Tue, Oct 31, 2023
Halloween or Hallowe'en is a celebration observed in many
countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints'
Day. It begins the observance of Allhallowtide, the time in the liturgical year
dedicated to remembering the dead, including saints, martyrs, and all the
faithful departed.
The images are decorations ... not at my house ... but in the neighborhood nearby. There are so many decorations, but these are two I admire.
Happy Halloween!
Sunflowers
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| Captured October 26th along the driveway behind my home. |
Sunflowers are known for their ability to track the movement
of the sun throughout the day, a behavior known as heliotropism. This movement
allows them to maximize their exposure to sunlight, which is essential for
photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert sunlight into energy to
fuel their growth.
Sunflowers are able to move to keep facing the sun through a combination of differential growth driven by auxin accumulation, circadian rhythms, and the reversible nature of their heliotropic behavior. This adaptation allows them to efficiently capture sunlight for photosynthesis and ultimately thrive in their environment.
Read more about heliotropism at Wikipedia
Sky Watch
Recent Memorable Sunsets
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| October 12, 2023 The view is to the west ... over the cruise terminal ... over Puget Sound ... Olympic Mountains in the distance. |
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| October 9, 2023 View slightly to the south of west. |
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| October 22, 2023 View is over Puget Sound toward Eagle Harbor, Bainbridge Island Sun breaks were like spotlights. |
Which one do you like best?
Ship Watch
Giant Marine Crane at Pier 90 Seattle
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| Moving in Puget Sound toward Pier 90 early October, 2023 |
Back in the mid to late 1990s, as the World Wide Web was becoming popular, Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft, said something like this: “In the future you will discover things on the web that you never could have imagined.” Over the years since then, I have often thought of Bill’s words when I, indeed, discovered something truly amazing on the web.
Today I
discovered an excellent example to share. Those of you who follow me will know
that one of my favorite places in the world is Yellowstone National Park. So, imagine
my fascination when I learned today that a 3-year-old has visited all 63 US
National Parks. Yes, she has done that and even has her own website documenting
all of her visits. Her name is Journey.
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| Journey at Yellowstone National Park Journey's Website |
I could never have imagined Journey’s accomplishment and, of
course, being as curious as I am, I had to dig into the details. I questioned
that there are only 63 National Parks. I did not realize the National Park
System has 423 national park sites, but only 63 of them have the "National
Park" designation. Go down the rabbit hole to discover what is necessary
to have the words “National Park” in a Park’s name. Going down that rabbit hole,
you will discover neat websites and maps like the one below.
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| Map from Earth Trekkers website |
So did you know a 3-year old has visited all 63 National Parks?
My photo of the eclipse in Seattle at about 9:20AM, maximum ...
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| Clouds prevented a clear view, but allowed this photo without a solar filter. Saturday, October 14, 2023 |
A more professional capture 😊 ... courtesy of NASA ...
Were you able to see the eclipse at your location?
Hummingbird Feeder Replaced
I've been feeding hummingbirds for 3 years now. Exposure to the weather, and especially direct sunlight, has taken a toll on my feeder. It worked well, but it's time for a new one.
Here are a few photos taken during the last 3 years while using my first hummer feeder.
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| Female Anna's Hummingbird |
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| Lucky capture. Hummers don't like to share a feeder. Occasionally they will and it's unusual to see 3 at once. |
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| My favorite photo snapped at sunset. |
And now, my new feeder ...
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| In use now for about 3 weeks and it does seem to be popular with the little birds. |
How do you like the looks of the new feeder?
Linking up with Saturday's Critters ... check it out.
Power of the Tides
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| Looking out my window, in the morning, I see a ship anchored in Puget Sound. |
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| Looking out again, mid-day, the ship has turned about 90 degrees. What moves a big ship around like this? There isn't much wind. Answer: the tide. Looking at a chart, I see the tide is falling and the water is flowing out of Puget Sound. |
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| One more look ... late afternoon. The ship has turned 180 degrees. The tide is rising, the water is flowing in and moving the ship around the anchor. Just another example of nature at work. |
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| For orientation, here is a map of the region. The tidal flow is from the Pacific Ocean into the Strait of Juan de Fuca and then into Puget Sound. It all reverses when the tide flows out. |
Which do you prefer?
With clouds ...
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| Clouds are pretty but no mountains. October 3rd (First picture in my previous post.) |
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| Looking west over Puget Sound to the Olympic Mountains October 5th |
A little of both ...
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| Clouds and mountains ... October 6th |
Last night's sunset.
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| Looking west from Seattle over Puget Sound October 3, 2023 6:58PM |
A neighbor's tree.
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| Driving by, I thought this tree to be a real beauty. Had to go around the block, stop, and snap a pic. October 4, 2023 |
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?
Introduction Those of you who follow John's Island may have noticed the frequency of posts has slowed and you may have noticed me missin...
