Friday, December 16, 2016

Skywatch Friday and PCFW #16

Recent December Skies ...

December 15th  4:03 PM
A few minutes before sunset.
Sun behind cloud bank to the west.

December 15th  4:16 PM
Another day is done.

In the first photo above, notice the little sliver of clearing along the distant horizon. We were pretty sure a sweet sunset was on the way. We were not disappointed! Look carefully right above the sun in the second picture to see the sun pillar rising into the sky. "Light pillars occur when natural or artificial light reflects off flat ice crystals in the air close to the Earth's surface. Light pillars caused by the Sun are called Solar or Sun pillars." TimeandDate.com

Be sure to check out more sky photos at Skywatch Friday! Thanks to Yogi♪♪♪ for hosting!

December 14th  4:20 PM
Big canvas of yellow, orange, pink.
Postcards for the Weekend #16 ...

The theme this week on Postcards for the Weekend is "December Holidays." We are linking up with Maria and have this from our collection, a determined Santa ... 1920s? ... signed Twelve trees .. and this little card inspired our Closing Thought for today.

Merry Christmas
I had no reindeer
And I had no sleigh
But I got in there
Another way.

Back of the unused card.
If you would like to see other folk’s postcards on "December Holidays" please visit Maria's blog and follow the links.  They are always well worth viewing. Thanks to Maria for hosting PCFW!

Closing thought ...
If you want to get somewhere you have to know where you want to go and how to get there. Then never, never, never give up.
     Norman Vincent Peale
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35 comments:

  1. Author R. Mac WheelerDecember 16, 2016 at 9:32 AM

    oh

    ah

    ReplyDelete
  2. eileeninmdDecember 16, 2016 at 11:26 AM

    Hello, John! Beautiful sky captures. I like the cute Christmas postcard. Happy Friday, enjoy your weekend! Merry Christmas to you and your family!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John's IslandDecember 18, 2016 at 12:50 PM

      Thanks Eileen! Merry Christmas to you and your family as well.

      Delete
  3. Ruth HiebertDecember 16, 2016 at 12:13 PM

    Love,love,love those sunset pictures.Thanks for sharing.It's been too terribly cold for me to venture out to capture the sunsets recently, but I will be out there again, hopefully soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John's IslandDecember 18, 2016 at 12:52 PM

      Thank you, Ruth. Your sunset photos are some of the best so I hope it warms up for you soon! :-)

      Delete
  4. Lady FiDecember 16, 2016 at 12:19 PM

    Wow - gorgeous skies!

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  5. Billy Blue EyesDecember 16, 2016 at 1:00 PM

    Great sunset especaly number two. What acute postcard, that made niceones back then

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    Replies
    1. John's IslandDecember 18, 2016 at 12:54 PM

      Hi Bill, You are so right ... The old postcards are the ones worth collecting! Thanks for the kind words.

      Delete
  6. Spare Parts and PicsDecember 16, 2016 at 2:24 PM

    Double-WOW!! Beautiful sky shots, and I really like the "sun pillar" capture. Nice work!

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    Replies
    1. John's IslandDecember 18, 2016 at 12:55 PM

      Hi SP&P, Thank you and I like your "sun pillar" comment! :-)

      Delete
  7. MichelleDecember 16, 2016 at 3:45 PM

    Excellent! That second photo is my favorite.

    ReplyDelete
  8. RedDecember 16, 2016 at 5:58 PM

    Awesome skies. You are lucky to have a great view and then pick out what you want to see.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John's IslandDecember 18, 2016 at 12:56 PM

      Thank you, Red. Yes, I am thankful for my good luck on this location.

      Delete
  9. ValerieDecember 16, 2016 at 6:54 PM

    Spectacular sunset shots John - thank you for sharing

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  10. HelenDecember 16, 2016 at 7:37 PM

    The skies are lovely, and that Christmas Card is sweet. Thanks for showing them to us.

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    Replies
    1. John's IslandDecember 18, 2016 at 12:58 PM

      Hi Helen, Thank you for the kind words. Happy to have recently found your blog!

      Delete
  11. Mail AdventuresDecember 17, 2016 at 4:34 AM

    I'm not surprised that you take so many pictures of those skies...

    The postcard is very sweet!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John's IslandDecember 18, 2016 at 1:00 PM

      Thank you, Eva! Happy to have recently found your blog!

      Delete
  12. DJanDecember 17, 2016 at 5:43 AM

    Such fine pictures, and I love the inspirational quote. :-)

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    Replies
    1. John's IslandDecember 18, 2016 at 1:01 PM

      Thank you, DJan. Your positive comments are always encouraging!

      Delete
  13. ConnieDecember 17, 2016 at 7:01 AM

    Your posts are so interesting . . . beautiful and insightful. Thanks!
    I hope that you are staying warm and toasty. I was up at 5a.m. and our temperature was -4.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John's IslandDecember 18, 2016 at 1:02 PM

      Hi Connie! You sure left me some kind words for 5a.m.! I love it! Stay warm and take care!

      Delete
  14. Optimistic ExistentialistDecember 17, 2016 at 7:28 AM

    Fantastic December skies, my friend :)

    Have a Merry Christmas :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John's IslandDecember 18, 2016 at 1:03 PM

      Thank you, Keith! And a Merry Christmas to you as well, my friend!

      Delete
  15. mactexasDecember 17, 2016 at 8:58 AM

    Interesting you have a Norman Vincent Peale thought. Did you know Norman Vincent Peale was the minister of the church Trump attended as a youth. The thought of the day certainly applies to the past election.

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    Replies
    1. John's IslandDecember 18, 2016 at 12:48 PM

      Thank you, Mac, for the comment. After some more thought, it does seem like this applies to the last election and, for that matter, to just about any election, win or lose.

      Delete
  16. John's IslandDecember 18, 2016 at 12:59 PM

    I love it when my blog friends can't pick a favorite. Makes my day. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  17. bookwormDecember 18, 2016 at 3:15 PM

    What a beutiful sun pillar. All great captures; thank you for sharing. Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  18. MariaDecember 18, 2016 at 4:55 PM

    Hi John, that second skywatch photo is magnificent!

    Thanks for sharing and also the Christmas postcard for your closing thought. It's a beautiful reminder to think about being resourceful and thinking out of the box.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Aritha V. December 19, 2016 at 6:26 AM

    I love it John. Amazing skies. I love what you are saying about that artificial light that reflects on flat ice crystals in the air.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Bethany CarsonDecember 20, 2016 at 12:19 PM

    I love the quote from Norman Vincent Peale--very good one! That must be a pretty old postcard for Santa to be that young! He's had a white beard and looked rather grandfatherly all my life. I enjoyed your photos of the sunsets.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Photo(Geo)grapherDecember 22, 2016 at 11:30 AM

    Beautiful. Love the colors of the sky.

    ReplyDelete

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