Happy New Year

 

From my collection ...
A very old postcard (1908) modified for
2022 ... Another burdensome year?

Last day of 2021 ...

One hundred years ago ... from my collection ...

A celebration of Mount Rainier, with seven pages
 of text, the remainder illustrations, both color
 and b/w, from the author's original photographs
 and paintings. Published by A H Barnes, 1911

Hummingbirds ...

My Anna's Hummingbirds entertained me all year.
Our recent cold weather encouraged this little hummer
to perch right above the feeder for a long while.
Love critters? Check out Saturday's Critters!

Walks ...

I walked the waterfront trail almost every day starting in
early March. I've missed the last 3 days of the year
due to snow and ice on the walkway. Most of my
blog posts in 2021 feature photos snapped on the walks.
Love sky pics? Check out Skywatch Friday

2022 Starts Year #12 for John's Island

Friends and Followers ... Thanks for your visits to John's Island. Best wishes for a Happy New Year 2022!

This is the 9th year I've shared my old music box ... enjoy!

Snow Walk - December 27

 

First steps onto the path.

For first time visitors, I've been walking about 2 miles, almost every day, along Seattle's Waterfront Trail. I've been snapping photos along the way and sharing them here on the blog. Today's walk was my first, on this trail, with snow and ice. At start of today's walk temperature was 19F  (-7.2C)

Coldest day in a long time.
December 27th
A little after 10AM

I decided NOT to try walking down these steps.
Went back and took the longer way around.

Looking mostly to the east.
Grain terminal and downtown in the distance.
Both walk and bike paths are ice and snow covered.

I am curious about these ducks.
I'm pretty sure the large ones are
Canada goose ... but the small one?

Google tells me it might be a green winged teal.

After hundreds of walks without
snow this seemed like a dream.
Reality is weird at times.

No takers for the bench.
Some kind of critter went by.

Last evening at dusk.
My concern was for the little hummingbirds
overnight with low temps around 17F (-8.3C)

The thing below the feeder is a heater.
It is simply a small light bulb in a container.
It gives off just enough heat to keep the liquid from freezing.

This one is for my record book.
Total snow for this storm at my place ... about 4 inches.

Good news ... My hummingbirds made it through the night and are back again today at my feeders.

Seattle Snow December 26

 

The snow started early this morning.
Now, at 10:30 AM we have accumulated about 2 inches.
More on the way.  25F (-3.8)

Under the feeder is the little heater.
It consists of a small light bulb ... just enough
heat to prevent freezing.
I moved the feeder down to a table on the deck
to get it out of some of the wind.

The snow encourges them to share!

Not sure if I will do a walk today. Maybe walk around home for an hour or so?

Winter is Here

 

Anas platyrhynchos.
(Learn more at All About Birds)
How do you like the pattern on the water?

[Please click on the images to enjoy the larger view!]

The darkest, shortest day has passed. Winter is here.
My walks usually start about 7AM.
Here is the way it looked at walk start,
Tuesday, December 21, 2021,  7AM
 in Seattle, about 59 minutes before Winter Solstice.

Looking across Elliott Bay at 7AM, December 21st,
from a spot near the start of my daily walks on
Seattle's Waterfront Trail.
The white dot near bottom center is a
runner's headlamp.

Sunday, December 19th
I enjoy daylight walks more, so onward
to the longer days.

Branta canadensis.
(Learn more at All About Birds)

Don't disturb me during breakfast.

Always tempting.
Started the walk later on Sunday.
Enjoyed the sunshine.
December 19th

That bright circle is the Seattle Great Wheel

Populus trichocarpa? (Black cottonwood?)
Did my research but still not sure ... 

There are paths for bikes and pedestrians.
In this snap I'm looking north on the bike path.
December 19th

I'm interested in big ships, and smaller ones too.
The "Global Provider" is supporting a fishing vessel at Pier 90.
I like the name. Someday I hope to do a post on ship names.

A bulk carrier ship, anchored, awaiting a spot
at Grain Terminal 86.
December 21st

My 3 Favorite Photos of December

Hummer at Sunset - December 19th

Wondering about all the other critter blogs on
Saturday's Critters

Season's Greetings from John's Island

From my collection of old postcards.

Closing thoughts ...

Remember December

 

"Father and Son" water feature
down by the waterfront. Space Needle in distance.
Father and Son story via SAM

Cold, Dark Starts ... more snaps from my walks.

Lucky break -- After all night rain, my walk was dry.
December 13th

So far, I have not missed a day, in December, walking the Seattle waterfront trail. My walk is usually just over 2 miles ... it varies a little bit depending on where I turn around. Outbound is walking south. I like to stop at a certain point, every day, to snap a photo that makes a good record of sky conditions. Photos above and below are good examples.

Rain - December 7th

The green thing. Do they really need it?

Panorama
December 6th

Walk the Walk 5 Badge
Earned on December 6th
For recording 200 walks with my Garmin watch.

Late morning start.

Afternoon start.

Mid-day start.

About noon on a sunny day.
Sun is low in the sky this time of year
giving a long shadow in the rose garden.

Not many walkers on this day.

Louis Dreyfus grain storage facility.
Trains bring the grain from farms in the mid-west.
The grain is stored in this facility until it is
loaded onto ships for delivery to international customers.
View Louis Dreyfus Corporation website.

I haven't seen Mt Rainier much in December.

Snapped at my "turn around" point in the walk.
A little more than 1 mile from the start and my
closest point to downtown Seattle.

Sammy waits for the grain terminal.

Wish I knew more about this military ship.
Could not discern any identification marks in the photo.
Snapped from home.

Fishing vessels at Pier 90.
Often here during the winter months.

Smiled at the ship name ... W-Original
Guessing that the boss said ...
Come up with something Original.

The W-Original is getting rusty.

I did my research on Google and believe this is a
Double-Crested Cormorant.

Love critters? Check out the best critter meme Saturday's Critters!

Gulls are so common in Seattle ... this one
seemed to be relaxing for a while.

Always enjoy colorful sunsets. These two are
snapped from home.

After a night of rain in Seattle, the next morning the sun 
illuminated the Olympic Mountains with a fresh coast of snow.

Very early start to this morning's walk.
December 17th

Holiday lights on some downtown buildings.

37 degrees as I walked past this ship at the grain terminal
this morning. 
(37 F is 2.77C)

Space Needle as seen from my walk
this morning, December 17th

Closing thought ...

People don't have a strong intuitive sense of how much bigger 1 billion is than 1 million.  1 million seconds is about 11 days.  1 billion seconds is about 31.5 years.

          Amy Stoddard