Saturday, March 4, 2017

SkyWatch Redux / Postcards / Critters / Ships

This morning the sky is partly cloudy but earlier this week clouds prevailed. So, for this week's SkyWatch we looked back into our archives. After all, we save all these photos and why? At least one reason is so we can go back and enjoy them again. Here are a few, all from 2005, or, another way to look at it, six years before we started John's Island.

February 17, 2005
Timeless icon of Seattle

June 28, 2005
Madison Valley Montana
aka "Rainbow Valley"

April 8, 2005
Bahia Esmeralda San Carlos Mexico
Taken on a road trip to Alamos, Sonora, Mexico.

March 24, 2005
Full Moon Rising above the Madison Mountains
Southwest Montana
(Fan Mountain on the left, Lone Mountain in center,
Cedar Mountain on the right)

July 8, 2005
This pic is my "Go-To-Mental-Picture" when stuck in Seattle traffic.
Taken along National Forest Road 290
aka "Gravelly Range Road"
a few miles from Black Butte, Montana

September 16, 2005
Sunrise Madison Valley Montana

September 30, 2005
Sunrise Madison Valley Montana
To enjoy more sky photos check out SkyWatch Friday and thanks to Yogi♪♪♪ for hosting!

Postcards

The theme this week for Postcards for the Weekend #26 is a card "from your home country."
I thought of several cards in the collection as possible, but none captures my feelings more than the one below. Although the whole country is there, my heart is in Washington!



I recently purchased this card at Pike Street Press in Seattle. They describe themselves on their website this way: "The Pike Street Press is Seattle’s trusted commercial craft letterpress printing company. We print locally and with customers worldwide, with a wide range of design & advertising firms, freelance graphic designers, individuals, and corporations." This particular card was placed into the mail yesterday and is enroute to Maria, host of Postcards for the Weekend. Maria, I hope you enjoy the card and thank you for hosting the meme! Do check out the link for more great postcards!

Saturday's Critters

Another of our favorite memes is Saturday's Critters hosted by Eileen. Here's a favorite critter pic from our archive.

August 3, 2012
Taken while on a walk around Green Lake, Seattle, WA
If you like critter photos, as we do, be sure to check out Saturday's Critters and thanks to Eileen for hosting!

Ship Spotting

Several friends and followers have mentioned to us they enjoy our ship photos. The last couple of months have been challenging. It is hard, on some of the dark winter days, to get the right light for a reasonably good photo of ships coming and going here at the Port of Seattle. Here are a couple taken this morning, March 4, 2017.

Overview
ZIM Djibouti Departing Seattle 6:57 AM
March 4, 2017
ETA  Busan, South Korea, March 15th, 12 Noon GMT

Closer look at the Djibouti
ZIM Container Vessel

How it looked on VesselFinder.com 
Once we know the know the name of the vessel, thanks to VesselFinder.com, we like to do a little research on the owner and/or shipping company. ZIM has a neat website where they say this about themselves:  "ZIM Integrated Shipping Ltd was established in 1945, and has developed into one of the largest, leading carriers in the global container shipping industry."

Part of the fascination to us is the journey ahead for Djibouti's crew.
VesselFinder tells us their ETA is March 15
into Port of Busan, South Korea
About 5200 miles from Seattle
11 Days!
Closing Thought ...
We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.
     Anonymous

21 comments:

  1. Stunning sky shots! Love the colours - the red! And of course, the rainbow.

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  2. My eyes are feasting again with these photos John! I specially love the Gravelly Range Road. I understand why it gives relief while being stuck in a heavy traffic.

    Love the map outline of the USA with the heart on WA postcard. I have a copy of this from you ;-)

    Hope your weekend is good. Thanks for linking up!

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  3. Hello, John! I love the cute raccoon. Great capture. Your sky shots are beautiful. The Mexico trip sounds wonderful. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Enjoy your day and the weekend!

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  4. Exceptional photography . . .
    I met you this morning on Keith's site . . .
    and loved how I felt as I read your comment regarding
    Nature and Nurture . . .

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  5. Some great sky photos this week, I particularly like the fourth with the moon over the mountains. Also love the racoon

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  6. I love the remoteness of western Montana. I climbed Plinche of maybe flinche peak( you'll have to help me on the name.) in Montana many years ago. I think it was 10011 ft in elevation.

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  7. The postcard you picked is great! What a wonderful concept - home is where the heart is!

    Thanks for the lovely pictures too. I always look forward to seeing what you post!

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  8. Beautiful skies and landscapes. I particularly love that rainbow...

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  9. What fun, John. Your posts are filled with all kinds of delights, but I especially like the "stuck in Seattle traffic" picture. And I am becoming a fan of the ships, too, although I've come to it more slowly than others. I also like your closing quotes. :-)

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  10. I've only visited Montana once, and it was only an overnight visit, but I remember saying to myself "there really is a Big Sky!" There was something so special about the angle of the mountains against the sky that I've never seen before or since. Thank you for sharing those beautiful pictures. Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com

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  11. You packed a lot into this post!! Always enjoy them.
    That is some long road. That would be some long walk. : )

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  12. Those earlier pictures are gorgeous. It is a good exercise to look back and se what pictures were taken years before. Thanks for sharing these.

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  13. Wow! John, your sky watch photos are spectacular! I especially like the rainbow.

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  14. John, your posts are always so interesting and those photos are well worth enjoying again and again. I love the photo, "Full Moon Rising above the Madison Mountains" that shot is outstanding! Have you even entered any of your photos in photo contests. That is certainly a winner in my book. Have a wonderful week.
    Connie :)

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  15. I found the postcard very expressive, and I am sure that Maria will love it.

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  16. I really love you postcard and also the rainbow valley! Thanks for sharing!

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  17. Beautiful scenery! And of course the ships just make me want to travel!

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  18. Love the rainbow valley and the moon rising the most. Nothing compares to nature's stunning beauty.

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  19. A lot of subjects and beautiful photos of them all. Even better when I enlarged them.

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