Last Dahlias 2016

Those of you who have been keeping an eye on John's Island will probably remember our visits to the Dahlia Garden at Seattle's Volunteer Park. Our last visit for this year took place on Tuesday, October 11th, and here are some snaps showing how the dahlias looked on that day ...

[Click on image for larger view]

Previous posts this year on our visits to the Puget Sound Dahlia Garden … First look … second visit … third visit.

If you have a favorite please let us know in with a comment.

Beyond dahlias ...

Fall colors ...

These snaps are all within the last week.

Ships spotted ...

In our last post we shared the photo below of the CMA CGM Dalila arriving in the predawn darkness on Friday.

CMA CGM Dalila
Arriving in predawn darkness.
Friday, October 7th  5:30 AM

We got lucky and happened to have the camera at hand when we noticed the same ship departing with a new load of containers on Monday afternoon. Yes, yes, we know the name of the ship is close to the name of the flowers we featured above ... just a coincidence! :-) Anyway, we thought it was an unusually long time in port ... 4 days ... for this ship. It seems like the turn-around for most large container ships is closer to 2 or 3 days.

CMA CGM Dalila
Departing at sunset.
Monday, October 10th  6:30 PM

Coast Guard Cutter
October 11th  8:51 AM
Bainbridge Island in the distance.

Cap Jervis Container Vessel
Owned and operated by Hamburg Süd Liner Services
Flies the flag of Liberia
Arriving Seattle
October 12th  1:37 PM

October 14th  12:58 PM
Smaller container vessel arriving during our wind storm.
Note "white caps" on Puget Sound

Two for One
It's unusual to catch ships passing out in the Sound.
Hanjin northbound, Matson southbound.
October 13th  9:45  AM
  

Hanjin Seattle Container Vessel
Arriving Seattle October 14th
This vessel seemed unusually close to the Marina,
especially considering our significant wind storm!

Postcards for the Weekend ...

It's time to link up again with Maria's Connections to the World and Postcards for the Weekend. This week's theme:  children/child. Here's what we found in the collection ...

That's right:  Four happy babies!

Oh Willy!

Publication date for these postcards is probably around 1900 to 1910. The back of the cards indicate they were published in Germany and are part of a series 7662. These are embossed cards. Be sure to check out other Postcards for the Weekend from other bloggers.

While we are smiling, let us recommend a video ...

We would like to thank Bethany Carson, who publishes the blog Today Liberty or Death, and one of her followers, Martha, who publishes Plowing Through Life, for bringing to our attention the video below. Watch this for some smiles and truth! The Restaurant of Life ...

Skies ...

We can't close with a few sky photos ... hope you enjoy!

October 11th sunset   6:33 PM
Southern portion of Olympic Mtns in far distance.
Looking out over Puget Sound.

Our sky photos were taken earlier in the week. This morning, Friday, we are in the midst of the first significant storm of autumn. Lots of rain, heavy at times, last night. Our barometer dropped rapidly but is now on the rise at about 7 am. Wind gusts have created power outages around the metro area but we have been lucky so far. An even stronger storm, remnants of a typhoon, is forecast to come through on Saturday. Be sure to check out more sky photos on Skywatch Friday

Eye of the storm?
Friday afternoon, October 14th
Wow, it has been WINDY today!

Mountain Silhouette
October 11th  6:35 PM
Olympic Mountains from Seattle, Washington

Closing thought ...
There is no coming to heaven with dry eyes.
     Thomas Fuller

Presidents

The current drama surrounding the US Presidental Election made us want to see what we could find in our collection that might, for a few moments, turn our attention to the "good ol' days" of politics. (Was there really such a thing?) We found four mini-sheets of stamps issued by the Postal Service in 1986 featuring all deceased Presidents as of 1986. We think these are old enough to allow us to feel fairly nonpartisan about this post. How about that?

The stamps were issued to coincide with the International Philatelic Exhibition which took place in Chicago in 1986 and is referred to as AMERIPEX '86.

AMERIPEX '86 Presidents Stamps ...

[Click on images for larger view]

In the Chicago Tribune, May 16, 1986, David Prescott wrote: "It`s the largest stamps show ever held in the United States. The International Philatelic Exhibition (AMERIPEX `86) is expected to attract more than 100,000 visitors during its 11-day run. In addition to lectures, demonstrations and exhibits, almost every prominent stamp dealer in the world will be represented at the show. More than 125 countries will have displays, and 58 countries have appointed commissioners to represent their nation`s collectors."

"On May 22, 1986, the Postal Service released a series of postage stamps with a portrait of a past U.S. President inscribed upon each one. The series of 36 stamps were issued in four separate mini-sheets, with nine stamps to the sheet, each stamp having a denomination of 22 cents. All of the presidents who were deceased at the time were included, and several of the issues honor presidents who had never appeared on a U.S. commemorative stamp before. On 'sheet IV' the stamp in the middle depicts the White House entrance." Wikipedia

In 2011 The American Philatelic Society (think: stamp collecting) celebrated its 125th Anniversary. Here are some screen captures from their publication celebrating the Anniversary and related to AMERIPEX '86 ...

Beyond Stamps ...

A couple of maritime pics ...

CVN 74 - USS John C Stennis
October 5th  9:52 AM
Enroute Bremerton?

Late morning on October 5th we just happened to glance out and see CVN 74 heading southbound, apparently returning to Bremerton, WA, after departing on September 27th. Although the ship was a long way from our deck, we were happy to get this photo, and had to smile when we zoomed in on the capture. How about the jet on the deck ... and the 12 flag? For those of you who don't follow American football, the 12 flag is flown by fans of the NFL Seattle Seahawks.

Lastly, the CMA CGM Dalila container ship arrived on Friday morning, October 7th, about 5:30 AM. In the summer, the sun would have been up, but now, with the shorter days of Autumn, it's dark, it was raining lightly, and quite chilly. The picture just kind of says "cold" and had us wondering what it's like to be aboard one of these vessels in the Northern Hemisphere winter months plying back and forth from Seattle to Asia.

CMA CGM Dalila in the predawn darkness.
October 7th   5:30 AM

Closing thought ...
Part of me is still waiting to grow up, to be an adult, and the other part knows there is no such thing.
     Richard Dreyfuss

(PS Thanks for your comments about the closing thought. It seems to take longer than I would have expected to find one that seems appropriate, depending on the mood I'm in. At least one of you mentioned it would be a challenge and that is turning out to be correct!)

Postcards for the Weekend #2

Blogging friend, Maria, of Connections to the World, has started a new linky party: Postcards for the Weekend. She has invited all postcard lovers to share their cards under an assigned theme each weekend. This weekend's theme is: Postal/mail related items. We hope Maria will allow flexibility for us to share the following item although not technically a postcard, but definitely postal related.

One of our favorites is from 1962 ... 

First Day Cover
First Day of Issue
Seattle World's Fair
April 25, 1962

We didn't surprise you with that one, did we? A hometown item, just 54 years old. April 25, 1962, was the First Day of Issue for the Seattle World's Fair stamp ... and what a bargain ... just 4 cents!

OK, here is a POSTCARD, first day card ...

First Day Card
Australian Antarctic Territory
March 27, 1957

Linking up with Connections to the World.  Thanks, Maria, for hosting!

Beyond postcards ...

The Seattle World's Fair item above encouraged us to post one of our recent photos of the city from Kerry Park ... most tours of the city stop here for the unusually good overview. The Space Needle, of course, was built for the Fair and continues to be the icon for Seattle.

Seattle from Kerry Park
October 5th  4:53 PM
[Click on image for larger view]

Can't resist giving you an update on the trees in our neighborhood.

Signs of Fall
October 1st  3:21 PM

Closing thought ...

I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strange, I am ungrateful to these teachers.
     Khalil Gibran

The Invictus waits for You

The Invictus is a Charter Yacht. You can see her (bottom left) in the photo below taken yesterday evening. She is still docked at the Marina today so possibly waiting for the next charter to begin. Could it be you? If interested, check out her website. The currently posted rate is a cool $476,000 per week PLUS expenses.

Invictus Yacht at Elliott Bay Marina
with a RORO moving north in Puget Sound
Wednesday evening, October 5th

Cloudy sunset later in the evening.
Olympic Mountains in the distance.

Last night's crescent moon.
Waxing, about 26%

Two well known places.
In the distance: Mt Rainier sporting a "Cloud Cap"
Nearer large building to the left: Starbucks Headquarters
Photo snapped September 10th  1:32 PM

We definitely have some exceptional followers. Thank you for your comments yesterday about reading the blog.

Closing thought:
Conduct is more convincing than language.
     John Woolman

The New Blue North

The Blue North is a brand new "longline" fishing vessel christened in Seattle at Fisherman's Terminal on September 9th, 2016, and we stopped by to get some photos ...

Blue North Longliner Fishing Vessel
Fisherman's Terminal, Seattle
September, 2016

Note the tent on the left.
Preparations for Christening Ceremony on Sept. 9th

View from Ballard Bridge shows preparations for
celebration.

Size of these ships can't be appreciated until you are up close!

We didn't really know how a longliner operated and what made it different that other ocean fishing vessels. We found this illustration on the web which is good about giving you the concept. Personally, we like this a lot better than the big nets that trap the whales and dolphins.

Illustration from the web showing how
longline fishing works.

The President and CEO of Blue North Fishing, Kenny Downs, posted this YouTube about the christening and how the Blue North would be an environmentally friendly vessel ...

Other Maritime ...

China Shipping Line heading out of Puget Sound
with a pretty big load of containers.
Oct 4th  6:31 PM

Holland America's Nieuw Amsterdam in port
with a crescent moon setting behind.
Oct 2nd  7:37 PM

CVN 68 Leaving Seattle area Oct 5th
USS Nimitz - Nuclear Powered Aircraft Carrier
Named for Admiral Chester W Nimitz

Sky photo ...

Colorful Clouds
September 29th  6:59 PM

Other considerations ...

We like blogs that give us a thought for the day. We'll throw in some for a while and see it how goes. Let us know if you like them. One thing we believe ... most folks don't READ a blog. They just look at the pictures. Do you agree? If you are still reading this, you are exceptional! :-)

Today's thought:

Truth exists; only falsehood has to be invented.
   Georges Braque

Postcards for the Weekend #1

From our old postcard collection ...

Blogging friend, Maria, of Connections to the World, has started a new linky party: Postcards for the Weekend. She has invited all postcard lovers to share their cards under an assigned theme each weekend. This weekend's theme is Domesticated Animals. For details on the new linky see this page on Maria’s blog.

We searched our collection and came up with ...

Cats on a Wheel

"The Cake Walk"
Are these "wild" bears or what?

"Can You Bear It?"
From an old series on daily chores.
Domesticated?  :-)

Linking up with Connections to the World.   Thanks, Maria, for hosting!
Just realized this post should work on Saturday's Critters too ... Thanks for hosting Eileen!