Keep it or toss it?
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| I've got a stack of 45RPM records. Remember these? This one is a favorite. 😊 |
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| Back in the days, this is how it looked. Maybe she is listening to The Wayward Wind by Gogi Grant |
It's hard to just toss these old records in the trash, and it's time consuming to try selling them online. The decision is even more complicated by knowing I can simply use a few clicks to listen on YouTube. Any suggestions?
September 29 - Full Harvest Moon
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| Breaks in some thin clouds allowed this snap of the Full Moon this morning about 6:30AM. |
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| The Full Moon this morning was almost due west when I snapped this photo, about an hour before moonset. Moonlight is reflecting off Puget Sound. In the lower part of the image is the Ovation of the Seas cruise ship which arrived at Pier 91 moments earlier. The red beacon tops the 86 meter (282 foot) mast of the M5 Yacht |
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| In the days before the Internet the Old Farmer's Almanac provided moon watching info. |
Cottonwood Tree Experiment
While John's Island has been on break, John continued the Cottonwood Tree Experiment started in our last post, June 21st
Here's the story of how a Western Cottonwood Tree grows ...
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| Handful of Western Cottonwood Tree Seeds |
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| One tiny Cottonwood Tree seed |
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| Seeds planted May 28th |
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| Seedlings appear ... May 30th |
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| About 3 weeks later ... June 22nd |
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| July 3rd ... Already a couple thinned out (36 days after planting) |
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| About 2 weeks later ... ONE tree transplanted into larger container ... July 18th (51 days after planting) |
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| August 13th ... 77 days after planting. |
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| Today, September 26, 2023 after a nice refreshing rainfall 121 days after planting (or almost 4 months) |
August 7, 2023 Update: John's Island is on break
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| Like the youngsters at Seattle's Broadview Thomson Elementary school, I'm taking a summer break. I happened to see the school's reader board and its current message impressed me. To the Principal, or whoever came up with this ... well done! |
In this post ...
➤ Today is the longest day of the year
➤ A Cottonwood tree nature experiment
➤ Kilauea eruption
➤ 2 Months of change on waterfront walk
➤ Natural wonders
➤ Ship pics, just for fun
➤ Looking back 20 years ago
➤ Closing thought
Longest Day of the Year
Wed, Jun 21, 2023 7:57 AM
Cottonwood Nature Experiment
Cottonwood trees are plentiful in the Pacific Northwest. Recently, out on a walk, cottonwood seeds floated around me almost looking like snow. This year the trees seemed to have an extra abundance of seeds and the scene, like a snow in June, piqued my curiosity. I wondered, of the millions of seeds, what percentage actually germinate and establish a new Cottonwood tree. I decided to try a Nature Experiment and see if I could get some trees started. Here are a few pictures telling the story ... [PS I'll be the first to acknowledge that most humans find these trees annoying when the seeds begin to fall. However, for me, nature's amazing method of propagating the trees overcomes the annoyance.]
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| Cottonwood seeds floating away from the the tree that produced them. |
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| Lots of seeds on this tree. Ready to drift away. |
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| Each seed is attached to a bit of fuzz that looks just like cotton. They drift slowly away from the parent tree. |
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| Seeds accumulate along walkways. |
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| Seeds are produced in bunches on little stems. |
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| A cottonwood leaf and a couple of seeds. |
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| A handful of seeds. |
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| One tiny seed. |
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| 2 days after planting the seeds and keeping them watered. |
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| 7 days after planting the seeds. Cottonwood trees on the way! |
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| 14 days after planting. Be sure to see the large view. Slow but on the way. |
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| 21 days after planting. Note how the tiny leaves have already started to get that jagged edge. |
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| Here is the goal ... Get the seedlings up a couple of inches and transplant them to a location riverside, where, hopefully they will thrive. [In this photo from the web, note how the tiny seedlings look. I'm amazed at how many germinated!] |
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| Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupted on June 7 [Screenshot from AccuWeather] |
2 Months of Change on Waterfront Walk
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| Around April 1 the powers in control buzzed away most of the vegetation at this popular spot on the walk. |
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| I am amazed at how fast the plants and grass have come back. |
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| Mt Rainier as seen from the waterfront walk. The mountain is about 50 miles away. June 4, 2023 |
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| At an intersection near home. Yes, another Natural Wonder, in my mind. This is a busy street, but at the moment, I was stopped at a traffic signal. I happened to notice this little spot and what nature had done with it. It's kind of like a message to humans ... throw it at me and I'll clean it up. Thank you, Nature! |
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| I like this picture ... it's a nice view of scale ... the average sailboat vs the MSC Container ship. |
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| I like this picture ... it's something I see almost every Sunday morning. A tug pulling a barge from Alaska. I'm always curious about how a tug Captain decides how long the tow will be to the barge. This one is several hundred feet. |
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| Busy weekend afternoon in the port of Seattle. In front ... Discovery Princess Next ... Holland America's Nieuw Amsterdam Next ... A bulk carrier at anchor, in process of refueling Out in the middle of The Sound ... The Victoria Clipper Near center ... mast of M5 ... see next picture. |
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| The M5 -- World's tallest single-masted sailing yacht! This is the 2nd year the M5 has visited Seattle. See YouTube video below for details. [Not my video but I really like it. 😊 ] |
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| Seattle skyline from Kerry Park February, 2003 |
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| Enjoyed a stay in Hawaii March, 2003 |
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| Visited Yellowstone National Park and snapped this photo of Great Falls of the Yellowstone July, 2003 |
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| Discovered a Rattlesnake while in Montana July, 2003 [Added this pic for my ticket to link up with Saturday's Critters. Check it out!] |
Hello everyone and welcome to John's Island. In this post ...
1. See what it was like to tour Yellowstone National Park by stagecoach in the early 1900s ... The Wylie Way.
2. The story of my Mountain Bluebird nest box in 2007.
3. Put Yellowstone on your phone.
4. Talk about a Talking Dog.
[Click on images for a larger, better view]
Touring Yellowstone the Wylie Way Postcard Set
[Early 1900s]
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| I'm at a loss to explain all the speckles. Just guessing ... Printing in the early 1900s had some issues. ☺ |
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| The back cover. |
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| It all folds up. |
About the Wylie Way
The Wylie Way refers to the approach to tourism and
hospitality in Yellowstone National Park developed by the Wylie family, who
were early pioneers in the park's tourism industry.
In the early 20th century (prior to 1916), the Wylie family built a series
of tent camps throughout Yellowstone, which offered a unique and immersive way
to experience the Park's natural beauty. These tent camps were located in some
of the most picturesque areas of the Park, and were designed to provide
visitors with a comfortable, but rustic experience in the wilderness.
Guests at the Wylie tent camps would stay in canvas tents
furnished with comfortable beds, linens, and even electric lights. The camps
had communal dining halls, where guests would gather for meals prepared by
Wylie's chefs, using locally sourced ingredients. Each camp also had guides who
would lead visitors on hikes and other outdoor activities, providing a wealth
of knowledge about the Park's flora, fauna, and geology.
The Wylie Way was a departure from the more traditional approach
to tourism in Yellowstone, which had largely been centered around hotels and
stagecoach tours. The Wylie's tent camps provided a more intimate and immersive
experience in the Park's wilderness, and helped to establish the idea of
ecotourism long before the term was even coined.
Today, the Wylie family's legacy lives on in Yellowstone,
where their camps have been replaced by more permanent lodges and cabins, but
the emphasis on connecting visitors with the Park's natural beauty remains as
strong as ever.
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| Ready to tour the Wylie Way Yellowstone National Park (Prior to 1916 when autos were first allowed into the Park.) |
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| Wylie Way brochure for Season 1915 |
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| 4 eggs in the nest |
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| Mom at work |
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| 3 Baby Bluebirds and one egg that didn't hatch |
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| Hungry birds |
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| When the door is opened they expect food! It takes several days for eyes to open. |
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| Dad at work - As Mountain Bluebirds go, the male is the really blue one. |
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| Dad and Mom feed the little ones |
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| Mom at work |
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| They are so hungry! They grow fast! |
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| Getting big enough to be shy! |
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| Hard to hide in there! |
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| Thinking about flying. |
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| It won't be long now. |
1. Open the "Photos" app on your iPhone.
2. Browse through your photo albums or use the
"Search" feature to locate the image you want to set as the lock
screen image.
3. Once you've found the desired image, tap on it to open it
in full view.
4. Tap the share button, which is represented by a square
with an upward arrow. It is usually located at the bottom-left or bottom-right
corner of the screen.
5. In the share sheet that appears, scroll through the
available options and locate "Use as Wallpaper." It may be necessary
to swipe left on the bottom row of icons to reveal more options.
6. Tap on "Use as Wallpaper." The selected image
will now be displayed with editing options.
7. Adjust the image as desired by using pinch-to-zoom or
dragging it to reposition it. You can also choose between "Still,"
"Perspective," or "Live Photo" to set the image type.
8. Once you're satisfied with the image placement and type,
tap on the "Set" button, which is usually located in the bottom-right
corner.
9. Choose whether you want to set the image as the lock
screen, home screen, or both. Select "Set Lock Screen" to set it as
the lock screen image.
10. Your iPhone will confirm the change by displaying a
preview of the lock screen. If you're content with the selection, tap on
"Set" to apply the image as your lock screen.
A guy is driving around the backwoods of Montana and he sees a
sign in front of a broken down shanty-style house: 'Talking Dog For Sale'
He rings the bell and the owner appears and tells him the dog is in the
backyard.
The guy goes into the backyard and sees a nice looking Labrador
Retriever sitting there.
“You talk?” he asks.
“Yep,” the Lab replies.
After the guy recovers from the shock of hearing a dog talk, he
says “So, what's your story?”
The Lab looks up and says, “Well, I discovered that I could talk when I was pretty young. I wanted to help the government, so I told the CIA. In no time at all they had me jetting from country to country, sitting in rooms with spies and world leaders, because no one figured a dog would be eavesdropping.
“I was one of their most valuable spies for eight years running.
But the jetting around really tired me out, and I knew I wasn't getting
any younger so I decided to settle down. I signed up for a job at the
airport to do some undercover security, wandering near suspicious
characters and listening in. I uncovered some incredible dealings and was
awarded a batch of medals.
“I got married, had a mess of puppies, and now I'm just retired.”
The guy is amazed. He goes back in and asks the owner what he
wants for the dog.
“Ten dollars,” the guy says.
“Ten dollars? This dog is amazing! Why on earth are you selling
him so cheap?”
“Because he's a liar. He never did any of that stuff.”
Keep it or toss it? I've got a stack of 45RPM records. Remember these? This one is a favorite. 😊 Back in the days, this is how it loo...
