Late Summer

Eye on the Water 

Actually, I am not on the waterfront but this is when
a camera with good optical zoom comes in handy.
I like the critter on the sail.

Just curious!
🠞[Click on image to see a larger image.]🠜
This is a barge leaving Seattle on the way to Alaska.
The trip takes about one week.
Notice rail cars on the bottom level,
trucks and trailers on the top.
Can you imagine the cost of shipping?
Notice the green containers with letters AML
The barge is operated by Alaska Marine Lines.
See this LINK if you're curious how this all works
or perhaps want to ship a vehicle.

This little vessel is known as a Pilot boat.
Most large ships that enter and leave Port of Seattle have 
a Pilot aboard. The Pilot is familiar with local 
waters and helps the Captain of the ship
with safe navigation. The Pilot boat delivers the Pilot to
ships approaching Seattle or takes them off once they
have left Puget Sound.

I'm going to title this Fill-er-UP
This is a refueling barge on the way to refuel
one of the cruise ships docked at Pier 91.
Do you have any idea how many gallons of 
fuel a cruise ship uses on, let's say a voyage from
Seattle to Ketchikan, Alaska?
Web research says about 65,000 to 70,000
gallons of marine diesel and at today's US 
National Average price, about $3.71/gallon,
that would add up to about $259,700.
And that's just a couple of days of cruising. 😂

Here is the Lauren Foss tug.
Puget Sound - Foss Maritime Company
Foss is probably the biggest marine services company
in Seattle. One thing I love about them is the way
they name all their vessels after members of
the Foss family.

Loved seeing this RED SAIL sailboat.
An unusual spotting.
A marina full of sailboats is in my view.
In the next image below you can see a
portion of the Marina full of sailboats. A
group of enthusiasts like to get out on their
boats on Thursday evenings.

Talking about sailboats ... This vessel with super tall masts
is currently docked at the Marina. I snapped this picture on
a somewhat hazy/smoky morning but you get a good
view of the boat. The tallest mast is 205 feet!  I discovered
that by looking up the vessel online and, for Seattle, it
has quite the interesting name ... SEAHAWK. By
the way, it's interesting to compare the size of the 
Seahawk to the more ordinary sailboats
docked beyond it.

Stamps

12 Years of Critters - Chinese Zodiac

The Chinese zodiac, also known as Shengxiao 
(“born resembling”), is a repeating cycle of 12 years,
 with each year represented by a different animal.

What you're looking at is called a First Day Cover.
As you may know, John collects stamps.
The USPS issues stamps to celebrate all
sorts of special occasions. On the first day
a stamp is issued, postal collectors will be
at a Post Office to buy the new stamp and
place it on a special envelope. The special 
envelopes are often created by artists such as
the ones you see here. 

Note:  As a hobby, I've been collecting stamps longer than blogging. To me, one of the most interesting parts of stamp collecting is finding these First Day Covers aka FDCs.  The FDCs give you the stamp, the date it was first issued, and usually, some art work related to the reason for issuing the stamp.

Over time I've added all 12 special stamps
and First Day Covers celebrating the Chinese
Zodiac to my collection,  The one above
is the Year of the Tiger ... stamp issued 1998,
in Seattle, Washington.

In 1999 the postal rate for First Class increased to
33 cents. This FDC was postmarked in Los Angeles
on January 5, 1999. It was the beginning of the 
Year of the Hare (some call it Rabbit).

The first day of issue for the Year of the Dragon
stamp was January 6, 2000. How do you like
the artwork?

Number 6 in the Chinese Zodiac is the Year
of the Snake. The stamp rate was 34 cents.
This one is postmarked Oakland, California, on
January 20, 2001.
By the way, 2025 is a Year of the Snake! 

The Year of the Horse was celebrated with a 
new stamp on February 11, 2002 and this one
was postmarked New York, NY.

In 2003, the postal rate increased again, this time
up to 37 cents. The USPS celebrated the Year of the
Ram (some call it Goat) on January 15, 2003.

Year of the Monkey, postmarked January 13, 2004,
in San Francisco, California.

The 10th year of celebration in the Chinese Zodiac
is called the Year of the Rooster. To see the stamp
that celebrated the Rooster we have to go back to 
1992 when the Rooster stamp was issued on
December 30th in San Francisco, California.

The Year of the Dog, issued February 5, 1994,
in Pomona, California.

Last Chinese Zodiac animal is the Boar (or, as some
call it, Pig). The Boar stamp was issued December 30,
1994 in Sacramento, California.

I'm linking up with Saturday's Critters.
If you enjoyed the Chinese Zodiac critters,
you will love Saturday's Critters.
Check it out!

The Latest from my Niece!

Emma shares my fascination with stamps.
She recently sent me some stamps she
bought with her own money. I told her 
not to do that as I don't want her
spending her $ on me! 😊
By the way, her card has an embossed image
of a postal delivery van ... very nice, Emma!

Yes, this is a sheet of stamps issued by the 
USPS in celebration of their 250th Anniversary
of Delivering.  Like Emma said,
there's a lot to look for here.
There are 20 FOREVER stamps on the sheet.

My Newest Old Book

Roscoe Misselhorn's Pencil Sketches of
American Steam Trains
Published 1976 by Riverside Press
(49 years ago.)

This is a really LARGE book.
$1 bill added for SCALE.

Roscoe was a railfan and a pencil sketch artist.

Plate #6 of 33

Plate #17 of 33
How do you like his art?

Back Cover
A downside to this book is ... where will it fit 
in the library?

Skies

What do you think about these STRANGE clouds?
It was early morning and most of the sky
was covered with overcast.
These clouds reminded me of a chevron pattern
like you might see on clothing or a rug.
But what caused it in the sky?
Let me know if you have any ideas.

Looking out over Puget Sound on colorful
clouds just after sunset.

Fantastic photography!
This is an award winner in Dark Sky photography as
seen in the Dark Sky website. Well worth your time
to check out the photos. No, none of them are
mine 😊 but I love them and had to share with you.

I found this cloud to be fascinating.
At first, I thought I was seeing rain fall out of the cloud.
But now, I'm thinking it's just the wind blowing the
formation of the cloud into new directions.
If you're into clouds, what are your thoughts?

I'll close my "Clouds" section with this image captured
just after sunrise a few days ago. I had been sitting on my
deck watching the dawn with a cup of coffee. 😊
Suddenly I noticed this cloud formation and almost
thought I could see a FACE in it.  Let me know if
you can see it!

Closing thoughts …

#1

When your Middle School Sixth Grade
has a Web Day you know the
Internet is now a part of our lives. 😊

#2

Thanks for stopping by John's Island. I appreciate your comments. Feel free to copy anything and share it anywhere. Just so you know, I'm not standing by with a bunch of lawyers ready to sue you for copying my images! 😊 Lastly, I've been slowing down on publishing new posts recently. I'm getting pretty close to a thousand posts since starting back in 2010. Lately I've found some social media to be discouraging, so I've been cutting back on it. Take care out there and be well!

John

★★ Post #978 since December 28, 2010 ★★

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!