Summer is "taking off" today just like this Great Blue Heron I recently spotted on one of my waterfront walks.
As I'm preparing this post, I have just a couple of hours until the Official beginning of Summer, also known as the Summer Solstice. Maximum daylight in the Northern Hemisphere and minimum daylight in the Southern Hemisphere. After today, the days will get shorter every day until the Winter Solstice in December.
Have you ever had this happen ... While working on some storage, taking pictures of boxes, and stuff in them, I had my camera set to capture the smallest size image since I didn't need a lot of detail. Then, I FORGOT to reset the camera for high quality images while on my walk. That's what happened with the Heron photos. So, sorry the quality isn't great, but I like those pics enough to share them anyway. 😊
More Birds
Taken through my kitchen window, I believe this is an American Bushtit. He/she was sitting in a bush (naturally enough) and kept chattering to me while I was trying to cook up dinner. Finally, I grabbed the camera and snapped a photo. She/he seemed happy about that.
Mr and Mrs Mallard seen down at the waterfront.
Count 'em ... 6 Males and Females side by side. Mallards in resting mode.
One day I was leaving home for an errand when I happened to look just along the driveway and spotted the pretty plant on the left. I thought to myself, wow, nature is so amazing producing that pretty little plant between a concrete wall and a concrete driveway. I guess nature was listening ... A few days later I looked at the same spot and nature had added some pretty yellow blooms. Nature is amazing!
Totem pole honoring the American Natives who lived here by the Seattle waterfront before it was even a city. A pretty morning indeed.
Yesterday (June 19th) while out in the neighborhood, I happened to notice this "round-about" and thought, wow, what a nice job someone did planting the flowers. Someone deserves a high-five for this!
If you live in Seattle, I hope you enjoy clouds. I do love them and on this day just had to snap a picture. Clouds over Puget Sound. June 16, 2024
Marine Activity
Spotted on my waterfront walk, these are vessels taking tourists for a ride around Elliott Bay.
On the left, spotted from home, a giant crane being moved around by 2 tugs. On the right, the Pacific Arrow, a vessel that moves Pilots around and takes care of Official Port Business.
The cruise ship season is well underway. I like to be up early and enjoy a cup of coffee watching the ships arrive. Most of these ships are doing round-trips to Alaska. This vessel is the Ovation of the Seas.
Closing thought ...
I receive a daily email with "inspirational" quotations. I thought this one was kind of strange. I mean, you do know the story of Amelia Earhart, don't you?
At 7:57AM, this morning in Seattle, Washington, USA, the moment of Solstice will occur. Today's sunlight is ... 15 hours, 54 minutes, 10 seconds ... the exact amount of time between sunrise and sunset in Seattle. Tomorrow will actually be 3 seconds shorter and everyday will continue to get shorter until the December Solstice.
The June solstice is the moment the Sun is directly above the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere. This is the northernmost latitude it reaches during the year. After the solstice, it begins moving south again.
Since the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun in June, it receives more sunlight during the course of a day. The North Pole's tilt toward the Sun is greatest at the solstice, so this event marks the longest day of the year north of the equator.
This effect is greatest in locations that are farther away from the equator. In tropical areas, the longest day is just a little longer than 12 hours; in the temperate zone, it is significantly longer; and places within the Arctic Circle experience Midnight Sun or polar day, when the Sun does not set at night.
Cottonwood Nature Experiment
Cottonwood trees are plentiful in the Pacific Northwest. Recently, out on a walk, cottonwood seeds floated around me almost looking like snow. This year the trees seemed to have an extra abundance of seeds and the scene, like a snow in June, piqued my curiosity. I wondered, of the millions of seeds, what percentage actually germinate and establish a new Cottonwood tree. I decided to try a Nature Experiment and see if I could get some trees started. Here are a few pictures telling the story ... [PS I'll be the first to acknowledge that most humans find these trees annoying when the seeds begin to fall. However, for me, nature's amazing method of propagating the trees overcomes the annoyance.]
Cottonwood seeds floating away from the the tree that produced them.
Lots of seeds on this tree. Ready to drift away.
Each seed is attached to a bit of fuzz that looks just like cotton. They drift slowly away from the parent tree.
Seeds accumulate along walkways.
Seeds are produced in bunches on little stems.
A cottonwood leaf and a couple of seeds.
A handful of seeds.
One tiny seed.
2 days after planting the seeds and keeping them watered.
7 days after planting the seeds. Cottonwood trees on the way!
14 days after planting. Be sure to see the large view. Slow but on the way.
21 days after planting. Note how the tiny leaves have already started to get that jagged edge.
Here is the goal ... Get the seedlings up a couple of inches and transplant them to a location riverside, where, hopefully they will thrive. [In this photo from the web, note how the tiny seedlings look. I'm amazed at how many germinated!]
June 7th - Kilauea
Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupted on June 7 [Screenshot from AccuWeather]
2 Months of Change on Waterfront Walk
Around April 1 the powers in control buzzed away most of the vegetation at this popular spot on the walk.
I am amazed at how fast the plants and grass have come back.
Natural Wonders
Mt Rainier as seen from the waterfront walk. The mountain is about 50 miles away. June 4, 2023
At an intersection near home. Yes, another Natural Wonder, in my mind. This is a busy street, but at the moment, I was stopped at a traffic signal. I happened to notice this little spot and what nature had done with it. It's kind of like a message to humans ... throw it at me and I'll clean it up. Thank you, Nature!
A few ship pics just for fun ...
I like this picture ... it's a nice view of scale ... the average sailboat vs the MSC Container ship.
I like this picture ... it's something I see almost every Sunday morning. A tug pulling a barge from Alaska. I'm always curious about how a tug Captain decides how long the tow will be to the barge. This one is several hundred feet.
Busy weekend afternoon in the port of Seattle. In front ... Discovery Princess Next ... Holland America's Nieuw Amsterdam Next ... A bulk carrier at anchor, in process of refueling Out in the middle of The Sound ... The Victoria Clipper Near center ... mast of M5 ... see next picture.
The M5 -- World's tallest single-masted sailing yacht! This is the 2nd year the M5 has visited Seattle. See YouTube video below for details. [Not my video but I really like it. 😊 ]
20 Years Ago
I've kept most of my digital photos since 2001, a decade before starting John's Island. So, I've decided to go back and pick out some memories to share over the next few posts. The following four pics are all from 20 years ago, 2003 ...
Seattle skyline from Kerry Park February, 2003
Enjoyed a stay in Hawaii March, 2003
Visited Yellowstone National Park and snapped this photo of Great Falls of the Yellowstone July, 2003
Discovered a Rattlesnake while in Montana July, 2003 [Added this pic for my ticket to link up with Saturday's Critters. Check it out!]
Closing Thought ...
“Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change.”
