• Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 47. West wind between 6 and 8 mph. 
• Tonight: A 40 percent chance of rain after 10pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 40. Southeast wind between 5 and 8 mph.

NW Plus Credit Union grand opening will be Thurs, Feb. 23, noon to 4 p.m., with a ribbon cutting by Mayor Dianne White at 1 p.m. at its new location at 9225 271st St. NW.

All women are invited to Camano chapel every second and fourth Thursday of the month for a discussion of God’s view on issues such as failure, contentment and forgiveness. This unique gathering, 9:15- 11:15 a.m., includes a panel of women who will share their opinions and life experiences.

Collage Art with Dotti Burton. Join a fun two day workshop! You will be guided through compositions which will enable you to create contemporary collage artwork. All you need is the ability to cut, tear and paste. Register by calling Gallery by the Bay, Stanwood at 360-629-4297 or Dotti Burton at 360-387-7858. Dates: Thursday and Friday, Feb 23rd and 24th. Time: 10:00am – 3:00pm. Cost: $60 for the two days (a material list is also available).

Skagit Valley Writers League will host Janet Oakley, the Timeline Lady and author of “Tree Soldier” Thurs, Feb. 23, 6:30 -8:30 p.m. at the Mount Vernon Community Center, 1401 Cleveland St. She will speak on the creative process. The workshop is free and for more information and to save your spot, visit skagitwriters.org or call Sharon, 360-873- 8109.

The Stanwood City Council  regular meeting at 7:00 p.m. at the Stanwood-Camano School District Administration Building, located at 26920 Pioneer Hwy, Stanwood.

Poetry Night is every second and fourth Thursday each month, 7-9 p.m. at Fogdog Art Gallery, at 233 N. Olympic Ave. in downtown Arlington.  On Feb 23, winners of the Eagle Festival poetry competition will share their work, and guest speakers will be the first and second place winners for both adult and youth. For information call 505-660-6825 or see the website, fogdoggallery.com.

Thursday Scene

• Line Dance Lessons 4 p.m., at Cyndy’s Broiler
• All Age Jam, 8 p.m. at Cyndy’s Broiler.  Special guest C.D. Woodbury joins the weekly jam at Cyndy’s Broiler, 27021 102nd Ave NW, Stanwood, 360-629-4800.  Jam regulars Richard Williams and Jimmy Culler will also be there to keep the music rolling. The public is invited to bring guitars, drumsticks or other instruments and play with some of the best.
• Extreme Trivia at Leatherheads
• ARGENTINE TANGO – The Dance of Connection, 6:00 PM. Tango Cafe with Tocato Tango 8:00 PM, at The Conway Muse

A Snohomish County judge on Wednesday called a Stanwood man a predator who used brute force and degradation to control drug-addicted and vulnerable women.

Superior Court Judge Larry McKeeman then sentenced Larry Mulanax to 8 1/2 years in prison. The judge said the 69-year-old earned every day of the sentence.

via Stanwood man gets 8 1/2 years for 4 felonies, including assault of bound woman | HeraldNet.com – Local news.

If you want a good motto to live by, it should be this: The journey IS the reward. Here are five things you can do this year to increase your happiness.

via Financial Tricks to Master for a Happier Life | Wise Bread.

The “Welcome to the Jungle” Auction and Dinner is a great way to support student programs and have a great night of entertainment. For just $5.00 per person in advance ($10.00 per person at the door) enjoy a “wild” dinner menu, plus the opportunity to bid on fabulous items through the silent auction and themed class baskets through the live auction. Jerry Dixon with Big Dog Music is back as our DJ and auctioneer.

“The auction is our biggest fundraiser of the year. The community’s support is critical right now, and it makes a huge difference in what we can do at the school,” said auction chair Kristina Talamantez.

To purchase tickets in advance contact the school (360) 629-1250, as stated tickets are also available at the door.

Donations for the auction are still being accepted: gift baskets, services, gift certificates, products are hugely welcomed. “Volunteers will gladly pick up your donations,” said Talamantez, adding “You can even mail them to the school.”

As a result of a state Supreme Court decision, it appears that an assessment on Island County property owners will increase.

But it won’t be a big jump — just 5 cents an acre.

via New nickel an acre land fee probable – South Whidbey Record.

Last week we talked about the obligations living in the country carries…speech patterns, friendliness, and so forth.  But there are a few more things to consider if a person is thinking they are hearing the call of the carrot and that it’s time to leave the safety of the cement.  Hearing, for example.  This is one of our senses which becomes highly developed in the country.

Last night we went to bed listening to the rain slapping on our roof and thinking we were pretty smart to put on asphalt shingles instead of the lovely metal roofing we fell in love with a few years back.  With metal overhead we’d be living inside a snare drum unless it was thundering and then we would know what kettle drums are really like.  And then we heard it.  The first call of spring.

A rather timid creak sounded from under our open window.  A pause.  Another creak.  A pause.   And another creak.  And so it went until we closed our eyes and dreams took over.  Some frog woke up early in the year and was calling to see if any of it’s buddies were awake yet.  You know.  Like in summer camp when the a kid wakes up in a tent and whispers, “You awake?” to their friend who has spent the night wide awake sorting out noises not heard in the city.  Our frog was wondering if anyone else was awake.

Are we awake yet?  Is winter over?  Are we hearing the other voices of spring?  Are we seeing the results of the longer days and shorter nights and is the rain softer and warmer at last?  With the creaking of the frog we’re now looking around.  By golly that is a robin on the lawn.  And just look at the swelling buds on the peach tree!  The heather is in bloom and on warm days the honey bees are smothering it with attention.  The grass has lost most of its brown spots and the leaves on the rhodies are opened wide now, not tucked up close together to protect the blossom buds from the cold of winter.

When we moved here 12 years ago, the front screen door was missing.  The hinges remained but someone previous had taken the screen door with them or removed a broken one and not gotten around to putting up a new one.  So after a few years we bought a nice one, painted it deep green and put it in place.  Complete with an old fashioned spring that snaps it shut with a bang.  That’s another country noise, you know, the creaking of the spring on a screen door as it opens.  Creeeeeaaakkkkk.  It’s a sound of home for many of us.  It’s a sound that says, “Come on in, pull a chair up to the kitchen table and here’s a cup of coffee.  Would you care for a cookie to wash down with that?”  That door creak is the sound of, “Welcome, friend.”

Around here the creak of the frogs is like the creak of a screen door.  It is a welcome sound for it is the sound of winter leaving and a friend coming in to visit for a season.  It is the sound of spring pulling up a chair and joining us for coffee and cookies.  We’ve made it through the dark and lonely winter and while there may be a snow storm or two yet to get run through before spring gets really comfortable in it’s chair, spring is in the house and all is well.  And yes, it will take a spot of milk and a half spoonful of sugar in the coffee, thanks.

So folks, put on the coffee, tune up the hearing, and start listening for the springs in your lives.  There will be sounds out there that will tell you a new season has arrived.  It might be a creaking frog like for us, or it might be a neighbor’s knock at the door.  It might even be a step towards reconciliation in a relationship.  The best sound of spring might be the words, “I’m sorry.”  Or perhaps, “I forgive you unconditionally.”  With those a great surge of growth can occur that will lead us all into the best summer ever and a grand harvest of joy in the fall.

Happy Hoeing,

Jon and Elaine the listening farmers, Snickers the ear wagging dog, Mystery the whispering cat, Ben and his flock of spring loaded chickens, and the Parson Dudley Brown and his flock of spring happy ducks, all of whom live joyfully at The Open Gate Farm.

Whidbey Sun & Wind and Fire Mountain Solar submitted a joint proposal to work together to meet the solar installation requirements of the Solarize project and were selected by the local volunteer committee as a result of a competitive process.

“We are fortunate to have many great solar installers in the area. It was a very tough decision to make because the applicants were so impressive. We are confident Whidbey Sun & Wind and Fire Mountain Solar will do a great job for our community and we are really looking forward to working with them to bring solar to our community,” reports Joan Schrammeck of the volunteer committee.

Final dates have been set for the free public workshops which are a core component of Solarize. The public is invited to attend any of the four workshops where they can meet the installers and learn about the federal, state and PUD incentives that significantly reduce the price of going solar. Participants who attend one of these 90 minute workshops will qualify for a free site assessment.

The four free public workshops are

• Wednesday, March 7, 6:30 to 8:00 pm at the Camano Community Center (606 Arrowhead Road, Camano Island)
• Tuesday, April 10, 6:30 to 8:00 pm at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church (27201 – 99th Ave NW, Stanwood)
• Saturday, May 5, 11:00-1:00 pm at Stanwood High School Auditorium, Stanwood (7400 272nd St NW, Stanwood) which includes a field trip outdoors to see the school’s solar system funded by PUD’s Planet Power Program
• Thursday, June 7, 6:30-8:00 pm at Vista Madrona Fire Station (273 N. West Camano Drive, Camano Island)

Interested residents can learn more and sign up to attend one of the workshops by registering at www.solarizewa.org beginning February 24, 2012.  (Before Feb 24, they can enter their email at “Bring Solarize to me” at  www.solarizewa.org  and find out about the incentive options at the PUD website at www.snopud.com/solarexpress.)

Meet the Solarize Stanwood/Camano volunteers and the professional solar installers at the Solarize booth at the Port Susan Snow Goose & Birding Festival on February 25-26 in Stanwood.

Additional Contacts:

Alana Nelson, Fire Mountain Solar,   360-422-5610,  alana@firemountainsolar.com

Lori Christian, Whidbey Sun and Wind,   360-678-7131,  lori@whidbeysunwind.com

A mudslide has destroyed a home in Stanwood and damaged others.

Search and rescue has been called in to search some homes.

The slide is in the 14700 block of Evergreen Way.

No injuries were reported.

via Mudslide destroys one Stanwood home, damages others | KING5.com Seattle.

Snohomish Conservation District has been hosting the sale for 27 years.

This years’ sale will be on March 2 and 3, 2012 at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe.

Over 60,000 plants are sold to the public annually for use as backyard bird habitat, erosion control, windbreaks, hedgerows and reforestation. Small trees, shrubs, perennials and groundcover plants can be purchased during the two-day event, cash and checks only.

To view a copy of the brochure, please go to www.snohomishcd.org/plant-sale.

This veggie-burger recipe is from North Peak’s Brewery in Traverse City, Mich.

via Food & wine | Recipe: North Peak’s Veggie Burger | Seattle Times Newspaper.