Tribal Canoe Journey', which is organized by the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. Their colorful canoes are coming from the west while others are crossing from the Straits of Juan de Fuca. Today the canoes will paddle to Port Townsend and then head further to their gathering place at La Conner.

New Sequim Soccer Fields in Carrie Blake Park

Yes, that's what the current dirt piles on a huge 13 acre area will be in Carrie Blake Park. Before all that digging, there was 'just' grass and Canadian geese and ducks roaming around on it, bikers biking the Olympic Discovery Trail and the senior people of Sequim walking through the peaceful scenery with beautiful views of the Olympic Mountains. Looks like some people came up with the idea this area should be made into 5 large and 3 small new soccer fields. We heard of a petition so we could vote for or against this project, but we and most of our friends never saw it.

Now we are wondering whether this new Sequim project, which is actually paid for by donations to Sequim Family Advocates, will not only be in the best interest of the 'alleged 1000 children waiting to play there' but also of the senior community of a retirement town like Sequim! How that can be accomplished will still to be seen. Another interesting question will be who will be paying for the maintenance costs for 13 acres of playground since the city of Sequim is already under financial pressure as is.

Let's hope the new Sequim soccer fields in Carrie Blake Park will be an improvement for Sequim, for the children AND the seniors and last but not least fro the wild life in Carrie Blake Park!

Tags: summer in Sequim, Sequim events, Sequim City projects

What's up with Sequim weather in September?

Dear Sequim lovers,

Haven't we all been recently wondering what's up with our normally sunny Sequim weather in September? Well, when I opened the front page of Daily Peninsula News today, I and the rest of us curious Sequim residents found the answer, right on the front page. Those cooler, rainier days this September on the Olympic Peninsula are all due to strengthening the 'La Niña' climate phenomenon.

La Niña, which started to develop at the end of last month, brought an unusual cooling of the tropical Pacific Ocean and with it quite a number of rainy and cloudy days to the Pacific Northwest, the Peninsula and Sequim. Last year, we had an El Niño year, which is just the opposite of La Niña, which brought above average warmer weather to the area. I and the other gardeners and berry pickers of Sequim naturally loved it. I picked raspberries and blueberries all into the middle of October.

Yes, we still have berry season but the berries, like the blackberries, are getting moldy on the bushes. My raspberries at our house are still OK but at Graysmarsh, I noticed molding of their raspberries depleting them really fast. Because of all the rain, I did not go pick blueberries. Blueberries are different to raspberries + blackberries and don't soak up all that water but who knows how they survive the rain. Just checked with Graysmarsh website. The farm is only open for picking Saturday + Sundays.

Another negative effect of the missing sun in Sequim this fall is that my tomato plants are full of tomatoes but they are all green and don't seem to ripen at all. To tell you the truth I don't care much for green tomatoes. I still have not totally given up on the sun coming out and ripening my tomatoes and raspberries. Who knows with the special weather in Sequim. Hope Sequim with its special location in the rain shadows of Olympic Mountains, is more protected from storms and bad weathers than the rest of the Pacific Northwest and the Olympic Peninsula.

We got to face the truth though. The prognosis for this winter on the Peninsula and in Sequim is colder temperatures, more rain and snow - yes, snow on the Peninsula and of course, more snow for the happy skiers on Hurricane Ridge As we all know a lot of gray weather can make us feel down. Maybe you want to raise your daily dose of vitamin D to fight off the blues. And luckily we have SARC for meeting our friends on a daily basis, get some good exercise in, swim some laps and warm up our bodies in the jacuzzi and sauna. One reason to love Sequim as retirement town.

Bottom line of this post: Be prepared for a tougher Sequim winter season 2010/2011. La Niña is expected to last through early 2011. Hey and if climatologists are not right with their predictions, the better for us.
p.s.
Don't forget most of our Sequim Lavender Farms have online stores for their essential lavender oils. I noticed a great 25% off on lavender oils at 'Jardin du Soleil' when buying online. So I bought a nice 4oz bottle of organic Lavender oil. This Internet Special is valid till September 30th! By the way, this is no advertising but a great bargain for lavender lovers.

Tags: life in Sequim, Sequim weather in September

Organic berries in Sequim

Dear Sequim and berry lovers,

As I love any kind of berries and Sequim is berry country, this post has been on my to-do list for a long time. So, let's forget for a moment our recent 'Sequim Real Estate Update August 2009'.

In summer 2006, we experienced the abundance of berries in Sequim and surroundings the first time. I don't mean the berries in the stores but I refer to fresh berries on the bushes. We discovered strawberries + raspberries at U-Pick Graysmarsh Berry Farm in June + July and blueberries in August + September. I felt in Berry Paradise but then I remembered that I had read many times that strawberries and raspberries are more prone to picking up any bad stuff from pesticides or herbicides.

After we had sold our house in Sun Meadows with our own blueberry and raspberry bushes, I went to Henery's Nursery and picked up a number of raspberry bushes for putting in at our new house. We were surprised to see all kinds of different raspberries ripening on our bushes last year, even sweet yellow raspberries. However, we faced a problem with the deer. All our houses on Oak Hill are former deer country. The deer don't know that we live now here and still roam around at night - motion lights don't disturb them at all - and even at bright daylight.

Keoki built a fishing line protection around our raspberry bushes this year and the deer really stayed away from 'frequently 'pruning' our raspberries by munching on the fresh sprouts. The deer don't like to bump their noses into the fishing line. Our neighbor told us that trick, and it works! We have now a steady supply of fresh organic raspberries.

Coming back to our post title 'Organic berries in Sequim'. We were pleasantly surprised when Graysmarsh this spring announced that they grow now organic strawberries on separate fields. I paid a bit more more money and the plants and fruits were not as big as the non-organic, but the fruits were really tasty.

However, something interesting happened when the blueberries got ripe at Graysmarsh Farm. Newspaper ads said 'Organic Blueberries' for $2 U-Pick. As this was on the high end of U-Pick berries in Sequim, I decided to check it out and asked for the organic blueberry fields but there were none. It was the same old bushes where I had picked before. When asking about this at Graysmarsh, I was told that the raspberries + blueberries had ALWAYS been organic. They just had not said so, and they are not certified organic. The blueberries just got magically 'upgraded' to organic because people like to hear 'organic'. If only somebody could keep an eye on that name game with the word organic!

To cut a long story short. We pick our organic U-Pick blueberries for $1.50/pound at a small farm, which we know for certain that they does not use any chemical sprays or animal fertilizers. And best of all, everybody can pick organic blackberries in Sequim, just make sure not to pick along walkways where Sequim town might have sprayed to keep the weeds from growing. Sequim's blackberries are juice and sweet as ever!
p.s.
I almost forgot to update our Sequim vacation rental features. We have now for our guests a washer and dryer in the garage available. Cassie from CA will be the first one to try it out on her September stay. She is looking for a nice Sequim house to rent for herself for moving to Sequim for good. If you have a nice 2Bd/2Ba Sequim house for rent, please, email us.

Tags: organic berries in sequim, sequim home for rent, sequim vacation

August in Sequim

It's hot, hot summer all over the United States but there is one little corner in the Pacific Northwest, Sequim on the Olympic Peninsula which has pleasant temperatures for enjoying all outdoor activities, like biking the Discovery Trail, hiking the trails in the Olympic Mountains and pick berries at Sequim berry farms. If you are heading to Hurricane Ridge, read our recent article about traffic delays to Hurricane Ridge during the week.

It's now, beginning of August, that we recommend to come for a Sequim vacation to do all of the above. We are loving each of those Sequim fun activities and want to prove it with a few Sequim photos.

We bike regularly Carrie Blake Park, the Olympic Discovery Trail starting at Railroad Bridge or just bike to visit friends in Sun Meadows or Sunland, as we did yesterday. We looked at our friends' new Sunland home, which is very beautiful and peaceful. Together, we biked to the beach and explored more of the Sunland neighborhood by bike.

My favorite fruits are raspberries. I don't make jam or jello. I love to eat them fresh. Maybe this year, I will try to freeze some. Heard that a good way to do that is to spread the raspberries on a tray, freeze them and then put them in the freezer bags. I will give that a try. Our frozen blueberries worked well last year and lasted long over winter with adding them to our morning cereal. Right now is the best time to pick berries in Sequim. Not too many cherries, another favorite of ours, made it this year but again raspberry and blueberry bushes are full of delicious fruits.

I had a feeling that strawberry season was somewhat short this year but it seems a big blackberry harvest will reward us pretty soon. Blackberry bushes are covered with fruits. The first ones at sunny spots should be ready to pick in about 2 weeks. No need to pick them at the Berry Farms. They are growing plentiful everywhere. I would not recommend to pick them along the road as those areas get frequently sprayed for weed control.

Enjoy all the summer activities in August in Sequim, just as we do.

p.s.

For Sequim residents and visitors: The Sequim Senior Center has its 3rd Annual Benefit Sale coming up on Thursday August 7, 9am - 7pm and Friday August 8, 9am - 3pm. Great way to find something at a cheap price plus to support the community!

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Berry Season in Sequim

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Tags: Sequim, travel, vacation, best of Sequim, Sequim vacation

Berry Season in Sequim

Dear Sequim visitors,
Those of you who follow our Sequim Vacation blog regularly, stay definitely in touch with the Sequim weather. We have friends in Hawaii who intend to move here and believe us, they check our Sequim weather logo as often as possible. We had a long, much colder spring than usual. When we believe the weather guys it was the coldest spring in 100 years. Whether this is true or not, it definitely felt great when summer started and the thermometer showed summer temperatures. For the last few days, it seemed actually a little bit too much with temperatures around 86 F. We even had to run the AC on two days.

Well, with spring being cold and not not as sunny as necessary for fruits, berries and vegetables growing nicely, the berry season in Sequim started really late. I'd say 2 - 3 weeks late. Last summer we were always picking something, starting with the strawberries at Graysmarsh, then cherries and blue berries at our private picking place, back to Graysmarsh for raspberries and closing the season with picking wild blackberries at our special picking spots.

When we decided on Sunday to go for our first strawberry picking to Graysmarsh, we were surprised to find the farm gates closed. They were sold out or picked out. No berries were left! We went back the way we came from, to Sequim Dungeness and just crossed the road there and followed the sign to the Cameron Strawberry Farm for about 3 miles on Woodcock. Cameron Strawberry Farm is on 899 West Hendrickson Road in Sequim. On our leisurely drive to the farm, we could not resist to take a few photos of the beautiful Olympic Mountain views!

When we arrived at the strawberry farm, we got welcomed by Dave the owner telling us where we'd find the best berries and handing us light styrofoam containers to keep the fruits from getting smashed. We joined the pickers in the fields and were amazed to find an abundance of ripe strawberries. Within half an hour, we both had picked the ripest and sweetest strawberries. For all those Sequim visitors who like to pick berries when on their Sequim vacation, both berry farms, Cameron and Graysmarsh, charge now $1.50 per pound for u-pick your own berries. Believe us these fruits are worthwhile the money and your picking effort.

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Tags: Sequim, Vacation, Travel, Sequim Vacation, Olympic Mountains

Pick berries in Sequim

Dear Sequim visitors,
One of our first posts when we started our Sequim town blog reporting casually about our retired life in Sequim, one of the best retirement town in Washington state, was about picking berries in Sequim.

We were impressed by the variety of berry farms in Sequim which offered u-pick berries. Ever since the beginning of berry season this June - remember we noticed that strawberries were ripe very early this year due to the nice weather - we are regularly picking fresh berries for our morning cereal and just for eating them by themselves.

We woke up to a nice sunny Saturday morning this weekend (some early fog lifted soon). At around 10am I took off for picking strawberries at Graysmarsh Berry and Lavender Farm for u-pick berries. After I had picked enough strawberries, I decided to check on the raspberries and believe it or not, there were already quite a number of ripe and sweet fruits (they need to fall into your hand, otherwise they are not ripe).

Well, we were not done picking berries for the day. We decided we check on the blueberries (great anti-oxydants) of a small organic garden where we had picked last year. We were really lucky and picked 1/2 lb of great ripe early blueberries and even some sweet Rainiers cherries.

Well, this is your chance to stay in good health with fresh, vitamin rich berries. Enjoy berry season in Sequim. Greetings from the Sequimers

Tags: Sequim, Picking berries in Sequim

Sequim Summer Events in Carrie Blake Park

Dear Sequim visitors and residents,
The City of Sequim just announced their Summer Fun Program for the stage in Carrie Blake Park. So, mark your calendars for the summer fun at the James Center for the Performing Arts. The music program will be Tuesday nights from 6 - 8pm, starting July 3 all the way through September 11 with Rock/Oldies, Blues, Jazz, Swing, Beatles Review, 60s and more.

In addition, three outdoor movies will be shown this year: 6/26 Grease; 7/31 Happy Feet + 8/28 Fly Away Home. Bring your lawn chairs, blankets, snacks, family and friends to enjoy the live music and movies. Hey isn't that great that we are just around the corner. We will definitely be there for some of the live-music nights. I guess we leave the movie nights to the young folks and prefer our comfort of home.

Last but not least, some important information for berry pickers like ourselves. We picked last year from June to September strawberries, raspberries and blueberries at Graysmarsh Berry Farm. Yummie. Due to the sunny weather strawberries ripened early this year and are ready for U-Pick berries at Graysmarsh Berry Farm. Open Monday - Saturday 8am - 4pm and Sundays 10am - 4pm. Drive 3 miles on Sequim Dungeness Way, the 1 mile on Woodcock Rd or follow the signs to Graysmarsh.

Tags: Sequim Festivals, Pick berries in Sequim, best retirement town

Healthy Living in Sequim

Healthy Living in Sequim

Hi, everyone, the Sequimers are back. Last time, we mentioned the great outdoors in the Sequim area, which will be addressed all through our Sequim Town Blog, as that topic is much too big to be covered with one or two posts. What else attracted us to the Olympic Peninsula and Sequim in particular?

Sequim town and area is Berry Country

There are lots of organic farms and regular farms, which grow all kinds of berries during green season in addition to vegetables and other fruits. We tasted the first berries when we came visiting here last you end of September…sweet ripe blackberries everywhere! One did not even have to go to a farm. When you pick wild berries, just make sure that it is in an area where the country does not spray with weed controlling pesticides. Most places are safe to pick berries in Sequim.

Berries at the Sequim Supermarkets are not cheap. However, there are a lot of farms, which promote U-Pick all through the harvesting season. We just did a search in Google and there they were, nicely listed with address and hours and what berries at what months. We started picking berries with strawberries in early May, a month or so later the first raspberries were ripening (sometimes we went 2x a week for picking) and blueberries, which have become in the past few years a berry favorite with their most antioxidants content, followed soon. We were in berry heaven.

We picked the last blueberries a week ago. Checked yesterday with our favorite berry farm Graysmarsh Farm but all the blueberries were gone, as the farm had opened their fields for free picking and the birds picked probably the leftovers. Well, luckily there are tons of blackberries around us. They taste great and make a healthy food too. Again, if you have any questions, leave us a comment right here on our blog. You may also email us. We are happy to answer your Sequim questions. Stay healthy. The Sequimers
p.s.
Last remark for today about Sequim farms. A recent tendency shows that quite a number of farms got sold and turned into land for building houses or condos by developers. Old time Sequimers are not happy about this trend, not only that Sequim will lose its resources for farm produce but it will also lose its lovely small town ambience, which is the reason why people live here.