"bottle shock"...

was crazy about all the frost build up on the trail the other day. with blue skies overhead i started taking crazy blind shots pointing up towards the sky to see if i could show off the frost a bit better with the blue background. i had fun anyway, even if the pictures are, well who knows. i guess it's in the opinion of the beholder.

i think i need a fancy lens to really get the frost to come out. i'll keep working on it. one day....

looks like this military helicopter has ski's on it. it flew past a few times as i was out there walking yesterday. i also spied an eagle, but didn't get a camera on it fast enough. i always enjoy a good eagle sighting though. they aren't nearly as common in anchorage as they were in ketchikan when i lived there, or in dutch harbor where i visited.

you can see the helicopter headed away. i love the bumps in this part of the trail. almost to the point of obsession.

i've heard most photographers shy away from taking pictures with the sun head on...i guess i'm just a rebel rebel user. :-)

always dig a reflection shot and so this was taken in a small creek headed off down the tank trail towards base. below is the bridge you take over a creek to get to the road on base.
we turned around at this point and took other trails around to lengthen our walk.

rio was a trooper yesterday and i think i probably have overworked her (and myself) this week. i attempted some blind pictures of rio, but sometimes it just doesn't work. i love digital for the delete button.

yet again i have added a picture that loaded sideways and i am powerless to correct it. do forgive. this is blossom headed down the tank trail. this is how they marked the border of the military base. i've never gotten a permit, but i think they are pretty tolerant of walkers. before they built this "fence" it was said they were going to build a more restrictive fence. the local folk, myself included, were very unhappy with this as we had always had access and the moose of the community have also been able to wander freely and a big 6 foot fence would have hindered them as well.

above is just looking back up powerline pass trail and below is me attempting to highlight the frost with computer contrast. oh well.

was called by work for an on call. i could get called in at anytime, but i happily took the on call as i was working up to a bad headache and nauseated. besides, it's always hard to say no...but especially tough when you are on the verge of vomiting. so dinner of sprite and saltines and now i've kept down some honeycrisp apple and cheddar cheese. this is always one of my favorite snacks. honeycrisp apples are only available for a short period it seems...much like the macintosh apples i believe from seinfeld. yes...i find an episode of seinfeld in my day to day existence. does that make me wrong? of course, i do not own one seinfeld dvd or law and order for that matter, which is odd as they are some of my favorite tv shows. they are always on as re-runs though so not much need i guess yet. apparently, i'm not the only fan.

just finished watching my netflix movie. it turns out i really loved it! it was called, "bottle shock" and tells of the 1976 blind wine tasting in france where the napa valley wines win out over the french wines. it, of course, was a huge shock to the french wine folks. napa has been putting out great wines since. i was welling up at the end of the movie, which was totally unexpected. great story, great movie. i'd definitely watch it again.

otherwise a bummer day for the dogs. lucky for me they just enjoy chilling with me and don't take it too personally on the rare day that i forgo an actual walk with them. it's a pretty rare day that they miss a walk. blossom did get some yard time with me and her chuck it. she loves that tennis ball.

yesterday we had that long and rambling walk up in n. bivouac. we went all over the place out there for several hours. it was a pretty day out. overnight it totally chilled out and was neg 1 as i drove home from work this morning.

my hip started spasming soon after i got to work. not as bad as it had previously, i suspect my skate skiing irritated it a bit. it got sore through. i do think the shoes are still helping a bit. and i also think i should actually have it checked out, in case it isn't just aging. work went well overall though. that diabetes is a horrible disease. my one patient got it when he was very young and has all the complications that come with it. i felt bad for him. what a terrible disease. it's one of the reasons i walk and walk and walk. i hope through walking i can hold off the possibility of adult onset and stay healthy as long as possible. there is lots of adult onset in my mothers family. the whole losing parts of your body bit by bit from dry gangrene is so distasteful. my heart just ached for the guy. he was really nice and seemed to have a good attitude. i was busy all night with drips and really just alot of personal care and attention. i felt badly as this one travel nurse i was with...man i don't think i've ever seen a nurse get to a computer that fast. i doubt his patients got anything more than the basics. funny how his patients became difficult towards the morning, causing him grief. i think when your patients feel they are taken care of they feel safe, and when they feel safe, they rest better and their anxiety doesn't get the best of them. i mean, in truth, some people are just difficult, but it's amazing how a little time and attention can make a night go better for everyone.

it's after midnight and my phone could ring anytime. i should try and get some sleep before it does.