a weblog of whereabouts & interests, since 2010
Happy Friday.
There was rain on and off today here in the city in Seattle, with a high 59°F (15°C). That is a far cry from the blazing sun and 100°F (38°C) highs we had in Palm Springs.
We started out in Bend, Oregon, a little after 8 am this morning.
We first stopped by the very last Blockbuster video rental store in all of the United States (and all of the world, in fact). We made another stop at the spectacular Smith Rock State Park.
After that we made our way north and west to Ellensburg, and across Snoqualmie Pass to Seattle.
There was a half inch of rain on Friday here in the city, with the weekend clear and cool (high today 63°F/ 17°C).
The sunset picture is from Friday (sunset at 7.00 pm) and the picture of Miller playfield here on Capitol Hill, is from Saturday.
Happy Tuesday, and happy autumn equinox here from north of the equator!
Our Sun is crossing the equator into the Southern Hemisphere right this minute as I post this— at 5.04 pm Pacific Daylight Time.
Here is the last of today’s sunlight on the Volunteer Park Conservatory.
Nearby, the dahlia garden is still in peak bloom.
The flower beds have rounded pompon varieties and dramatic cactus dahlias, which stand out with their narrow, pointed petals.
Happy Friday.
It’s the last weekend of summer here in the northern latitudes.
Sunset is now at 7.15 pm.
The city of Seattle had half an inch of rain on Sunday, and the days are cooler now: a high 67°F (19 °C) today.
The first of the leaves have started to fall from the trees, but asters and daisies are still out— splotches of lavender, lilac and pinks.
Happy Friday.
It is Labor Day Weekend here in the United States: the unofficial end of summer.
There was a little rain on Tuesday and Wednesday here in the city (0.2 in) and mild temperatures all week (high 60s, about 19 °C).
The hardy plumbago (leadwort) on my back porch has bloomed, the way it does every year, late summer and into fall.
I opted for the Seattle Public Library (instead of the bookstore) for my book fix today.
Notes for the pictures:
Black Tesla Model Y photobombs my picture of the William Kenzo Nakamura United States Courthouse on 6th Avenue.
The Courthouse is a federal courthouse and primarily used by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. It was completed in 1940.
I am not sure why the 13-star flag (for the original 13 colonies, used 1777-1795) is on the courthouse— possibly to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. (Any past official national flag can be legally flown or exhibited for historical and patriotic displays.)
Flags are flying at half-staff to honor the life and memory of country music legend and philanthropist Dolly Parton, who passed away Tuesday at the age of 80.
The yellow Lamborghini is a Lamborghini Huracán Spyder (the convertible Huracán, which is Spanish for hurricane).
Near the Hotel Sorrento off Madison Street is where I caught the G-line bus on the way back. The Hotel Sorrento was completed in 1909 and is Seattle’s longest-operating boutique hotel.
Gas prices are still high. The war with Iran is now 6 months old. The Strait of Hormuz is still closed, despite the insistence of the White House that it is ‘open’.
Here are my amateur photos of tonight’s partial lunar eclipse, taken at my house from an upstairs window.
Here in Seattle the eclipse was already underway by sunset.
The moon was low in the sky, looking east-southeast.
As darkness fell, the moon rose higher, and more of it was obscured by Earth’s shadow until it was 95% in the dark by 9.12 pm.
The last photo is a little overexposed, and the light speck below the moon is an airplane.
The days are getting shorter, and we today brought the last of the 8 o’clock sunsets (or later) for 2026, here in Seattle.
It felt like fall this morning, with a few raindrops that came down.
Later on the sun came out and the high reached 74°F (23 °C) here in the city.
I found these chrysanthemums here on Capitol Hill today.
The name “chrysanthemum” is derived from the Ancient Greek: χρυσός chrysos (gold) and ἄνθεμον anthemon (flower).
Happy Friday.
Here is tonight’s sunset, seen from East Mercer St and 13th Avenue East. (Sunset is now at 8.10 pm.)
I took these pictures at the south end of Lake Union this afternoon.
We have had a long stretch of tranquil summer weather here in the city and school is still out.
So there were paddle boards, kayaks, sailboats, motor boats and float planes out and about on the water.
Happy Friday.
The smoke has returned here, to the west of the Cascade Mountains, but the worst of it lies at 5,000 ft or higher.
The day-time highs here in the city have been right around the average for August this week: high 70s with 80°F (27°C) today.
Happy Friday.
It was a warm-ish day (83°F/ 28°C) here in the city, but there was a breeze around this morning and tonight.
The smoky air has cleared somewhat.
The wildfires on the outskirts of Spokane burnt down several hundred structures and forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate.
Surface smoke from all the fires reached the Seattle area today and will hang around through Thursday.
The Blue Angels did fly today, to close out the Seafair Festival weekend.
I had my big digital camera at the ready to take a few pictures from the bedroom upstairs.
The last picture shows all six aircraft in the squad, with the numbers on their tail fins.
The U.S. Navy Blue Angels air show was cancelled today, due to dangerous wind conditions. (Wind speeds on Saturday afternoon were about 17-23 mph, with frequent gusts of 28-31 mph.)
The organizers are confident that there will be a show on Sunday and will Saturday tickets for Sunday.
These two pictures are from my after-dinner walk tonight.
