As we enter the annual spring migration time for many birds, valley residents are preparing feeders and nest boxes to welcome feathered friends back to the valley. One more item on the checklist is outdoor lighting. Most songbirds migrate at night. Outdoor lights at night can be deadly. According to the National Park Service, “Birds […]
VALLEY LIFE
Twisp: March 25, 2020
Text messages from my siblings, Facetime chats with grandparents, occasional phone calls with close friends, online poker and social media have kept us all somewhat connected. Still, social distancing is difficult. After all, we are social beings. Some people aren’t taking it seriously, which makes the social pressure difficult to navigate. I saw a group […]
Winthrop: March 25, 2020
When the Carlton Complex fires broke out and the valley lost power for eight days, what did people do? They did what Methow Valley families have been doing for generations: they went straight to those in need, delivering hugs first, followed by food and supplies. In the years after the Carlton Complex fires, folks in […]
Mazama: March 25, 2020
As we wade deeper into the silence of isolation and the uncertainty of the rabbit hole we have collectively fallen into, there is some solace in hearing how people locally, across the country — and even in hard-hit Italy — are faring. Here in Mazama, where the Mazama Store is the hub of activity, longtime […]
Twisp: March 18, 2020
Overnight, millions of parents became homeschool parents and hundreds of resources started popping up on social media feeds about how to effectively homeschool. Organizations like museums and aquariums are offering web-hosted events and YouTube homeschool videos have gone viral. All the energy and creativity individuals and organizations are putting into making the abrupt transition a […]
Mazama: March 18, 2020
How did our lives change in the blink of an eye? Until about a week ago, “social distancing” wasn’t even in our wheelhouse. Now we’re hyper-alert about everything we touch and repeating as our mantra the age-old advice we have received regularly since kindergarten: Wash your hands and keep your hands away from your face! […]
Winthrop: March 18, 2020
I didn’t really want to write about anything related to the coronavirus, but it seems disingenuous to write about anything else right now. Jon and I went Nordic skiing with the kids on Saturday and while I was safely maintaining my 6 feet of social distance — which was absolutely no problemo, since I am the weak […]
Lower Valley: March 11, 2020
Raven Odion, stylist and owner of RavensHair Non-Toxic Studio, offers all-natural beauty care in the Methow Valley. Located 8 miles south of Twisp at 12 Ross Road, Odion’s sun-filled studio offers views of the mountains with a quiet relaxing atmosphere. “I’ve had people fall asleep in the chair,” she said. Odion offers shampoo, conditioning and […]
Twisp: March 11, 2020
Behind every grey cloud is a silver lining. If we consider December and January as the proverbial cloud, then February and March seem to be the silver lining. Thanks to that January thaw and rain, the Loup Loup Ski Bowl’s minimal snowpack turned into a solid block of consolidated ice that has been able to […]
Mazama: March 11, 2020
Our Methow valley communities are well educated in sustainability. The “re-“ list is getting longer: rethink, refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, refurbish, repair, repurpose. Methow Recycles, formed by volunteers in 2002, has grown into a waste prevention program offering comprehensive recycling as part of the solution to the “dump,” which now is better, and more appropriately, […]
