Here’s the line up:

• June 23
  “Matt Audette and ‘Circle of Friends’ Band”
• June 30
  “Stirred Not Shaken”
• July 7
  “Kris Orlowski”
• July 14
  “Clearbrook Dixie Band”
• July 21
  “Juba Marimba”
• July 28
  “bandZandt”
• August 4
  “What the Chelm”
• August 11
  “Armadilla Slim & the Jaded Lovers”
• August 18
  “Prozac Mountain Boys”
• August 25
  “Beatlebilly”

You can climb the 50-foot viewing tower get a spectacular overview of the lake and an awesome view of Mt Baker.

Tennant Lake also has an award-winning fragrance garden. There are over 3,000 square feet of raised beds filled with fragrant plants to explore. The best time to visit is in the summer when lots of plants are bloom. Name plates make it easy for you to pick out plant species you like. The raised beds, braille labeling, and fragrance make it a great garden for those physically and sight impaired.

The Park has over 35 permanent pieces by distinguished international and local artists. The annual International Sculpture Exhibit runs May through September featuring 10-20 selected pieces from a variety of accomplished sculptors.

Big Rock Garden Park is located at 2900 Sylvan Street in the Silver Beach Neighborhood

We need to thank  founders George, Mary Ann and David Drake  who called it the Gardens of Art. It was purchased by, the City of Bellingham in 1993.

The park has some hiking trails, a picnic table and a few benches.

It is an off-leash area for dogs.

There was no one there today but me and a few ducks, Lots of people drive by it everyday, but the parking lot is almost always empty, so you can probably have the place to yourself.

If you’re a Bellingham area dog, and you enjoy the freedom of running around and sniffing the butts of other dogs without the encumbrance of a leash, then you will enjoy this post. If, instead, you are the owner of a Bellingham area dog, and you enjoy letting your dog sniff said butts without the awkwardness of being tied to said dog, you, too, will enjoy this post. If you are a person who enjoys sniffing the butts of dogs or other people, you have some serious issues to deal with on your own, and may or may not enjoy this post.

Though there are several parks in Bellingham with off-leash dog areas, my personal favorite is the Post Point park in Fairhaven, which is a beautiful, secure place to let your dogs run free and chit-chat with their peers. To find it, head West on Harris Ave. and turn left at 4th St. across from the Alaska ferry terminal. Parking is on the right, just before the trail that heads down to the park. Once there, you can also walk the short trail to the shores of Bellingham Bay for a change of scenery.

My other favorite is Lake Padden’s off-leash area, which is great because it happens to be situated at the East end of the lake, right where the off-leash trails begin, so you have the choice of sitting down and letting your dog play with others, or letting her/him/it run alongside you through the hills above the lake. To find it, head South on Samish Way to the east entrance to Lake Padden. Follow the road to the end, past the baseball fields.

For details on Bellingham off-leash dog parks, click here to see the official City of Bellingham list, including specific rules and regulations. Please note the part prohibiting hunting. I’m not sure what year it was when they made that law, but it seems, at least to me, more than slightly absurd to think someone would consider hunting at a dog park. I mean, it’s not like this is Texas!

Rob LeRoy is a Seattle real estate agent and social media marketing coach with eXp Realty.

When you took an evening stroll to the local park to hear the summer music series?  Families bike riding together……Welcome to the Columbia district of Bellingham.

A very tight-knit, family-oriented neighborhood comprised of Victorian Classics ( homes built in late 1800′s to early 1900′s), remodels, and bungalows with average home prices in the upper 200′s to mid-300 price range.  Pride of ownership and individuality shows here with well maintained homes and close attention to gardening and landscaping.  For this reason, home-values in this neighborhood tend to hold due to so many wanting to live here, raise their families here, and their children able to attend  Columbia Elementary.

Within walking distance to Little Squalicum Park and Beach and downtown Bellingham, Columbia is also a mobile neighborhood allowing many to bike or walk to work and walk to school.  A gardener’s paradise, with good size lots (on average 5000 sq.ft), to plant food and flower gardens.  Where you’ll see cornstalks on the side of the road, sugar snap peas ” take a pea but please don’t  leave one”!  Also, Home of the Annual Columbia Garden Tour  showcasing some of the finest gardens in Bellingham.

Also within walking distance is Elizabeth Park, one of the oldest parks in Bellingham with walking pathways, squirrels galore, tennis courts and a Gazebo where summer concerts can be heard or plays enacted.    Newer to the Columbia area is Squalicum Creek Park with it’s new baseball diamond and plenty of bike paths and walking trails.                                    

It is quite obvious why so many want to reside in this fabulous community, with all it has to offer;Sense of community, location, educational systems and look at all the activities to be had……
Welcome home to the Columbia neighborhood..

Current home prices for the 17 listed properties in the immediate area range from $240k for a 3 bedroom rambler up to $565k for a 4 bedroom, 3000 sqft view home. 

Here’s me talking about the garden…

[viddler id=407a22e2&w=437&h=288]

Turn up the volume to fully enjoy the experience…

 [viddler id=23d5e87b&w=437&h=370]

Coming to town?  Let me give you a personal tour of the area including Samish Hill area and the Columbia neighborhood to name a few. 

Call me anytime…Dale Kreiser at 360-319-6365 or click on the link below to IM me.  It’s a good life!