Visit Benston Hall on a Wednesday, and you’ll find a senior group meeting for lunch in the kitchen.
On a Saturday, you might walk into an outdoor farmer’s market.
On other days of the week, step aerobics, tai chi, line dancing, or swing dancing might be in full swing in the main hall.
…ContinuedOrting, WA—After record floods in December, Washington Rock Quarries answered the call to make and ship material to critical areas in the Puget Sound region.
Washington Rock’s team members worked long hours and even volunteered to come in on their holiday weekends to supply materials. Read on to learn about the flood relief and repairs our materials were sent to.
…ContinuedIt’s a humid Wednesday with clouds looming overhead, and the Gig Harbor Demonstration Garden at Sehmel Homestead Park is busy with volunteers tidying, picking produce, and answering questions.
At a picnic bench in front of the central shed, a volunteer thumbs through a reference book, looking for insights about a visitor’s gardening concerns. Another volunteer helps young visitors fill produce bags with freshly picked carrots. Some of these scenes are pictured in the photos below.
…ContinuedThe Ofuro Spa rises up behind a thicket of alders growing alongside a pond. Inspired by Japanese bathhouses, the spa’s architecture blends Pacific Northwest modernism with traditional bathhouse elements like a hot pool, a cold plunge pool, and a sauna clad in hinoki cypress wood.
The spa received the last part of its glow-up this year when Coastline Concrete Coatings, led by Pararescueman Josiah Stromstad, coated the walking surfaces with epoxy and Washington Rock’s Armorstone product.
Learn more about this unique woodland escape and Josiah’s story in our latest article.
…ContinuedNot long ago, four-year-old Joey couldn’t sit up by himself or hold onto a toy. He didn’t speak much either. His parents were told these skills, which most people take for granted, were out of reach for Jamie.
Now Jamie can sit up by himself and hold on to objects. He’s also started talking more. This profound difference in outcomes was facilitated by a pony and the therapists at Sundance Circle Hippotherapy.
…ContinuedArchisand sand sculptors brought their craft to the Washington State Spring Fair this weekend in Puyallup. Their sculpture features the Fair’s 125-year anniversary logo and the Fair’s Sasquatchian mascot, Big WA.
…ContinuedWashington Rock’s Basic Topsoil is a naturally organic sandy loam.
It’s a fantastic base material that can be used to mound and build up yards and gardens. We use it to create bulk topsoil blends, but you can also mix in your own amendments like compost, manure, and worm castings.
But where does our sandy loam topsoil come from? Read more to learn about the mining process at King Creek Pit.
This article is the third in a three-part series about topsoil:
There are a lot of opinions on the Internet about which sand makes the best flooring for chicken coops and chicken runs. We’re here to add clarity to online recommendations and identify products that may work for you. This super in-depth look at chicken coop sand can be enjoyed whole or in parts as needed.
…ContinuedScreened Sandy Loam is the formal name for our Basic Topsoil. Sandy loam is the base material for all of our topsoil blends.
…ContinuedWhich topsoil mix is best for your lawn and garden? In this article, we discuss our basic topsoil—screened sandy loam—and the formula for each topsoil blend that it’s used in. We’ll also talk about the applications for each product.
This article is the first in a three-part series about topsoil:
A Vietnam Veteran named Mike recently received a memorable 80th birthday gift: his own tiny home.
Mike’s tiny home is the culmination of over a decade of work by a nonprofit called Operation Tiny Home, which celebrated this milestone with a ribbon-cutting ceremony last Friday.
…ContinuedFor the past two years, a black lab named Daisy has spent every day with her trainer learning to become a service dog. Daisy’s past life at a shelter is a distant memory. Now that she has learned tricks like turning on light switches and alerting, Daisy will soon leave her trainer’s care.
Daisy’s trainer, Mae, has learned valuable skills too. Over several years, Mae has become certified as a dog trainer through the Prison Pet Partnership. She already has a job lined up after she completes her sentence at the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor, Washington.
…ContinuedNever bought gravel before? If you’re overwhelmed, you’re not alone. We covered some of the basics about buying gravel so that you can be more confident in selecting and ordering gravel for your project.
…ContinuedThe Seattle Sounders Football Club celebrated their 50th anniversary last month at their new headquarters and training facility at Longacres: The Providence Swedish Performance Center & Clubhouse.
The transformation from office parking lot to training fields—two natural grass fields and two artificial turf fields—took less than a year. Venture General Contracting oversaw both the remodel of the offices and the construction of the fields. Nearly 80,000 tons of Washington Rock’s materials were shipped to the fields throughout construction.
…ContinuedWith no other place to go, a mother pulls her van into a newly graveled lot. It doesn’t look like much, but it’s a godsend. It’s lit with a streetlight, and there’s running water, portable bathrooms, and outlets where she can charge her phone.
The entire lot is fenced, and the gate locks at night. Her kids can play in the field nearby. In the morning, there will be a hot meal ready at the church next door, and her whole family will be given bagged lunches filled with sandwiches, fruit, chips, drinks, and treats.
…Continued
