Cusp of Spring

 Pictures from John's walks and more ...

Most of my daily walks are along The Elliott Bay Trail which is along Seattle's waterfront. At the start of every walk, I snap a photo like the ones above to record the sky conditions. Then, as I'm walking along, I snap pics of scenes I like. Click on images for better view.

Critter pics ...

A Common Merganser
Haven't seen them for months, so I'm guessing they
are back from wherever they spend their winter.

A Red-faced Cormorant drying its wings.
Not a great capture, but does seem majestic.
To see more blogs featuring critters,
check out Saturday's Critters

The Canada Goose is one I see often.
Sometimes, I like to stop and say Hello a few times.
Most do not seem afraid of humans.

Last year's nest may be under consideration for 
these two crows. Same tree, but different days.

Really got a stare from this black crow.

Recent photos of one of my hummer visitors at home.
This is the same bird, a male Anna's hummingbird.
Movement of feathers changes appearance dramatically.

A two legged critter taking photographs.
I like the use of a tripod but it's just too much
to carry along on my walks.

Three two legged critters rolling along on the trail.
Note the young lady in brown is capturing the fun
with her smartphone.

A two legged critter on a Jet Ski.
I see this critter often, early in the mornings, coming
into downtown from the north, so
I'm guessing this might be his method of 
avoiding traffic on the roads.

Not to be missed critters ...

Although definitely not something I saw on my walks, I had to share a YouTube I happened to see online. Passengers aboard the National Geographic Endurance encountered a pod of hundreds of whales. It's pretty amazing.

Massive Pod of Several Hundred Fin Whales

When a massive "superpod" of several hundred fin whales surrounds the ship, guests get close enough to get a whiff of the whales' exhalations. Video by Eric Wehrmeister aboard the National Geographic Endurance in Coronation Island, South Orkney Islands. If you're not familiar with where Coronation Island is, I placed a map for you below.

I love ships. Lots to see here in Seattle ...

3 Container ships and a Ro-Ro
A Ro-Ro is a Roll On, Roll Off ship that carries vehicles.
The Container ship in the lower right has a very light load.

Garth Foss Tug
Foss Tug Company has a large fleet of tugs.
Maybe the largest fleet in the Port, but I am not sure.
The Garth Foss is one of the largest tugs in the fleet.

Three passenger vessels and
 a refrigerated cargo ship at Pier 90

Skies ...

Looking across Puget Sound, late afternoon.
March 2nd

Sunset, February 17th 5:21PM

Sunset, February 23rd 5:38PM

Just after sunset
February 23rd 5:39PM

About an hour after sunset.
The Moon, Jupiter, and Mars aligned
 in the western sky.
February 23, 2023 6:31PM  

Just before sunset
February 24th, 5:34PM

From the walk, looking East, at dawn.
March 9th 6:29AM

There are a couple of spots on the walk where I get 
a good look at the Space Needle.
Of course, the view varies with the weather.

Can't resist adding the way Mt Rainier looked on
March 7th about 7AM
It is 14,410 feet tall (4,392 meters) — 
the tallest singular peak in the lower 48 states.

Iditarod 2023 ...

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, more commonly known as The Iditarod, is an annual long-distance sled dog race run in early March.

The "Last Great Race" started last weekend.
The "Official" race started Sunday, March 5, at 2PM Alaska Time.
As of Friday, March 10, about 2PM Alaska Time
most of the mushers are around the halfway mark.
The race is 1000 miles (1,600 km) from Willow to Nome, Alaska.
The photo above is a screenshot from the Iditarod GPS page.
All of the mushers are equipped with tracking devices.
Leaderboard is on the left side of the screen.

There are 33 mushers in this year's race.
Iditarod Website

David Poyzer is the Official Race Photographer
His photos are wonderful.
Check out his website.

This is how they get around at Rainy Pass Lodge in winter.
Rainy Pass is one of the check points on the Iditarod Trail.
Rainy Pass Lodge

Closing thought ...

     Failure is the mother of success.

          Ancient Chinese proverb.

Mid-February Report

 The "Fat Buds" are back ...

The Rose Garden along the waterfront walk.

In a friend's blog she said, while on her walk, she recently
 saw a lot of fat buds. I immediately knew what she meant,
 but it was my first time to hear them called "fat buds" ... 
Sure enough, here they are in the Rose Garden
Roses on the way!

Old and New
Google Lens tells me this is a Viburnum farreri shrub.
I am not sure.
First blooms are opening mid-February.

Definitely not buds, but pine cones.

Snaps along the walks ...

I keep a separate folder for start pics so 
it's easy to look back and compare
conditions.

Light rain and few walkers.

⇛  As always, please enjoy a better view by clicking on the image.  ⇚

Parts of the walk path are lined with old wooden beams.
As they turn back to dust nature uses them to
host new plants.

Those trees seemed to frame up Mt Rainier
but the photo doesn't convey the way
it felt in person.

I see lots of people stopping for a moment of reflection.

The driftwood creates a bench.

Elliott Bay on the right, Grain Elevator on the left.
Downtown in the distance.

Mid-afternoon on a sunny day.

The only clouds in the sky were hugging Mt Rainier.
February 9th

Just a few days until this will look very different.

At first I considered the Grain Elevator
a giant monstrosity. After walking by it
daily for over 2 years, I kind of like it now.
It is an important part of the economy.

Ships ...

Early one morning.
Foss tugs await assignment.

Snapped this on the first morning with NO Fishing
vessels along the pier. They must be headed back
to Alaska.

The ALBA tie lines are a good place for birds to rest.

The ALBA is a bulk carrier registered in Panama.

NOAA ship at Pier 91.
Olympic Mountains in the distance.

A big MSC Container ship arrives in port
with tug assistance.

Coast Guard at work.
(Or, just having fun?)

Coast Guard seemed to be having 
training exercises on this very nice day.

The SALISH EXPLORER
Operated by Argosy Tours
Sightseeing cruises in and around Seattle

Definitely not a "ship" but couldn't resist adding
this sailboat. I don't see that many sailboats
on this part of Elliott Bay.

Birds ...

Canada Geese

One Canada Goose relaxing and enjoying the sunshine.

Black bird at rest.

Robins!

Keeping an eye on me.
Critter lovers, be sure to check out
Saturday's Critters

Robins seem to enjoy the area along the waterfront.

Gull on a rock.
Well, what more can I say? 😊

Pretty sure this is a Cormorant.
But is it a Double-Crested or Great?
The white color has me wondering.

Another shot of the Cormorant.

Side by side of the Cormorant

The next 3 shots are ONE Anna's hummingbird ...

I couldn't believe my luck to see this little hummer
trying to impress me. He really put on a display.

Yes, the same bird ... not flexing his "feathers"

One more shot and he was gone.
Sunny day in early February.
Near the Rose Garden on the walk.

Skies ...

The day had been sunny but
clouds are rolling in from the west.

Colorful sunset on January 30, 2023

Sunny day, looking west over Puget Sound to
Bainbridge Island and the Olympics in the distance.
A lucky few have waterfront homes on the Island.

Snapped on a rare late afternoon walk
February 9th

Always tempting.

Closing thought ...