Sunday, October 22, 2017

October's Golden Skies

Sky Watch ...

October 15th  6:15 PM

October 15th  6:19 PM
Last glimpse of the sun.

October 15th
Darkness falls over Two Brothers Mountain
Olympic Range
Lots of sky photos at Skywatch Friday and thanks, Yogi, for hosting!

October 16th  5:49 PM

October 16th  6:12 PM

October 16th  6:29 PM
As darkness falls, commuters head home to Bainbridge Island
on a Washington State Ferry

October 20th
Beams blast through clouds.

Ship Watch ...

October 17th  1:58 PM
COSCO Oceania arriving in Port

October 17th  4:50 PM
M S C Julie

October 18th  2:22 PM
Hapag Lloyd Rotterdam Express
arriving in a downpour.

Brilliant afternoon sun for Star Princess
final cruise ship  to leave Seattle - 2017 Season
October 20th  4:30 PM

Postcards for the Weekend ...

Cape Blanco Lighthouse
and State Park
on the Oregon Coast
(from our collection of vintage postcards)
Check out more neat Lighthouse postcards at Postcards for the Weekend and thanks to Maria for hosting!

Back of the unused card!

Description on back of card.
Pretty neat:  Most Westerly lighthouse in the Continental U.S.

Northwest Tea Festival 2017 ... Tenth Anniversary!

One of our favorite postcards, we've posted before.
Tea Time!
We recently attended the 2017 Northwest Tea Festival. Do you like tea? If so, you should go to one of these festivals. Just had a great time.

Upon entering the Festival they give you a cup for taste testing!
Thought this was pretty cool. 

Fall color ...

Couldn't resist including this shot of color in the neighborhood.
October 16th  2:08 PM
Closing thought ...
When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.
     John Muir

Saturday, October 14, 2017

Mid October Skies and More

Sky Watch ...

October 10th  6:15 PM
Looking westward over Pier 90
Please click on any image for a larger view.

Linking up with Skywatch Friday -- Thanks to Yogi for hosting!

Colorful sunset WITH sun pillar ... October 9th ...

October 9th  6:42 PM
Note the sun pillar ... Have seen a few of those this past summer.

October 9th  6:48 PM
The deep redish-orange sky was amazing!
Those are the Olympic Mountains to the west
of Seattle
 Read about sun pillars here. (By University of Illinois)

October 10th  6:15 PM

Ship Watch ...

October 10th  11 AM
Talk about stealthy!
Hard to ID submarines out in Puget Sound
They do not show up on tracker sites on the web.
Re the photo above:  Just curious ... Why does an obviously military submarine need two escort vessels through Puget Sound? Possibly to prevent encounters with protesters? Let me know in the comments! By the way, that photo is a long shot ... the sub is about 4 miles from our window.

US Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf  -  WMSL 750
Heading toward Port of Seattle
October 11th  12:15 PM
 More about USCGC Bertholf

Viking Queen
Classification unknown.
Strange looking vessel with two cranes.
Possibly for marine construction?
Northbound out of Elliott Bay, Oct 11th 10:47 AM
Unusual visitor ... National Geographic Quest

National Geographic's Quest
Pier 90, Seattle, October 13th  11:30 AM
From the National Geographic Expeditions website:  "The National Geographic Quest is a state-of-the-art expedition ship, and one of the newest additions to the National Geographic-Lindblad fleet. This fully stabilized vessel is designed to navigate narrow inlets and wildlife-rich passageways inaccessible to larger ships, while comfortably accommodating 100 guests in 50 outside cabins. Along with spacious viewing decks, this nimble vessel carries innovative exploration tools, including a SplashCam and a hydrophone that enable us to look and listen beneath the waves."

National Geographic Expeditions

Photos from Quest's Naturalist October 11th


More ...

Postcards we like from our postcard collection ...

Repro of an antique postcard.
An African Parrot ...
possibly Rosy-faced lovebird?
If you know, please leave a comment & thank you!
If you like the card above you will like these links -->  Postcards for the Weekend and Saturday's Critters. To the hosts of these blogs ... To Eileen, Thanks for hosting and congratulations on Saturday's Critters post #200! ... And to Maria, thanks for hosting Postcards for the Weekend and we sure hope your business trip to the USA is a great success! We hope to see you while you are in Seattle!
Back of the unused card.


Sea Creature by Morgan Green, Tsimshian
"The sea has been a generous provider for our people."
[The Tsimshian are an indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast.]
 Read more about the Tsimshian
Back of Sea Creature -- Unused Postcard

For our RAILFAN friends ...

We like to share items from our collection of vintage railroad memorabilia. One of our favorite items is shown below. Imagine the year is 1938 and you've been hearing about opportunities to become wildly successful ranching or farming in newly settled parts of the country. There's no way to Google it, so perhaps you send a postcard to a railroad company, like the Great Northern, and ask for information. At this time in history the railroads are trying to encourage development in the territories they serve, which will ultimately mean profits for them. Here is a typical package of information you would have received in the mail ...

Envelope of information postmarked January 11, 1938
From Mr. E. C. Leedy, Great Northern Railway
Postage cost:  4 and 1/2 cents.

Zone of Plenty booklet

Back of the booklet

Letter:  Replying to your inquiry ...

Own Your Home in the Zone of Plenty States
Ranching and Farming opportunities abound!

Detailed info on States in the Zone of Plenty

Full list of Zone of Plenty States
 More like Zone of Plenty booklet

Envelope provided if you wish more information.
Sheet behind shows fares to various locations.
Closing thought ...
(How do you like this one?)
     In our time, political speech and writing are largely the defense of the indefensible.
     George Orwell (Author of Nineteen Eighty-four)

Thank you for stopping by John's Island!

Saturday, October 7, 2017

Skies, Ships, and More

Sky watch ...
September 22nd  7:02 PM
** Click on any image for a larger view **

Sunbeams on a stormy afternoon
October 6th  5:48 PM
Looking west over Puget Sound

Sunset, September 27th  6:48 PM
Olympic Mountains created some interesting shadows.
Sunset is nearly due west this time of year.

Before sunset, September 29th
Looking west over Elliott Bay Marina
6:35 PM

After sunset, September 29th
6:49 PM

Sunset, October 4th  6:30 PM
Sunset, October 4th  6:32 PM
Olympic Mountains
Washington State Ferry below

Full Hunter's Moon
Near moonset, 6:38 AM October 5th
Looking over Elliott Bay Marina
Olympic Mountains in the distance
Linking up with Skywatch Friday. Hello and Thanks to Yogi for hosting! Check out the link for more interesting sky photos!

Ship watch ...

Emerald Princess
September 24th  5:35 AM
Arriving Seattle for last visit of the season.
USCGC POLAR STAR - Heavy Icebreaker
Heading into Elliott Bay
September 28th  9:12 AM
Fishing Vessels at Pier 91 Seattle WA
Northern Hawk - on the left
Arctic Fjord - on the right
October 4th  3:52 PM

More ...
Rose hips
Rose hips are used for herbal teas, jam, jelly, syrup, rose hip soup,
beverages, pies, bread, wine, and marmalade.
One of the richest plant sources available of Vitamin C.
Snapped in Discovery Park, October 3rd


John's tall grass on the front deck.


Tall grass in fall colors and sunshine.
September 26th
We showed you a different version of this one in our last post.
Here we go again. Just thought this was very cool.
Also, gives me a "critter" for linking up with Saturday's Critters!
Linking up with Saturday's Critters! Hello and Thanks to Eileen for hosting! Check out the link for more interesting critter photos!

Ralugia Eskimo baby
Official Postcard from Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition
1909 - Seattle, Washington


Linking up with Postcards for the Weekend where this week's theme is "children".  Hello and Thanks to Maria for hosting! Check out the link for more interesting postcards!

Thanks for stopping by John's Island.

Closing thought ...
For peace of mind, resign as general manager of the universe.
     Larry Eisenberg

Robbery

Robbery in Progress So tempting! [Click on images for larger view] Yummm! My neighbors recently hung a bird feeder in one of their trees. Th...