Serenity

Serenity is the theme for Postcards for the Weekend #26. From our collection we're sharing a card featuring Winter in Switzerland, art by Fritz Reiss. Not certain, but believe the postmark is January 6, 1913. Check out other Postcards for the Weekend and thanks to Maria for hosting.

We will be the first to say the picture of the little hummer is not photographically great. However, it does capture a moment of serenity for the little bird. We saw this hummer perched on a tree branch just yesterday (Feb 25th). It seems too early for hummers to return from their winter homes so this little one must have wintered-over here. We rushed to get the camera because it's unusual for hummers to stay in one spot long. Zoomed to the max, this is the best we could do. If only we had a camera on a scope standing by.

Matson SS Maui departing Port of Seattle early morning Feb 25, 6:57 AM. There must be some serenity for the crew knowing they've completed the loading process and setting out on their voyage to Hawaii.

Lastly, a serene sunset on Feb 24, 5:34 PM. Be sure not to miss the sailboat near the lower right corner, which helps give a little scale to the scene.

Closing thought ...
Boredom is the feeling that everything is a waste of time; serenity, that nothing is.
Thomas Szasz

YNP / Gratitude / Ships / Skies

Historic - Scenic Route into Yellowstone - Season 1927

The New Gallatin Gateway
into Yellowstone Park
Published for Season 1927
Chicago Milwaukee and St Paul Railway

Interior Pages showing Regional Map

Back Cover

Enlargement -- What to Wear through the Park
"riding breeches and puttees"?

We just added the brochure above to our collection having found it, for a very reasonable price, on eBay. This travel publication was published to advertise one of five ways to enter the Park in 1927 when the primary mode for most tourists to get there was via train. Travelers from around the country could arrive at the Gallatin Gateway Inn, near Bozeman, Montana, and then take a motor coach into the Park to see all the "wonders" of Yellowstone.

We were so grateful to find the brochure and our GRATITUDE provides a segway into our postcard section below.

Postcards for the Weekend #25

The theme this week for Postcards for the Weekend is "Gratitude." We're linking up and wish to thank Maria for hosting the meme. A search through our postcard collection came up two cards below. In the first card a young man has just been rescued at the beach by a young lady lifeguard. He has so much GRATITUDE for being saved that he asks her, "Will you save my life again tomorrow at the same time?" What do you think about that?

Rescue at the beach.
A postcard expressing Gratitude. :-)

Back of the Unused Card

Happy Old Folks showing their Gratitude
for their Old Age Pensions
on Old Age Pension Day!

Back of the Unused Card

Ships

A couple of recent ship spottings to share. First of all, APL Antwerp container vessel departing Seattle on February 16 under colorful skies.

APL Antwerp Container Vessel
Feb 16th  5:44 PM
"Red sky at night, sailor's delight."

How VesselFinder.com helps identify ships
like the Antwerp.

When curiosity strikes these days the world wide web usually has the answer. APL has an excellent website with a well done write up on company history. It's interesting that APL has evolved from a company, American President Lines, once owned and named by the US Government.

Screen shot from APL Website
About Us > History

CMA CGM  Dalila arriving Seattle
Feb 14th  2:47 PM
Plenty of freight aboard this ship!

First spotting of tug Montana
To appreciate the SCALE, note the two people on the rear deck.
Feb 17th  10:12 AM
The tug appeared to be in a "testing" routine near Pier 91.

Skies

Although Seattle is on track to set a new rainfall record for the month of February, we've still had several interesting sunsets and other sky conditions.

Feb 13th 5:23 PM
Looking Southwest over Puget Sound
to the foothills of the Oympics

Feb 12th  5:46 PM
After a mostly clear sky afternoon.

Early morning look across at Eagle Harbor, Bainbridge, Island
Elliott Bay Marina at bottom.
Fog across the way will burn off later in the morning.
Feb 12th  8:09 AM

Screen shot of an App called Living Earth
Note the stream of clouds from near the Equator
pointing, almost like an arrow, up to the Pacific Northwest.
This is called the "Pineapple Express" and gives
us large amounts of rain.
Feb 16th  8:31 AM

Feb 17th  5:45 PM
Sunset over the Olympic Mountains

Looking at them, looking at us.
Water front homes on Bainbridge Island reflect
the rising sun in the east.
Feb 17th  7:33 AM

Closing Thought ...
Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.
      Marcus Tullius Cicero

Fireboat Leschi and Postcard Love

Seattle's Fireboat Leschi in drydock

Seattle Fireboat Leschi
in drydock
Fisherman's Terminal
Seattle, Washington

All of our Leschi photos in this post
taken on October 22, 2016

In case you are wondering, the fireboat got its name from Chief Leschi of the Nisqually tribe of Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest. The history surrounding Chief Leschi is quite interesting and involves political turmoil not unlike that we are experiencing today. Read more about him via Wikipedia here.

Water Cannons?

Overall view shows Leschi on drydock

Do we need to tell you that we love boats and ships?

Postcards for the Weekend #24 - Love

The theme for this week's Postcards for the Weekend is "Love".  With Valentines Day just a few days ahead we thought maybe this old card from our collection would fill the bill. How do you like it?

Postcard Love
To My Valentine
With you as the groom
     and I as the bride,
Forever through life
            let's ride side by side.

In very small print, lower center:  Copyright, 1907, by Raphael Tuck & Sons Co. Ltd. The card is signed by the artist, E. Curtis. Please check out other Postcards for the Weekend and thanks to Maria for hosting!

Other updates

Most photos in this post are taken from home looking out over Puget Sound,
Seattle, Washington, USA.

Stormy, windy look at our favorite flag across the valley.
Pouring rain, very windy, but sun breaks like spotlights.
Feb 9  4:17 PM

End of a stormy day.
Feb 7  5:07 PM

Linking up with the great SkyWatch Friday meme. Check it out and thanks to Yogi♪♪♪ for hosting!

Afternoon sun breaks out on the Sound.
Bainbridge Island in the distance.
Feb 6  4:39 PM

Clear sky overhead but the sunset into a bank of clouds
along the western horizon.
Feb 2  5:01 PM

Crew at work on Greenlake this morning.
Feb 11th  11:36 AM
Greenlake is a place popular for walking.
The walk around the lake is 2.8 miles.

Yes, we do have blue sky in February!
Looking up through our Birch tree.
Feb 10th  4:34 PM

We don't buy flowers at the market all that often,
but couldn't resist this little group.
Feb 11th

Colorful contrail at sunset.
Feb 10th  5:33 PM

Closing thought ...
Understand that there is NOT a magic bullet but, rather, the accumulation of small decisions and actions over a lifetime.
      Darish Mozaffarian, MD, Dean, Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science, in an article listing ways to stay healthy.

February Happiness

Postcards for the Weekend #23 -- Happiness

This week's theme at Postcards for the Weekend is "happiness". The first card we found in our collection may make you laugh, if not happy. The Northern Pacific Railroad promoted Great Big Baked Potatoes in its dining car back in the early 1900s. Here's a card they published in about 1915 that starts by suggesting to make Every Day a Happy Day. Have you tried Baked Potatoes?

Great Big Baked Potato
Northern Pacific Railway

Postmarked 1916, Seattle, Washington
1 cent postage.

Yet another vintage card (in a timely way) mentions the Amethyst as the birthstone for February.

As the card says,
"Those who in this
month see the morn
When skies are drear
and earth forlorn
The joys of love
have never missed
If they have worn
the Amethyst"

How about it, were you born in February? If so, is it true? :-)

February Birthstone
Amethyst
Early 1900s

Back of the unused card.

Linking up with Postcards for the Weekend and thanks to Maria for hosting!

One more -- Bears on an Iceberg

How's this for happiness?
Roosevelt Bears on Iceberg
Early 1900s

The cards says: No. 14. The Roosevelt Bears on the Iceberg. "Teddy-B put a match to a pile of wood and made a fire and cooked the food." Then, in red, at the bottom, "This picture is one-quarter size of one of the 16 full-page color illustrations in "The Roosevelt Bears" -- the jolliest book of the year for boys and girls. For sale in Philadelphia, Pa., by N. SNELLENBURG & CO.

Back of the unused card.

Skies

Uncommon view of Seattle from the Magnolia neighborhood.
Jan 4th  4:04 PM
Clear, blue sky!

Many trees already have buds.
Spring is not too far away!
Jan 20th  12:50 PM

Can you believe this contrail?
Right into the Sun!
Feb 1st  4:53 PM

A contrail so big it created its own shadow!
Feb 1st  4:54 PM

Evening Sky
Feb 1st  5:12 PM

Sunlight streaming over Bainbridge Island, Washington
Jan 30th  4:47 PM

Linking up with SkyWatch Friday and thanks to Yogi♪♪♪ for hosting.

Ship Spotting

For first time visitors:  Our view from home looks out over the entrance to the Port of Seattle, Puget Sound, Washington. We enjoy keeping an eye on ships arriving and departing.

Hamburg Container Vessel
Cap Jackson
Feb 1st  2:43 PM

Unusually tall crane docked at Pier 91
Feb 1st  8:06  AM

Closing thought ...
Analogies, it is true, decide nothing, but they can make one feel more at home.
     Sigmund Freud