Taking a Break

My Blog Break Continues

St Dunstan's Cathedral
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada
September 25, 2019

Update - December 20, 2019

Friends:  Let me say that taking a blog break is a good thing. Last Spring I was posting daily and got a good taste of what that’s like. After being on a “blog break” for about 5 months now, I’ve had time to step back and make an assessment of what John’s Island is all about. Over the eight years I’ve been active here I’ve found a good number of interesting blogs to follow. Sometimes, folks take a break, but don’t mention anything about it, which leaves me wondering if they got sick, just decided to quit, or worse. So, in the name of transparency, here is an update. All is well. Most of it, anyway. During my break I've been traveling and sharing some of those experiences may be the subject of future posts here on the blog. In the Holiday Spirit I thought I should post an update here and selected one photo (above) from my travels. I was impressed with the beauty of St Dunstan's Cathedral in delightful Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. 

July Blooms, Skies, and Ships

⁓ Blooms ⁓

One of the first 2019 blooms at the Dahlia Garden
Volunteer Park, Seattle, Washington
Snapped on July 22nd

Summer is rolling along. Seattle's July has been comfortable and lots of rain keeping things fresh and green. I'm still faithful to my 2019 resolution to walk about 3 miles daily. In March I posted about those walks every day. I'm still taking a few photos on every walk but have decided to publish fewer posts for a while. This past Monday I stopped by the Dahlia Garden at Volunteer Park for the first time this year. Dahlias are late bloomers and, this year, even later than usual, due to our cooler and wetter spring. I snapped a few pics of the early bloomers like the one above. I've posted on this garden several times before and many of those posts can be seen by clicking on this link. I plan to return to the garden in August and September for more pictures of my favorite flower.

Tiger Lily seen along the walk at Green Lake
on a rainy morning.

⁓ Skies ⁓

Although I'm usually up early in the morning, the last few years I have not seen many sunrises from home. My view to the east is not conducive to that. However, my recent walks around Green Lake have blessed me with some beautiful sunrises. Here are a few recent snaps ...

Just before sunrise.
July 22, 2019  5:11 AM
at Green Lake, Seattle 

July 12  6:30 AM

July 21  5:36 AM
Clear as a bell morning.

July 22  6:00 AM

Snapped as I walked around Green Lake on July 20th and thinking about
 50 years since mankind reached the moon.
July 20  6:56 AM 

July 24  6:16 AM

July 26  5:10 AM
Another very clear sky.

⁓ Ships ⁓

I walked up to the top of the hill to snap a few shots on Friday morning, July 26. It was sure a beautiful morning but I was disappointed to see the cruise ship Ovation of the Seas power plant putting out a lot of pollution. The first pic below tells the story. It's probably not that much of a big deal, and the Port Authority sure would not say anything to upset the cruise line. These ships add millions to the local economy and, as we know, the dollar takes priority over the environment. Ovation is owned and operated by Royal Caribbean line.

Overview of Pier 91 Cruise Ship Terminal
July 26, 2019  6:55 AM
from top of Queen Anne Hill, Seattle, WA

Ovation of the Seas is in port July 26th.
She has been doing the 7-day round trip to Alaska
this summer from Seattle.
She arrives and departs every Friday.

The "North Star" viewing capsule is fascinating.

Must be a good view from the capsule.
This ship is the only one I know of with this feature.

The North Star can rise to a height of
approximately 250 feet above sea level.

Really zoomed in ... note the people inside.
This was well before the ship departed.
More images of this attraction can be seen
at this link.

Colorful Hapag-Lloyd Container Ship
departing Friday morning, July 26th
Container ships are leaving Seattle with lighter loads recently.
I do not know why.

Almost a traffic jam of ships.
Cruise ships arriving Seattle July 14th  5:00 AM
The 3rd vessel on the right is the fuel barge which
will serve one of the cruise ships.

Unusual ... Star Princess arriving this morning with a tug assist
at the stern. Wondering if they were experiencing trouble
with their stern thrusters.
July 28, 2019

**Special info for all my regular followers** 

I'll be taking a blog break soon and this may be the last post for a while. In the meantime, thanks for your comments and be well.

Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On

Jerry Lee Lewis got it right ...

A 4.6 earthquake hit Seattle on July 12th and there was a whole lotta shakin' goin' on for 25 or 30 seconds.

Search results for "earthquake seattle" shortly after the quake.
Later revised to 4.6.
No damage here.
Time of major quake = 2:51 AM
July 12, 2019

Snaps from Recent Walks
My walks continue but streak is broken. The streak started on February 26 and I walked 3 miles or more every day through July 4th. >> 129 days <<  No walk on July 5 but back at it on the 6th.

Sunrise at Green Lake, Seattle, WA
July 12, 2019  5:41 AM

Lots of geese and goslings
at Green Lake, July 6, 2109  7:13 AM

Whole bunch of goslings!
Cozy spot for the one in the center?

Seriously at work ... Great Blue Heron
at Green Lake
July 12, 2019  6:13 AM

Special note: Congratulations to Eileen on her 10th Blog Anniversary. She hosts Saturday's Critters every weekend. Check out her excellent blog.

Steller's Jay
at Green Lake, Seattle
July 8, 2019  7:16 AM

Raccoon
at Green Lake, Seattle
July 6, 2019

Morning sky at Green Lake, Seattle, WA
July 6, 2019  7:40 AM
Linking up with more skywatchers at
Skywatch Friday
Thanks, Yogi, for hosting!

Seattle and Mt Rainier on a pretty morning
from Kerry Park
July 9, 2019  5:33 AM

Maritime Snaps
Taken from home ...

Freighters pass in early morning light.
Puget Sound, near Seattle, Washington
July 11, 2019  4:58 AM

US Coast Guard Cutter Healy
July 10, 2019 4:00 PM
Entering Elliott Bay, Seattle, WA
In the background ...
Alki Beach, West Seattle
Vashon Island
Colvos Passage

Recent Walks through July 4th

Snaps from Recent Walks

As it looked at the start of my last few walks ...

July 1, 2019
At Green Lake, Seattle
(My favorite pic from recent days.)
Great Blue Heron on the dock just after sunrise.

July 4, 2019 **Today**
At Green Lake, Seattle
Overcast but dry.
Thankful for the USA, all our freedoms, and
so much more!
Linking up with Thankful Thursday
and thanks to Michelle for hosting!

July 3, 2019
At Green Lake, Seattle
Hazy, misty, almost raining.

July 2, 2019
Neighborhood Walk
View from Kerry Park
Seattle, WA

June 30, 2019
At Green Lake, Seattle

Linking up with the sky watchers at Skywatch Friday
Thanks, Yogi, for hosting!

June 29, 2019
At Green Lake, Seattle

More pics from recent walks ...

At Green Lake, Seattle
Great Blue Heron

At Green Lake, Seattle
Mallard duck family

At Green Lake, Seattle

At Green Lake, Seattle
Yet another duck family at rest.

At Green Lake, Seattle
Zoomed out from pic above.

At Green Lake, Seattle
Good to see Mr. Turtle was out for some sunshine.
June 30th

At Green Lake, Seattle
Learning from Mom?

At Green Lake, Seattle

At Green Lake, Seattle
A pretty day to be on the lake.

Tuesday, July 2, raining all day and I put off going to Green Lake.
Finally decided to walk the neighborhood about 4 PM.
Neat to see these young folks getting wedding pics done
despite the rain. This is at Kerry Park, well known Seattle overlook.

At Green Lake, Seattle
Preparations underway for the
annual "Swim Across Green Lake"
Large orange floats will be used to
mark a swimmer only zone.