A Trip to the Beach and Our Concerns
The two photos above were taken at beautiful Canon Beach, Oregon. Although the big picture is great the details are not so good. The ocean is filling up with trillions of tiny pieces of plastic thanks to guess who. Close up photos below. We're doing the same sort of thing to the air that keeps us alive but it is harder to document the proof. Here on Canon Beach the evidence is right at your feet. This leaves us feeling sad for the generations to come. So many humans haven't found the wisdom in protecting our enviroment rather than their precious rights to do as they please at the expense of the rest of us.
Back to the beauty with a couple of Sky Watch photos, both taken at the beach. Linking up with Skywatch Friday and thanks to Yogi for hosting.
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| The big rock is known as Haystack The rainbow was just lucky timing. |
Spring Postcards
Maria has thoughtfully chosen Spring as the theme for Postcards for the Weekend. The other blogs have some beautiful cards and thanks, Maria, for hosting. We will start here with our favorite Spring postcard ...
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| Artwork by St. John (no, not this John!) This old card was published about 1906-1910 We've posted this one in years past. |
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| Back of the unused card. |
Not specifically Spring, but March is the month. (Unless you're south of the equator, in which case, happy Fall to you!)
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| I hope SOMEONE with a MARCH birthday will tell me how accurate this is! |
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| Back of the unused card. |
History Department
In our last post we explained how our interest in trains started. Our curiosity lead to research railroad history in America. Perhaps one of the most interesting events took place on May 10th, 1869, in Promontory, Utah, when the final golden spike was driven and the first transcontinental railroad in the world was complete. Below, you will see an official photo taken on the day. Then a photo we took on a visit to the Golden Spike National Historic Site which is intended to recreate the event as closely as possible. Last is the stamp issued by the US Postal Service to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the driving of the last spike. First, a little background from Wikipedia ...
"In 1862, Congress passed the Pacific Railroad Act. This act gave the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroad companies the responsibility of creating a transcontinental railroad route, roughly following the 42nd parallel from Omaha, Nebraska, to Sacramento, California. Railroad lines in Chicago were to be extended to meet the new railroad in Omaha. Central Pacific began laying tracks eastward from Sacramento in 1863. Central Pacific began working westward from Omaha in 1865. For their efforts, Congress granted these railroad companies large tracts of land and millions of dollars in loans.
On May 10, 1869, the tracks of the two railroads met at Promontory, Utah. This historic achievement marked the first time a railroad had spanned an entire continent. The transcontinental railroad did a great deal to speed the settlement and industrial growth of the U.S. By the end of the 1800s, the U.S. had five transcontinental rail lines."
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| May 10, 1869 The Transcontinental Railroad is completed with the driving of the Golden Spike. (Photographer's name unknown.) The man on the ladder leaning against the telegraph pole was wired in and sent simultaneous signals to San Francisco and New York City when the spike was driven by sending, "DONE" |
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| Summer 1995 Our photo of the Golden Spike National Historical Site. (We dug way back into the archives to find this one.) |
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| 3 Cent US Postage Stamp issued to celebrate 75th Anniversary of the Completion of First Transcontinental Railroad 1869 - 1944 |
More of the Circling Year Calendar for You
We're keeping you up-to-date with the Circling Year Calendar we started publishing in our January 15th post. The story on why we're reprinting a 1917 calendar is there.
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The Spirit of Love
You will find as
you look back up-
on your life that
the moments that
stand out above
everything else
are the moments
when you have
done things in a
spirit of love.
Henry Drummond |
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The Wisdom of Friendship
We take care of
our health, we
lay up money,
we make our
roof tight and our
clothing sufficient
but who provides
wisely that we
shall not be want-
ing in the best
property of all, --
friends?
EMERSON |
That spring postcard made me smile... :)
ReplyDeleteHello, John! I love the cute critter on your Spring postcard. I really loved Canon Beach, Oregon. It is a shame to find so much plastics and trash on our beaches and in the oceans. I wish more people care about our environment. Great quote and photos. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. I also appreciate your visit and comment. Happy Saturday, enjoy your weekend!
ReplyDeleteOh, John...I know...my heart aches for the generations to come. How will they survive without the oceans?
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, I remember seeing Haystack Rock. One of my best friends lives on the Oregon coast, and I have enjoyed driving from southwestern BC, through Oregon, to the California coast to see Cannery Row...what a beautiful, wonderful place the west coast is. My family still lives on the coast of British Columbia, where the same plastic problem persists. If I were younger, I'd be out there picketing and shouting and just generally complaining, and helping to clear your beaches and ours from the fatal plastic plague.
However, I'm afraid it might be too late. Wouldn't that be awful?
Kay
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel
The water is always a lovely scene for photos. Personally, I can't imagine throwing stuff in the ocean--I'm a 'dispose of properly' kind of girl--and it's so sad to see.
ReplyDeleteHubby and I have a 'thing' for trains, too, and try to visit all we can here in New Zealand.
Beautiful skies. Love the rainbow.
ReplyDeleteYour posts are always filled with lots of interesting memorabilia. I too am very worried about the plastic situation in the oceans. I read recently that there is a Great Pacific Garbage Patch that is huge. We dump 8 million metric tons of plastic in the ocean every year. It is horrible. Thank you for the information, and also the interesting fact about the flag and the smoke. You always come up with things I wouldn't otherwise know. :-)
ReplyDeleteIt is sad to see all the garbage left behind by thoughtless people. On the other hand, the sky shots are simply amazing.That rainbow could not have been at a better place.Thanks for always leaving such great words of encouragement on my blog.
ReplyDeletethere's all the junk in the ocean and yet this topic is not on the radar as far as prevention or cleanup is concerned.
ReplyDeleteQuite a few of our local restaurants have stopped providing plastic straws. I know, a small effort, but every little bit counts. Love the Haystack/rainbow shot!
ReplyDeleteThe water is always a lovely scene for photos. Personally, I can't imagine throwing stuff in the ocean--I'm a 'dispose of properly' kind of girl--and it's so sad to see.
ReplyDeleteทางเข้า D2BET
Gclub
Loved your post. And of course...sky watch. Hope you're having a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteLove the photos and thank you for highlighting the growing problem of plastic in our environment. It’s not enough to recycle or reuse, but to stop using all together. Start by not using plastic straws or bags then keep branching out.
ReplyDeleteHow sad. I recall walking the pristine beaches along the Oregon coast in the eighties.
ReplyDeleteDear John i just Loved the first shot of beach .
ReplyDeletei agree that just few evil minds who have same way of thinking(obviously most selfish) have united to serve their personal benefits at the expense of common men!
your sky shots are so outstanding and SPIRITUAL!!!
thank you for railroad history and stamp sharing i enjoyed knowing !
spring post card is sooo CUTE and adorable!
I just returned from Costa Rica where recycling and preserving the environment are a prominent national policy. As a result, CR is the cleanest country in Latin America. BUT, there must be a national WILL, high PRIORITY and COMMITMENT for similar results including EDUCATION beginning at pre-school. The GOAL must be top down driven. Meanwhile, EACH of us can do our part personally as well as those we mentor: pick it up & throw it away properly. Every bit helps.
ReplyDeleteGreat post John! You are so right about all that stuff in the ocean. Pretty sad actually. Love the old post cards and interesting info on the railroad. I didn't notice the flag and smoke blowing in different directions until you mentioned it. Now, it looks very odd...
ReplyDelete"You will find as
ReplyDeleteyou look back up-
on your life that
the moments that
stand out above
everything else
are the moments
when you have
done things in a
spirit of love."
Oh so true!