You know the old saying--

--"A Bird in the Hand is Worth Two Clowns in the Bush," or something like that.

This little tableau was on top of the air conditioner on the outside wall of City Hall today. Could it be a political statement, as in, someone has a fowl opinion of the clowns who were elected to City government? Whatever. It made me laugh.

Mar. 12, 2018

Pampas or Ravenna Grass?

Mar. 12, 2018

Pampas grass and Ravenna Grass, which are similar in appearance, are both considered invasive and noxious weeds by the Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board. Grays Harbor County is one of the main homes for Pampas grass in the state.

Noxious or not, I think it looks amazing.

Indoor swimming pool!

Mar. 11, 2018

The Maple Street view of the former Timbear Cafe, opened ca. 1957 and in operation as a restaurant under various names for a few decades before ending up as a second hand store.

Before there was Grays Harbor Transit there was Washington Coast Lines and this Maple Street corner was their main McCleary stop.

This structure is now for sale and as you can see by the roofing it comes by default with its own indoor swimming pool.

The red door and the shadow flag

Mar. 3, 2018.

Cheema Market

The last of the snow for this round

Feb. 27, 2018
The snow seems to take longer to melt away on Arkie Hill, McCleary's Arctic microclimate.

St. Patrick's Day view of downtown McCleary

Feb. 26, 2018, via the Bear's Den

The faucet that drips moss

Feb. 25, 2018
Gordon's

Heather poking up through snow

Feb. 22, 2018

Car-shaped ice shadow

Feb. 22, 2018

Stepstones in the snow

Feb. 21, 2018

Morty the Dog visits the McCleary Community Center

Nov. 15, 1995. Morty the Dog, who ran for McCleary Mayor in 1999 as a write-in candidate, pays a visit to the McCleary Community Center. [Photo taken of old VHS video]

Morty continues to garner write-in votes for various elective offices in Grays Harbor County to this day.

http://www.kxro.com/mickey-mouse-will-not-grays-harbor-county-commissioner/

Winter lines and shadows

Feb. 19, 2018

March 5th @11am 574

Feb. 14, 2018.

Be there or be square.

Cryptic post-it found at random on a McCleary walkway.

Vote! Yes

Feb. 12, 2018

Home-made election campaign signs are the best.

McCleary Bear Festival trailer

Feb. 12, 2018

Seems sort of early to be seeing the McCleary Bear Festival trailer, but there it is next to the Credit Union. And it does provide advertising for the event.

Anyone remember the old Float Barn? Is this trailer the new Float Barn on wheels?

LOVE

Feb. 10, 2018

Rain Country Valentine display. McCleary City Hall and the new clinic are in the background

Bears Inside City Hall

Feb. 8, 2018

Wooden relief sculpture by Elma residents Richard and Mike Roberts.

The Clock in City Hall

Feb. 8, 2018

The antique clock in McCleary City Hall originally belonged to Henry McCleary and was part of the Henry McCleary Timber Company headquarters. McCleary's HQ stood on the same spot where City Hall is now located, so the clock has resided in the same area before almost all of us in town were born.

Note the more boring modern clock in the background behind the Seahawk decorations.

Floating Valentines

Feb. 4, 2018
Gordon's

Tree broken by winter stormy winds

Jan. 22, 2018. Near Rainbow Park and the VFW Hall

How high's the water, Mama?

Jan. 15, 2018

Sandbag precaution at the banks of Sam's Canal as it flows by Rainbow Park.

Right, no, Left!

Jan. 12, 2018

Summit Pacific Clinic parking lot exit.

What is the soda pop's agenda?

Jan. 9, 2017

This sight greeted me this morning as I went shopping at my favorite grocery store. A lone soda pop atop a vending machine.

How did it get up there? What does it see from that lofty pinnacle? Why is it taunting children who cannot reach it? What cruel game is it playing?

Yes, there are squirrels in McCleary

Jan. 8, 2017

I have heard it said that there are no squirrels in McCleary. In fact, I would wager there have been more sightings of Sasquatch than squirrels around here during the past decade.

In the last five or six years there is a yard in the southwest part of town that has occasionally harbored a large squirrel. This winter that same yard has not one but two, yes, two squirrels. Here is a photo of one of them-- not exactly a great photo, but hey, this is a flip cellphone. Even so, it is still more detailed and has more clarity than your usual Sasquatch photograph.

The dog in the Library hallway

Jan. 6, 2017

Looks like this was part of the original 2003 library mural project.

Rolling waves of the Pacific in the sky

Jan. 6, 2017

Facing west at Gordon's along the Simpson fence.

Fog bank at Mohney's Prairie

Jan. 4, 2018.

The Bear in the Library

Jan. 2, 2018

The bear is wearing some sort of holiday hat at the time this phone photo was taken.

The sign next to the bear, apparently written in 2013, reads thusly:

In 2002, "Blackberry" was taken in a clear cut near the Reed Hill Lookout in the Satsop River drainage in Grays Harbor County by Lanny Duvall of Montesano.

In the past eleven years the Duvall family, Lanny, his wife, Kelli, and their two sons Devyn and Dylann have moved all over the United States. Blackberry has moved with them each time and served as a great conversation piece. For the past five years, the Duvall family has been living overseas in China, leaving Blackberry in storage. Each summer they spend their summer vacations with family in the McCleary area. One of their favorite summer events is the McCleary Bear Festival, which Kelli's sister, Teresa Sanders, acts as a volunteer.

As the Duvall's continue their adventures,  they decided, in 2013, to donate their bear to the McCleary Historical Society. On loan to the McCleary Timberland Library, Blackberry has settled into his new home and can be enjoyed by all of McCleary and Grays Harbor families.

The Duvalls are now residents of Amsterdam.

Happy New Year

Jan. 1, 2018.

The bustling live-wire central business district of downtown McCleary on New Year's morning, 2018.

Hmmm, no one seems to be up and around. Gosh, I wonder why?

Blue Christmas

Christmas morning, 2017. Actually this is a very rare White Christmas in McCleary, but the old flip-phone camera captured it as blue, making me imagine this lonely little snow-covered bear is singing, "I'll have a Blue Christmas without you." Cue in Elvis!

As you can see, Sam's Food Mart is one of the few places still open this morning. It might be my imagination, but it seemed there was more snow in general south of Pine Street where the elevation is a little higher.