Wednesday, August 15, 2012

obsessed with a few kingfishers at cheney lake..

a few raindrops fell this morning. i decided to take both dogs up patterson and over to cheney lake. rio walks slowly so we took our time. i think nearly 3 hours. of course some of my time was spent sitting and trying to capture pictures of the ellusive kingfishers. they are like giant hummingbirds. fast. they dive bomb the water and flit off into the leaves. this was probably the best shot i got.
here is as good as i got of the pair of em in flight. had a great time just sitting with the dogs and watching them though.
of course, there were ducks out there as well. liked the reflection of course on this guy. the clouds broke through to some scattered blue skies. alaskan summers aren't all sunshine and blue skies despite what people want to believe. after many months of snow, we do get a fair amount of rain. not nearly as much as southeast alaska but we get a few inches here and there.
they really are kinda cool birds.
this duck has caught something in the lake. he almost caught a dragonfly before this. it had flown too close.
nice to just have a relaxing, non-social day after a lovely evening with friends. that is my loner/hermit side talking. love social, but also love dog time. and duck time and kingfisher time. thought tomorrow night it will be back to work time.

more attempts at bird in flight. oh well. it was fun trying. happy for the delete button and digital.
watching, "arthur". haven't seen it for some time. always a classic. oh to have so much money. i'm sure that some filthy rich dude will show up one day and sweep me off my feet, or not. haha. i'm pretty chill about my life as a single gal. i always said if you find that person that you really can make a marriage work with then go for it, but anything less will land you in misery. i never found that guy. single life is really not the bad life that people seem to want to pity me for, it's actually got alot of perks. don't pity me this terrible life...i'm quite happy!!
cheney lake is stocked with trout. these are apparently a few of the locals. it was a man made lake.
the baby geese have somehow begun to blend in with their parents. soon they will all gather and fly south for the winter.
little mini me behind a goose parent. it's always amazing how fast the baby's of spring become ready to be on their own. all growth seems to be in overdrive in this place.
blossom wasn't tired after this day of walking and tennis ball chasing and swimming. she still brought me the toy tonight. she is adorable!
we looped the lake a few times and stopped on the other side for more swim time, the loons were chilling closer to this side. those kingfishers snuck up on me as well.
was planning on looping the bog on the way back but blossom put the kaibash on that one. no idea how to spell that one.
debated a nap, debated a swim. in the end i decided to head out to potters. the kitesailers were out, or getting ready to head out. there was a good wind. i watched them for a bit.
i'm not adventurous enough for this...does look like fun. looks too dang cold, i know they wear dry suits and all, but really. still...cold.
was happy no trains came by while i was on the tracks. i wasn't really worried though.

not many birds out at potters, that will change soon.
fortunately, there was this entertainment. as they headed out towards the water they all looked like they just were flying huge kites. just as i thought this i heard one of them call back to his friends that it was just like flying a big kite.
sleeping lady
multiple kites out there.

back to potters marsh. always pretty even if the bird count isn't that high.

some sort of sandpiper type birds. i like em, but my birder skills are weak. i seem to be a bit of a closet birder though. i do enjoy spotting new and different birds though i have no lists.
missed sunset, but got some nice heavenly rays.
found the canadian geese on the other side of the tracks. perhaps they got tired of getting their pictures taken.
despite being cloudy it was a nice little drive. bummed i couldn't fit a swim in. slacker again. i look at my upper arms and i know i really must get them back in shape. at one time i really did have some amazing arms and upper back. even the guys at the gym noticed them. not pick up guys, those powerhouse dudes that were lifting free weights when i was.
i know how to get back into that shape i just would need to dedicate the time to it.

had to put the picture in of my new firepit. hopefully i get a chance to actually use the thing before winter hits. now, if i only had the jacuzzi. right?
love when the rays come down through the clouds, it's so cool.
did walk the boardwalk. rio stayed at home and blossom stayed in the car. they don't allow dogs on the boardwalks.
through the blind.

before i went to potters i buzzed over to the coastal park off of reef that i enjoy in the winter. it does have some murky water down there that prevents that trail use. i had hoped it would have dried up a bit and i could cross over. no such luck. there is a big house for sale at the end of the block by the park entrance, wonder what it looks like and how much it goes for. great views from that place for sure. of course, it is right by the train tracks too.
more blooms in the garden.
loved all the pretty yellow flowers at cheney lake.
not many people out there today. usually, the place is packed with fishermen and walkers. week day i guess. that rio, her poops are so huge. i couldn't wait to find a trash can...it was weighing me down. thinking of poop...people sometimes post the strangest things on facebook. someone posted something about starting a bowel cleanse and hoping they didn't shit their pants...really? we really don't need to know everything in peoples lives. i suppose i post stuff in here, but this is a blog. you don't get blasted with it when you open up your facebook account. you chose to come here and you can choose to just look at pictures if you want. just thought it an odd post.
buildings are falling into the matanuska river. people put them too close to the river, but then again a river that huge is going to go where it wants eventually anyway.
rio relaxes while i watch kingfishers. she is never opposed to taking a rest on a walk.
blossom is pretty easy to get to take a break as well. i'm sure if she spotted something of interest she would bolt.
she's never been much of a bird dog. would like to get her to a creek with a lot of big salmon running and see what she does when they bounce into her legs. could be funny.

well, another day, another post. i will be back to working so won't post for a bit. still have a few pictures from dillingham to put in, maybe monday. we shall see.

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