🐹 Farrah Pawcett 😺😺

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

Have fun, and stay safe out there!

~ Evan

Or, hit reply to send me photos via email. 📧

Bellingham, the Lummi Nation, the Nooksack Indian Tribe, and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife have signed an agreement aimed at removing City-owned barriers that block salmon and other fish from moving through local streams. The partners have been working together on the issue for several years, but the new agreement goes a step further by adopting a shared implementation plan and putting the City’s problem culverts into a prioritized schedule for repair or replacement.

Rather than starting with the easiest culverts to fix, the partners looked at a detailed inventory of barriers and weighed both the ecological benefit to fish and the cultural importance of the streams involved. The City, meanwhile, is responsible for the roads and culverts that cross many of those streams.

The agreement also creates timelines and a way to track progress, which should make it easier to see whether projects are actually moving forward. It may help with funding too, since the City, tribes, and state can now approach grant applications with an agreed-upon list of priorities. WDFW described the arrangement as one of the first cooperative agreements of its kind in Washington.

Somehow missed this cutie when the Whatcom Humane Society posted her photo a couple days back. Including her now because she is GORGIOUS!

I don’t know if she’s still there, but if she is, someone should give her a home. Her name is Farrah. 😻

At this month’s Birchwood Garden Club meeting, Pam Borso will compare plant-identification apps and explain how to get more out of them. Pam is a Native Plant Steward and active in the local Audubon Society. She uses iNaturalist to identify plants in the wild and will explore other options for garden use.

Her talk, Harnessing the Power of AI and Apps on Your Smart Phone for Garden and Plant Use, is tonight, November 4, at 7 pm in the Whatcom Museum’s Old City Hall Rotunda Room. It’s free, and doors open at 6:30 pm.

If you’re an OG Hamster, in the building trades, or both like me, this one will pack a punch. Everyone else may shrug at the prospect of a paint store consolidating locations, but for some of us, Stockton’s on Railroad is THE paint store. 🖌 It has been part of Bellingham’s building scene for generations.

Stockton’s announced this week that it will close its two current Bellingham stores and combine them into a larger hub at 1255 Barkley Boulevard, effective Jan. 1. The company says the new location will bring the existing staff, inventory, delivery fleet, and custom color formulas under one roof, with more tinting capacity and considerably easier parking for work trucks.

LOCAL READS

Blaine photographer captures small foxes with a big story
By Madelyn Jones · The Northern Light
Blaine photographer Brian Clopp won a $5,000 national photo prize for an image of two kit foxes in Utah, where the tiny desert species faces habitat loss and other pressures. Madelyn reports how that chance encounter grew into years of fieldwork, research trips and conservation-focused photography. Read more →

· · · · · · · · · · · · ·

Agroforestry practices spread in NW Washington
By Josh Mossman · Salish Current
Agroforestry Northwest is expanding work across Western Washington after receiving nearly $500,000 in federal grants, supporting projects that combine crops, trees and livestock on the same land. Josh explains how the approach can help smaller farms increase productivity while improving habitat, stream conditions and long-term soil health. Read more →

CIVIC CORNER

Wednesday
Bham Parks & Recreation Advisory Board, 7:30 am, Pacific Street Operations Center

Thursday
WTA Board, 8:00 am, WTA offices
Bham Greenways Advisory Committee, 7:00 pm, Pacific Street Operations Center

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Wednesday
Galbraith Devilcross Traverse: Join the Whatcom Mountain Bike Coalition to build and maintain trails on Galbraith Mountain. You will help care for the trail system with guidance from an experienced trail crew leader. Register
Bellingham: Join NSEA to remove protective blue tubes and cages from older restoration sites. You will help prevent trunk damage, reduce litter, and support the survival of planted trees and shrubs. Register

Friday
Kelsey Reserve: Join Whatcom Land Trust and Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association at Kelsey Reserve. You will plant native trees and shrubs, help with trail work and invasive species removal, and learn about the reserve's wetlands, forests, meadows, and streams. Register

Saturday
Cornwall Memorial Park: Join the City of Bellingham and Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA) at Cornwall Memorial Park. You will plant native trees and shrubs and remove invasive weeds near Squalicum Creek to improve water quality, restore salmon habitat, and support the urban forest and wildlife habitat. Register

Sunday
Whatcom Humane Society Wildlife Rehab Center: Join Whatcom Million Trees Project to plant trees in a 12-acre former hayfield. You will help continue the site's multi-year reforestation project. Register

BAAY Theatre
High School Musical JR. (theatre) | Fri-Sun

New Prospect Theatre & The Upfront
Bellingham Improv Festival (comedy) | Fri-Sun

The StrongBox @ Dancing For Joy
Critters! (dance) | Sat, Sun

BAAY Theatre
Robin Hood (theatre) | Sat, Sun

FireHouse Arts & Events Center
About Face: Disrupting Ballet (film) | Sun

The Upfront Theatre
Various performances

B’ham Hop Swing - Hotel Leo - Wed 7 pm
Tango Practica - The Majestic - Wed 6:30 pm
Revolution Fusion - Karate Church - Thurs 7 pm
Square Dancing (Chuckanut Squares) - Bellingham Senior Center North - Thurs 6:30 pm
Dance for people with PD and other neurological conditions - Firehouse Arts Center - Thurs 11 am
Sunset Silent Disco - Zuanich - Sat 4:00 pm
Beginner Ballet - Karate Church - Sat 10 am
Beginner Contemporary - Karate Church - Sat 11:30 am
Dance Fusion - BSAC - 10:30 am
Salsa Collective - The Majestic - Sun 5:30 pm
Open Floor Conscious Dance - Bellingham Fitness - Sun 10:30 am

Bellingham klezmer ensemble Millie and The Mentshn presents a free concert at Trinity Lutheran Church today, November 4, from 10:30 to 11:30 am. The group revisits Homeland to Heartland, a program last performed for Bellingham Music Club audiences in 2005, tracing Jewish immigration from Lithuania to America between the late 1800s and 1940s.

Bellingham-based Alger Rhythms Band brings its mix of folk, rock, and grungy dad jams to Stones Throw Brewery tonight, November 4, from 6 to 8 pm. The four-piece group performs a combination of original songs and covers, drawing on folk and rock influences with a grungier edge.

Bellingham singer-songwriter Tyson Ballew joins Early Morning Clouds and Pomegranate Penguins at Honey Moon Mead & Cider on Thursday, November 5, from 8 to 10 pm. Ballew has been part of the local independent music scene for years, blending folk, punk, and Americana influences while also performing with Cat Positive. Pomegranate Penguins, the indie duo of Ry Jacque and Hazel Rain, bring their own acoustic and alternative sound to the evening. The show is 21 and older, with a suggested $10 donation.

Bellingham indie-folk band Bellflower performs at the Odd Fellows Temple Room on Thursday, November 5, at 7 pm, joined by Hiding From Marcy and Ladifa. Bellflower blends folk, indie rock, and alternative influences, with vocals and songwriting at the center of its sound. The group began as an acoustic duo in 2022 before expanding into a full band, releasing its debut EP, Looking for Signs, in 2024.

Bellingham Plunge Club, Taylor Street Dock – A free 7 am gathering for anyone interested in starting the morning with a cold-water dip in Bellingham Bay alongside a growing group of local plunge enthusiasts.

Cribbage Tournaments, Beach Cat Brewing – A free tournament-style cribbage night starting at 6:15 pm, with games for experienced players and newcomers alike, plus $1 off beers while playing.

Friendsgiving, Sumas Museum – A free gathering from 10 am to 2 pm features refreshments and a celebration of local history, preceded by a 9:30 am ribbon cutting for Sumas' new railroad history sign at the post office.

Jam Night, The Blue Room – A free open mic-style jam session from 8 to 11 pm welcomes musicians of all experience levels, with a full backline provided by BHAM and a dedicated sound engineer.

WCC Music Faculty Recital: Robert T. McDonald III, Heiner Theater – A free acoustic guitar performance from 12:30 to 1:20 pm features McDonald's original compositions blending traditional fingerpicking with alternate tunings, percussion, tapping, and slap harmonics, followed by a Q&A.

Wednesday Music & Trivia →

Marine Life Trivia, Aslan Depot – A free trivia competition from 6 to 8 pm focuses on marine life and ocean knowledge, with Bellingham SeaFeast hosting teams of up to four and awarding prizes to the first-place finishers.

Thursday Music & Trivia →

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