Category: Nature

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Saturday/ a new waterfront park 🏙️

The new elevated Waterfront Park here in the city opened yesterday.
The park is on the central waterfront by downtown Seattle and connects Pike Place Market and  downtown neighborhoods with the waterfront.
A few public art installations and a concessions area are still to be added, by early 2025.

This picture is from Friday, and from the Seattle Times. People wait to take to the Overlook Walk before the grand opening on the Seattle waterfront.
[Photograph by Kevin Clark / The Seattle Times]
The view from the uppermost deck across from Pike Place Market today, and I am looking more or less south to the Seattle Ferry Terminal in the distance, on the left and behind the Ferris wheel.
There are several winding staircases down to the lowest level where the piers are. The blue building is the old part of the Seattle Aquarium, and the structure clad with the wooden slats outside is the new extension of the Aquarium.
Looking up from one the decks halfway down. The newly routed Alaskan Way and Elliot Way meet here. The elevated Alaskan Way viaduct that used to run along here is now long gone (demolished in 2019).
Looking north towards the Port of Seattle Cruise Terminal (Pier 66). The Norwegian Bliss is about to depart for Alaska.
In the foreground Palestinian flags are being waved by anti-war protesters. Some signs read ‘No War in Iran’, as well.
This structure houses the new pavilion of the Seattle Aquarium. The wood-clad outside is meant to weather to a gray color, I believe.
At the entrance to the aquarium, prospective visitors get a glimpse into one of the large tanks.
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Saturday/ a spectacular night sky 🔭

Summer is officially over.
The fall equinox here in the Northern Hemisphere is at Sun, Sep 22, 2024, 5:43 AM Pacific Time.

Here’s a gorgeous aurora borealis picture taken near Near Magnuson Park, Seattle around midnight or in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.
[Posted by NWS Seattle @NWSSeattle at 1.35 am on Tuesday. I reduced the pixel size of the original picture]
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Tuesday/ urban raptor 🪶

I spotted this peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) today, in an open lot near Broadway & Republican Street here on Capitol Hill.
I think this one is a juvenile bird— it still had some downy feathers on its breast and underbelly.

Falcons have extraordinary speed and maneuverability, and hunt birds on the wing. Their prey also include bats, voles, lemmings, squirrels, rats and lizards.

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Friday/ watch out! 😲

Happy Friday The Thirteenth.
Below is a story of a harbor seal that was in the wrong place at the wrong time (but ended up being OK).

Photo by Brooke Casanova, Blue Kingdom Whale & Wildlife Tours (Pacific Whale Watch Association).

STRAIGHT OF JUAN DE FUCA, Wash. — An incredibly rare event was caught on camera Thursday in the Strait of Juan de Fuca: a humpback whale accidentally scooped up a seal while trying to snack on some fish.

Not to worry, though. The seal is unharmed.
According to the Pacific Whale Watch Association (PWWA), humpback whales eat small fish and krill, not seals.
While they have very large mouths, their throats are roughly the size of a grapefruit, so PWWA says they can’t swallow something as large as a seal.

A PWWA member company, Blue Kingdom Whale & Wildlife Tours from Anacortes snapped a photo of the very surprised seal in its jaws and shared it with KIRO 7.
The tour was watching humpback whale BCX1876 “Zillion” feed on a school of small bait fish at the time.
“The harbor seal was likely feeding on the same small fish and found itself in the wrong place at the wrong time,” PWWA said.
Zillion opened her jaw and lowered her head into the water so the seal could swim away.
“We occasionally see humpback whales get small birds stuck in their mouths while feeding, but a seal was a huge surprise,” PWWA said.
– Reported by By Lexi Herda, for KIRO 7 News in Seattle (here’s the link)

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Tuesday/ wave clouds 🌊

WHIDBEY ISLAND STATION, Wash. — Residents of and near Whidbey Island witnessed a weather phenomenon on Tuesday as “wave clouds” lined the horizon.

Kelvin-Helmholtz clouds or fluctus clouds, as the formations are named, are very rare over Washington, according to KING 5 Chief Meteorologist Mike Everett.
The clouds look like literal waves in the sky, a series of rounded crests that are worthy of a double-take.
Often referred to as “wave clouds,” the clouds signal a difference in wind speed and density between two layers.
– Reported by Olivia Sullivan for king5.com

“Wave” clouds, or Kelvin-Helmholtz clouds, seen from Whidbey Island toward Possession Point on Sept. 3.
[Photo courtesy of Cathy O’Keefe, posted on king5.com]
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Tuesday/ not too late for flowers 🌸

It’s getting late in summer, but I still find pretty flowers here in my neighborhood.

I thought this is a daisy, but no— it’s a single-flowered dahlia. The flower has a central disc with a single outer ring of florets (which may overlap) encircling it, and which may be rounded or pointed.
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Friday/ Mr Woodpecker 🪶

Is the woodpecker (it’s a northern flicker) eating ants? I wondered.
Yes, woodpeckers eat ants and are known to eat more ants than most other birds. 
Some woodpeckers, like the pileated woodpecker and northern flicker, can eat hundreds or even thousands of ants at once. 
– Natural Audubon Society

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Tuesday/ cooler weather prevails 🌥️

We had 18 consecutive days above 80°F (26°C) in the city by Sunday— a record number of consecutive days.
The run ended on Monday, which brought a high of only 68°F (20°C).

I found these lilies here on Capitol Hill during my walk tonight.
If I have it right, these are Lily Muscadet or Lily Oriental Muscadet, a cross between a Korean and a Japanese lily.
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Monday/ sunny and dry ☀️

There was cloud cover this morning, but it was gone by late morning.
Today was the 12th day in a row with a high 80°+ (27°C+) recorded at Sea-Tac.
(The record is 15 days in a row, and it will be broken).
There has also been no rain in July, and we have a real shot at reaching the end of July with no rain at all.
Normally, July ends with about 0.67″ of recorded rain.

What has been the driest July on record? I wondered.
Here is what the Office of the Washington State Climatologist says about July 1960:
‘All of the climate divisions of the state were exceedingly dry in July 1960 (ranging from 0.01” in the Puget Sound Lowlands to 0.05” in the East Slopes Cascades region).
Some stunningly low amounts of precipitation occurred in spots that normally get a fair amount of rain.
For example, in the coastal region of WA, Forks checked in with only 0.04” and Hoquiam got completely shut out with 0.00”.
The 1981-2010 climate normal for Forks and Hoquiam in July is 2.47 and 1.14”, respectively’.

These daisies here on Capitol Hill are looking good, in spite of the warm weather and lack of rain.
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Thursday/ mail from China 🇨🇳

Stamps (from South Africa) that I had bought in March (on Ebay) from a seller in China, showed up in my mailbox today.

The sender used a greeting card envelope with a preprinted red stamp on (far right).
The cancellation mark shows that the envelope was sent on June 14 from the city Anqing (pop. 4 million) in Anhui province.
Anqing is some 250 mi due east of Shanghai.
My name and address were very neatly written in print style.
At the end, a nice reminder for me as to how to write ‘USA’ in Chinese: 美国 Měi guó (or ‘Beautiful country’, literally translated).
Let’s take a closer look at the stamps:
Insects (II)  
From a set of 4 stamps issued Aug. 23, 2023 by China Post in the People’s Republic of China
Perf. 13 with syncopated perf. left and right edge (one larger hole) |40 x 30 mm |Offset lithography printing
Colnect Code:CN 2023.08.23-01 |80 分 (fēn) |Multi-colored |Atlas moth (Attacus Atlas)
Special Greeting Card Stamp
Issued Aug. 8, 2013 by China Post in People’s Republic of China
Perf. Die Cut 13½ x 13 with syncopated perf. left and right edge (one larger hole) |30 x 30 mm |Photogravure printing
Cat.Code Mi:CN 4501 |3 ¥ (yuan) |Multi-colored |Bamboo plant
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Saturday/ drive to Port Townsend 🏰

We drove up to Port Townsend from Hansville today— about an hour’s drive.

Port Townsend (pop. 10,148) is a city on the Quimper Peninsula (on the greater Olympic Peninsula) in Jefferson County. 
[From Wikipedia]
The view this morning from Hansville on the Kitsap Peninsula across Hood Canal at low tide. Across the canal is the Olympic Peninsula, with the Olympic mountains in the distance.
Crossing the Hood Canal Floating Bridge (constructed in 1961) to get to the Olympic Peninsula.
A quick stop at the Chimacum Corner farmstand and nursery, on the way to Port Townsend.
These are Sunny Days Ruby Echinacea, basking in the sun.
We stopped by Saturday’s farmer’s market in Port Townsend.
This little marina is by Sea J’s Cafe just south of Port Townsend’s downtown.
This is the beach at Point Hudson, with Whidbey Island in the distance.
The pebble and stone beach at Point Hudson also features a few uprooted trees and driftwood.
For thousands of years before the settlers came to Port Townsend, the S’Klallam (“strong”) people lived in villages along the north coast of the Olympic Peninsula.
These little wildflowers by Point Hudson are mallows (Malva sylvestris).
The Mount Baker Building in downtown Port Townsend was built in 1889 and renovated in 1999. It was sold in 2020 for $6.8 million.
At the time of its construction, negotiations were underway for the railroad to link Port Townsend to the rest of the country. Real estate price skyrocketed, the population of the town doubled, and Port Townsend dubbed itself “The Inevitable New York.” The railroad never arrived and the boom went bust. As a result, Port Townsend was left with many spectacular buildings and residences, some of which were never finished.
The James & Hastings Building with its carved stone trimmings from the Victorian era was built in 1889, and restored in the 1990s and early 2002.  It is at the corner of Tyler Street and Water Street.
The ornate N.D. Hill Building (constructed 1889) at 635 Water Street was designed by noted Seattle architect Elmer H. Fisher.
It is principally Italianate in design, but also shows Grecian and Romanesque influences.
Here is the elegant four-story Hastings Building at 839 Water Street— built in the Victorian style, and completed in 1890.
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Friday/ Mr Squirrel 🐿

Happy Friday.
I am on Kitsap Peninsula with my amigos.
Here’s a Douglas squirrel (Tamiasciurus douglasii) that looked down at us from its perch in a western hemlock (fir tree). These little brown squirrels are different from the Western gray squirrels we have in the city. 

Later on it sat on a tree down on the embankment, and we could see it from above (thanks to Bryan for the picture).

 

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Friday/ coming up roses 🌹

You’ll be swell! You’ll be great!
Gonna have the whole world on a plate!
Starting here, starting now,
honey, everything’s coming up roses!
– From Stephen Sondheim’s lyrics for Everything’s Coming Up Roses, written for the 1959 Broadway musical Gypsy.

Happy Friday.
It’s Memorial Day weekend here in the US.
It’s been a while, but the little rose bush in my front yard has roses again.

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Wednesday/ snack time

From today’s Seattle Times
Photographer: Robert Denney
Photo taken: March 30, 2024, at the Center for Urban Horticulture wetlands, near Husky Stadium.
Photographer’s description: “Herons are great. I came upon this heron at the Center for Urban Horticulture. He/she let me get pretty close, and we bonded. It fished while I photographed. In the span of about an hour, it got a pretty good meal of three or four little fish. The center is a lovely place to roam and see birdlife.”