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!

17 comments:

  1. Hello John, I just love all your beautiful sunset captures. Awesome shots of the ships, The National Geographic Quest is an interesting visitor. I love the Parrot postcard, it is beautiful. nice collection of cards and memorabilia. I appreciate your joining in with my 200th Critter Party. Thank so much for linking up and sharing your post. Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend! PS, I also thank you for your visit and comments.

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  2. Gorgeous sunset scenes.Seeing a submarine, even at a great distance would be exciting.Once again,thatnks for your visits to my blog and for the kind and encouraging comments you leave.

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  3. Such beautiful sunset captures. I hope none of those awesome colors are being influenced by the California wildfires. Alana ramblinwitham.bligspot.com

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  4. Ah, bliss! Except that Sea Creatures card. It looks like attack robots! ;-)

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  5. Another post filled with so much! I just love that October 9th sky shot, just amazing, as you say. Thanks for such an informative post. :-)

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  6. Hey, this is the mother of all posts. Great sky shots. You have lots of ship traffic.

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  7. Wow! These photos are wonderful, as are the postcards. Happy Skywatch Friday!

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  8. Beautiful skies - one of the advantages of living up high!
    The repo postcard of the parrot with the map is lovely.

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  9. I didn't know about sun pillars - thanks for helping me learn something new! This is my first time visiting your blog - you have great variety and it is very interesting. Have a wonderful week!

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  10. I know nothing of marine vessels so I don't know. But this I know, the photos of the majestic sunset are so awe-inspiring. I'm not artistic so I wouldn't know how many colors or shades there are on it. But I know it's lovely.

    Thanks for posting again, my friend. Hope your autumn is going just well.

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  11. Marine Traffic has the Viking Queen as a fishing vessel, might be a seiner. One of our submarines went aground in the Scottish islands, wouldn't have liked to be in that captain's shoes. As the town I live in builds submarines we knew it. Very expensive things to damage! Love that parrot. The zone of plenty is fascinating.

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  12. Hi John, I definitely would love to meet while I'm here in Seattle! Well, technically I'm staying in a hotel here in Mulkiteo. But significantly so much closer as compared when I'm in Asia -- so yes, of course it's a great opportunity to meet. I will send you an e-mail. I am still checking on my schedule and of course, the weather! For the meantime, please know that I really appreciate your postcard this weekend. It's nice to see this parrot postcard with the map behind it. Have a nice week ahead and see you soon!

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  13. Wonderful sky photos!

    And I love both postcards. The Tsimshian card looks very modern and universal, I mean, I wouldn't have been surprised if the creator would have been a 21st century Dutchman/woman.

    Interesting book about the 'Zone of plenty'. From the link you mentioned I learned it was even from 1920!

    Concerning the closing thought, Orwell was such a visionary man. Earlier this year I bought his book 'diaries', to learn more about the man behind '1984' and 'Animal Farm', but I still didn't have time to start reading so far. Your quote at least is food for thought, and too actual!..

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  14. Wonderful sky's this week John and a great selection of postcard & memorabilia

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  15. Beautiful sunsets and interesting postcards, John I've always enjoyed saving postage stamps and have some very old ones.Stamp collecting seems to be a dying hobby these days.

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