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July 31, 2013

The other day we walked over the lovely pedestrian bridge connecting lower Queen Anne to Myrtle Edwards Park, and I took this photo.  It occurred to me on looking at it that it shows four different ways of moving people and things around (train, bicycle, walking, and shipping, via the grain terminal in the background) without a road, car, or truck in sight

More Simplicity

July 30, 2013

They're just lights in a coffee shop, but lovely in their simplicity.

And Still More Yum!

July 29, 2013

A hot day, ice cream, it really doesn't get any better.

Sunshine in a bottle

July 28, 2013

Sunflowers make me happy.

August

July 27, 2013

Nancy and I took the kids we babysit for now to visit the kids we babysat for several years ago.  They've gotten older, but are as delightful and as good looking as they ever were.  It's all due to good babysitting, I imagine.

Time Passes

July 26, 2013

The Carroll Clock was installed in 1915 at Fourth and Pine in front of Carroll's Jewelers.  Now it sits in front of the Museum of History and Industry with the Virginia V resting behind it, marking the passing of time.

Mosquito

July 25, 2013

From the 1880s  to the early 1920s the Puget Sound area depended on ships to move goods and people.  There were over 2,000 such ships, so many they were called the "mosquito fleet", and they were of critical importance until rail and, especially, roads made them redundant.  Now, the only one left is the Virginia V, launched in 1922 and still using her original steam engine cast in 1888.  She's a big, beautiful mosquito.

Toe Truck

July 24, 2013

The Toe Truck was built by Ed Lincoln to be a symbol of his company, Lincoln's Towing.  It never actually towed anything, but was driven in parades and stood on the roof of Lincoln Towing for many years.  How can you not love a city with a Toe Truck?

Beauty

July 23, 2013

There are many beautiful things in this world, but when it comes to the work of craftspersons there is nothing more beautiful than a beautiful boat.

Serenity

July 22, 2013

Today's photo was taken the same day as yesterday's and in a certain way shows the same thing i.e. beauty in the ordinary.  This little spot is just down the street along the sidewalk.  It's nothing special.  But it's lovely.

Simplicity

July 21, 2013

It's been almost a year since I began this photo a day project.  Since August 1, 2012 I've made it my habit to, every day, take photos, one of which I would post.  Today's post marks the official end to taking photos absolutely every day but not, hopefully, of posting every day.  Today's photo was taken a few days ago and shows, for me at least, the beauty that can be found in the simple and ordinary.

Big Bertha

July 20, 2013

Seattle is replacing its aging, elevated Alaskan Way Viaduct with a deep bore tunnel.  It will be the largest diameter deep bore tunnel ever dug and will be dug by the largest tunnel boring machine (TBM) ever built.  The machine's name is Bertha, and today was the one chance for the public to see it up close and personal before it disappears underground for the next couple of years.

Here's some information from an article I read.  It weighs in at 7000 tons, the equivalent of more than 30 orange and black BNSF Dash 9 diesel locomotives. Its 24 huge electric motors generate the 25,000 horsepower that will slowly rotate the cutterhead (at about one revolution per minute) as it chews and grinds the ground – TBMs don’t actually drill into the ground. The TBM’s 56 thrust jacks that push the rotating cutterhead (the business end of the boring machine) against the ground ahead exert 44,000 tons of thrust, or 13 times the thrust of the engine and booster rocket that lifted the space shuttle into orbit. The machine is powered by what is essentially a 26 kilovolt extension cord. Seattle City Light built the dedicated feeder line just for this purpose.

Here's a photo of Bertha.  It's very hard to get a sense of scale, but you can get some idea by comparing the machine with the people (the tiny, little people) on the left.

Sad

July 19, 2013

On my way to visit my friend Peter I came across this destroyed RV just off the freeway.  I don't know the story behind it.  Hopefully no one was hurt beyond having a really bad day.

Red

July 18, 2013

It's nothing much, just a cord seen through a window.  But it caught my eye.

Change of Pace

July 17, 2013

Time for a break from the cooking photos.  It's still a photo having to do with eating, but this time the eater is one of our feathered friends, who didn't have to cook a thing.

More Yum!

July 16, 2013

The beat goes on in the world of me stretching my nascent cooking wings.  Tonight we had black cod done on the grill, but before that came these prosciutto wrapped scallops.  It's all rather fun, actually.

Yum!

July 15, 2013

At my advanced age I've decided to give cooking a try.  Today's dinner (and photo) represents the culmination of my efforts so far.  Here we have the fourth variation on what to do with the meatloaf I made a few days ago.  This time I made a gravy, out of beef and chicken stock and vegetables, and garlic mashed potatoes.  Now I just need to figure out how do do it all in less than the better part of a whole day.

Wild and Wonderful!

July 14, 2013

I spent much of the day today with my friend Peter, helping him with some challenges he's facing.  This magnificent bird resides in the garden behind Peter's home.  Now that summer is here, he finds himself presiding over a most glorious collection of lilies.  Peter's home, with it's gardens and clocks, magnificent old music boxes and Peter himself is a place of wonder and beauty.

Shopping

July 13, 2013

Evynne loves going shopping with Grammie, but sometimes a girl just needs a little break.

Goooooooooooooal!

July 12, 2013

Summer is here, and with that comes very little league soccer.  It's called "Li'l Kickers", and the kids love it, especially Evynne who at least has some idea of what's going on.  Last week's photo was of her dribbling the ball.  This week's is of her being pleased as can be at having kicked the ball into the goal.  Women's national team, here we come.

Compassion

July 11, 2013

Today I found myself in the neighborhood of St James Cathedral and so went there.  I was not the only person there and not, I expect, the person with the most need to be there.

Serious Fun

July 10, 2013

Today I found myself near Gasworks Park and stopped there for today's photo.  I love the contrast between the massive machinery and the whimsical colors it's been painted, heavy yet light-hearted.

Inspiration

July 9, 2013

One of the fun things about this daily photo project I've been doing for nearly a year now is the reading I'm inspired to do about what I've photographed.  Today the photo is of the fountain portion of the water feature in Cal Anderson Park.  The "Inspiration" of the title is what I received reading about the 12 year struggle by Kay Rood and many others to transform an eyesore people would cross the street to avoid into the wonderful park we have today (History Link: Cal Anderson Park).

No Trespassing!

July 8, 2013

Why do you suppose there's a "No Trespassing" sign twenty or so feet out in the water?  Someone thought it was important, but I can't imaging why.

Symmetry

July 7, 2013

The George Washington Memorial Bridge (we call it the "Aurora Bridge") was the final link in the  Pacific Highway (US 99), running from Canada to Mexico.  That job has now been taken over by I-5, and the Pacific Highway is no more.

You can't seem him from here, but under the far end of the bridge resides the famed and feared Fremont Troll, still clutching the Volkswagen he snatched from off the bridge.  Those who are not faint of heart can check out my January 6 post for a close-up of that bad boy.

Rocket's Red Glare

July 6, 2013

Just before the official fireworks began on Lake Union there appeared, from the same general direction, a cloud of dense, black smoke.  It turned out that illegal fireworks had ignited the canvas on a boat in a vertical, dry-storage facility named "Sky Launch".  That particular rocket's red glare was substantially more dramatic than anticipated, and a good portion of several boats in that rack was launched skyward in a most unfortunate way.

Northwest Passage

July 5, 2013

"Northwest Passage" is the name of the boat my step-brother and his wife own, and that's where we spent the day today.  It was a lovely day to be on a boat, and for the six hours it took to get to Port Ludlow and back that's precisely where we were.

Rockets' White Glare

July 4, 2013

What would the Fourth of July be without fireworks?  That's a rhetorical question, of course.  It would still be the Glorious Fourth but, like Disneyland, fireworks just somehow make it all better.

There's an App for that

July 3, 2013

No need any more for a magazine holder in the bathroom.  Today, even the Reader's Digest has a digital edition, and all you really need is an iPad.

Messing About in Boats

July 2, 2013

Today was another glorious summer day, a perfect day to remind ourselves of the deep truth Water Rat, in The Wind in the Willows, conveyed to Mole when he said, "Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing -- absolutely nothing -- half so much worth doing as simply messing around in boats."  And the waters of Portage Bay, in the Washington Park Arboretum, proved a perfect place for the reminding.

Green Beard

July 1, 2013

In our part of the world, trees (huge trees if left alone for a few centuries) and moss just go together, like love and marriage, horse and carriage, Pacific Northwest and rain.  The trees and the moss are both due to rich, volcanic soil combined with cool, cloudy days and lots of rain.  But in the summer we get days like today, hot and sunny, in which we can enjoy walking through the shade and stillness produced by all that cool, cloudy, wetness without having to endure the reasons it's there.