May 30, 31 at Green Lake

Snaps from my last two walks at Green Lake ...

May 30th, Walk 94* 

Current weather conditions are giving us fog in the morning hours and sunshine in the afternoon. This is fairly typical for our region which is largely influenced by marine air flowing in from the Pacific.

Looking across the lake this morning just about ready
to start the walk.
At Green Lake, Seattle, WA  May 30, 2019  5:44 AM

Not many picture stops today but I liked this
goose and gosling.
At Green Lake, May 30th

I have found it a real challenge to get a good close up of these
little creatures. They move so fast and they are like a
little ball of fuzz. Hard for the camera to focus on them.
This one can't be very old ... just a few days at most.
At Green Lake, May 30th

The walk is done and it looks like the crew are getting a
pep talk.
At Green Lake, May 30th,  6:33 AM

Friday, May 31, Walk 95*

Last walk in May. I have walked 3 miles every day this month.

Most foggy start yet.
At Green Lake, May 31, 2019  5:42 AM
Walked around the lake every day in May.
This morning's temperature 54F  (12C)

Linking up with Skywatch Friday. Special note to host Yogi♪♪♪ ... Thought about you this past week when watching the evening news. Oklahoma has been under siege by the weather. Hope you and yours stay safe and sound! Thanks for hosting Skywatch Friday.

Quiet and peaceful walk this morning.
At Green Lake, Last day of May, 2019

Now this is unusual.
A "pro" photographer?
Tripod, big camera, looks serious.
At Green Lake, May 31

What is he photographing?
Duck Island, of all things.
In the fog at that.
At Green Lake, May 31

So, I snapped a couple with my little camera.
Would love to be able to compare mine with his.
As I walked away, I asked,
"Do you share your pictures online?"
His answer, "No."
At Green Lake, May 31

Gaggle of geese under a tree.
At Green Lake, May 31, 2019

*The walk numbers indicate the number of days I've walked 3 miles without missing a day. Yes, I know ... not a big deal, but for me it has been great. Have lost some weight, feeling better, it's all good. My "average" time for a walk has been about 50 minutes and the pace has been around 17 minutes per mile. Of course, there have been many days taking longer due to stopping for photos. Now, looking back at the year so far ... My first day to walk Green Lake in 2019 was January 26. I walked 5 days in January. I walked 21 days in February. And, I've walked every day in March, April, and May. I started posting about the walks on March 1st here on the blog. Out of the 151 days so far this year, I've walked 3 miles on 118 of them. OR, another way to look at the total ... I've walked 354 miles, more than the distance from the Pacific Ocean beach at Ocean Shores, Washington, straight across Washington State, to the State's eastern border with Idaho, ca 336 miles.



100 Years Ago ...

From the New York Times archives, the story below appeared in the Saturday, March 31, 1919, edition of the paper on Page 2. If this story happened today would it be reported in any major global media?

Saturday, March 31, 1919
New York Times
Page 2

May 27, 28, 29 at Green Lake

A few snaps from walks on May 27, 28, and 29 ...

May 27, Walk 91* ...

At the start ... partly cloudy
At Green Lake, May 27, 2019

 May 27 = Memorial Day

Just a little way down the path.
At Green Lake, May 27th

At Green Lake, May 27th

At Green Lake, May 27th

Tom gave me the name for my "puddle art" pics.
Thanks, Tom, and what do you think ...
I guess I'll call this one "lake art".
At Green Lake, May 27th

At Green Lake, May 27th

At Green Lake, May 27th

At Green Lake, May 27th

The walk is done, the sun is up.
Clouds are moving out.
At Green Lake, May 27th

 Can't pass up last night's sunset from home ...

May 26th around sunset time.
Looking west to the Olympic Mountains in the distance.

May 26th around sunset time.
Looking northwest to the Olympic Mountains in the distance.

May 28, Walk 92* ... Let's call it "Bird Day" 

First spotted Great Blue Heron
looked to be seriously at work.
Note the way the bird is holding on to a branch.
At Green Lake, May 28th

Second Heron I spotted.
Curious ... on one leg and neck drawn down.
Sleeping? Resting?
Eyes are wide open.
This is a good example of the kind
of photo I can't get with a phone camera.
I was about 70 - 75 feet away. (21 - 23 m)
At Green Lake, May 28th

Mom and 2 little ducklings.
At Green Lake, May 28th

Oh ... a 3rd one showed up.
At Green Lake, May 28th

A different Mallard duck and a little duckling taking
a break from the water.
At Green Lake, May 28th

Zoomed in.
In the upper left, note orange color of older bird's leg.
Center right, color of duckling's legs and feet lacks the orange.
Thought it interesting to note the difference age makes in mallards.

May 29, Walk 93*

At the start of today's walk the first crew is heading out.
At Green Lake, Seattle, May 29  5:42 AM
Cloudy skies, 54F (12C)
At Green Lake, May 29th

First photo stop was actually near the end of the walk.
Wondering if this meets the definition of a "gaggle of geese"?
Looked up the definition and discovered ...
A gaggle = a flock of geese when not in flight.
So, next question, how many in a flock ...
A flock = an indefinite number.
There you go.
At Green Lake, May 29th

Family of geese.
At Green Lake, May 29th

Goslings.
At Green Lake, May 29th

*The walk numbers refer to the number of days I have walked 3 miles without missing a day.

Today in History ...

If you've been following the news this last week you will know Mount Everest has been in the news. Eleven people have died as hundreds, mostly inexperienced climbers, have tried to summit. A good example of why humans need regulations. Tell that to Individual #1, "stable genius".

May 29, 1953

Mountaineers Summit Everest for the First Time

Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay, a Nepalese Sherpa, became the first to scale the 29,035-foot summit of Mount Everest. Hillary and Norgay were members of a British expedition led by Colonel John Hunt. The successful summit made them world famous, although they are not even mentioned in the Wall Street Journal article below. The expedition took place nearly a century after British surveyors established the peak as the highest in the world. News of the successful trek reached the U.K. just in time for Queen Elizabeth II's coronation.

90th Walk & Blog Break

Taking a Blog Break ...

Today's walk around Green Lake completes 90 days of walking 3 miles without missing a day. Since March 1st I've posted here on the blog about each walk around the lake and 3 days in Vancouver, BC. I will be continuing my walks but this will be the last daily blog post for a while. I'll still snap pics on my walks and post them from time to time. Just want to say thanks to all followers who have left me encouraging comments on all these posts. I am turning off comments for a while during this blog break.

The most interesting thing on today's walk was spotting another fishing competition between a Great Blue Heron and a couple of fishermen. This was the second time I've seen something like this. My money is on the Heron.

May 26, 2019, at Green Lake, Seattle, WA

May 26, 2019, at Green Lake, Seattle, WA

May 26, 2019, at Green Lake, Seattle, WA
Great Blue Heron

May 25 at Green Lake

Snaps from Saturday morning walk around Green Lake ...

Not my first snap today but my favorite.
Got close to one of the Great Blue Herons
She/He was walking right along the shoreline and
pretty intent on some fishing.
At Green Lake, Seattle, May 25, 2019

 Linking up with Eileen's Saturday's Critters for the 2nd time today.

First snap today.
I like to capture a picture at the beginning of the day's walk.
It records the sky conditions and the time.
At Green Lake, May 25th  5:50 AM
Today, cloudy, slight breeze, 53F  (11.6C)

Lone Ranger?
At Green Lake, May 25th

Today is my 89th day to walk 3 miles without missing a day.
(That includes 3 days in February, all 31 in March, all 30 in April, and 25 days this month.)

Parent not too happy with me so close.
The little ones are so cute!
At Green Lake, May 25th

Lost sole?
It's here ...
At Green Lake, May 25th

Mom and 8
Last time I saw this family they were on the water nearby.
At Green Lake, May 25th

Seeing a second Heron this morning surprised me.
The last few days I haven't seen them at all.
At Green Lake, May 25th

Back to my starting point.
The walk is done.
Crew at work.
At Green Lake, May 25th  6:41 AM

 First time I've seen this on a Cruise Ship ...

Spotted this from home yesterday afternoon as Royal Caribbean's
Ovation of the Seas departed for Alaska.
Quickly grabbed the camera because I haven't
seen one of these crane arms with capsule before.
This would be interesting!

Looked up Royal Caribbean's Ovation of the Seas online to see if I could get the story on the crane. Here is the info from Cruise Critic ...

It's called the North Star ...

For a serious bird's eye view of the ship and the surrounding ocean passengers simply step inside North Star, a glass-walled capsule, and are hoisted by a crane some 91 metres (298 ft) in the air. The capsule, which takes 14 people, makes a 360-degree loop, poised on the end of the 41-metre crane. The North Star is free, but time slots must be reserved in advance -- either online or onboard.

May 24 at Green Lake

Cool air and a nice breeze made today's walk great ...

I like to start with a snap just looking across the lake from
the point where I usually begin my walk.
Today, the air temp was about 55F (12.7C) and there was a
very nice breeze. Skies were mostly cloudy.
At Green Lake, Seattle, May 24, 2019
5:35 AM

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

Not far into the walk ... a Canada geese family with
two new little ones. In the next snap I happened to be able
to catch one of the older goslings with one of the new ones.
The difference, is about 3 weeks ... just a guess, of course.
At Green Lake, Seattle, May 24, 2019

At Green Lake, Seattle, May 24, 2019

Update: Saturday morning May 25 ... Just took a look at Eileen's Saturday's Critters and enjoyed her pics of Canada Geese. Thought I should share my Geese pics from this post. So these will be Friday Critters on Saturday. Sort of.  :-)  Check out Saturday's Critters!

Marching onward ...
About two dozen Canadian Geese followed one leader to
the water's edge and then took flight for their morning exercise.
At Green Lake, Seattle, May 24, 2019

Lastly ...
I continue to be surprised at how these folks are up so early
and already out on the water. I guess I shouldn't be surprised
since I am up so early myself.
I am just fascinated by the level of dedication and effort
these folks put into rowing.
At Green Lake, Seattle, May 24, 2019
6:12 AM

  All followers ... Hope you have a good weekend.