another year older and the first summer trek done...

lots of loon activity this week out there! went with a group to tutka bay out of homer, alaska. for us a 5 hour drive south of anchorage, followed by a water taxi to a drop off in katchemek bay. we've been to tutka bay before, but places seem almost totally different from one time to another. weather, seasons...it can change everything. loons are tough to get pictures of from kayaks. lots of stuff is actually. loons tend to take a dunk under the water when you get near. their call though is beautiful. such a great sound to fall asleep to. between them and the eagles the ambient noise is fabulous!!these guys are taking off as we paddle closer. harlequin ducks. couple of eagle shots. these are backwards. love how his face is tilted below looking for a good landing spot. the eagles are prevalent. haven't seen as many eagles anywhere like i saw out in unalaska. crazy, but dirty eagles out there. our group stayed in yurts while out there. you can rent them from a private company, i think just over $70/night. pretty cozy. the wood supply isn't always what they say it will be which can be disappointing. tough in our case as we were staying 2 nights here and then loading all into the boats for the last night in another yurt at kayak beach. our first 2 nights were in tutka 2. we stayed in tutka 1 a few years back. with the water taxi it would have been wise if we'd brought in a few bundles of wood. easy enough to leave what you don't need behind. if i'd had the ability to plan better i would have added that in. i worked the 2 nights before we took off. luckily jennifer drove and set me up in the back seat so i could attempt to rest. dozed a bit heading out, enough to get through to bedtime. not bad on 2 hours sleep. had to drop off the dogs after work. thanks again to lena and shell, they took in the pups. the cats were on thier own. the pups were happy and sleepy when i picked them up last night.sadly my back seat designation remained for the return trek back to anchorage. it was a long drive. always forget how much that back end of a car bounces. people can also be cranky after a trip, myself included. of course, i was laughing with my brother joel today as i don't think i've had anyone pull a dibs on me for decades. i'm sure there is an equivalent to this in other countries. growing up the rule was that you had to official dib a thing, ie: "i dib this seat for when i come back". this was the most common one in my childhood home. if you forgot to dib your seat in this particular manner one of the 5 brothers of the household was sure to steal whatever chair you were in, just to annoy you. i think this dibbing game was over in our early to mid teens pretty much so imagine my surprise when one of my car mates tried to claim they had dibbed something. i mean if at 48 years old i am forced into a childs rule i'll be damned if the official rules aren't followed. the stubborn 10 year old knew the dib was up as the rules weren't followed. it was pretty silly, but i've already gotten a few laughs out of this outrageous exchange. one drives irritation becomes a lifetime of jokes. so happy birthday to me...i have dibs on never having to play dibs again!!of course, i think the dibs rules state that a dibs can't be held for more than 24 hours. i looked it up. sadly, apparently dibs is a bit of a bar game with men taking dibs on the females in the room. i believe if a guy sees a cute girl he can take dibs on the pick up attempt. everything innocent gets so twisted. who knew. my brother laughed. lots of birthday well wishes on facebook and several cards and calls. always fun. our water taxi wasn't set to leave homer until 6pm so we made it just in time to homer. once we'd unloaded the boat and hauled stuff to the yurt a few of them opted for an evening paddle. 2 hours sleep was just not enough for me to get too excited about that. so stayed back, wrote, read, wandered and took pictures around the camp and then started a fire in the yurts wood stove. those heat up the place pretty good. some of us like it warmer than others. myself being one that prefers it warmer than cooler. i think i was pretty much alone in this on this trip, but as long as it gets warm enough for me to fall asleep i'm usually good. at least this time of year. that first night i slept like the dead. lack of sleep, a glass of wine and a benedryl. i don't take a sleep aid at home, but away i tend to try and aid my sleep. the quiet of the camp is often interrupted by the sounds of the wild and more often the sounds of cabin mates snoring. some snores are easier to sleep to than others. i find a nice rhythmic snore like my dog rio's easier to sleep to than that erratic, interrupted snore of the apneic snorer. we had a few sprinkles here and there this weekend, but nothing to slow us down. the trail to the yurt was pretty muddy and there is still alot of snow on the mountains out there. does make for loads of waterfalls though, which is always great! lichens on a dead root of a tree below.there were 5 of us on this trip. the yurt has 4 beds which can be used for two. it's a bit tight i'm sure with a larger group. saturday we headed into the bay to the end of it. there was a beautiful waterfall which i'll show in the next intallment, though i can't say my pictures do it justice. then we headed back for the night. the water tends to get more choppy in the afternoons then settles down again in the evenings. we had it pretty good going out, but the chop picked up a bit. nothing too bad. it was nice to be in my own kayak i must admit. just would wander a bit and take pictures. when you paddle it's best to stay near to the other boats, within yelling distance, but that does still give you some space to enjoy nature and enjoy a feeling of solitude.my loner/hermit side needs that space. the fiddleheads are starting to pop up everywhere. went out to kincaid and did the loop around beer can lake with the dogs. amazing how much growth since the last week. figured it would be best to just chill with the dogs as they probably needed some time with just me. it was nice. we did run into one bull moose. after getting chased by the mama last week i was pretty careful. my lawn grew quite a lot as well. actually did a full mow with my little push mower. pulled some of those dang dandilions. they look beautiful on the sides of the road, but at home we have a battle. they generally win in the front yard, but in the back yard i have control...of the dandilions anyway. the chickweed is usually what gets me back there. may have to see if i can find anything safe for the dogs yet effective in control of these annoying weeds. would be great to have an actual lawn back there. in summers up here you can require a mow at least 2x/week. when i take off for the big trip i usually find i've lost the battle when i return. need to take the edger in and get it sorted out. that thing works great, but i don't think i threaded it right. my other project needs to be the little bed in the front yard. also need to buy a few more himalyan poppy plants and some bleeding hearts. loved the green seaweed colours on these rocks. so beautiful!that first day we got some nice breaks in the clouds. many trees are precariously hanging on the edge at the tide line. have heard of one accident where some folks were out in a boat fishing and a tree fell down on the boat. i think everyone survived, though i believe there were some pretty bad injuries. gotta catch up on my newspaper reading from the weekend. it's more interesting reading it all when some of them are patients and the obituaries come from patients you've had. nice to read about the lives you take care of and find out more about them than thier blood pressures and urine output. paddling is just a great thing. it can be totally relaxing in the right weather. when i spoke to my brother i know it's something he and other siblings would enjoy. would be cool to get them up here, rent the yurts and be able to stay a few days and go out when it was pretty calm. nothing like the water and wildlife from that kayak level. the water gets clear and the kayaks can cruise through pretty shallow water out there. nice to look at sea stars below you and whatever else is out there.our kayaks were pretty empty on this paddle. we generally just take our food in the kayaks to prevent bears from raiding camp. these yurts could do better at having bear bins for safe food storage. bears have been known to tear shit up to get at stuff. we had no bear sightings out there. i did see a black bear and cub on the drive back along turnigan. that road was busy. the hooligan are running so there were fishermen out like crazy. there was also alot of kitesailer activity yesterday. i saw the bears a bit up on the mountain by a patch of snow. i remember seeing lots of moose heading out, not as many coming back . it's a beautiful drive and though it's long and i found i was a bit disconnected from everyone in the car due to being in the back i tried to just enjoy the views out the windows. generally i'm driving myself and it's tough to really take in the view so that was nice. cool water colours. the trip planner, sandra. got a nice bouquet of flowers from rudy the other day which was sweet. he's my mom's widower. he was great to her and it was fun to see my mom so happy her last years despite all her medical issues. he'd moved and gone off facebook. wasn't sure what was up, sent his christmas card late and left the door open. so it was really great to get the flowers and know that he was cool with that. my deck is pretty packed. i have my main deckbag which has snacks, camera, rain hat, winter hat..all kinds of stuff one may need, bear spray, bug spray, bug nets. luckily we had very little bug activity. the green bag is where i put my big camera and extra lenses. i'm very careful to put all camera stuff in the dry bags anytime the water is a bit choppy or for take offs/landings. did lose one little camera at point adolphus being careless. so annoying. luckily the card was okay and maybe the rest would have survived if i'd just removed the battery and let it dry out. stranger things have happened. may need to get a spare camera again as it is kinda nice to have on the big trips. i have neoprene gloves but try not to use them much as i like my hands free for picture taking. if needed they are great. on a few particularly cold and rainy kayak trips we've all been knows to boil water and pour it in our neoprene gloves before putting them on. in bad rain like that the best thing to do is pack up camp and paddle. it's warmer paddling than sitting in a tent that is for sure. it's hard to get moving but once you do you always will find you are warmer out there. of course, not if there is a stiff wind. wind is the thing i try to avoid.thought this was a cool feather in the beach grass.view from our beach. we were dropped off here. fire in the yurt and below the smokestack for the yurt. when it sprinkles outside it often sounds like a downpour in the yurt. we got lulled into thinking it was a good rain only to step out and see it was barely spritzing.they also have a few windows, not glass. it's a solid fram with a canvas like tent structure over it. quite comfy.there is our home for a few nights.the folks before us were creative on the beach. as we paddled to our next yurt sunday we saw the water taxi with friends bob, tanya and maddie. they were staying in tutka bay yurt 2 as well i think for a few days after we left. it may have been tutka one though. not sure. will know when she posts a few pictures on facebook. i didn't have coverage over in the bay though. batteries run low quick too so i didn't test it out. the trail was longish and muddy to tutka 2, nice as there are trailheads at both tutka 1&2. one day perhaps i'll rent the yurts and do both paddle and hikes. always too short of time it seems. cool rain forest.thought the heart was cool. took some time. of course we trampled over the names of those lovers who created this. if not us the tide would take it out.the boat we took over...this is the front of the boat. love these sort of boats for these water taxi's. the front goes up and down for easy load/unload. we went to the otter cove resort on the way out to pick up our rental kayaks and then dropped em off coming back. all so easy.happy memorial day...same day as my birthday this year, that happens occasionally. all the best and many thanks to those who serve and their familes and a special prayer for all those who have sacrificed. birthdays are never my favorite. they keep coming anyway. nice to just be out in the wilds of alaska and treat it like any other day as much as possible. i think it's tough to not have any expectations. i'm for quiet, talking with family, dinner with friends. nothing over the top, but still it's nice to have a little special treatment. a downside to living alone is that those little validations are few and far between it seems, but then i know plenty of folks who are coupled and still have few affirmations that come thier way. gotta love facebook for the birthday cheer it brings!! thanks to all who wrote me little birthday greetings...it was super fun!!this is just a picture of the crew as we were getting ready to head out. well, part of the crew. more group pictures later. rhonda, sandra and amy. sandra being sandra or is it velvet? wish she had a sign somedays so i'd know who i'm dealing with. a glimpse of homer harbor before we head out.more later, i'll head to bed now and watch an old movie, "the housesitter". used to crack me up, haven't seen it for awhile. night...

packing and avoiding packing...

so much to do...to lazy to do it! amazing how much other stuff you get done while not doing what you need to do. i like trips, but don't like prepping for them. also secretly i just hate the idea of leaving the dogs at home so i think i delay all so my head doesn't catch on that i'm leaving my little happy nest. once all is done and i'm out the door, it's out of my control and i can only just hope all is well when i return. it's hard to turn over your pets for even a few days. makes me think how difficult it must be for people who hand thier kids over for day care or have to split custody with an ex. that always seems the worst.
lupine were spotted out on the potter to mchugh trail on monday. tanya and maddie joined me. maddie discovered photography. she immediately liked hiking more once she had her moms iphone in her hands. i asked her why and she said something quite prothetic (did i spell that close)...anyway, i forgot exactly what she said but it was something about how it makes you notice all the stuff out there. she said it so much better!kids are pretty dang smart. i braved the bog this morning and then later hit the dog park. on my bog walk i met a young boy, about 4 i'd guess. he was chatty and happily petting the dogs and asking about them. as i left he said goodbye to "fluffy" and to "not fluffy". new names for the dogs. i think i'll stick to the old ones. my friend marcie said kids like to simplify stuff. they may be on to something. he also informed me that i needed to take rio to the doctor and get her some glasses. if only it were that easy. the moose didn't chase me down today. i saw her out there, but she was settled in a ways off the trail recovering from her delivery. i couldn't tell if there was one calf or two, but i'm no fool and i opted to not go off trail to get a closer look. she looked happy and safe in the middle of the bog. have accomplished a bit, got stuff out for the trip this weekend. i think i've gone on so many trips i generally don't forget stuff. it doesn't take long. i made my little daily bags up for snacks and stuff. my friends laugh at my bags, but it's better than taking full packages out there. of course, i always bring way more than i can ever consume, but it's that protection in case you get extra days out there. we had 3 extra days out on shuyak island, those snack bags were almost empty by then. they say bring 5 extra days food to round island. i always prefer to not get stuck anywhere, but if you are thinking of traveling in alaska, you must be ready for delays. when i lived in ketchikan, several of us were waiting at the airport for a flight out. it was foggy and all of us locals settled in with a deck of cards. anytime there was an announcement the non-locals would rush the counters. the locals....we just looked outside, saw the fog and dealt the next hand. nothing happens in fog and fog happens alot. more in the summers than the winters oddly. the trails on the turnigan have spectacular views. always enjoy it. they are the first trails dry usually and the first to get flowers. we were surprised to see lupine out already. we also saw several other types of flowers starting to bloom. gotta love the wildflowers. my neice is coming up for a week this summer and so we chatted a bit tonight. also spoke to my sister in law as they are trying to plan a trip. the dates keep getting moved back. i may end up out at byers lake a few times this summer. they are talking fall now so i'd be cool with repeating byers with fall colours. met with scott to talk a bit about the round island trip....it is exhausting. up here we cram so many trips into the summers we need those long winters to recuperate! have to work the next 2 nights. then i have a few weeks before the madness begins. timing is key, but as i said, that can be altered by weather. loving all the green. it's the most awesome thing...so much up here is awesome. even a trip through the bog or to the dog park. got busy doing crap and have neglected my swimming this week. always bummed when i miss it, but summers get a bit hectic. hopefully, i can keep up a bit and keep in shape. didn't mean to bag on the gold nugget race, it's just that it's 8 lengths in a pool, however you can do it. 4 miles walk/run and 12.5 miles on a bike. the sad truth is every teenager/adult should be able to do these distances. it's just a sad reality of how out of shape our society is that these distances are considered a huge accomplishment. a bit obsessed with plant life this week. watched, "men who stare at goats" last night. it was a net flix. i've never seen it. doubt i'd go buy it or see it again, but it was pretty good overall. had no idea what it was about. silly, nothing wrong with silly. the devils club is returning.tanya and maddie head down the trail. not sure how the girls and i got ahead of her. we went for ice cream after the walk. i'm always up for ice cream. sandra joined us. scott tried, but something about his trailer being overloaded? guess that got fixed.views. it was pretty out there. the clouds were in anchorage when we returned.maddie works the angles.i'm sure this bench sat a bit lower at one time, but the land has left and now it's a dangling bench.maddie and i work on our model poses. mine were not attractive and i do hope they do not end up posted on facebook! kids like goofy and i'm more than willing to get a little goofy from time to time. taking a break on a little bridge. saw bear scat a few times, but no bears were sighted on our walk. there had been a black bear according to someone who came off the trail, but we never encountered it. after getting chased the day before i was happy to skip a day.on the way home from somewhere. this guys been hanging around the hood. love when moose kneel down to munch on grass. so cute! the old and the new. my old boots were cracking and no longer water proof or resistent, really they had become permeable. so sale at rei, off i went. always sad though to say good bye to a good pair of boots. i spend alot of time in my hiking shoes. we've done many miles together. so today i just did the short hikes to start breaking in the new ones. watched an exchange between magpies and a squirrel that had apparently climbed up the wrong trees. the maggies are very protective of thier nests. they gave this guy chase. i didn't stay to see how it ended. always fear the squirrel will run down the tree and then blossom will want to give chase. have my hands full enough just trying to keep her out of the water and avoid crazy moose. it's like where's waldo...spot the squirrel and the birds.this last one was my favorite action shot!dog park. ran into friends as usual. have met several nice people out there. rio did some posing for me.it's rare i can get pictures of her without her trying to walk towards me. she was happy in the water today.this dog made rio look like a chihuahua..okay maybe not that small, but look at that dog!! i'd be terrified if i saw it coming down a trail at me...it's huge! rio is 120# so she isn't tiny.packing central. gotta throw clothes in, organize more and finish getting notes written for dog care tips. need to go purchase the trundle bed after i get back. the carpet may wait til after summer, we'll see. may just go for it. will look at money after i get back. may just use pfd for part of it. all that crap has to fit in the kayak. still renting kayaks. haven't felt the need to buy one since i only use it a few times a summer. sometimes i'm in a single, sometimes a double. i fear that i will be out powered on this trip. hope they don't leave me behind. supposed to stay as a group, but people sometimes forget that tidbit. write a note or go to bed, that is the question....