2020 Vintage Christmas¹ #3

Christmas Greetings!

Date Issued: 1910 – 1919 (Approximate)

Place: Made in China

Physical Description: Embossed and textured paper folded once; interior sheet attached with ribbon; cork carvings and abrasive material adhered to interior sheet in a design visible through oval opening.

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. “Christmas greetings” New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed November 28, 2020. digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/2db4f900-c261-0135-aac3…

1. I’m sharing some vintage Christmas images I “collected” from the New York Public Library online digital images. Some are neat, some are quirky and there’s a couple that are downright weird.

Royalty-free images by Mike¹ — No. 107 of over 1200 images

Sipapu Natural Bridge, Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah, September 30, 2011

Sipapu Bridge²

Sipapu Bridge is a natural bridge or arch located in the Natural Bridges National Monument in central San Juan County, Utah, United States. The bridge spans White Canyon

Sipapu was long reported to have a span of 268 feet (82 m) by the National Park Service, ranking it as the fourth longest natural arch in the world. A more accurate measurement obtained by laser survey in 2007 revealed the measurement to be a significant overstatement. The Natural Arch and Bridge Society has published a revised span of 255 feet (78 m), demoting the arch to a thirteenth-place ranking.

Based on specific criteria that separate natural arches from natural bridges, Sipapu is the sixth longest natural bridge after the more well-known Rainbow Bridge also located in Utah, and four Chinese natural bridges—all longer than Rainbow Bridge—which were measured and documented by NABS between 2010 and 2015.

Sipapu can be viewed from a roadside viewpoint, but more fully viewed from a short hiking trail that leads down to its base from the canyon rim. Since the closure of the trail leading under Landscape Arch due to safety concerns, and the voluntary prohibition placed on passing under Rainbow Bridge in deference to Navajo and Hopi spiritual beliefs, Sipapu is now the longest natural arch in the world to have an active trail beneath it that visitors may pass under, affording views of the underside of the arch.

The name of the arch comes from the Hopi word sipapu, a word for a symbolic portal from which the first human ancestors emerged. It was created in 1908. Earlier names, which still were in use until the mid 20th century, were “President”, “Augusta” and “Great Augusta”.

1. I am sharing some of my public domain images in periodic blog posts.
2. Sipapu Bridge – Wikipedia

Notes:

• This image is also shared as public domain on Pixabay,  Flickr, and Pinterest.
• Images are being shared in the sequence they were accepted by Pixabay, a royalty-free image sharing site.
• Only images specifically identified as such are public domain or creative commons on our pages.
• All other images are copyright protected by me, creative commons, or used under the provisions of fair use.

2020 Vintage Christmas¹ #2

Christmas Greetings!

Date Issued: 1944

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. “Christmas greetings!” New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed November 28, 2020. digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/aa0ff890-c261-0135-fffe…

1. I’m sharing some vintage Christmas images I “collected” from the New York Public Library online digital images. Some are neat, some are quirky and there’s a couple that are downright weird.

Royalty-free images by Mike¹ — No. 106 of over 1200 images

Vintage Texas Playground, Texas State Railroad Park, Palestine, Texas, January 25, 2007

Playground Slide²

Playground slides are found in parks, schools, playgrounds and backyards. The slide is an example of the simple machine known as the inclined plane, which makes moving objects up and down easier, or in this case more fun. The slide may be flat, or half cylindrical or tubular to prevent falls. Slides are usually constructed of plastic or metal and they have a smooth surface that is either straight or wavy. The user, typically a child, climbs to the top of the slide via a ladder or stairs and sits down on the top of the slide and slides down the chute.

In Australia, the playground slide is known as a slide, slippery slide, slipper slide or slippery dip depending on the region. Sliding pond or sliding pon (a corruption of “slide upon”) is a term used in the New York City area, whereas sliding board is used in the Philadelphia area and other parts of the Mid-Atlantic.
(read more)

1. I am sharing some of my public domain images in periodic blog posts.
2. Playground slide – Wikipedia

Notes:

• This image is also shared as public domain on Pixabay,  Flickr, and Pinterest.
• Images are being shared in the sequence they were accepted by Pixabay, a royalty-free image sharing site.
• Only images specifically identified as such are public domain or creative commons on our pages.
• All other images are copyright protected by me, creative commons, or used under the provisions of fair use.

2020 Vintage Christmas¹ #1

Die cut Santa Claus figure

Date Issued: 1870 – 1899 (Approximate)

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. “Die cut Santa Claus figure” New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed November 28, 2020. digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/2888c9a0-c261-0135-82d3…

1. I’m sharing some vintage Christmas images I “collected” from the New York Public Library online digital images. Some are neat, some are quirky and there’s a couple that are downright weird.

Royalty-free images by Mike¹ — No. 105 of over 1200 images

Autumn on Grand Mesa, Lands End Observatory area, Colorado, September 30, 2015

Grand Mesa²

The Grand Mesa is a large mesa in western Colorado in the United States. It is the largest flat-topped mountain in the world. It has an area of about 500 square miles (1,300 km²) and stretches for about 40 miles (64 km) east of Grand Junction between the Colorado River and the Gunnison River, its tributary to the south. The north side of the mesa is drained largely by Plateau Creek, a smaller tributary of the Colorado. The west side is drained largely by Kannah Creek, which is received to the west by the lower Gunnison River. The mesa rises about 6,000 feet (1,800 m) above the surrounding river valleys, including the Grand Valley to the west, reaching an elevation of about 11,000 feet (3,400 m). Much of the mesa is within Grand Mesa National Forest. Over 300 lakes, including many reservoirs created and used for drinking and irrigation water, are scattered along the top of the formation. The Grand Mesa is flat in some areas, but quite rugged in others.  (read more)

1. I am sharing some of my public domain images in periodic blog posts.
2. Grand Mesa – Wikipedia

Notes:

• This image is also shared as public domain on Pixabay,  Flickr, and Pinterest.
• Images are being shared in the sequence they were accepted by Pixabay, a royalty-free image sharing site.
• Only images specifically identified as such are public domain or creative commons on our pages.
• All other images are copyright protected by me, creative commons, or used under the provisions of fair use.

Royalty-free images by Mike¹ — No. 104 of over 1200 images

Vermeer Street Art–Girl with a Pearl Earring–rendering from a photo taken at Farmers’ Market in Madison at Wisconsin State Capitol, September 20, 2008

Girl with a Pearl Earring²

Girl with a Pearl Earring (Dutch: Meisje met de parel) is an oil painting by Dutch Golden Age painter Johannes Vermeer, dated c. 1665. Going by various names over the centuries, it became known by its present title towards the end of the 20th century after the large pearl earring worn by the girl portrayed there. The work has been in the collection of the Mauritshuis in The Hague since 1902 and has been the subject of various literary treatments. In 2006, the Dutch public selected it as the most beautiful painting in the Netherlands. (see more)

Dane County Farmers’ Market³

The Dane County Farmers’ Market is America’s largest producers-only farmers’ market. It is held from April to November on Saturday mornings on the Capitol Square in Madison, Wisconsin and on Wednesday mornings on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. From November to December, it is held indoors at the Monona Terrace. Starting in January 2020, it is held at the Garver Feed Mill in Monona through early April, when the outdoor market starts (previously the late winter market was held at the Senior Center on Mifflin St). Throughout the year, a pool of about 275 vendors of agriculturally-related products from Wisconsin, including farmers, food trucks, artists, and more sell fruits, vegetables, flowers, plants, meats, cheeses, nuts, and specialty products. During the summer, the market hosts 150 vendors who completely encircle the state capitol. USA Today listed it as the top-rated market in the state and it placed fifth for the country in a reader’s poll. Fox News said the Farmers’ Market was one of the reasons why Madison is a top foodie paradise.

1. I am sharing some of my public domain images in periodic blog posts.
2. Girl with a Pearl Earring – Wikipedia
3. Dane County Farmers’ Market – Wikipedia

Notes:

• This image is also shared as public domain on Pixabay,  Flickr, and Pinterest.
• Images are being shared in the sequence they were accepted by Pixabay, a royalty-free image sharing site.
• Only images specifically identified as such are public domain or creative commons on our pages.
• All other images are copyright protected by me, creative commons, or used under the provisions of fair use.

Royalty-free images by Mike¹ — No. 103 of over 1200 images

Mille Lacs Lake, Father Hennepin State Park, Minnesota, September 9, 2013

Mille Lacs Lake²

Mille Lacs Lake (also called Lake Mille Lacs or Mille Lacs) is a large but shallow lake in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is located in the counties of Mille Lacs, Aitkin, and Crow Wing, roughly 75 miles north of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area.

Mille Lacs means “thousand lakes” in French. In the Ojibwe language of the people who historically occupied this area, the lake is called Misi-zaaga’igan (“grand lake”).

Mille Lacs is Minnesota’s second-largest inland lake at 132,516 acres (536 km2), after Red Lake. The maximum depth is 42 feet (13 m). Much of the main lake has depths ranging from 20- to 38-feet. Gravel and rock bars are common in the southern half of the lake. Two islands in the center comprise the Mille Lacs National Wildlife Refuge, the smallest such refuge in the United States.

Geology³

Almost all the lakes in Minnesota were formed by glacial action. Many small lakes formed after the glaciers receded and blocks of ice buried in the sediment melted, leaving holes, called kettles, that filled with water. Other lakes occupy basins that were scraped out of solid rock by glacial ice. Lake Superior is a prominent example of a lake bottom scoured by glacial ice. Lake Mille Lacs, by contrast, is not really in a basin. It is surrounded on the north, west, and south sides by a moraine—a ridge of sediment (silt, sand, gravel, and boulders) left along the edge of a glacier. With the land on the eastern shore also being of higher elevation, the moraine effectively dams the drainage to the south to form one of the largest lakes in the state.

The Mille Lacs moraine was formed about 15,000 years ago near the end of the last, or Wisconsin, glaciation, by a tongue-shaped lobe of ice called the Superior lobe, which flowed into the area from the northeast. This ice carried sediment derived from rock along the Superior basin and the North Shore, which was later deposited beneath the ice and at its margin. At its maximum, the Superior lobe extended beyond Minneapolis to the south and St. Cloud to the west. Its decline was punctuated by several minor re advances, such as the one that deposited the Mille Lacs moraine. About 12,000 years ago, another lobe of ice advanced from the northwest and overrode the northern part of the Mille Lacs moraine, sending its meltwater into Lake Mille Lacs. Once this influx of meltwater ended, precipitation and small streams maintained the water level in Lake Mille Lacs, much as they do today.

1. I am sharing some of my public domain images in periodic blog posts.
2. Mille Lacs Lake – Wikipedia
3. Geology of the Lake Mille Lacs Region – Geologic Road markers, text on marker located on state highway 47 at a scenic overlook 2 miles north of Isle on the eastern shore of Lake Mille Lacs

Notes:

• This image is also shared as public domain on Pixabay,  Flickr, and Pinterest.
• Images are being shared in the sequence they were accepted by Pixabay, a royalty-free image sharing site.
• Only images specifically identified as such are public domain or creative commons on our pages.
• All other images are copyright protected by me, creative commons, or used under the provisions of fair use.

Royalty-free images by Mike¹ — No. 102 of over 1200 images

Green River Ferry, Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky, May 25, 2009

Itty-Bitty River Ferry²

There is a very small car ferry that crosses the Green River in Mammoth Cave National Park. Opened in 1934, the ferry is attached to a cable as it crosses the river. It can transport up to two vehicles at a time, has a maximum weight limit of 8 tons, and no vehicle can exceed 16 feet in length. There has long been talk of building a bridge to replace it, but because of the small traffic volume along the road, and the concern that a bridge would damage the environment and natural beauty of the area, it will probably never be built.

The ferry operates every day except Christmas. It is closed during times of high water, or when the river is frozen, so in winter and spring it’s best to call ahead.

1. I am sharing some of my public domain images in periodic blog posts.
2. Itty-Bitty River Ferry – RoadsideAmerica.com; tip by signmanjoe, 12/06/2014

Notes:

• This image is also shared as public domain on Pixabay,  Flickr, and Pinterest.
• Images are being shared in the sequence they were accepted by Pixabay, a royalty-free image sharing site.
• Only images specifically identified as such are public domain or creative commons on our pages.
• All other images are copyright protected by me, creative commons, or used under the provisions of fair use.