Late January in Seattle

 Snaps in Seattle Last Two Weeks ...

January 19th  7:42 AM
An amazing sky for my morning walk.

For new visitors ... My current challenge is to see if I can walk about 2 miles, almost every day, for a year. I am using Seattle's Elliott Bay Trail for my walk and have a few more weeks to go before meeting my goal. I enjoy snapping photos along the walks to keep a record of interesting things I've seen. Click on images for larger view.

For more critter focused blogs check out Saturday's Critters.

Walking early, just before sunrise.
January 21st  7:00 AM

The green thing at Expedia Group Global Headquarters.
I wonder how much they spent on this.

Mt Tahoma is the "little" peak on the left.
January 21st  7:21 AM

At anchor one day before getting loaded with grain.

Foggy morning at Grain Terminal 86.

Elliott Bay Trail goes right along the water's edge.

Foggy, cold morning = not many walkers.

Carving on driftwood along the trail.

January  15th  8:17 AM

Just after sunrise looking across Puget Sound
to waterfront homes on Bainbridge Island.

Hong Fu, grain ship, at anchor.
January 22nd

Ship names often make me smile.
These four are all "bulk carriers" taking grain to Asia.

America's new litter.

Union Pacific grain car.
Union Pacific is "Building America"
Some Americans added their own comments.

Graffiti wisdom?

Musical interlude.  Deuter - Land of Enchantment - Enjoy.

  

Viewpoint looking out over the Bay on a rare clear
blue sky day.
January 27th

Possibly the most photographed view of Seattle.
From Kerry Park.

January 27th  2:35 PM

January 27th  4:54 PM

A few sunsets to remember.
All sunsets are snapped from home.

Hummingbird at sunset.
Three favorites in one photo ...
Water, sunset, hummer!

Early January in Seattle

 Sailing into the sunset.

Just a lucky catch on January 12th near sunset.
More on this story later.

Snaps from daily walks along the Seattle waterfront ...

Very dark starts to several January walks.
Fishing vessels at Pier 90 undergoing winter maintenace.

During our extreme cold snap the Expedia Group's
North Car Park had water pipes break. The garage
was closed for about a week. Had to park on the street.

January 8th 7:39AM ... starting the walk.

Not many walkers ... January 8th

Just some driftwood in the rocks.
Do you see a face?
Need to post this on FACEBOOK.

Pretty sky on January 9th.
Before going to the walk site I stopped by Kerry Park
to snap this one. A bunch of photographers were there
anticipating the sky.

January 9th ... later on the walk ... what is that
old saying ... red sky in morning ... ?

A mallard enjoying the morning sun.

Nice view but no takers on the bench.
Chilly morning ... January 9th

Closer look at Rainier ... January 9th
The water here is known as Elliott Bay

Turned around and heading back north.
January 9th
Olympic Mountains in the far distance.

Morning sun brightens up a fishing vessel at Pier 90

Ramp up to a spot where I like to take a "start" photo
each day. This area has been newly landscaped by
Expedia Group. They acquired the property from the city.

A "mountain out" morning.

Near the beginning of the walk but snapped on the return.
Sun up a little bit ... nice to see some blue.
January 9th

Always tempting.

Ship at the Grain Terminal is the Oceanic.
Ship owners go crazy with names.

Start of my walk on January 13th.

January 13th ... it had rained most of the night.

The Oceanic getting loaded with grain.
Where will it go?  Probably Asia.

Snapped from home ...

Ovation of the Seas
January 12th -- Seattle

We can thank COVID for this photo opportunity. The Royal Carribean Cruise Lines' Ovation of the Seas finished her season of 7-day cruises from Seattle to Alaska in mid-October. She was scheduled to head to the Southern Hemisphere for warmer weather and cruises out of Australia. All of those cruises were cancelled due to COVID. So, this giant ship has spent her recent time here in the Pacific Northwest, and a few trips up and down the West Coast. No revenue cruises since mid-October. Even the skeleton crew aboard must number near 100. I am curious why they didn't just put the ship in dry dock. Anyway, this was a lucky catch for the photo. I anticipated a spectacular sunset and walked up to the top of the hill. It was quite a nice surprise to see the Ovation get in the picture! I've never before seen a big cruise ship in Seattle waters this time of year. 

Ovation of the Seas
Departing Seattle without passengers.
January 12th

Spectacular sunset ... January 12th
I anticipated this sunset display and walked
up to the top of the hill to get a better view.

January 12th
Zoomed way out ... this view is looking
miles across Puget Sound to the west.

January 12th
(Couldn't choose just 1 to post!)

January 9th sunset with contrails!
This may get me a comment warning about
governments poisoning us with contrails. I'll
smile and delete them.  😉

January 13th sunset

Unusual vessel.
Looks military ... but not U.S.
If you know this vessel please leave me a comment.

Possibly some sort of RO RO

Hummers are doing fine.
Made it through some very cold nights!

Don't miss this ...  Live Allen's Hummingbird Nest Cam  Watch this Allen's Hummingbird Nest where you can see exclusive live footage of the mother bird "Emerald" keeping her eggs warm until the babies hatch, grow and learn to fly. The nest is located in Thousand Oaks, California, where this little hummingbird built her nest on a string of Christmas lights.

Love critters?  Check out Saturday's Critters!

Lastly, in honor of my 11th grade English teacher, Mr. Kilborne ...

He gave us a list of what he called "five dollar words" worth knowing. Last week I had one of those "light bulb moments" when I broke into a big smile and realized one of his $5 words could be used perfectly to describe a phenomenon I've been closely watching the last few years ...

Smartphones are ubiquitous.