If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 630

 

 

 

 

 

 

Halloween postcard, ca 1915

 

Happy Halloween!  (a few days early)  The two postcards shared this Thursday are reproductions of original cards from about 1915.  Both have verses, which seemed a popular card addition for the time, and both were printed by the small local printing company, Laughing Elephant.  As mentioned before, Laughing Elephant specializes in Vintage illustration reproductions.  Not much is known about the original publisher, E. Nash, who is credited with producing both cards. 

 

 

 Halloween card, ca 1915

 

 

Both cards have witches, black cats, brooms and owls but they also have differences.  The top card has a witch making a love potion.  She has a charm, a candle, and a spider as well as the usual cat, broom, and owl.  The second card adds a pumpkin, geese, the moon, and a cauldron.

 

Halloween has deep roots going back to the Druids, Celtic people who lived mostly in Ireland, as early as 400 B.C.E.  It was thought that the last day of October was the night when the veil between the spirit realm and the living was the thinnest, thus allowing spirits and other supernatural forces to descend and cause mischief or harm.  Cats were thought to be the spirits of humans who had done bad deeds in life.  Black cats were those spirits who were unfortunate enough to be cursed for their misdeeds.  Following the introduction of Christianity witches were divided into two camps; those who were known for their wisdom and medicine, and those who were believed to worship the devil.  It was even believed that evil witches could turn themselves into black cats. 

 

Treats were left on doorsteps to appease the evil spirits and led to the tradition of dressing up in costumes and trick-or-treating by children today.  Jack-o-lanterns were originally carved out of turnips, lit with candles, and used to scare away unwanted visitors.  If a spider fell into a candle-lit lamp and was consumed by fire, people thought that witches were nearby.  Owls are nocturnal, make hooting or screeching sounds, and were thought be spooky, hence becoming another natural symbol of Halloween.

 

Brooms were associated with different things; such as, pagan fertility rituals, when farmers would leap and dance astride poles, pitchforks, and brooms in moonlight to encourage their crops to grow.  Also, brooms can be symbols of good luck, suggesting that they sweep away evil and bad fortune.

 

For more information, see:

 

https://www.kitsapsun.com/story/life/columnists/joan-carson/2018/10/23/how-owls-became-associated-halloween/1740181002/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Martin%27s_Day

https://www.history.com/news/why-witches-fly-on-brooms

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween

https://www.mercattours.com/blog-post/7-old-halloween-traditions-that-might-give-you-the-chills

https://www.cardcow.com/c/67299/artist-signed-e-nash/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Druid

https://laughingelephant.com/

Gold Pond Loop Trail, 2023

 

 

 

Gold Pond

 

 

 Reflections

 

Gold Pond is a beautiful small lake located about 4 miles east of Snoqualmie summit.  We have walked around the pond a couple of times in the past and it was one of the ungroomed cross-country areas where I went while taking skiing lessons.  It is such a scenic spot that on one visit we encountered a clothing ad photo shoot and on two other occasions weddings.  

 

 

 Fall colors

The deciduous trees, mostly cottonwoods and some vine maples, were showing off their autumn colors.

 

 Fireweed gone to seed

 

 

 Looking down from one of the viewing platforms, at Bob taking pictures.  From this angle, the water was a spectacular blue-green color.

 

 

 

 

View from about half-way around the loop

 

There were lots mushrooms of different colors and sizes

 

 

 

 

Sign at the junction where the Loop and the Gold Creek trails meet

 

 Gold Pond Loop is a very short, approximately 1 mile around, level walk, partly on a paved surface and partly on boardwalks.  There are benches located here and there along the loop trail and information placards posted by some of the view points.  The Gold Creek Trail branches off and upward and is posted as not maintained after 5.4 miles.  We have been up that one too, but not this year. 

 

 

 

Weeks Falls

 

We also made two brief stops.  One at Weeks Falls where the water was crashing over the rocks and down a narrow gap to become a fast-moving stream.  The second stop was at Alpental just as the fog was lifting.

Alpental, fog lifting

 

 

Count for the day:  Besides a wedding party of indeterminate number, 19 people, and 3 dogs.

Did someone say apples?

 

 

 

 

 

Got apples? 

 

We have what was originally supposed to be a dwarf Jonathan apple tree that was planted 50 years ago.  Jonathan apples are an older variety, good for both eating and cooking if you like a tart tasting apple.  It is no longer a dwarf tree!  Bob has been carefully tending it for several years now.  He pruned it so the branches would hang down and make it easier to pick the fruit.  We get apples each year but never as many as this year.  Also, since he has been taking special care to stop apple maggot infestations (notoriously bad in western Washington) and apple scab, these apples are pretty on the outside and gorgeous on the inside, no worms.  

 

 

Very pretty! 

After a dry summer it finally started raining a couple of weeks ago.  With some help from the local squirrels and birds, the rain and wind are knocking the apples off the tree.  We decided we better pick them even if some were still a little green.  The “almost completely ripe” apples make good applesauce and pie filling.  Two of our 13 grandchildren live in the area and had asked if they could come help harvest the apples.  They came on Saturday and we picked 3 boxes two layers deep.  The next day we picked another equal amount for a two day total of about 320 apples.  There were still about that many left on the tree! 

 

We ended up with about 3 times this many apples.
 

These boxes have the results of the second picking, single layer.  All of the boxes went into the garage to stay cool.  So far, we have made and frozen two pie fillings and 7 batches of applesauce, 3 with sugar & spices—cinnamon and nutmeg, and 4 with just a small amount of sugar.  We shared, delivery included, with friends and neighbors.  Bountiful harvest indeed.

 

Bob finished picking the last 25 or so apples.  We ended up with 16 boxes of apples.  The grand total of this year’s crop—will be between 500-600 apples!!!  Unbelievable. 

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 629

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rangeley Lake, Maine, with photo by Skender Liedl

 

This is an unused color postcard produced by Trail Blazer Cards of Dixfield, Maine with a photograph by Skender Liedl.  MM8112 appears at the upper right on the reverse where the stamp would be placed.  At the bottom left on the reverse is a blurb:  “A view of Rangeley Lake, the village of Rangeley with Haley Pond and Gull Pond in the infinite wooded mountain country of Western Maine.”  The publisher/distributor has a logo printed on the center line of the card on the reverse.

 

 

 

 

Motto and Logo for Trail Blazer

 

Rangeley Lake is one of the major headwater lakes of the Androscoggin watershed.  The town of Rangeley is located at the eastern part of the lake.  It covers about 10 square miles or 26 km.  The maximum depth is 149 ft (45 m), average depth 95 ft (29 m) and is shallow near the shore.  It sits 1,518 ft (463 m) above sea level.  There are some small islands in the lake called South Bog Islands in the western part and Maneskootuk Island, also known as Doctors Island, in the eastern part of the lake.  The lake home to the Rangeley Lake Seaplane Base and is a designated water landing zone for seaplanes. 

 

Rangeley is a town with a population of about 1220 located in Franklin County, Maine.  It is in the center of the Rangeley Lakes Region, a resort area.  The town includes the communities of Rangeley, Oquossoc, Mooselookmeguntic, Bald Mountain, Mountainview, and South Rangeley.  It was named for Squire James Rangeley who inherited 31,000 acres (130 km) in 1796 from his father.  He established an estate based on the landlord and tenant system used in England.  There was a two-story mansion, sawmill and a gristmill.  Farming and logging were the main industries.  Today Rangeley is a popular resort.

 

As an interesting side note, when I looked up the photographer, Skender Liedl, I discovered that he was no longer selling picture cards but had become the owner  of the Red Onion pizza restaurant in the town of Rangeley.  When the Red Onion celebrated its 50-year anniversary in 2020 Leidl was interviewed by Stephanie Chu-O’Neil of the Rangeley Highlander the local newspaper.  When he pulled out files with photos to help fill in details about the restaurant she told him she thought he had a great collection.  He told her that he used to take photos and develop them quite regularly.  He also made 8mm movies. 

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rangeley_Lake

https://www.sunjournal.com/2020/07/10/celebrating-50-years-and-not-one-day-of-work-at-the-red-onion

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rangeley,_Maine

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 628

 

 

 

 

 

Alaskan Timber Wolf (Canus lupus) with photo by Bryan Sage

 

 

A photo by Bryan Sage of an Alaskan Timber Wolf is featured on this unused color postcard distributed by Arctic Circle Enterprises, Inc.  ACE-0094 appears on the center line on the reverse.  There is a blurb:  “Alaskan Timber Wolf (Canus lupus).  A rare picture of an adult male wolf, seldom seen by visitors to to the 49^th state.  Wolves live and hunt in packs of up to 20 animals, often following the migration patterns of the moose and caribou.”

 

 

 

Logo for Arctic Circle Enterprises, Inc.

 

 

The Alaskan timber wolf is also known by these other names:  northwestern wolf, Mackenzie Valley wolf, and Canadian timber wolf.  They are among the largest wolves with the males weighing between 105 lbs to 135 lbs (47.6kg - 61.2 kg) and the females ranging from 85 lbs to 112 lbs (42.5 kg – 45.4 kg).  From nose to tail they can measure between 5 feet to as long as 7 feet (152 – 213 cm).  They differ from the Eurasian wolf in build and shape with a heavier body and a larger, rounder head and a thicker muzzle.  They can be found with many different fur colors from white-gray to dark brown.  Wolves were relocated to Yellowstone National Park where winter-weakened or sick elk play an important park in their diet. 

 

The Scottish naturalist, Sir John Richardson, is credited with being the first to name them Canis lupus occidentalis in 1829, a name that reflects the geographic area in which they are located instead of color since the color was so variable. 

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwestern_wolf

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Richardson_(naturalist)

 

If this is Thursday it must be postcards 627

 

 

 

 

 

“Ocotillo in Bloom”

 

This unused color postcard features a photograph with the Ocotillo cactus as the main plant but also shows the Giant Saguaro at the right side and at the upper left side, as well as the spiny cholla.  The bushy shorter yellow plants are the spiny cholla.  The card has K-348-B at the upper left corner on the reverse as well as an information blurb:  “Ocotilla in Bloom”  the most colorful of desert flora is the graceful Ocotillo.  The fire-red blossoms resemble the tassels of the buggy whips, common in grandfather’s day.  In the background is the Palo Verde along with the Giant Saguaro.  Around the Ocotillo spreads the spiny Cholla.”  The card is a product of Petley Studios, Phoenix, Arizona. 

 

The Ocotilla is a semi-succulent desert plant more closely related to the tea plant or blueberries than to cactus.  Much of the year it looks like dead, spiny, sticks, but when it blooms it has bright crimson flowers clustered at the tips of each stem.  The flowers of the spiny Cholla appear in spring and early summer.  The flowers can be rose, red purple, yellow, or white.  This plant is native to Arizona and New Mexico in the United States; and Chihuahua and Sonora in Mexico.  In Australia it is now considered an invasive species.  The Giant Saguaro can grow to 40 feet or 12 meters high.  They can live for 150 years and may or may not have “arms.”  This cactus is a familiar and common image in Mexican and Arizonan culture and in movies.

 

Robert (Bob) Teeple Petley (1912-2006) started his postcard business, The Petley Studo, Inc., in 1945.  With just 12 or 13 (two number 7) black and white original designs he managed to develop a network of over 3,500 dealers in five states.  In 1994 members of the Tucson, AZ Post Card Exchange Club started a checklist of all Petley’s cards and ended up with 160 designs:  the original 12 or 13 black and white and 149+ in color.  Bob Petley died at age 93 in 2006.  His signature or facsimile appears on the reverse of his cards on the upper center line.

 

 

 Petley signature facsimile

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fouquieria_splendens

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cylindropuntia_spinosior#Description

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saguaro#Description

https://postcardhistory.net/2021/10/bob_petley/

 

Cheese Rock, Teanaway, 2023

 

 

 

 

 

“Say Cheese!”

 

Although we have been on a few hikes this year, I have not put many hiking posts up on the blog.  This is partly due to going on repeat hikes, places we have been before, or places that are considered too easy for most hikers. 

 

 

 

Ready to start out.  The trail begins just on the other side of the gate barring motorized vehicles.  It is open to hikers, bikers, horses during hiking season and in the winter to snowmobiles and skiers.

 

Bob saw a trip report about Cheese Rock, located in the Teanaway Community Forest, about a 2- hour drive from home.  Since we had not be on this trail and it is short, 3.5 miles RT, with some elevation gain, 400 ft., we decided to try it.  There is a large parking area with a newer outhouse, clean and nice.  Camping is allowed in designated areas.  A Discover Pass is required.

 

This Community Forest, established in 2013, aims to protect the water supply, maintain land for forestry and grazing, recreation, restore fish habitat, and to work as a community partnership with the Yakima nation and local businesses and conservation groups.  The trails do not yet appear in guides and are not really marked, except by chance, there might be a plastic red-white strip tied to a tree to note which branch to take at a junction. 

 

We had barely begun walking when we met a young mother with a baby in a back-carrier coming down the trail toward us.  We stopped to ask her how far she had gone and get some tips about the trail.  She told us she had gone to Cheese Rock and there were two routes to the rock, one required walking on a long rock slab for some distance, the other one was an old logging road.  Unwilling to risk the rock slab route with her baby she had elected the logging road.   She highly recommended the way she had chosen and gave us directions to keep left where the road branched.  We took her advice.  The majority of the way to Cheese Rock was along the logging road that ended with a short, steep up on a narrow trail up to the backside of Cheese Rock. 

 

 

 

 A surprise hello from two llamas and their friends

She was humming!  Her handler said she was talking to us. 

 

 While we were talking with her, two more people, each with a llama, came down the same route she had taken.  We talked with them also and learned the llamas were pack-llamas.  Since we had entered their off-season, they were taking the animals out for exercise.  We asked if they had more llamas and they told us they had 5 more that they hired out as pack animals.  The llamas hummed and “smiled” at us. 

 

 

 Vine and Douglas Maples in bright fall colors

 

 

Most of the trail was bracketed by colors ranging from green to yellow to orange to bright red

 

 

 

Western Larch turning yellow-gold

 

Eastern Washington Elderberry.  These berries can be used to make jam or Elderberry juice or wine.  The Western Washington variety is not good to eat in any form.

Thistle

 

These were the only people we saw all day.  The trail was framed in bright fall colors, possibly the height of color, for which we had hoped and were not disappointed.  This is Eastern Washington so most of the trees were Ponderosa Pines with a few Hemlock, Douglas Fir as well as lots of Maples and, a surprise, Western Larch turning gold!  There is not as much undergrowth as on the western side of the mountains which provides a feeling of openness.

 

 

 

 Our approach was from the backside of the rock and it didn't look like much.

Front of Cheese Rock!

 

The rock is interesting.  I thought it looked like it was once a huge amount of hot mud, with air bubbles that burst and formed the holes making the rock look like Swiss Cheese.  Bob thought it was eroded sandstone.  Whatever it is, it is monstrously huge.  We came upon it from the back and walked around to the front to take the pictures.  Cheese Rock is just a small part of a much larger slab that stretches almost as far as the eye can see.  Unfortunately, the rock has quite a bit of graffiti, mostly consisting of love notes with hearts and initials. 

 

 

 

Bob standing on the rock slab.  The view looking northwest from Cheese Rock

 

First snow of the season on Mt. Stuart as seen from the highway

 

On the return to the car, I thought I saw a bear as a large black shape crossed the road below.  When we drove out, I saw it again and, nope, not a bear at all, it was a Black Angus steer.  As we arrived, we noticed Black Angus cattle grazing on both sides of a fence and a sign stating that the range area was open to livestock.  Perhaps not as exciting as a bear sighting but in keeping with the purpose of the community forest.

 

Total for the day, 4 people, including a baby, 2 llamas , no dogs.  Our first dog-less day with perfect quiet and solitude. 

3.5 miles RT, 400 ft gain