well, once again my lack of computer skills has me up to all hours. oh well. these are just more pictures from my hike of hanging valley the other day. i'll probably be posting fall pictures into january as i love fall so much and the weather has cooperated. above is my girl blossom. so regal looking.
had dinner with my friends lesley and sandra tonight. initially lesley and i were going to play tennis. it's been a few years, but i have always loved to play. i can't say i'm extremely talented, but i ain't the worst. i remember my parents were always playing tennis with thier friends. my dad sawed off an old wooden racket when i was a kid and my brothers and i would hit the bank parking lot and hit tennis balls off the supermarket wall for hours. sandra was going to come watch as she seemed to think watching us play tennis was sure to be hysterical. in the end the wind blew like crazy today and so tennis seemed silly in an outdoor court. they'd thought a movie, but i knew after working 2 nights i'd crash in the dark, besides, i'd rather go eat where you can actually visit. we laughed and laughed and laughed.
we ended up at an italian place. with so many restaurants to choose from we seem to hit the same ones over and over. tonight we went italian. worked out for all. i was hungry as i'd just finished my swim and hadn't eaten much all day. the pool was quiet and peaceful, got 60 lengths in. swimming has been really great for me. down a few pounds and definitely toned more. 
the last two days after work shifts i went for some neighborhood walks. yesterday took the pups up patterson and over to cheney lake. we looped around the opposite of what i usually do as there was a mother moose and her baby as we entered the lake trail. it was a pretty day and that lake is always a treat. 
today we just went through the bog and then out to the neighborhoods and down patterson. it was too windy out there for the other trails. i can be a wimp, but the wildlife gets really spooked in wind so best to just avoid it. have had some crazed moose running around out there on those days. scares the crap out of you when those things go nuts and run towards you.
guess a guy got scalped out of nikiski the other day. sounds like he's doing okay, was able to collect his fishing rods together and drive himself to the hospital. i'm sure he got loads of stitches. those bears like to do that, the scalping thing. eek! better than your throat i guess.
the yard work continues to mount up, we've now had a frost. i think i can still get some bulbs in the ground. the leaves came down like crazy with all this wind so now i've got a great deal of raking to do. there is still the issue of the chickweed. the truth is, anything i don't get to will soon be covered in snow. then there will be no yard work, except dog poop pick up, til spring. 
the reindeer moss was all over in that hanging valley and i was mesmorized by it. 
i think these are all pictures that haven't been loaded yet, but it's late and as usual i was watching a movie as it all loaded up. it was called, seraphin. not sure, but it was okay, not great. i bioptic about a painter...went nuts, died in a psych ward. why are so many artists crazy? hmm. 
i did buy myself a little gift the other day at amazon.com. when i was quite young i read all the james herriot books. i just loved his stories and dreampt of being a veterinarian...as so many kids probably did reading those books. anyway, i also used to watch the show out of BBC those many years ago. i just remember it always being such a quality show. so i bought it. will be my treat for winter nights. just toss in an episode and snuggle into the covers. i have a large tv screen but i admit that most of my movie/dvd watching is on my little travel dvd player. it's just easy and i can keep warm and not have to get out of the warm bed to turn anything off. 
started in on the second book in the series i started. so far i'm enjoying, "girl who played with fire". 
was also excited to get a nine letter word on bookworm. "gladiator". of course, it's not worth many points which seems odd. i like the game but it's not always sensical when it comes to rules and points and words that it accepts/doesn't accept. actually kept fairly busy at work, but with the one patient i have i get myself worked up over the ethical/moral issues and frustrations in his case so it's a good distraction. of course, i only did it on my "breaks". must be politically correct. everyone has thier own little internet access on thier phones but me so anyone can be on the internet anytime at work without work knowing. it's the way of the future. managing employee's has changed since days past...like much else.
tanya figured those little trail looking things in the reindeer moss was probably from the little ground squirels. makes sense. 
boddhi is like blossom, quite photogenic and always willing to pose. just tanya's other dog indy is nearly impossible to get in a still position long enough to snap a shot.
gotta make a baby quilt this weekend. eek. one of our monday walkers had a baby over the summer. andrea. spoke to her and i believe she'll be trying to join on mondays first monday walk of the season. i think kelly is also planning on joining and it is her birthday today. double eek!! could be my big plan for tomorrow night after my hike and swim. such an exciting life i lead. hike, swim, home....
those lichen covered rocks are always the coolest things. really should put out a lichen book. they have guide books for nearly everything in alaska, but i don't believe i've seen a lichen book. could be cool!
had a few little babies last night. i actually kept laughing as everytime i went into either room, the extremely exhausted mothers were either up trying to care for thier babies or attempting to steal a few minutes sleep in the rocking chairs provided. of course, in both rooms the spouses were sleeping away the nights on the little side cot provided for family. i think only one person is supposed to stay, but often that rule is broken, especially with those new babies. i think everyone is so freaked out that thier new responsibility is sick, just emotionally easier to not try and make waves with hormonally loaded stressed out females. 
old poem:EXPERIENCE
he had clawed his way into the cave,
from where he stood now he could see nothing,
the sun had suddenly died,
a constant drip put holes in his head,
so deep they formed lakes,
and he could smell the scent of death,
the air was still,
he groped at slick limestone,
he slipped, fell and slid,
he didn't know where the cave would take him,
suddenly,
he splashed into a puddle,
sound echoed throughout the cave,
as if a sea of waves rose toward him,
he sloshed about, wondering where he was,
if he would ever see again,
he knocked his head,
the tunnels seemed to close around him,
he turned a corner and there it was,
a ray of light,
the closer he got the more it flooded the cave,
it came from a small hole in the cave wall,
but he knew then,
escape was possbile. '83
the dogs are always leading the way...
tanya was camera happy on this one. she said she hadn't been that excited for some time. i'm sure she got some amazing pictures as well. 
i liked the double pyramid look here. i couldn't convice indy to leave the area for my photo op, so there his is, enjoying his day. 
blossom waits...she crashed as soon as she got back to the car. always a sign of a successful walk!
looking over the valley not taken....and that made all the difference! maybe i should take sandra to rabbit lake trails tomorrow...if i ever get to bed that is. hehe.
our first sighting of the tarn. i'll load those pictures in tomorrow or the next day. i was almost as obsessed with that as i was all the reindeer moss. 
it was close though.
are these colours cool or what?
there was a camp site right by the tarn...that would be a sweet overnight i think.
this isn't a tarn...just a puddle. i love that word tarn. 
the colourful valley stretches out ahead.
not a tarn, not a puddle, just part of a tiny creek.
you know you are sleepy when just a few sips of wine give you a buzz. this is exactly why i opted to not have a drink with dinner. 
got into trouble at work. well, i didn't actually get in trouble. i'm a confrontation person. if i have an issue with someone i just tell them. in general people just know where i stand with them. sadly, life doesn't work that way in reverse. when most people have an issue with a specific event they won't go to the person who instigated the event, they will make a general announcement. this time it was in the little blurb they give before we head out to our patients. i wrote something inappropriate on the computer screen about a patient. it was just a little funny, which i chock up to a night of frustration. i deal with unpleasantness with laughter. everyone thought it was funny, but truely it shouldn't have been written where i wrote it. so i just fessed up to being the reason for the additon to the 5 min meeting. vowing to never do it again. i'd prefer if people just confronted each other rather than hide behind generalizations.
that was obviously a long movie and i took many pictures the other day as i seem to have loaded a bunch on here. hope you are enjoying my long windedness and all the fall colours. 
the reds are always outstanding as well. i think it will be just as cool tomorrow out rabbit creek if we do that...have to see what this wind blows in.
strange neighbor kid encouter. there is a house on the block with loads of kids. i was walking my dogs on leash...as always...when some 6-7 year old started talking to me. i figured she wanted to pet the dogs, but in the end she was trying to tell me to keep my dogs out of her yard??? whatever. freak kid. i wanted to swear at her and tell her she wasn't supposed to talk to strangers as they may want to hurt her. 
not my most flattering photo...the dogs look cute though, so focus on them. 
the to do list is growing as i write this. gotta get the camera in for a cleaning next week. figure right before i head back to work and have little to take pictures of. i think tanya is right and a good cleaning will help. i'm rough on my equipment.
close up of reindeer moss. wonder if they really like the stuff?
caught just a glimpse of oprah's show today about education in america and what a mess it is. finally someone is taking some action towards repairing our education system. will it address the right issues or just through more money at the problem. mostly, i feel we just keep throwing money at the issue and i don't think that is what is wrong with education here. personally i feel that the schools are given no respect and the teachers aren't either. i see kids in other nations show respect for what an education can mean for them and thier future. the poorest kids in the world will come to a shack of a school in thier finest clothes and treat it like hallowed ground. the kids here come dressed for a social event and i feel my tax dollars are constantly being spent repairing vandalized schools and thier contents. the schools seem to constantly want to rebuild and remodel and buy more and more equipment. sadly, that isn't what is needed necessarily. of course, god forbid you don't agree to pay more taxes for schools...but when you constantly see money spent and education outcomes worsening, well, i'm less than impressed with parting from my tax dollars. education doesn't require the fancy stuff, though it is nice. it requires teachers and students dedicated to the process of learning. when they show schools that are succeeding you see the kids dress uniformly, even if not in a specific uniform. we must treat education in this country as a job. these kids must understand that thier job, thier role in our society is to become educated. they need to show the utmost respect for the schools and teachers. yes, there are some crap teachers and perhaps unions have created some issues, i agree'd with those on the program that said everyone needs to work together, parents, teachers, students, government and the unions to fix this issue. we can't just continue to allow such high drop out rates, such failures. our nation will just continue to fall behind.
of course, being in medicine i find that we are rapidly becoming a nation of survival of the least fit. we have a great many people who are unable to work, many who can't give back anything to society due to thier poor health. people on disability because they simply became too obese and the obesity has caused secondary medical issues. autism numbers are growing and many children are surviving things that in past years would never have lived, children doctors thought would only live a few years are now becoming adults. i'm not saying i wish they had all died. it's just that we have a great deal more people that require support, medical, physical, emotional and otherwise. our nation simply will not be able to keep up with the work load and costs. we need every person who is capable physically and mentally to pull thier share of the load. this simply doesn't happen with a failing education system. drop outs, teen pregnancy, drugs, crime...who will be left to pick up the pieces.
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