Welcome to John's Island. In this post ...
1. Snow in Seattle.
2. Vintage stamps from my stamp collection.
3. Colorful Seattle skies.
4. Ships spotted recently.
5. Nature snaps.
Enjoy all or scroll to a segment of interest.
Snow in Seattle
Since groundhog day, February 2nd, we've had a week of truly wintery weather. Snow has been with us, off and on ... small accumulations at night resulting in slushy, slippery morning commutes.
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| [click on images for better view] The snow seems to annoy one of my hummers. The good news for the birds ... so far, the temps haven't been too cold. Upper 20s to lower 30s F (about -2C to +1.6C) |
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| A sunny morning allows a look at the snow accumulation on the Olympic Mountains. The shadows help reveal the foothills. |
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| The snowcover on homes across Puget Sound reveals a community in the Bremerton, WA, area. Near bottom, State Ferry running between Bainbridge Island and downtown Seattle. |
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| How is this snow related? Well, when out snapping the two images prior, I happened to notice Robins in a nearby tree. This isn't a great capture but it tells the good news ... spring is on the way. |
Stamps
Over the years I've shared items from my stamp collection. It's time for another look. I'll tell you in a moment what sparked featuring stamps in this post.
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| The stamps above are called "Poster Stamps." In the early part of the last century, people enjoyed collecting Poster Stamps. The stamps were usually issued by companies as a form of advertising. |
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| The Northern Pacific Steamship Company issued these stamps as a way to encourage travel on their ships. The NPSC ships sailed between US Pacific Northwest and Asia ... usually Japan. |
It's a bit of a challenge to get a nice large image of a stamp ... I start by scanning them at 600 dpi and then editing in photo software.
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| Just one stamp, greatly enlarged. The title on this one ... Deck Scene - S S Northern Pacific |
Postage Stamps ...
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| Lewis and Clark Expedition 1804 honored in 1954 with this 3 cent stamp. |
Critters are frequently on stamps ...
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| The American Bald Eagle 6¢ stamp was issued by the USPS in 1970 as part of a block of 4 stamps. See next image. |
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| In this block: American Bald Eagle African Elephant Herd Haida Ceremonial Canoe The Age of Reptiles |
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| Postcard from my niece! 😊 Thank you Emma!  |
More from the stamp collection in future posts.
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| Love critters? Check out Saturday's Critters AND, another great spot for sharing It's a Small Town Life |
Skies
Looking out from Seattle, across Puget Sound, to the Olympic Mountains in the distance ...
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| Sunset Panorama January 23, 2025 The scene along the western horizon can't be captured with just one shot, so I had to put together a panorama. |
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| January 26, 2025 |
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| Clear sky after sunset January 28, 2025 |
Go
and check out more Skywatch images at the Skywatch Site!
Ships
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| CMA CGM Container ship arriving Seattle January 18, 2025 |
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| The military ship is roughly 4 miles from my window. The sailboat provides a nice scale. Olympic Mountain Range in the distance. |
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| Low morning clouds lifted just in time to snap this shot of an Evergreen Container ship headed southbound to Tacoma, WA |
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| Yes, there's a ship in the stamp collection. 😊 |
Nature
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| While out on a recent walk, I noticed this plant with silvery white pods that reminded me of silver dollars. Snapped the picture above, got home and used Google Lens to discover it's called a MONEY PLANT! 😊 The scientific name is Lunaria biennis. Have you ever seen it? |
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| While out on a walk on January 31, I happened to notice these Daffodils breaking through and buds looking strong. The scientific name is Narcissus. Daffs are very well adapted to our Pacific Northwest climate and are always some of the earliest to bloom! I will try to give updates on these beauties. |
I often like to wrap up a post with a closing thought. Today's is one I recently found on Social Media. It may take a moment but the thought comes through perfectly describing the state of the Union in the good ol' USA ...
Thanks for stopping by John's Island.
