Seems like at every Northwest artsy-crafty show I've attended, there's always an artist's statement that declares their work depicts "where the natural and urban landscape collide". It might be another Northwest cliché (right up right up there with “Summer starts July 5th”) – but you know what? It’s true.
Recently, a friend introduced me to a fine example of the nature-meets-city phenomenon. At the end of a short, tucked-away gravel path in Seattle's well-heeled Madison Park neighborhood, you'll find the Beaver Lodge Sanctuary. Nestled between upper-middle class homes and a golf course, the sanctuary is a small, woodsy area that connects with the water. It's dotted with tidy piles of crisscrossed logs and branches – the makings of these semi-aquatic creatures' homes.
Unfortunately, on that particular day, the beavers were laying low, and the lodges seemed still - at least on the surface. But, it was comforting to know they were there, co-existing with their human neighbors, and the Starbucks just up the road.
Beaver Lodge Sanctuary
37th Ave E (E Mc Gilvra St), Seattle, WA 98112
