Marie McKinsey
- Mar 7
- 2 min
How to Calculate Storm Water Run-off from Your Property
The EPA estimates that over 770 cities in the US combine waste water and stormwater in the same pipe and send it to sewage treatment...
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Marie McKinsey
- Feb 11
- 1 min
Pandemic Gardening
"'Tis an ill wind indeed, that blows no good." - William Shakespeare For all the pain and suffering brought by the COVID-19 pandemic,...
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Marie McKinsey
- Jul 18, 2016
- 2 min
Create a Bee Friendly Garden
Without bees, we wouldn't have much to eat and we would have far fewer herbs
and flowers to enjoy.
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Marie McKinsey
- Oct 2, 2015
- 2 min
Were Sewer Breaks on Wickstrom Place Caused by Development?
During the weeks of controversy over the permitting of the Alki 11 rowhouses that now face 55th Ave SW and Wickstrom Place SW at Alki Beach,
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Marie McKinsey
- Jul 13, 2013
- 4 min
The Sustainable Alternative to the Alki 11
I wrote this when I had become tired of pointing out the problems with this project. Our protests fell on deaf ears anyway. It was clear tha
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Marie McKinsey
- Jul 9, 2013
- 1 min
What Is the Difference Between a Fruit and a Vegetable?
When people find out that a tomato is a fruit, not a vegetable, they are usually surprised. They think of fruits as being sweet and vegetabl
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Marie McKinsey
- Jun 29, 2013
- 5 min
Will the Alki 11 Rowhouses Cause Flooding?
If you've been following these posts for a while, you are familiar with the math: for every inch of rainfall, nearly 5500 gallons of stormwa
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Marie McKinsey
- Jun 19, 2013
- 2 min
How Much Sewage Will the Alki 11 Generate?
In an earlier post, I explained how to calculate the amount of stormwater runoff this project will produce. Now let's look at the amount of
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Marie McKinsey
- May 27, 2013
- 1 min
Here's Where Things Get Serious: The Environmental Impacts of the Alki 11 Row Houses
To really measure the environmental impact of a project, you have to look at what it replaces. When you compare the before and after, side b
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Marie McKinsey
- Apr 15, 2012
- 1 min
Get to Know the Lily of the Valley Shrubs
Lily of the Valley Shrubs (Pieris japonica) are graceful, slow growing shrubs that are popular in the Seattle area, and for good reasons.
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Marie McKinsey
- Aug 10, 2011
- 2 min
Seattle Rain
My favorite book by local author, Tom Robbins, is "Still Life with Woodpecker." I have a well-worn copy that was given to me as a gift in...
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Marie McKinsey
- Jul 26, 2011
- 1 min
Can You Grow Kiwi Fruit in Seattle?
What you see above are newly set kiwi fruits I found growing near my house when I was out for my walk this morning.
Here are some things
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Marie McKinsey
- Apr 22, 2011
- 3 min
Is This a Weed?
Horsetail and henbit and shot weed, oh my! Nettles that sting, geraniums gone wild, and "dandy" lions - these are a few of the plants referr
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Marie McKinsey
- Nov 10, 2010
- 1 min
A Rose Is a Rose, Is an Apple, Is a Berry
Botanically speaking, roses belong to the Rosaceae (ro-ZAY-cee-ee) family. This is a huge family, encompassing over 2800 species of plants,
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Marie McKinsey
- Oct 4, 2010
- 2 min
Keeping Daphne Happy
In Greek mythology, the maiden, Daphne, had herself transformed into a laurel tree to escape the amorous attentions of the god, Apollo.
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Marie McKinsey
- Feb 22, 2010
- 4 min
Do Trees Really Prevent Mudslides?
There was a mudslide in our neighborhood about a month ago. Seattle is a hilly city and after heavy rains, there's a good possibility that o
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