Unseasonably Wet at Third Place Commons

 

8/15/25 Third Place Commons parking lot through upper-floor window

Unusual for this time of year, an atmospheric river was headed our way. With heavy rain and wind in the forecast this morning when USk Seattle was scheduled to meet at a garden, we made a quick change to Third Place Commons, which is typically a wintertime mainstay for us. We were grateful to have this rare gem in Lake Forest Park, where a huge space of public seating is available for small meetings and other gatherings.

Grateful, yes, but I’ve also sketched there many times, so I walked around for quite a while trying to find a new angle. I spotted a small table tucked away next to large windows overlooking the parking lot (above). I recalled sketching from that same table many years ago, so I thought it would be fun to do it again. It was pretty comfy sketching with a hot cup of coffee through rain spattered glass as the atmospheric river got under way. (Here’s the blog post with that sketch from 2012 – my first time visiting Third Place Commons.)

After that, I wandered around again until I ran into Natalie. Sharing a table with her, I sketched a few people and lamps, happy to have my Urban Sketchers pals to hang out with on this unseasonably wet morning.

As is often the case, I can't spell and sketch at the same time. ;-)