The Hamster Wheel
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🐹 Chick-a-dee-dee-dee 🐤🐤

🐹 Chick-a-dee-dee-dee 🐤🐤

January 10, 2025

Good morning, Bellingham. This is your Friday update from The Hamster Wheel.

It’s been an awfully mild winter so far, and I’m a little conflicted about it. On one hand a hard frost, or even snow, would feel refreshing after all the drizzle… on the other hand, an ornamental cherry blooming down the street makes me smile every time I drive past. 🌸

Are flowers blooming in your garden? If so, snap a photo and send it in. I’ll compile a winter flowers edition. 🌼🌻

Have fun, and stay safe out there! :bird

~ Val & Evan

In today’s Hamster Wheel:

Native Landscaping Program
Black-Capped Chickadee
Food & Drink
Music & Nightlife

Nature, Community, Sasquatch, UAP

Photos From the Hoods

Fog at Lake Padden - 📷 by Jodi @hollywoodromy

Kulshan and the Twin Sisters - 📷 by Mark Caicedo @anothersetlistthief

Dark Waters at Lake Padden - 📷 by Lynne Henderson.

Tag @bellinghamsterwheel on Instagram or reply to this email to get your photos in The Hamster Wheel.

Weather Forecast

Friday: 48°F 🌡️ 40°F | 🌧️ Rain | 🌧️ 90% | 💨 SW 6 to 12 mph

Saturday: 46°F 🌡️ 36°F | 🌧️ Slight Chance Light Rain | 🌧️ 20% | 💨 SW 6 to 9 mph

Sunday: 45°F 🌡️ 32°F | ⛅ Partly Sunny | 🌧️ 0% | 💨 WSW 2 mph

Bellingham Bay Tides

Day	Time	H/L	FT
Fri	4:01 AM	H	8.15
Fri	7:19 AM	L	7.13
Fri	12:05 PM	H	9.15
Fri	8:28 PM	L	-1.69
Sat	4:48 AM	H	8.98
Sat	8:38 AM	L	7.50
Sat	12:51 PM	H	8.97
Sat	9:15 PM	L	-2.08
Sun	5:29 AM	H	9.45
Sun	9:47 AM	L	7.47
Sun	1:45 PM	H	8.76
Sun	10:00 PM	L	-2.19

Moon Phases

Weather & Tides from NOAA. Moon data astronomyapi.

Events, Updates & News Around Town

Get off the Hamster Wheel

Neighborhood Native Landscaping Program Seeks Homeowners for 2025 Projects

Replacing your lawn with native trees and shrubs provides many benefits (beyond getting to chuck your lawn mower 🤪). Native plants attract native pollinators and wildlife, fertilizers or pesticides are not required, and very little maintenance is needed after the first few years.

Whatcom County’s Neighborhood Native Landscaping Program (NNLP) assists 10 to 15 homeowners annually in the Birch Bay and Lake Whatcom watersheds who wish to convert their existing lawns and landscaping into native landscapes.

The program favors applications where three or more applying homes are clustered within short walking distance. Properties must be outside of the city limits to qualify. Get details.

“Participating homeowners will be provided with planting plans, permitting, materials (plants and mulch), and installation assistance, free of charge. During a fall planting party, they will work with their neighbors and staff to get their projects in the ground.”

Since 2022, NNLP has installed over 101,000 square feet of native landscaping in Lake Whatcom and Birch Bay, including 6,264 plants and 1,351 cubic yards of mulch. That cute couple 👆️ are our good friends Cody and Alanna. 👋

Chick-a-dee-dee-dee

If you plant them (native plants), birds will come!! 🕊️🙂🕊️ It’s likely one of your first visitors will be a black-capped chickadee. 👇️

These sweet backyard visitors are year-round residents in our forests and urban landscapes. The Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife notes that black-capped chickadees “brave Washington’s chilly months with clever survival strategies. By day, they shiver and stay active, and at night they cozy up in sheltered spots. When temperatures really drop, they take it up a notch by entering “torpor,” a type of temporary hibernation where their body temperatures fall by 20 degrees.“

You can help your local chickadee thrive during winter by planting native shrubs with winter berries like highbush cranberry (Viburnum trilobum), and keeping those bird baths ice-free.

In other news…

⛷️ Putter up to Heather Meadow Base Area this Saturday (Jan 11) for the annual Beacon Rally hosted by the Mt. Baker Ski Area’s Mountain Education Center.

This is an excellent opportunity to “Learn what it takes to use your tools to locate and uncover a buried beacon” along with “basic avalanche awareness, practice using your avalanche transceiver and hone your group rescue skills.” Day of registration is required for this free event, which kicks off at 11 AM and runs until 2 PM. Details.

📽️ CRUTCH, part of the Kuntz & Company - Documenting Grace Film Series, will screen on Sunday (Jan 12), from 3-4:30 PM.

This documentary follows “Bill's extraordinary journey: the history of his medical odyssey and his struggles with chronic pain, the evolution of his crutch dancing and skating, his rise to become a world-renowned performance artist, and his transformation from an angry skate punk to an international hero.” Watch the preview.

Sponsored by the Institute for Critical Disability Studies at Western, tickets are available for $12.00 and can be purchased in advance here.

🦪 Stay up late at the beach! Wild Whatcom, and friends from the Marine Life Center, offer a Late Night Low Tide Exploration this Saturday (Jan 11) from 8:30-10:45 PM at Marine Park.

This outing corresponds with an almost full moon, which will cause a strong negative tide, “so there will be a lot of intertidal zones to explore! [look for] sea stars, nudibranchs, fish, clams, and more- you never know what you might spot tidepooling!” 🌕️ Details & Registration.

🐙 Learn about Threats to the Salish Sea on Saturday (Jan 11) from 10 AM to 1 PM at the Annual Cherry Point Science Forum. Learn from local scientists about research at Cherry Point and the Salish Sea at large.

This free event, held virtually via Zoom, will cover topics like:

Assessing Microplastics at a Macro-scale: Using GIS to Model Ecotoxicological Risks of Microplastics in the Salish Sea.
Urban Stormwater and Salmon: A Toxic Cascade Through Life Histories in the Salish Sea.
An overview of Ecology’s Spills Program and the Board of Pilotage Commissioners’ Tug Escort Rulemaking.

RE Sources, the folks behind The RE Store, and other environmental initiatives in Whatcom County host this event. Details and registration.

Local Business Updates

Haggling With Local Folk

Vintage Toy Shop Opens at Bellis Fair Mall

There’s a new toy shop in the Ham! Brick Island, located in the mall, is focused on 80 vintage items such as LEGO, Kenner, and Star Wars.

You can find Brick Island at storefront number 357, next to Mammoth Mini Golf. They buy toys too. Val’s scrounging for old LOGOs as I write this. 😉

Food & Drinks

Hamsters Gotta Eat

Friday Food Trucks
A Que Tacos @ Goods Local Brews
Back East BBQ @ Wander Brewing
Big Stick Barbecue @ Stemma Brewery
Burnt Side Down @ Stemma Brewery
Dumpling Girls @ Goods Local Brews
El Pollo Feo @ Kulshan Brewery (Roosevelt K2)
El Tapatio @ 4124 Strider Loop Rd
Galley 2 Go @ Stones Throw Brewery
Greektown @ Kulshan Brewery (James St. K1)
Luchadora @ Wander Brewing
Mobile Mouth Hole @ Lowes Parking Lot
Nana J’s @ Kulshan Brewery (James St. K1)
New Public Vegan @ Evil Bikes (700 Harris Ave)
Outpost Eats @ Transition Outpost (5090 Samish Way)
Tacos El Tule @ West Marine (Meridian St)
Tam Tam Pizza @ Lost Giants Cider Co.
The Galley @ Ponderosa Beer + Books

Saturday Food Trucks
A Que Tacos @ Goods Local Brews
Back East BBQ @ Wander Brewing
Big Stick Barbecue @ Stemma Brewery
Burnt Side Down @ Stemma Brewery
Dumpling Girls @ Goods Local Brews
El Pollo Feo @ Kulshan Brewery (Roosevelt K2)
El Tapatio @ 4124 Strider Loop Rd
Galley 2 Go @ Stones Throw Brewery
Greektown @ Kulshan Brewery (James St. K1)
Lil’ Mamas @ Menace Brewing
Luchadora @ Wander Brewing
Nana J’s @ Kulshan Brewery (James St. K1)
New Public Vegan @ Evil Bikes (700 Harris Ave)
Outpost Eats @ Transition Outpost (5090 Samish Way)
Sammies Vegan @ Bellingham Farmers Mkt.
Tam Tam Pizza @ Bellingham Farmers Mkt.
Tam Tam Pizza @ Dockside Mkt.
Tam Tam Pizza @ Lost Giants Cider Co.
The Galley @ Ponderosa Beer + Books

Sunday Food Trucks
Back East BBQ @ Wander Brewing
Big Stick Barbecue @ Stemma Brewery
Burnt Side Down @ Stemma Brewery
Dumpling Girls @ Goods Local Brews
El Pollo Feo @ Kulshan Brewery (Roosevelt K2)
Greektown @ Kulshan Brewery (James St. K1)
Lil’ Mamas @ Menace Brewing
Luchadora @ Wander Brewing
Nana J’s @ Kulshan Brewery (James St. K1)
New Public Vegan @ Evil Bikes (700 Harris Ave)
Outpost Eats @ Transition Outpost (5090 Samish Way)
Stella Sopra @ Stones Throw Brewery
Tam Tam Pizza @ Lost Giants Cider Co.

Because it’s fun to be a lookie-loo

Crash an Open House

2324 Lynn Street (Open Sat, Sun 11-2 PM)
Checkout this beauty on a double lot in the Columbia neighborhood. I’ve always had a soft spot for Lynn Street. I love the way it transitions from mid-century rambling ranchers near Yeager’s to historic homes as you near the water. It's a gorgeous house, an awesome neighborhood, and a groovy street. 🙂 Listing.

502 Lyla Lane (Open Sat 12-2 PM, Sun 2-4 PM)
I love it when people take these late-seventies homes (which tended to be a little plain) and give them a rockin’ facelift. This is a great example! A fun modern interior with great high-contrast finishes and a wide-open floor plan. The exterior sports mixed material cladding and an open grassy yard. Listing.

Performance Arts This Week

Dance of The Hamsters

LIVE THEATRE & EVENT

The Brothers’ Grimm Spectaculathon:
Blaine High School Theater ($10 Donation at the door) | Thurs, Fri, Sat 7 PM

Hot Box:
iDiOM Theater | Fri, Sat 7:30 PM

PARTICIPATORY DANCE

Salsa : The Salsa Collective @ The Majestic Ballroom | Sun 5:30 PM Details.
Salsa : Salsa & Bachata Dance Club @ WWU Viking Union | Mon 7 PM.
Swing : B’ham Hop @ Hotel Leo Crystal Ballroom | Tues 7 PM Details.
Scottish Country : Scottish Dancing Workshops @ Fairhaven Library | Wed 7 PM
Tango : Tango Practica @ The Majestic Ballroom | Wed 6:30 PM.
Line Dancing : MoonShine @ Bar Two Eleven | Fri 7:30 PM
Senior : Belly Dance, Bollywood, and Jazz @ Bellingham Senior Activity Center | Sat 10:30 AM
Cuban Salsa : Beginning Cuban Salsa @ Rumba Northwest | Tues 6 PM
Cuban Salsa : Intermediate Cuban Salsa @ Rumba Northwest | Tues 7:15 PM
Bachata : Bham Bachata @ ‘ONO Kitchen & Bar | Thurs 7:30 PM
Contra : Jolly Pollywogs + John Hatten @ Fairhaven Library | Sat 7 PM

Help Spread The Word

Refer three Bellingham friends to join our newsletter community, and we’ll include a birthday callout to one person you specify on their B’day 🎂. Get your referral link here. Your current referral count is: 0. You’re so close!.

Music & Nightlife

Spinning Into The Night

Friday Games & Trivia
None Scheduled

Saturday Games & Trivia
None Scheduled

Sunday Games & Trivia
Bingo @ Paws For A Beer | 3 PM
Trivia Night @ Stemma Brewing Co. | 5:30 PM

Hakuna matata

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Have a great Weekend!!