Twisp

I couldn’t help but notice how many blank bubbles there were on the ballot under the incumbents in our local election. While some seats were contested, most were not. There seems to be a lack of interest to govern. As the dust settles from recent elections, national attention in the media regarding civics education in […]

Chances are, this fall you’ve smelled it too. Skunk. When we first moved to the valley nearly 15 years ago, skunk encounters were rumored to be rare, or non-existent. Folklore held that the 1968 freeze annihilated the valley skunk population. But that first year, we spotted a fluffy stripped skunk happily sauntering in the snow […]

This week I am going to check in with a few valley residents currently living elsewhere and give updates on their whereabouts and on-goings.  So, here are postcards from … Mumbai, India Eighteen months ago, Methow Valley Elementary school teacher Kelly Weist boarded a jumbo jet for Mumbai, India, where she is now in her […]

Cultures the world over have commemorated death with richly complex traditions and rituals.  As Halloween approaches each year, examining the intersection between Western Christianity and the traditions around of death become more apropos. It’s no coincidence that Halloween falls at the peak of the season of death and decay in the natural world. Besides Memorial […]

Ah, the season of rapid change is upon us, and many observations of human behavior and natural phenomena are noteworthy. One of blessings of living and eating seasonally in the Methow is the color changes in our diet that reflect the bounty of the home-grown garden. As colors in the landscape shift, so too does […]

Over the past two weeks some community listening sessions aimed at gaining feedback and insight on a range of topics have taken place at various venues. The Methow Valley School District began a series of listening sessions on Oct. 2 at TwispWorks. It was the same night as the candidates’ forum at the Twisp Valley […]

They started out as a novelty, but many question if they have become a nuisance. Granted, they are fun to watch as they waddle across the road, and during mating season the tom’s displays and antics are quite impressive and humorous. But the wild turkeys, it seems, have become the most abundant bird sightings these […]

Acronyms in government work are ubiquitous. In an average day at my job I will encounter SMP, SEPA, JARPA, HPA, DNS, DOA, NIMBY and the list goes on. Like any industry, there’s a language that goes with it and with a little time, you catch on. I always wonder how non-native speakers navigate the American […]

It was dirty business for few valley residents this past weekend who traveled over to the muddy side of the state and participated in the Tough Mudder in Black Diamond. The Tough Mudder is an international event and racecourse that ranges from 5-12 kilometers with up to 25 obstacles of dirty challenges. Less of a […]

Be it the smell of pines, the grit of the soil or the jagged sunsets, those who are lucky enough to be imprinted with the Methow as their childhood landscape will carry it with them. Place is powerful force. When people leave their childhood world to embark upon new territory, their frame of reference is […]