Just wanted to send out a friendly reminder that tomorrow is The Jingle Bell Swim at the Bellingham Athletic Club.  Now in its third year, the event will benefit arthritis.  Arthritis is something that affects many Americans and so, in support of this great cause, yours truly is one of its sponsors this year.

I hope to see you there tomorrow at 9 a.m. at The Bellingham Athletic Club. I suggest you get there early.  As you can see, it’s truly an entertaining event for everyone!

It’s community events like these that make me proud to live in this area.  If you’re interested in learning more about what Whatcom County has to offer its residents, contact me  (Susie), your Pacific Northwest Real Estate expert.  I’ll  help you learn more about Whatcom County real estate and all the Whatcom County homes that are available now.

Why spend time in the frigid frozen vegetables aisle at the grocery store when you can enjoy fresh, locally-grown produce?

Local u-picks in Whatcom County offer nearly every produce item you could ever need for cooking: eggs, honey, squash, strawberries, tomatoes, shiitake mushrooms, hazelnuts and more!

Some of these items won’t be available after the first frost so hurry today to your local u-pick and see (and taste) another one of the many benefits of living in The Pacific Northwest.

The Bellingham Herald has your road map for the seasonal u-picks in Everson, Birch Bay, Ferndale, Bellingham and Lynden.

Learn more about all the great activities this area has to offer and what it’s like to live in the Pacific Northwest.

Fall is the best time to enjoy a fresh apple and The Pacific Northwest is one of the best places in which to enjoy one.  Known for its apples, the state of Washington produces nearly half of all the apples grown in the United States.

The owners of Rosabella’s Garden Bakery in Skagit County pride themselves on their apple farm and the fresh farm produce and the Pacific Northwest gourmet foods they sell in their gift shop.

During the fall, Alan Merritt tends to the apple farm while wife Rose oversees the gift shop.  Apple products, such as their apple pie, apple butter and bottled hard cidar, are all made from the products they grow on their farm. The store also offers cut flowers and bouquets, pumpkins and u-pick apples.

Rosabella’s Garden Bakery is one of the many places in The Pacific Northwest where you can find fresh produce and take advantage of all the things to do this fall season.

If you’re interested in learning more about life in Skagit County, Whatcom County, and other communities in The Pacific Northwest, contact me today!

Tall and skinny, short and fat, long stems or no stems – everyone has a different definition of the ideal pumpkin.

Find your perfect pumpkin at Stoney Ridge Farm in Everson, Washington. Located in the middle of gorgeous Nooksack River Valley in Whatcom County, Stoney Ridge Farm offers plenty of fall activities that are fun for the whole family.

In addition to pumpkin picking, the three-generation family farm in Everson, Washington features a corn maize, hay rides and seasonal food specialties.  Come see “the farm that’s fun for the family” in Whatcom County.

If you own Skagit County real estate or Whatcom County real estate, you’ve probably noticed the beautiful creatures who grace the fields of Skagit County as you drive on Interstate 5. Snow Geese are pretty hard to miss, especially when a large flock takes off at once! Approximately 55,000 of these amazing birds call Western Washington home during the winter.

You may not know it, but these birds travel great distances each year before returning to the Skagit River Delta from mid-October to early May each year — during the summer, most of these birds nest on Wrangel Island in Russia, northwest of the Bering Strait!

Next time you’re dozing in the passenger seat traveling on I-5 as you head home to Mount Vernon, Bellingham, or Ferndale, make sure you keep an eye out for these stunning snow-white visitors!

Don’t let cloudy mornings keep you inside — gorgeous late-summer afternoon sunshine can still be enjoyed all over The Pacific Northwest!

One way to get out and truly take in the beauty of Whatcom County or Skagit County is to rent a kayak and head out on the water for a few hours. You’ll get a view of Northwest lakes and mountain scenes that can’t be beat!

Some of the best places for kayaking are Lake Whatcom, Bellingham Bay, Lake Samish, Lake Padden, and in Skagit County, on Sixteen Lake. If you’ve kayaked in other locations that you’d recommend, please leave your reviews in the comments section!

Berry Season is by far one of my very favorite times of the year in the Pacific Northwest.  If you have never been berry picking in Whatcom County, then you have to give it a try-but remember to hit the berry farms before the end of summer rains hit to ensure the sweetest berries! My, mother Ione, and I did the best we could to pick about 200 servings of black berries before the rains set in, and we took our bounty home to freeze the berries for our breakfast smoothies! Yum!  I call the area black berries “Mother Nature’s gift to those people who live in The Pacific NW!”. All you have to do is put on thick jeans, long sleeve shirts and tie a bucket around your waist and get to work! And while you are working, make sure you sample some, that is most of the fun!

Whatcom County Berry Picking

Even if you have owned Pacific Northwest real estate all of your life, you may not realize that Whatcom County is the leader in berry production for blue berries, black berries and raspberries! Around 65% of the nations’ raspberries come from Whatcom County, and thanks to innovative farming technique of Individual Quick Frozen (IQF) processing, local growers preserve the quality of the berries, which then are used in juices, syrups, yogurt, and much more. For us locals, we benefit from getting to visit all the beautiful berry farms and pick up the freshest berries-including luscious local strawberries-at our Whatcom County farmers market.

A great excursion for the family is the Berry Production Center in Lynden, WA. There you can take tours, taste berries, and see the steps that go into taking the berries from the bountiful, beautiful fields and getting them ready to go to the grocery store, as juice, berries, pies and more.

Every July the Lynden Raspberry Festival takes place, with Kids’ day,  raspberries and ice cream sundaes, live jazz, Classic 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament, wine-tasting at Samson Estates Winery, street fair, car show, fun run/walk, all-you-can-eat raspberry pancake breakfast. If you missed it this year, you will have to call the Lynden Chamber of Commerce at 354-5995 next July to make sure you don’t miss it! You can also call the Whatcom County Farm Friends(360) 354-1337 or visit www.wcfarmfriends.com to get a map of the local berry picking farms.

So, the next time you buy some berries in the store, odds are great they came from my home town Pacific Northwest area!

If you’re antsy to get a nice hike in before the kids go back to school, look no further than your own backyard!  Mount Baker offers some truly stunning vistas, and in late summer, the weather is just perfect.  No matter where you live in Whatcom County, Mount Baker is an accessible natural playground that can’t be beat!

To learn more about the Mount Baker Neighborhood and other Bellingham communities, visit my informative website at www.realestatepacificnorthwest.com.

There’s no better time than late spring to enjoy a leisurely stroll through the classic gardens of Elizabeth Park, in the Columbia neighborhood of Bellingham. Beneath century-old maple, chestnut and walnut trees, park-goers are treated to a wide variety of activities in the park — with tennis courts and lots of fun for the kids.

Beginning in late June, Elizabeth Park will have concerts on Thursday nights, showcasing the best of local Pacific Northwest music. From bluegrass to reggae to swing, you’re going to want to be sure to make it out!

It’s nearing summer-time — and that means ice cream time! And if you happen to be near Downtown Bellingham, there’s no better place to cool off with a delicious treat than at Mallard’s Ice Cream on Railroad Avenue. With creative flavors like Black Pepper Vanilla or Chocolate Earl Grey, as well as your run-of-the-mill flavors (just done better, with local, organic ingredients), you’re sure to fall in love with this old-school ice cream parlor — famous throughout The Pacific Northwest!

So next time the temps are up in Whatcom County, step on in for a cool break at Mallard’s Ice Cream!