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Tag: Westwood neighborhood

Good Neighbors Increase Your Property Value

Good Neighbors Increase Your Property Value

It’s true. Having and being a good neighbor, translates into increased home values when it comes time to sell. Meanwhile, good neighbors increase your enjoyment of your home today.

I recently became aware of three free local community resources that might interest and benefit you. All three are web based and designed to encourage personal connections among neighbors. Each is run by volunteers with a goal of enabling neighbors to help one another, somewhat like the barn raising traditions of a bygone era.

The first is NextDoor.com.  Nextdoor describes itself as “a private social network” designed to “build stronger and safer neighborhoods.”  Members use the online network to communicate with each other about things like lost pets, recent break-ins, recommendations for  local tradespeople, and selling or giving away personal belongings. More info at: www.roxhillseattle.nextdoor.com

The second is Time Bank of West Seattle. At its most basic level, time banking is simply about spending an hour doing something for somebody in your community. That hour goes into your timebank account as one credit hour. You then have a credit hour to spend on having someone else do something for you. All hours are valued equally.  www.tops.timebanks.org

The third is a group within Facebook called Buy Nothing.  As the name implies, the objective of the group is to help members avoid buying things that others might already have but no longer want.  It’s a way to share our  communal wealth. There is no bartering, trading or selling. Members offer each other things they have and ask for things they need. Each “Buy Nothing” group is neighborhood specific (Westwood homes fall within the West Seattle-South grouping). Joining this closed group requires permission from the administrators but the only requirement is that you live within the geographic boundaries set for the group.  If you have a Facebook account, simply access it and in the search bar type in: Buy Nothing West Seattle (South). Or ask me to send you an invitation to join.

If you know of other valuable local resources, please post a comment or contact me and I will post about them in the future.

Tree trimming mystery in Westwood

Tree trimming mystery in Westwood

I live in the Westwood neighborhood of West Seattle and absolutely love it! The people are friendly without being nosey, they walk a lot, they maintain their homes, and they are very pet-friendly, among other attributes. But Westwood apparently has a mystery tree trimmer in its midst.

On a recent walk with my dog, I was puzzled to see some small tree branches had been clipped off and left lying on the sidewalk. A few houses down, I saw the same thing. It seemed very strange that two homeowners would have done this same thing. I kept walking and soon discovered the same phenomenon repeated over and over again all the way from SW Thistle Street to SW Myrtle Street (approximately one mile)!

As I continued my walk around Westwood neighborhood, I saw that this mystery hacker had continued his self-appointed mission on several other streets in the neighborhood.

I can only assume that someone has taken it upon himself (yes, I’m choosing to brand this person as a male) to trim any branches that he perceives to be invading the public sidewalk! That’s a pretty gutsy move, if you ask me. I might feel differently if he picked up the clippings and hauled them away but, no, he just left them along the sidewalk for others to deal with.

A couple of days later, I saw a notice on a telephone poll, apparently written and posted by an irritated Westwood neighborhood resident, declaring this tree trimming to be a cowardly and despicable act. I tend to agree.

What do you think?

Can anyone identify this mystery hacker?

 

 

Westwood Neighborhood floral display

Westwood Neighborhood floral display

One of the big pleasures of my day is walking with my dog, Tess, around our under-appreciated Westwood Village neighborhood. This time of year is especially enjoyable because of all the flowering trees and shrubs.

I took my camera with me this morning and captured these colorful shots from my West Seattle neighbors’ yards. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.