Tuesday, March 22, 2011

pictures of portage and a new feline in the house..

this bald eagle was spotted both coming and going from portage lake, this isn't unusual. they can seemingly sit for hours.
some of these are from turnigan arm. i'm sleepy tonight so i only loaded some from that day. today was cloudy, but we've had weeks of beautiful sunny weather. kinda nice to have a break from all that beauty. okay, that sounds a bit nuts, but really.
the sun drops down and then it gets colder. this is on portage lake. i walked a ways out there. actually were several people out there enjoying the day. i've heard mixed about the safety of walking on this lake. i think for the most part it's a safe deal but it does have the potential. of course, all lake ice becomes more unstable as the spring comes on. this one has a glacier at one end. if it's still below the surface it has the potential to calve beneath the ice and the waves that would be created from that would possibly impact the surface ice.
as i said, overall it's probably fairly safe, but one must always be cautious and know the dangers and act accordingly. for me, i took a step and heard a loud crack that thundered through the valley. must admit it unnerved me. it unnerved a mother with her family in front of me more so we all made our way off the lake. always better safe than sorry....especially this time of year.
more pictures of that river coming off the lake. still haven't looked up the official name. thought it was just so beautiful though.
a few guys were out back country skiing this week and got caught up in an avalanche, one died. guess you generally have less than 30 min survival time if buried. i really don't go in area's with high avalanche risk. way too conservative in my day trips.
above is taken out of one of the tunnels by portage lake.
love all the ice and cracks beneath the surface of the lake. some were pretty amazing. tried to get some pictures closer in with my macro. haven't even loaded the card onto the computer yet. will have to see if anything came out.
got my fellow escapees to get a picture of me and the dogs before we all were off the lake. the dogs enjoyed themselves out there.
the cracks are both beautiful and unnerving i guess. makes for a good focal point for a photo.
people were skiing, biking or just walking out on the lake. it takes about 2 miles of lake walking to get to the face of the glacier. the glacier really used to come out far in the lake, but it has receeded a great deal. i think it's just barely tidewater. my friends went out a week before, no loud cracking noises and they made it to the glacier face. got some cool pictures.
was happy to read in the paper today that one of my favorite artists, bryan adams, got a star in hollywood. cool for him. he has a lot of talent and i think he's often been overlooked as he's never been one to be flashy.took the dogs out to n. bivouac and did a big loop out there. we did gasline to powerline and then took the back trails back to the parking lot. the trails will all soon turn to crap. so far all is still walkable. i did have to get around that one huge icy patch, the same one i fell on several weeks back and broke 2 camera's in on the fall.
was able to chat with my sister for a bit. always fun to catch up with friends and family.

looks like there is some glaciated areas on that mountainside that is covered with snow. that is how glaciers formed all those years ago. the snow just never melted and it packed down into glaciers. at least that is how i understand it.
lots of foot traffic seen in the snowy bits.
more strange ice patterns
i had cleats on. would have been impossible with out those. could use the kicksled and probably get out to the glacier pretty fast. perhaps next year. every year conditions vary so we shall see.
the ice looked pretty dang thick to me. this was also shortly after the big quake in japan though as well so i'm sure that gave me pause as well.
today was a day of rest. after those 4 nights i just can feel a bit wiped out. great to get out for a walk. look forward to snuggling back in the bed with my book. not that it's the greatest book, but it's okay. it's by picoult. she tells a decent tale. i find the characters a bit annoying. the kid has aspergers and the mother seems overly protective and clueless.
cool angled ice decor.
was happy to get thank you notes from both neices that i mailed quilts too. im sure i was terrible at that stuff as a kid. nice to know that packages mailed actually arrived though. often it seems you just never know, leaves you wondering. i think i learned to write thank you notes from my friend marcia years ago. she always wrote them promptly. must have been taught well by her parents. i didn't want to be a slacker so i started improving. nobody is perfect at getting every card out there, but it is nice when it happens. being grateful can go a long ways in this world.
kept the dogs on leashes. lots of people on the lake, not a place i frequent either so best to just keep the pups under control.
just ice in the arm. it's mixed with the mud.
took the dogs to petsmart this evening. they always enjoy themselves there. several other dogs to say hello to.
i needed some cat supplies...
today i went to the shelter again to look at the cats and i must have been in cat getting mood as i ended up adopting this girl below. not sure yet what i'll name her. she's busily exploring the house right now, is rather confident and has a bit of a voice. have been writing down some options. i like chatterbug and just call her bug. will ponder a bit before i make the final decision.
she's awful cute cat. she's pretty mellow. she hasn't been overly concerned about these two big dogs that have been checking her out. pogi, my other cat, is the most disturbed by the new feline in the house. hopefully in time they will really get along well. he just has been so lonely. it's been several hours now and he looks more relaxed so that must be a good sign. i probably should check and see where the kitten is. the picture above was taken at the shelter.
i was torn between this kitten of about 4 months and another grey and white kitten of about 6 months. the other one was cute and playful. she was growling at the other cats when i took her out. this kitten just seemed the more mellow cat. always feel bad leaving all the other cats behind though.
loved this one of blossom getting up close and personal. 2 dogs were dropped at the shelter as i checked out with the kitten. wanted to go slap the people who were dropping them off. people can be such idiots. for me pets are a responsibility. you take in a pet and you have promised to care for them for the duration of thier life...or yours, which ever comes first. some people treat pets like a peice of furniture. if it no longer looks right in the room you just dispose of it. it's so sad. one dog was brought in because he was chewing furniture, another because her husband is military and got deployed. i guess this is pretty common. if you are in the military and may be deployed don't you know that in advance. shouldn't you just not get a dog if this is the case.
here is pogi looking concerned...
the kitten, on the other hand, doesn't seem concerned in the least. i probably should find the kitten and make sure she's not up to anything. i have a little cat cage for her to hang out in when i can't keep an eye on things. just until the dust settles. blossom mostly just wants to chase the kitten, rio is only vaguely interested.
she is a cute cat and hopefully my fur family will be complete with this new addition. i'm off to eat and sleep. have a good night.

3 comments:

  1. Yeah I was really sad the other day. A friend of mine I keep up with on Facebook has had a yellow lab for probably 6 years now. She was their baby before babies. They have one kid and are pregnant with another and are giving the dog away now. I was shocked. I just could never do that unless serious imperative circumstances forced it with no other options. So sad that the dog becomes so disposable after kids, esp when she's good with the kids. I'm sure they're sad about getting rid of her but still.

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  2. hi, there are some really great pictures on boston.com of the dog sled races, I think you and blossom and rio would like them. Thanks for sharing all of your great pictures.Congratulations on the new kitten!Mary

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  3. @shannon, rehoming to a new and known home is at least better than dropping a pet at the shelter and an unknown fate. it is sad though. @mary, welcome and thanks.

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