From WhatcomKulshan.com’s website:

It is an island of woodland in the heart of Bellingham. Spanning 165 acres of the Sehome hilltop, the Sehome Hill Arboretum crowns the city. This vast preserve of park land offers 5.9 miles of winding trails up, down and around the hilltop. Lightly used, nature lovers may witness birds and squirrels frolicking among the canopies of the towering evergreens. Deer are also abundant at the arboretum, as it serves as a haven from the increasingly developed surrounding area. The natural setting presents an abundance of indigenous plants, shrubs and trees.
All of Sehome Hill Arboretum’s trails come to a head at the hilltop where an opposing lookout tower stands. The only structure in the park, the 80-foot tower boasts an impressive view of the city, the San Juan Islands and beyond.

The large mature trees provide a wonderful shady canopy.

It is a steep climb up but at the top there is a reward: a tower you can see for miles all around Bellingham.

On a clear day the mountains seem to float above the city.

This tunnel is completely carved out of the rock. The perfect end to a beautiful hike.

I decided to have my own Tulip Tour of Bellingham. Within a short time I was able to see some beautiful tulips. They are so bright in the sunlight they almost glow.

Not a tulip but couldn’t resist the ladybug

What a bee sees

Actually it is really better to look at about 5 houses when you are on a search but the market in Whatcom County has gotten pretty competitive for homes under 300,000. We went from having a couple weeks to look at a home to now homes that are priced well are getting multiple offers at list price or above. Sooo that means if there are a bunch of homes that a client wants to look at it is better to go sooner and not miss out on the perfect home. So we look at 11 homes. Bliss tried to get pictures at each house but some are just of the neighborhood. We lucked out and had good weather and a client that even brought us snacks.

This picture I liked as even though it is out of focus it reminds me of the Spring we are having. Lots of rain and cold weather with little bits of Spring peaking though just like the in focus flowers in the background.

It started out pretty with lovely moss colored porches

And then there was this!!! yup that is a taxidermy puffer fish hanging up as decoration. There were several throughout the house watching you.

Some houses went for the more traditional decorations, like bird-feeders.

Remember these? fun that some of the older homes have them built in.

We saw signs for lost hens, this one’s name is Dumpling. I hope she is found soon.

We found a free table that just needs a little  refinishing.

Nice green lawn, I don’t think the grass ever got really brown this winter. It is definitely growing now. Hello Lawnmower my old friend, can’t say I have missed you.

Staging tip #37: Apparently when you are missing appliances like a refrigerator a fake tree makes an excellent substitution.

Almost done.

Last one, time for a break. It was a great day and we even found a few possibilities.

In the  Bellingham Herald there was a great story. A local who works at the Community Co-Op has gone car free for about 10 years. Yesterday he got a group of his friends together and they moved his belongings over 5 miles using bicycles and bike trailers only.

“With the help of a group of friends,Tim Flores moved his belongings by bicycle from Aldrich Road to his new residence on Nevada Street on Tuesday March 27, 2012 in Bellingham. Flores, an employee of the Community Food Co-op in Bellingham, and his friends rode over five miles during rush-hour traffic.–DAVID RZEGOCK and  CALEB HUTTON – THE BELLINGHAM HERALD”

photo credit: TheBellingham Herald.com

BARK

BARK BARK BARK

***Updated: It seems facebook has all the answers…or at least good Facebook friends have the answers. So in order the first two birds are:  Double Crested Cormorants; second group of black water birds are American Coots; the last is a woodpecker, a Northern Flicker to be exact.***

These birds where sunning them selves stretching their wings out and shaking them until we walked by, then they got very still.

This large group was hanging out with the Mallards (pretty much the only duck I can identify) and also in the water.

And this one I think might be some sort of wood pecker? He looks white in the photo but really was a tan/brown color.

Beautiful views (we had sunshine, snow, hail and then sun again all within a few hours)

and because I can’t resist a little “CinemaScope” boost of the above photo.

Nothing says buy me like pink wallpaper and red shag carpet in the bathroom.

When staging a room the experts say to be sure to “define the rooms function or purpose”. So I guess this would be the sitting, eating, furnace room with a cooler full of extra beverages so you do not have to go back to the kitchen room?

Drum roll please…Ladies and Gentleman, the worlds smallest Master Bathroom!!!

Indoor greeters…

…and outdoor greeters.

House hunting can be stressful, make sure to take the time to stop and enjoy the details.

Even gray is beautiful in Bellingham.

A little bit of Spring color jostling for position.