By RACHEL PRITCHETT, Scripps Howard News Service

PORT ORCHARD, Wash. -- Prosthetic-tattoo entrepreneur Dan Horkey believes he's a step ahead of the competition."I'm the original," said Horkey, who's just started a business to turn clients' artificial legs and arms into pieces of customized art. "I want to add color to people's lives."

QUILCENE, Wash. -- Ah, springtime and the life-affirming scent of freshly turned dirt in the garden.Make that the strong odor of just-slung mud on a tide flat, if you're a gardener of shellfish.A small-but-enthusiastic group of home shellfish gardeners plants seeds that will grow into oysters, clams, mussels and geoducks.

BREMERTON, Wash. -- The sun went down that frigid Christmas Day in 2002.Cracking the window in his parked van for his little dog, Willow, Richard LeMieux shut the door and stepped out onto the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.Wind bit at his face. Rain quickly penetrated his shivering skin. Tired to death of living, LeMieux began his walk.