Tree - Ships - Skies - Postcards

One word: Resolute
[Please click on images for larger view.]

In last week's post we showed you some pictures from our recent visit to Canon Beach, Oregon. Thank you for all the kind words about those photos! The pic above is one we didn't share last week. Actually, this one is one of our favorites from that group. This is an old tree at Ecola State Park right at the crest of a hill along the beach.  If you walked forward, in this photo, right past the tree, the trail (if it existed, which it doesn't) would go right down to the Pacific Ocean. The prevailing winds from the ocean have shaped this tree. To us it seems to suggest resolution.

Ship Watch

By way of explanation, for new visitors, our place in Seattle allows a view of ship traffic in and out of the Port of Seattle, Washington, USA. We enjoy snapping pictures of these ships and sharing the photos here on the blog.

December 7th  4:27 PM
A Matson Container ship arriving just about 15
minutes after a beautiful sunset. 

December 10th  10:01 AM
Atlas Bulk Carrier departing today for
Tomakomai, Japan  ETA: Dec 25th
What's inside? Probably grain.

December 10th  10:38 AM
USS Nimitz - CVN-68 Nuclear-powered Multimission Aircraft Carrier
"THE NAVY'S OLDEST AND FINEST AIRCRAFT CARRIER"
The Nimitz arrived Naval Base Kitsap today after a 6-month deployment.
In the photo, the ship is about 3 miles from our window!
Note the tiny sailboat for some scale.

Sky Watch

All of the sky photos below were taken from our place looking out over Puget Sound.

Stormy afternoon.
December 1st  3:42 PM

Enjoy more sky photos at Skywatch Friday. Thanks to Yogi for hosting!

Panorama - Olympic Mountain Range from Seattle
December 7th  4:58 PM
About 45 minutes after sunset.
Very clear air.

Very smoky air from California fires.
December 9th  3:53 PM

December 4th  4:09 PM
Ten minutes before "official" sunset time.
This is about as far south on the western horizon
as the sun will set as we near winter solstice.

Postcards

This weekend Maria's Postcards for the Weekend link-up theme is "Museum/University." Those of us who collect postcards are to dig through our collection and find some cards to share that match the theme. Those of you who have followed us for a while will know that a large part of our postcard collection is related to Yellowstone National Park. So, sure enough, we found a card showing the Museum at Mammoth Hot Springs. Thanks to Maria for hosting the link-up.

Mammoth Hot Springs Museum
Photo by Haynes, Official Photographer

Back of the unused card
Note:  One cent postage required.
The current rate in 2017 is 34 cents.

Description enlarged.

Closing thought ...
     Ninety percent of this game is half mental.
     Yogi Berra