my day started out with me naked and a plumber at my door...

 since when do plumbers show up early!!  haven't dressed that quickly in some time, but i did not want to miss him.  i was actually in the shower so that was record time.  happy to say my sink is repaired and i have a new garbage disposal. was a bit nervous to test it out.  it has actually been broken for a long time.  how much do i really need it anyway, but...there it is.  i promise to try not to drop anything metal down there and f it up again.

 these are almost all from yesterdays walk out at eagle river nature center.  this doesn't mean i'm all caught up but i am close.  it's always beautiful out there.

 after not finding anyone to walk with me yesterday i made the texting rounds again.  see i am mostly over the fact that i am the one that invites and isn't invited..i said almost.  there are a few more that want me to contact them for walks so i will add them to my text list and perhaps one day i will find a friend who wants to invite me sometimes.  it really is a bit disheartening to always be the inviter though.  people seem interested in hanging with me and seem to enjoy it when we do...but nobody likes to feel forgotten and that is how it feels when you never get the invites.

 tried to remind myself that the truth is there are many nice people out there who are sitting at home wishing someone was inviting them to do stuff.   not sure why so many people can't seem to branch out and try their hand at inviting.  it's the same with parties.  often these same people are the more inconsiderate party attendees because they never host any parties so they have no awareness or appreciation for all that goes into planning things.

 anyway, i did find someone to walk with me today and a few others that would have loved to have come with me.

 rio made it out today as well.  we did the spencer loop.  a few more clouds but no rain fell until after i was home.  then it really came down for a bit.  i did smartly toss my raincoat in my pack even though i never needed it.

 no bears seen out there, but we did see a moose.  we surprised the moose.  my friends dog almost looked like it ran right past the moose, which was lying down in the middle of the trail.  we came around a bend and the moose was down a hill.  that moose stood up in a hurry and whipped around to the dog.  thankfully moose, dogs and humans all came out unscathed.  that moose was some kinda pissed off though.  those ears were as far back as they could go.  we had an easy side trail that looped us around that small section of the trail that the moose was on.  oddly, one of the last times i took this loop i also had to take this same side trail when lena and i found ourselves looking at a mama moose with a young calf.  she wasn't budging and though she didn't look as pissed off as this moose, she was not going to gleefully let us pass by.

 lots of mushroom variety out there at eagle river.  my one brother keeps posting that i should make a coffee table book.  i'm no fool and simply taking nice photos of mushrooms in no way translates into a book.  my big lichen book is full of much researched data and information.  i  won't be making any coffee table books.  i did  make a note in my will that my photographer niece can have everything photography related to do with as she pleases.  if i do anything it won't be until i'm too old to walk and i'm hoping that is a long ways off.

 someone else can try to make money off my pictures...i just enjoy taking them, sharing them and blogging.  i tend to take pictures to tell the tale of life here more than for some financial gain. it goes into my dislike of our culture of success at all costs...i think too often we turn things we love into things we hate because society pounds into us that if we are good at all at anything we are failures if we don't try to become rich and famous for it.

 nursing is how i make my living, photography and walking are how i live.

 maybe i should just try to randomly text 3-5 people/day just to get myself a bit more out there in the social world.  goals can be good. i'm not always good at reaching them.  still have that book to work on.  it won't be a picture book of mushrooms. hehe.

 it was nice that the plumber showed up so early.  that meant i had my day to what i wanted with.  the hike took longer than it normally would but i'm still happy to see rio joining.  i'm a wee bit sore from the hills. that trail is a butt workout.

 love the colour of the water.  silt from the glaciers turns it this colour.

 seems like we are gearing up to do some sort of attack on syria...can't say that i'm all in favor of that. i'm totally against a regime that uses chemical warfare, but we thought iraq had weapons of mass destruction and none were found.  i'd like to feel a bit more confident on this before we go getting into the mess of it all.  it's all such a mess over there anyway.  at some point we will all be dragged into some huge awful war.  it won't just be one or two nations at a time, the whole place will blow up and then everyone will be dragged in.  all those movies and shows on survival may become a true reality.  americans may have to actually learn how to cope with what so many others have had to deal with their whole lives...those who have lived in hardship will be way more prepared.  we are all wimps...i include myself in that.  we have been protected and coddled by a fairly easy life.

 for now i will take my walks and hope that life in alaska doesn't change much.  a little oasis in the world of madness.

 got those packages mailed.  always nice to get a few things done anyway.  back to work tomorrow for 3 nights.

 august has flown by and september is upon us.  i'm still hoping to get a few short roadies in to see some fall colours.  it's a great time of year. i got time off for kaktovik but i never went ahead and made those arrangements. just felt like i'd spent enough money this summer. hopefully, i will get up there one of these days.  for all that money it may be nice to spend a bit more and stay a few more days.

 don't want to wait too long though.  i have seen polar bears in the wild but would love to see them in the wild in alaska.  the ones i saw were in churchill, canada.

 they are amazing animals.  i feel very fortunate to have seen them and the walrus. not the most common animals for people to see in their natural habitat.  so many places to see. would love to see tigers in the wild and galapago's and antarctica...the list goes on.  spendy stuff on my bucket list though.

 above and below would be some sort of lichen.

 got on line and spent money which i haven't done for a long time.  i'm already excited to get some fun stuff in the mail.

 i needed some more fat wood, which is great for starting fires. ended up getting that from amazon.  also shopped a bit at ll bean.  mostly stuff on sale but i splurged on this oceanic wreath that i have coveted for years that they sell.  every so often if i want something long enough i will just buy it. usually stuff gets out of your head after a short while but they've had this thing for several years and every time i see it i am wishing i'd buy it.

 got some knots on my neck.  should sign up for a massage soon.  it's been quite awhile.  probably the pack today.

 i can feel my feet as well.  it's time to buy new hiking boots.  it's been a few years.  when you can't remember when you last bought a pair it's probably time.  i think having good solid shoes is critical.  rei is having their sales and i think i need to get a few gift cards as well.  i keep saying i'll head over there and then i don't.

 loved these colonies of mushrooms. so cool.

 my pants have been feeling loose.  just jumped on scale and things are looking good there.  i have dropped some poundage.  of course, yesterday i was weak and bought some chips. i've been pretty good at just not having those at the house.  if they are here i will suck them down.  chocolate isn't something i polish off, but salty crap/chips...total weakness.  i'm hoping that my overall decrease in chips and pop will improve my weight, health and cholesterol.

 i certainly had no desire to go up any more in my weight or my cholesterol.  they checked our sugars in our annual at work last year. i know mine was in the 80's and that was pretty soon after i'd eaten and eaten crap for that matter so that made me feel better.  i want to avoid diabetes for as long as possible.  i hope i never get it.  it's a horrible disease.  my mom and both her siblings got it in their middle age years. as far as i know my sibings and i have been spared so far.  we are all getting older though.  it is funny, mostly nobody discusses health.  i truely believe that there are genes that determine stuff, and of course, our actions are taken into account, but i believe stress plays a major role.

 if you can keep control of your stress and find ways to release it you will be doing your body a huge favor.

 it is funny to me as well that people who have made choices that have brought them unhappiness tend to become more and more imbittered over the years and that is a huge stress on a body as well.  i have a  few friends that i've noticed are getting that angry/irritated over life attitude.  a few relatives for sure as well.  of course, these same people never seem to see that their unhappiness is due to their own choices and instead blame others.

 or maybe they just don't adapt to the changes that happen in their lives.

 not sure, but they are the ones that get angry at stuff that is out of their control and that they have no power over.  sometimes i think that is because screaming at the tv or going on facebook to dish a politician or view is actually pretty safe.  the democratic party or republican party can't call you on it.  these unhappy people are also the ones that seem to be most influenced by those tv programs.  if you hear crap over and over you will believe it.

 this is actually how horrific events like what happened in rwanda occur.  i'm still convinced we are surrounded by angry nuts who would love to take out their neighbors because they believe they are the cause of all the ill in their world, but they hold back because society is still telling them it's wrong...but as soon as they get the okay from society they turn into killer crazy people.  it's happened so many times in history, it's frightening.

 ate some halibut tonight.  great stuff. tried cooking it with tomatoes and cheese sauce.  good.  hard to mess up halibut.  shared it with the dogs which pleased them immensely.

 gonna sleep good tonight.  no worries about being woken up by plumbers.

 running out of things to say for the night.

 it can happen.  i'm not often at a loss for words.  oh the guy that got attacked by a grizzly up north is on the mend.  they had an article about the attack in the adn.  the guy is a guide and he says that after years of guiding he'd gotten a bit complacent about the bears which he says was a huge mistake.  it is easy to do. you go so long without any issues and you can easily slip up and make those little mistakes that can get you killed.

 it's even true for the local moose. you have to be aware all the time.  the moose today was pissed and it wouldn't have taken much for it to run us all over in it's irritation.  blossom decided to bark at it today for some reason which is not okay.

 i did send her out in the yard this afternoon to chase off a cat.  my cats are indoor only.  for many reasons. i do have bird feeders out there so the last thing i want to do is lure birds in to have them killed by neighborhood cats that are free roaming.  i hadn't seen this big calico before.  blossom went out there barking....in the dogs world with guns drawn..that cat didn't budge.  it was less than impressed with her.

 most cats run off pretty fast.  this one waited til i came out.  it was funny as blossom stayed on the deck barking at it rather than rush it like she usually does.  i think the fact that it just sat there without fear kept her from moving in on it.  together we chased it out though.

 pretty cat.  calico's are always pretty but they can be a bit crazy. i'm a tabby lover.  or a nice orange and white or black and white.

 a few sunsets from the other day. sleeping lady

 and of course, denali.

 the mountain has gone to bed and so shall i...good night.

another day another mushroom...

 ended up out at eagle river nature center today with the dogs.  these mushrooms are from other hikes, but i did get my fill of mushrooms today.  i go from mushrooms to fall to moose rut.  then there will be snow somewhere in there...and ice for sure.  but today it's mushrooms.

 it was a bit depressing today as it sometimes can be.  i texted several people and ended up walking alone.  seems pretty rare that people text me with the invites.  that is just how it seems to work.  there are the inviters and the invitee's.  i'm an inviter.  sadly, that in no way means that others will turn around and think to invite you out another time.  not sure if that is a reflection on my weak social skills, undesirable personality traits or just a reflection on being forgettable in general.  after awhile of never getting any return invites i generally get tired of asking certain people and stop.  who wants a one sided friendship.

 doesn't always help either when you see an obviously planned party that you were totally not invited to even though you know pretty much everyone at the party.  overall, i really don't care that much, but still, there is that kid in you that hates being left out and forgotten.  then i remind my sad self that if you weren't wanted someplace then it is what it is and the real friends in your life will be the ones that do want you around. i like facebook but there are those times when the party pictures are posted and you get to see from several different pages how so  not invited you were.  so it is written and so it is forgotten.  thankfully, i have a pretty quick rebound for stuff.  

 rio again decided to join us on the walk so we went out to eagle river nature center.  hadn't been there for a bit and a change is always good. i do want to try and squeeze in some good hikes and i may just have to leave rio behind for a few.  the weather was again great  so i had no issues today walking very slow. took pictures and just enjoyed it all.   there was a little kid out there with a white stick...guessing she was blind or close to it.  she was petting rio, the blind dog.  always kinda sweet when that happens.

 the road going out to the nature center is all torn up.  took a bit of extra time getting out there.

 lots of folks still made that trek out there.  traffic and road work have been the theme for me these days off.  i can't seem to escape it.

 hit the pet smart after the walk. the dogs always enjoy that.  there was a family there with some very excited kids.  they were adopting a kitten that day.  they had a few cute kittens there.  they were shopping and telling everyone about their kitten.  i had to go check out their new friend.  so fun!!

 rio is snoring behind me.  she's been pretty tired since we got back . she keeps trucking though.  i'm always amazed at her.  i never dreampt she'd be walking this far and this well after this many years.  i figured she'd be a couch dog.  she absolutely refuses to be left at home this summer.

 was able to sneak out on her tonight and hit the grocers.  had a coupon for $20 off if i spent  a certain amount.  that worked.  i even got an additional coupon for another $10 off if i spend another $50.  seems like you can't walk out of any store without spending at least that so i'm good.

 didn't take any black and whites today.  so unlike me when i'm in the photo mood.  oh well.

 liked that this lichen or fungi has pink edges. how cool is that.

 flowers and fungi.

 doesn't take much to peak my interest.

 syria is looking more and more like they used chemical weapons on their own people.  nice.  that region is a constant mess.

 can't really listen to too much news from the middle east.  baffling...there seems to be no way to fix any of it.  i feel badly for the normal people just trying to live their lives over there. how is it possible with such constant mayhem.

 tomorrow the plumber comes. hopefully i can get stuff fixed.  will be nice...hopefully not too spendy.

 may get him to check the toilet.  haven't been able to figure out where this one thing goes and it's changed how the toilet works.  hmm.

 this mushroom was melting.  they do eventually kinda disentegrate back into the ground.

 psychodelic.

 new mushrooms are cropping up all over to replace those that die off.

 i put these berries in the mushroom to add to the colour and look.  came out cool i thought.

 well, such an exciting life i live.  i am happy it's simple and though i crave the companionship of other humans, mixing with them can get messy and complicated.  it's not without it's issues.

off to bed.  not sure what my plan is post plumber. guess it depends on how poor i'm feeling and how long it takes.  haha.  good night.