The Lady had a Baby [circa 1945]

From our collection, a vintage war-time advertisement ... The Lady had a Baby ...

To make a long story short, a travelling tycoon has the reservation for a lower berth in a sleeping car. When he finds out the berth above (harder to get into and less convenient) is taken by a lady with a baby ... Well, he gives up his convenient berth to the lady and gains the respect of many of his fellow travellers. We wonder ... Does this kind of courtesy still exist in travel?  :-)

Thank you for stopping by John's Island.

Homesteaders Cabin on the Claim [circa 1900]

From our collection of old postcards ...

Number 3 in a series of cards, this one is titled The Homesteaders Cabin on the Claim, Montana.

Determining the date of publication of this unused card is a bit of a guess. Based on illustrations used on other cards in the series (and a little research on homesteading) it appears to be around 1900, plus or minus a few years. The Great Northern Railway published the cards to attract business along their new (at the time) rail line connecting the center of the US to the Pacific Northwest.

If you are curious about homesteading in the USA, check out this Wikipedia article on the Homestead Acts.

So how about it ... Does this card leave you with any appreciation of homesteaders?

Thank you for stopping by John's Island.

Drawing the Skyline

A walk on Thursday took us by Kerry Park, the ultimate overlook for Seattle's skyline. It's not unusual to see all sorts of folks, tourists to professional photographers, trying to capture the scene. This was our first time to see someone creating a chalk drawing. We thought he was doing pretty well.

Arriving at Kerry Park.
On a nice day it's not unual to see a lot of folks enjoying the view.

This was our first time to see someone creating a drawing.

He has lots of colors in that box.

Looking pretty good!

Thursday was mostly clear and sunny.

Thank you for stopping by John's Island.

International Peace Garden

John visited the International Peace Garden in the summer of 1987.

The Garden celebrates the cooperation of two countries and is shared along the US / Canadian border. The US Postal Service issued a stamp for the garden on June 30, 1982, which appears on the envelope from our collection shown above.

Google Maps shows us the location ...

Here's a good photo of the Garden as posted on the web by Heinrich Lohmann. You can see more of his photos here.

In the photo, it is U.S. on the left half, Canada on the right.

A special **Thank You** to all of you who left us the kind comments on the series Birds and Flowers of the 50 U. S. States. We enjoyed your comments about your favorites.

Thanks for stopping by John's Island.

Birds and Flowers -- First Day Issues [Final Part 17 and Index]

From our collection ... More birds and flowers ... First Day Issues ... Please be sure to see the introduction, information about artists, and stamps, in our March 1, 2015, post. As you have noticed, we are posting the 50 States in alphabetical order, so if you've missed a state you want to see, please check the Index below.

Today we have last two States ...

Wisconsin ... The Badger State ...

Wyoming ... The Cowboy State ...

We hope you've enjoyed these as much as we've enjoyed posting them. Some observations (good trivia?) after all is said and done ...

***  The most popular color seems to be red ... 7 Cardinals, Rhode Island's Red, and several "red" flowers.

***  Only two States have both flower and bird named after the State ... California and South Carolina.

***  Only one State has a bird name after a different State ... Utah. Thanks to blogger Red who left us a comment explaining why "... The California Gull came in just in time to eat up all the grasshoppers and save the first crop the LDS people sowed."

***  The second most popular bird is the Western Meadowlark ... 6 States.

If you have time, will you leave us a comment ... Were you able to pick a favorite bird illustration and/or stamp and which State(s)? Thanks, as always, for stopping by John's Island.

INDEX

Here is the list of 50 US States with our post on Birds and Flowers:  (Click on State name to see the post)

Alabama ... Yellowhammer and Camellia

Alaska ... Willow Ptarmigan and Forget-Me-Not

Arizona ... Cactus Wren and Saguaro Cactus Blossom

Arkansas ... Mockingbird and Apple Blossom

California ... California Quail and California Poppy

Colorado ... Lark Bunting and Rocky Mountain Columbine

Connecticut ... Robin and Mountain Laurel

Deleware ... Blue Hen Chicken and Peach Blossom

Florida ... Mockingbird and Orange Blossom

Georgia ... Brown Thrasher and Cherokee Rose

Hawaii ... Hawaiian Goose and Hibiscus

Idaho ... Mountain Bluebird and Syringa

Illinois ... Cardinal and Violet

Indiana ... Cardinal and Peony

Iowa ... Eastern Goldfinch and Wild Rose

Kansas ... Western Meadowlark and Sunflower

Kentucky ... Cardinal and Goldenrod

Louisiana ... Brown Pelican and Magnolia

Maine ... Chickadee and White Pine Cone & Tassel

Maryland ... Baltimore Oriole and Black-Eyed Susan

Massachusetts ... Black-Capped Chickadee and Mayflower

Michigan ... Robin and Apple Blossom

Minnesota ... Common Loon and Showy Lady Slipper

Mississippi ... Mockingbird and Magnolia

Missouri ... Eastern Bluebird and Red Hawthorn

Montana ... Western Meadowlark and Bitterroot

Nebraska ... Western Meadowlark and Goldenrod

Nevada ... Mountain Bluebird and Sagebrush

New Hampshire ... Purple Finch and Lilac

New Jersey ... American Goldfinch and Violet

New Mexico ... Roadrunner and Yucca Flower

New York ... Eastern Bluebird and Rose

North Carolina ... Cardinal and Flowering Dogwood

North Dakota ... Western Meadowlark and Wild Prairie Rose

Ohio ... Cardinal and Red Carnation

Oklahoma ... Scissor-tailed Flycatcher and Mistletoe

Oregon ... Western Meadowlark and Oregon Grape

Pennsylvania ... Ruffed Grouse and Mountain Laurel

Rhode Island ... Rhode Island Red and Violet

South Carolina ... Carolina Wren and Carolina Jessamine

South Dakota ... Ring-Necked Pheasant and Pasqueflower

Tennessee ... Mockingbird and Iris

Texas ... Mockingbird and Bluebonnet

Utah ... California Gull and Sego Lily

Vermont ... Hermit Thrush and Red Clover

Virginia ... Cardinal and Flowering Dogwood

Washington ... American Goldfinch and Rhododendron

West Virginia ... Cardinal and Rhododendron Maximum

Wisconsin ... Robin and Wood Violet

Wyoming ... Western Meadowlark and Indian Paintbrush

Birds and Flowers -- First Day Issues [Part 16]

From our collection ... More birds and flowers ... First Day Issues ... Please be sure to see the introduction, information about artists, and stamps, in our March 1, 2015, post. As you have noticed, we are posting the 50 States in alphabetical order, so if you've missed a state you want to see, please check the earlier posts.

Virginia ... The Commonwealth State ...

Finally, our home State, Washington ... The Evergreen State ...

West Virginia ... The Mountain State ...

Last two States tomorrow. Can you predict which bird will have been chosen the Official State Bird most often?

Thank you for stopping by John's Island.

Birds and Flowers -- First Day Issues [Part 15]

Greetings from Seattle. Today we are returning to our series of posts featuring the "Official Birds and Flowers of Our 50 States" as they appear on US Stamps and First Day of Issue Covers [1982]. We've had so many encouraging comments ... Thank you! We will wrap-up this series in the next few posts. For any of you who may be here for the first time, please take a moment to see the introduction, information about artists, and stamps, in our March 1, 2015, post.

Now, in alphabetical order, here are the next three States ...

Texas ... The Lone Star State ...

Texas -- Mockingbird and Bluebonnet

Utah ... The Beehive State ...

Utah -- California Gull and Sego Lily

Please don't ask us how Utah got away with using a "California" Gull! : - )

Vermont ... The Green Mountain State ...

Three more tomorrow and the last 2 on Wednesday.

Thank you for stopping by John's Island and a special thanks for all the kind comments on our attempt at Anni's Challenge ... and to Anni ... Thanks for the round of applause! : - )

Hootin' Anni's Challenge

Blogging friend Anni set out a challenge and John will give it shot. The challenge:  Find and photograph your first name initial in a 'natural state' and share ...

Here's a screen snap of Anni's challenge with the details and her photo of "A" for Anni! See this for yourself on Anni's blog here.

Ok, here's as close as we can get from our archives ... Is the purple bloom forming a "j" for John? Close enough? Have to get a reading on this from Anni.

Now, here's one more, but this one doesn't follow all the rules ... Not a photograph John took but one of his old postcards ... River bend forming a J ... well, sort of! :-) For those of you who must know, this photo is of the Clark Fork River at Bearmouth, Montana. The photo is pre-Interstate highway, so probably 1950s judging by the car on the highway.

So, what do you think, Anni?

Anni is recovering from a heart attack earlier this month. We wish her the best!

Thank you for stopping by John's Island.

Welcome to Spring

From our collection of old postcards, our traditional first-day-of-Spring post ...

Artwork by St. John (no, not this John, ha ha)
Early 1900s

The back.
This card is one of a series of four to
celebrate each of the seasons.

March skies ... Sunset on St Patrick's Day ...

Ever have a sunset that keeps calling you back for more photos?  This was one ...

Linking up today with Skywatch Friday -- Recommended site for sky photos. Thanks to the Skywatch hosts!

In Port This Week ... The Golden Daisy

In our new location we are not too far from the Port of Seattle's Grain Terminal 86. Grain trains from the mid-west bring grain to this facility where it is passed on to ships for delivery to Asian countries. The ship you see here, the Golden Daisy, is called a "bulk carrier" ... it takes about 1 day to load the ship which is rated for about 15,000 tons. If you are really interested in Ocean Shipping, like John is, you can follow Golden Daisy's trip to its destination in Shanghai, China, on a website called VesselFinder.com. 

Thank you for stopping by John's Island. 

Birds and Flowers -- First Day Issues [Part 14]

From our collection ... More birds and flowers ... First Day Issues ... Please be sure to see the introduction, information about artists, and stamps, in our March 1, 2015, post. As you have noticed, we are posting the 50 States in alphabetical order, so if you've missed a state you want to see, please check the earlier posts.

South Carolina ... The Palmetto State (comes from the State Tree, the Sabal Palmetto, a type of Palm Tree) ....

South Dakota ... The Mount Rushmore State ...

Tennessee ... The Volunteer State ...

With today's post we've covered 42 of the 50 U. S. States. We will take a break over the next few days and complete the series next week. Thank you for stopping by John's Island.

Birds and Flowers -- First Day Issues [Part 13]

From our collection ... More birds and flowers ... First Day Issues ... Please be sure to see the introduction, information about artists, and stamps, in our March 1, 2015, post. As you have noticed, we are posting the 50 States in alphabetical order, so if you've missed a state you want to see, please check the earlier posts.

Oregon ... The Beaver State ...

(Stamp image from the web)

Pennsylvania ... The Liberty Bell State ...

(Stamp image from the web)

Rhode Island ... The Ocean State ...

(Stamp image from the web)

According to Wikipedia ... "The Rhode Island Red is an American breed of chicken. It is a utility bird, raised for meat and eggs, and also as a show bird. It is a popular choice for backyard flocks because of its egg laying abilities and hardiness." So, what do you think about the smallest State using a chicken for the State bird?  That is a big bird for a small State. :-)

Thank you for stopping by John's Island.

Birds and Flowers -- First Day Issues [Part 12]

First of all, Happy St Patrick's Day ... May the luck of the Irish be with you ...

From our collection ... More birds and flowers ... First Day Issues ... Please be sure to see the introduction, information about artists, and stamps, in our March 1, 2015, post. As you have noticed, we are posting the 50 States in alphabetical order, so if you've missed a state you want to see, please check the earlier posts.

North Dakota ... the Peace Garden State ...

Ohio ... Birthplace of Aviation ...

Yes, another Cardinal

Oklahoma ... The State nickname is Native America ...

The only state to chose a Scissor-tail

This completes 36 of 50 U. S. States ... 3 more tomorrow, please stop by.

Thank you for stopping by John's Island.