Dogs Birds and Ships

The Last Great Race Is Underway
Check out the 2026 Iditarod
The race got underway in Willow, Alaska, last Sunday.
As of today, Saturday, March 14th, the lead musher has
made it more than half way to Nome, Alaska, in the
975 mile (1569 km)  race.

Birds

I took an extended blog break between late last September and February 26. 

Not blogging but still snapping photos and here are a few bird pics to share ...

I love the way the flash of color on one of my
Anna's Hummingbirds matched the color of the
leaves in a tree out front last fall.

Linking up with my favorite critter-photo sharing site,

Saturday's Critters

Canada Goose Conference
Spotted on a waterfront walk.

Watching the Eagles in the Big Bear Valley of California
encouraged me to end my blog break in order to share
this fascination. My previous 2 blog posts
February 25
and
March 5
have been documenting the Eagles as they are
incubating 2 eggs in their nest. Nest activity is being streamed
live 24/7 on YouTube. The screen capture above was
taken on March 11 at 6:16AM PDT. Momma is sound
asleep but ON DUTY!

Ships

Just to set the scene, here is my ship watching view
looking west over Elliott Bay and Puget Sound
to Bainbridge Island and the Olympic Mountains
in the distance.

Here are a bunch of ship pics taken during my blog break ...

National Geographic Sea Lion
departing Seattle on an 8-Day Expedition,
October, 2025

Evergreen Container Ship
on a sunny, fall afternoon.
This ship is southbound enroute to
Tacoma, Washington

The Lady L yacht in Elliott Bay in October, 2025
If you had the $, would you buy a yacht? 😊

Argosy tourist vessel.
These boats cruise around Elliott Bay,
entertaining tourists and locals alike.

OOCL Container Ship arrives in Seattle.
The Orient Overseas Container Line is one
of the world's largest shipping companies.
I am surprised to see the rust!
OOCL Company Profile

Washington State Ferry enroute Seattle to Bremerton
Alki Point (West Seattle) beyond.

An MSC Container Ship with very small load
departing Seattle ... Bainbridge Island in background.
For scale, note the sailboat at the yellow arrow.
(I know ... barely visible!)

An Evergreen Container Ship with a full load of containers.
Northbound to the Pacific Ocean.

Coast Guard Cutter Storis Icebreaker #21
in Elliott Bay early November, 2025

Matson Container ship southbound to Tacoma with a very
small load of containers.  Small load due to tariffs???

SAFESEA Container ship with exceptionally small load
departing Seattle mid-December, 2025

Unusual barge and tow vessel with a small number
of containers probably bound for Alaska or a
small port in Canada.

Looking over the Marina to see an MSC Container ship
with a good load of containers arriving in Seattle,
February 10, 2026

US Coast Guard Cutter 87360 
The "Blue Shark" - a Coastal Patrol Boat
February, 2026

AIRSHIP Good Year N3A
The Wingfoot Three
Floating by in September, 2025 

The Wingfoot Three heading north
above northwest Seattle

Another AIRSHIP
Boeing 777X
passing by -- probably headed to Boing Field, Seattle

Thanks for stopping by! Be well and take care!

John

Solstice

Skywatch

It's here ... the longest day of the year.

Today, June 20th, marks the longest day of the year
in the Northern Hemisphere.

Solstice Sigh

The sun today won’t take a hint,

It lingers long, with golden glint.

But I, moon-minded, seek the night,

With silver beams and softer light.

 

Let others praise this sunlit spree—

I’ll wait for dusk to comfort me.

For when the daylight starts to wane,

The moon and stars shall rise again.

Let's celebrate the moon. 😘 

Lunar Calendar Wheel Poster
created by Heart of the Earth Arts
Check out the artist on Instagram

Zoomed in on the present moment on the poster.
Northern Hemisphere Summer Solstice
June 20, 2025

I saw this poster advertised in the Old Farmer's Almanac and fell in love with it immediately. It's been up on my wall since early this year. It's a delightful way to see the lunar phases all year long. I double checked a few days with TimeAndDate.com and it's right on.

Critters and Stamps

It's especially fun when 2 hobbies align ... interest in wildlife and stamp collecting.  How do you like these First Day Covers from the 1981 American Wildlife series of US Postage stamps? Which one is your favorite? ...

Puma
[Click on image for better view.]

Bison

Brown Bear

Elk

Polar Bear

In 1981 first class postage in the United States was 18 cents from March to November. Each stamp above is 18 cents, and the postal cancel mark was added at Boise, Idaho.

One of my favorite "critter" stamps is the Forever issued in 2011 for Oweny, the Postal Service Dog. 

Read the history of Owney,
the Postal Dog and
Mascot of the Railway Mail Service

Before we leave the Critter department, a couple of recent shots of my hummers ...

Afternoon snack time.

Hummingbirds belong to the family Trochilidae,
which contains around 366 different species.
My hummers are known as Anna's.

On the Water

On an early, sunny morning, the Royal Caribbean
Anthem of the Seas arrives in Seattle.

After the ship docks, I put the binoculars on the ship.
Yes, the big screen is correct.  😊

From the Archives ...

I am so disappointed in my Government and the way they have been treating my favorite neighboring country:  Canada. To my many fellow bloggers in Canada ... one thing I know for sure ... Most Americans love Canada as I do. 

September 13, 2009, I visited Peace Arch Park 
on the US/Canada border north of Seattle.
The arch is an impressive sight with these words:
Children of a Common Mother

Closing thought from Farmer Frank found in the Old Farmer's Almanac ...

“I talk to the sun when I need sun. I talk to the clouds when I need clouds, and the rain, and the moon and the stars, I talk to all of Mother Nature’s creations. Sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn’t, but at least they know my intentions."  

Farmer Frank

Thanks for stopping by John's Island and a happy Summer to you. (Or Winter, if you're down South 😊)

Linking up with Eileen's Saturday's Critters. Check it out! 

Coastal Adventure - Part 2

Coastal Adventure - Part 2

My Coastal Adventure is a round-trip Seattle, Vancouver BC, San Francisco, San Diego, LA, and back to Seattle. In my previous post, I covered Part 1 - Seattle to Vancover by rail. Here, in Part 2, go along with me from Vancouver to San Francisco aboard ship.

Vancouver, BC to San Francisco, CA

The Pan Pacific Hotel is in the same complex
as the Vancouver Cruise Terminal
known as Canada Place. Note brilliant 
design to look similar to a ship.

After spending one night in the hotel, I'm up early for a cup of Canada's favorite coffee ... Tim Hortons. At Canada Place it's so easy to cross the street and enter the Waterfront Food Court where you'll find Tim Hortons, McDonalds, and many other food stands.

 

Holland America's Nieuw Amsterdam
 arriving at Canada Place.
Boardling begins around noon.

Walking around Canada Place and couldn't resist snapping
this picture of the flag.

We'll be aboard this ship for 5 days as she heads
south to San Diego. For the ship this voyage is called
a REPOSITIONING. All summer she has been carrying
passengers on weekly voyages to Alaska and back
to points in the Pacific Northwest. Now she'll be
heading south for the winter months.

This part of the Harbor is home to Harbor Air --
float plane service to nearby locations.

I'm on the starboard side of the ship. This shot is taken
as we depart about 4 PM. The building across the way was
built for the Olympics in 2010 and was used as the
Media Center.

As the ship departs, so do some float planes, part of
the Harbor Air fleet.

Don't miss the float planes that have just taken off
ahead of us. Note Lions Gate bridge ahead.

Lions Gate Bridge

Sunset, first day of the cruise.

2nd Day ... out for a walk on deck. You might think it
rained overnight ... actually the crew washed down the
deck during the night. We had great weather on
the entire cruise.

Shipboard activity results. 😂

Whoa! What's the above all about? Well, people are always asking me: What do you do on a cruise ship? My favorite thing, of course, is sitting on deck watch the ocean go by, but there there are folks always suggesting I take part in some of the organized ship activities. In this case, a lady was offering a class in artistic doodling. She provides the paper and pens and suggests we start doodling without thinking about it too much. After about 30 minutes, my result is what you see above. Ha Ha. I think it's kind of crazy, but the lady teaching the class thought it was "very interesting." And, honestly, it was fun. 

3rd Day ... afternoon walk on deck.
On this day the Captain told us we were about 52 miles
from the coast.

Early morning arrival in San Francisco just before dawn.
The Captain had reminded us to be ready to sail
under the Golden Gate bridge.

Sailing under the Golden Gate is spectacular.

The bridge is undergoing a major refurbishment.

Quick look back after passing under.

Arrival, San Francisco, dawn October 2nd

Comments are off until the final post of this series. Thank you for stopping by. Keep an eye out for Coastal Adventure - Part 3 - San Diego, The Surfliner, L.A., and The Coast Starlight to Seattle.