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Friday 12.03 am/ the lunar eclipse 🌑

Here are my (totally amateur) pictures of tonight’s total lunar eclipse*.
I used my Canon EOD 7D Mk II digital camera and EF-S 18-135mm lens with image stabilizer.
I just cropped the full size of the pictures from 5472×3648 pixels down to 2000×1500 pixels but otherwise the photos are as recorded by the camera.

*A total lunar eclipse occurs when the sun, Earth and moon align in space with Earth in the middle, leading it to cast a shadow on the moon. During that time, the moon appears to turn a reddish hue, which is why the event is sometimes referred to as a “blood moon.” – nbcnews.com

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Thursday/ at the carwash 🚙 💦

It was time to take my nifty blue car to the Brown Bear carwash today.
I bought the car in 2021, but now, in 2025, I see that some people like to call my car a swasticar.
(Why? On Jan. 20, while speaking at a rally celebrating U.S. president Donald Trump’s second inauguration, Tesla CEO Elon Musk twice made a salute interpreted by some as a Nazi or the fascist Roman salute.
As a result, flyers in San Francisco, and memes on X— by the so-called Tesla Takedown movement— now refer to Teslas as swasticars.)

Not a welcome situation for Tesla owners. Really not welcome at all— and as I was driving to the car wash, I told myself to just flatly ignore anyone yelling at me, or showing me a middle finger.

At Brown Bear Carwash off Leary Way in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood. The wash went without a hitch, and nobody yelled at me. I had just dried the carwash droplets from the car though, when it started raining. No sweat. Not a problem.
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Wednesday/ bald eagle 🦅

Just as I walked by St. Joseph Parish church here on Capitol Hill tonight just before 6 o’clock, a bald eagle landed on the bell tower.
It surveyed the surroundings from there for just a few minutes and then took off.

A bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) on the bell tower of St. Joseph Parish church. Bald eagles have a lifespan of 20-30 years in the wild.

From Google Search Labs | AI Overview:
Washington state’s wintering bald eagle population, comprising resident breeders and seasonal migrants, is growing and is estimated to reach a steady state of around 6,000 birds.
Alaska boasts the largest bald eagle population in the United States, with an estimated 30,000 to 50,000 birds, surpassing all other states combined.

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Tuesday/ revenue stamps 💷

Revenue stamps are stamps used to designate collected taxes and fees. They are issued by governments, national and local, and by official bodies of various kinds. They take many forms and may be gummed and ungummed, perforated or imperforate, printed or embossed, and of any size.
[From Wikipedia]

A little background first:
South Africa was officially the Union of South Africa until May 31, 1961, when it gained independence from the United Kingdom and became the Republic of South Africa. The currency system for the Union of South Africa was changed a few months prior, on Feb. 14, 1961.
On this day, the South African pound was replaced by the rand at a rate of one £SA = two Rand.

My sets of revenue stamps from South Africa for the periods 1954-60 (when it was still the Union of South Africa) and 1961-68 (the Republic of South Africa) are almost complete.
(Several other sets of revenue stamps were issued, but South Africa stopped using revenue stamps altogether in 2009).

Revenue stamps are similar to the postage stamps issued in South Africa during this time: printed on watermarked and gummed paper sheets, perforated and with increasing denominations in the set.

A big difference:
the highest denomination for a postage stamp issued for the time was
10 shillings (1954-60) or
R1 (1961-68),
while the highest denomination of a revenue stamp issued for the same period was
£100 (1954-60)— 200 times more, or
R200 (1961-68)— also 200 times more !

Revenue stamps with denominations in pennies (d), shillings (‘-) and pounds (£).
A reminder: in the old British currency system (and in South Africa’s), there were 12 pennies to a shilling, and 20 shillings to a pound.
Strange, I thought at first, that there is a R1.25, R1.50 and R4 denomination in this series and not say, a R5.
Then I realized they are conversions of the penny, shilling and SA pound denominations from the 1954-60 set of revenue stamps into Rand:
R 1.25 for 12 shillings 6 pence,
R 1.50 for 15 shillings,
R2 for 1 pound, and
R4 for 2 pounds.
Let’s put the 3 penny revenue stamp from the Union of South Africa under the magnifying glass. There is the coat of arms of the Union of South Africa, with symbols for the four colonies (Cape Colony, Natal Colony, and the Boer republics of the Transvaal Colony and Orange River Colony) represented on the badge in the center.
At the bottom is the Latin phrase EX UNITATE VIRES, formerly used as the national motto of South Africa. It was originally translated as “Union is Strength” but was later revised in 1961 to mean “Unity is Strength”.
Finally, right below the UNITATE is a tiny 57 printed in green, the year of issue of this particular stamp (1957).
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Monday/ a new sunset 🌇

Sunset is now at 7.10 pm, so a quick walk after dinner and before dark is possible.

The sun was behind a blanket of clouds for most of today, though.
Here’s looking east at downtown Bellevue and the Cascade Mountain Range in the distance at 5.50 pm.
And how are those snowpacks doing?
Still a little behind from where we should be, approaching mid-March.
On average, Washington State’s snowpack is at 84% of normal. Central Puget Sound’s number is the lowest in the state, at 60% of normal.
[Graphic and information from a post on X by Todd Myers @WAPolicyGreen] 
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Sunday/ not worth it 🕑➡️🕒

We set all of our clocks forward by and hour, and now we’re on Daylight Saving Time again here in the United States.
I have to say: the older I get, the more annoyed I get at these ruptures in time, twice a year.
Also: I should really stop clambering up my kitchen counter top to mess with the battery-operated wall clock that is mounted way up there, almost by the ceiling.
That is not worth it.

Permanent Standard Time (NOT Daylight Time) is what scientists and sleep experts recommend. I asked ChatGPT why we are still changing the time twice a year here in the US.

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Saturday/ powder blue 🚙

I spotted this eye-catching powder blue Ford Bronco Sport on my walk today.

It’s a fossil-fuel vehicle, but it made me wonder how the sales numbers of Ford’s all-electric* F-150 Lightning trucks are looking.

The answer: not great.

According to Google Search Labs | AI Overview:
“As of the third quarter of 2024, Ford has sold 22,807 F-150 Lightning electric pickup trucks. This marks a significant increase from the same period in 2023, when 12,260 Lightnings were sold. However, demand remains lower than expected, and Ford has temporarily paused production.”

*Ford also offers a hybrid truck. According to the company, “the F-150 PowerBoost Hybrid is the best-selling full-size, full-hybrid pickup in the United States.” That statement certainly packs in the adjectives!

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Friday/ tennis in the desert 🎾

Happy Friday.
I’m watching tennis from the Indian Wells Open/ BNP Paribas Open.

World No 1 Jannik Sinner (23, 🇮🇹) is not playing— he is serving out a controversial 3-month suspension from tennis for a failed doping test (it’s complicated).
On top of that, the men’s tournament has lost its top seeded player today. Dutch No 1 Tallon Griekspoor (28, 🇳🇱) took out Alexander Zverev (27, 🇩🇪) 4-6 7-6 7-6.

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz (21, 🇪🇸 ) will play his first match tomorrow.
Dark horse and still-at-it Novak Djokovic (37, 🇷🇸) is back and is probably the other favorite to win this year.

That’s Damir Dzumhur (32, 🇧🇦) from Bosnia-Herzegovina playing against Frances Tiafoe (27, 🇺🇸). Tiafoe looked like he would lose the first set, but came from behind to take it 7-6. And after being behind 1-5 in the second set, he took that set in a tie-breaker as well. 
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Thursday/ Narcissus ⭐️

The daffodil (genus Narcissus) is the national flower of Wales and the symbol of cancer charities in many countries.
The appearance of wild flowers in spring is associated with festivals in many places.
-From Wikipedia

Daffodils from here on Seattle’s Capitol Hill—shot with my iPhone 16 Pro ‘Fusion camera’ (Portrait mode), 24 mm, f1.78
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Wednesday/ sunset at 6 🌇

Hey! Spring is coming and the sun set at 6 p.m. today.

Sunset is 21 minutes away— and the blossoms are out on the trees (on the left).
I’m at the corner of 12th Avenue East and Thomas Street on Seattle’s Capitol Hill.
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Tuesday/ a close (and deadly) encounter 🦈

SEATTLE (AP) — A pod of orcas swam close to shore and amazed onlookers in Seattle on Sunday by treating the whale watchers to the rare sight of the apex predators hunting a bird.

The pod of Bigg’s killer whales visited Elliott Bay and were seemingly on a hunt underwater just off Seattle’s maritime industrial docks.
The pod exited the bay close to West Seattle, where people were waiting to catch sight of them.
-Manuel Valdes writing for The Associated Press

People watch a killer whale swim close to shore in the waters in Elliott Bay by Seattle’s industrial docks on Sunday.
[Picture by Jeff Hogan via AP]
Watch out, little bird! A killer whale swims next to a grebe (an aquatic diving bird) in Elliott Bay, moments before the bird was taken under water.
[Kersti Muul via AP]
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Monday/ the eighth definitive issue 📮

Here they are, the control blocks of South Africa’s eighth definitive issue of postage stamps.

It turned out that my blank album pages outfitted with three vertical pockets, were the right size to the millimeter for the height of the blocks.
So I went with a layout that tiled the smaller blocks sideways onto the page.
(I am still deciding if I like it).

The full sheet of 5c stamps is a reprint of the original 2010.10.27 issue (dated 2011.09.01).  Reprints of the other original prints exist, which I don’t have— and that’s O.K.

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Sunday/ control blocks 🪟

The FedEx envelope that contained my shipment of stamps from South Africa was marked ‘Extremely Urgent’.
Well, it wasn’t really (extremely urgent), I thought, and it’s amazing that modern logistics can make land to my porch in a matter of days, that what I had bought online from a location 10,000 miles away.

These are called control blocks: blocks of four or six stamps in the corner of the sheet, with the sheet margins intact. If you are lucky, the margins contain the date the sheet was printed, and other details.

The downside is that these take up an enormous amount of space in an album that is made of them. For now, I am collecting only the blocks of the so-called definitive issues of stamps. Unlike commemorative stamps, which are issued for brief periods in limited quantities, definitives are usually issued in larger quantities and used over many years.

From 1961 to 2020, the South African Post Office issued eight definitive series of postal stamps.

Control blocks from—
South Africa’s Fifth Definitive Series (Succulents), issued 1988-93;
South Africa’s First Definitive Series (the ‘Pouring Gold’ 2c stamp), issued 1961-74;
South Africa’s Seventh Definitive Series (Colorful South Africa), issued 2000-’07.
Control blocks from—
South Africa’s Sixth Definitive Series (Threatened Fauna), issued 1993-96;
South Africa’s Seventh Definitive Series (Colorful South Africa), issued 2000-’07.
Control blocks from—
South Africa’s Second Definitive Series (Flowers, Birds & Fish), issued 1974-77;
South Africa’s First Definitive Series (the ‘Groot Constantia Wine Estate’ 2½c stamp), issued 1961-74.
Control blocks from—
South Africa’s Eighth Definitive Series (South African Beadwork), issued 2010-18;
South Africa’s Seventh Definitive Series (Colorful South Africa), issued 2000-’07;
South Africa’s Sixth Definitive Series (Threatened Fauna), issued 1993-96.
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Saturday 🌙

Here’s March, and a picture of the crescent moon with Venus in the early evening hours.

Shot at 6.38 pm (43 mins after sunset) from the back of my house with my iPhone 16 Pro’s telephoto lens (ISO 1250, 120 mm, f2.8, 3.5s shutter opening).
I reduced the original picture size by 50% and darkened the night sky a little by using an Adobe Photoshop filter, to make it look closer to what it does with the naked eye.
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Friday/ more sun 🌇

Happy Friday.
The false spring here in the city continued today with temperatures reaching 58°F (14°C).
Late in the afternoon, I spotted sunseekers lounging on the lawn at Volunteer Park.
Nearby, stargazers by the Black Sun sculpture were already setting up their telescopes to observe the planets.
I hope the clouds at sunset didn’t thwart their efforts.

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Thursday/ seven planets 🪐

Whenever planets are visible in the night sky, they always appear roughly along the same line. This path, known as the ecliptic, is the same one that the sun travels along during the day.

This happens because the planets orbit around the sun in the same plane. Dr. van Belle (director of science at Lowell Observatory in Arizona) likened the configuration to a vinyl record: The sun is in the center, and the grooves are the orbits of the planets around it.

Our point of view from Earth, then, is along one of those grooves, “looking out along the platter,” he said. This week, the planets are configured in such a way that all of them will be present in the sky at dusk from mostly anywhere on Earth.
-Katrina Muller writing for the New York Times

Also from the NYT article: “According to Gerard van Belle, director of science at Lowell Observatory in Arizona, an alignment of seven planets is neither mystical nor particularly rare. “On the scale of supermoon to death asteroid, this is more a supermoon sort of thing,” Dr. van Belle said. Still, the planetary parade, as the event is colloquially named, “makes for a very nice excuse to go outside at night, maybe with a glass of wine, and enjoy the night sky.”
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Monday/ a break in the bluster 🌬️

It was a blustery, rainy day here in the city (high 53°F/ 12°C), but there was a bit of quiet at 5 o’clock, which allowed me to go for a walk.

The pickleball courts at Pendleton Miller playfield on Capitol Hill were all soaked ..
.. but right next door some little leaguers were engaged in that team sport with the sticks with nets on. As I looked on, I could not for the life of me remember the name of the sport 😁.. thought about it as I walked, feeling my mind reach for it, only to have it slip away. I refused to look it up, got home and sat at the kitchen counter, and doodled a few words on paper: water polo .. hockey .. fuss ball .. foley .. polo .. lacrosse! got it 😚.
Lacrosse is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century.
The French Jesuit missionary Jean de Brébeuf saw Huron tribesmen play the game during 1637 in present-day Ontario. He called it la crosse, “the stick” in French. The name seems to be originated from the French term for field hockey, le jeu de la crosse.
[Source: Wikipedia. The picture is titled ‘Ball Players’ and the artist is George Catlin]
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Sunday/ a new chancellor 🇩🇪

Sunday’s election, which came months ahead of schedule after the country’s governing coalition crumbled late last year, produced a few surprises and a lot of suspense. Late in the evening in Berlin, it was unclear if the next government would be another wobbly three-party affair, like the one that fell apart last fall, or a return to the more durable two-party governments that had led Germany for most of this century.
…
Among German voters, 65 percent are worried that Germany is helpless against President Trump and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, according to a poll released on Sunday afternoon.

On Sunday night in a post-election debate between leaders, Friedrich Merz (the likely new chancellor), quickly brought up the threat that Germany and Europe face because of the new U.S. administration.

“It has become clear that the Americans, at least this part of the Americans, this government, is largely indifferent to the fate of Europe,” he said. “I am very curious to see how we approach the NATO summit at the end of June — whether we are still talking about NATO in its current state or whether we need to establish an independent European defense capability much more quickly.”
-Christopher F. Schuetze and Jim Tankersley reporting from Berlin for the New York Times

Friedrich Merz of the Christian Democratic Union at party headquarters in Berlin on Sunday.
[Picture by Angelika Warmuth/ Reuters]