Thursday, July 31, 2014

handing out cards...

 today i slept in late...as usual for this week, eventually i headed out to Eagle River Nature Center for a walk with Blossom . Rio opted out today. these should complete July...all that is left over are some of the Misty Fiords pics from the little camera. a few mushrooms popping out in Eagle River.  lots of bugs biting as well.
 these young shore birds were out at the bog...along with this little dragonfly.
 it was warm out and my body was pretty sore today...mostly my left knee.  so i did an easy 4 mile walk which was fairly flat out to the river and back.  Blossom was so happy to get into that glacier fed water.
 i was happy for her to get into that water as well since she'd laid down in every mud puddle she could find.
 like having the cards to hand out.  got to talking to a few folks out there.  getting better at talking walrus to people.  i wish i had a better plan laid out for how to help, but i really don't.  get as many people gathered into the same group, educate those who have never heard of the Walrus Islands Sanctuary that it exists and is worthy of our help and attention and then raise money and work with fish and game and other entities to best serve the sanctuary.
 talked to jm there at fish and game today.  i'd gotten an email from him that apparently vincent-lang has tasked ew with getting figures together for costs of running round island.  i figured v-l had no idea what all was involved in this.  i also suspect that v-l thinks someone will just totally take over the islands and that will be that.  nothing is ever that simple, nor do i have intentions of completely taking over the day to day running of the sanctuary.  that was never my intention.
 i may be able to help find volunteers to head out there this next summer if we have been unable to get the funds for paid techs..i may even go out there myself for a 2 week stint or two 2 week stints if that is what is needed.  wouldn't want to be away from the dogs for more than that or take off my real job for more than that either.  it may be a walrus summer.  i can think of worse things to do than hang with those sweet walrus for a few weeks.
 need to work out what fish and game would cover for these volunteers if we find them . i already have some interest.  great to talk to jm today.  he is very supportive and understanding of what is going on with this process.
 the person who is running the eagle river nature center took it over several years back and turned it into a non-profit endeavor.  would be great to talk to her, not too many people have started this sort of thing with the mixture of politics and dealing with other groups so i am excited about the idea of having that conversation.  i left my card and spoke to a very nice volunteer (i think volunteer?) at the front desk.  she's been out to R.I 3x and is interested in getting involved...so she got a card as well and hopefully i'll hear from her.
 these are Byron Glacier pictures...
 have to get approval from Kickstarter then we can get that live and hope for the best.  would be tough to save the sanctuary with the current balance of $35 in our account!!
 so things are moving along...i must be doing something right i guess.
 lots of construction on the road out to the nature center.  seems like a long drive but i was surprised at how many people had still made the drive all the way out there.
 socially, not a great week.  sometimes i think if it weren't for WARIS i would have zero contact with the outside world aside from people clicking "like" on my facebook page.  so it's probably good that i have collided with this non-profit.  may have to figure out my social issues as i move forward with this thing...
 did send off a few photo's to Alaska Magazines photo contest.  some friends on facebook sent me the contest page and encouraged me.  doubtful that i will win any photo contests but i do appreciate the support.  photography and blogging are hobbies.
 big eratic...that is a huge rock that is leftover from the glacier retreat.  this one has retreated a lot

 it felt so cool by this snow and the creek.  same today...eagle river was immediately cool and comfy.  i poured water on my head to cool off for the walk back.

 Blossom has enjoyed her week of walks.  we've gotten in some good walks.
 had a tough time getting her to leave the snow that day.  she sat there and then she rolled on it...such a cute and happy dog!!
 took more of the same pictures on the way back to the car.  the sun was shining through the snow, which looked so pretty.
 it's been a week of staying up late, sleeping in late and not getting much done other than walking and WARIS.
 watched a movie/documentary last night.  "first position" it followed various ballet students who were going to this huge dance event in new york.  kids get scholarships to ballet schools.  there were different age brackets. it is interesting the variety of backgrounds that these kids came from.  they had just taken an interest and had parents who supported them.  it was cool to see the boys with parents that admitted that at first they were worried that their kids would be teased, but they saw how happy their sons were and how much work it was to do ballet.
 so many parents really sacrifice everything in order to help make these dreams come true.
 one young man was from Columbia i believe it was and the family had sent him to New York to train.  he did very well, and was moving on to England for more training. another young girl had originally been from Sierra Lione.  it was a violent childhood, both her parents were basically executed in front of her, she was dropped off at a orphanage, tried to save her teacher, but the woman had her arms and legs cut off and was left to die.  eventually she was adopted into a family in US with another buddy of hers from the orphanage. she had skin pigment issues and the orphanage had encouraged the family to take her along with the other girl they had already decided to take.
 they feared the pigmentation would cause her grief as culturally many would think it was a mark of evil.  she'd seen a picture of a ballerina at some point in her early days and decided that was what she wanted to do.  her parents were so cool, they seemed like people who would do anything to make her dreams come true. she had an injury but struggled through it and got a scholarship as well.
 it's a tough road, ballet.  seemed like these kids put more pressure on themselves than their parents were putting on them.  some people are just born to do certain things and they just find their way to them.  could be a sport, music, art, dance...if they are given the opportunity they will excel.
 of course, for every kid who dreams of being this or that, there are many who will find that dream falter.  not everyone can be the lead ballerina or form the rock band that makes it big.  you just hope that those kids/adults can find another way to happiness or at least figure out how to incorporate their dream into their life in some way.
 these are at Eagle River today.
 when i was young i always was passionate about animals.  i trained as a veterinarian technician and worked as a licensed tech for years in an Emergency room for dogs and cats in L.A. , i also trained as a zoo keeper at the L.A. Zoo.  i was never a paid keeper but i was a volunteer keeper for years.  i also took many courses in Marine Biology.  never turned those into a career but here i am starting a non-profit for walrus.  perhaps it all was just preparing me for this path.
 hopefully, i can do this role i have taken on justice.
 the "big Bang" is going to be delayed as the actors battle for higher salaries.  seems pretty silly considering the amount of money they are no doubt making at this.  money is so often strangely divided in our society.  we pay actors and athletes so much and teachers and police offices relatively little.  hard to judge the crew for trying to get more money in that those above them are making even more outrageous sums of money...these are, of course, the people i should be hitting up for walrus money.
 will have to get moving a bit earlier tomorrow as i'm picking up rh from the airport to talk walrus.
 our PFD check is guesstimated to be pretty high this year. i'll have to get these walrus on there for next year...people can donate part of their PFD to charities of their choice.
 pretty day out there walking.
 i will try and get to bed a bit earlier so i can get my day rolling a bit earlier as well.

 must be time to go back to work...recover from this weeks mosquito/bug bites.  the side of my face is swollen from a biting fly bite. those always swell up on me and then i get a little sore.  buggers!!
 it won't be long and the bug numbers will drop down.
 these mushrooms are a sign of the coming fall, and fall doesn't last long at all.
 may try to call a lawn place and see if they can do a big lawn makeover for fall to prep it for next summer.  it's a mess out there.  i thought about it but sat in my chair instead and chilled.
 at the river...love that grey/blue colour from the glacier
 Blossom was just happy to be in the water.
 it is cold water.  felt great when i first poured it on my head and then i got the chill rush...brrr..
 this shows the colour better.
 hard to tell but this mushroom was gigantic!!  it was already falling apart. i put my phone next to it for size comparison..very impressive.
 short boardwalk along the trail..complete with wet lands and increased bug counts.
is there anybody out there?
grateful fors...
1.  cool water and beautiful views to enjoy on my walks
2.  the support and positive feedback as i work on WARIS.  i've for sure put a dent in my personal bank account and spend way more time on this than i write down.  i often feel inadequate and knowing that others value my going through this process really helps.
3.  i get my aches, but i am very grateful for the relative good health i enjoy, that i am able to get out and enjoy the beauty of all we have been gifted with on this earth.

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

my muscles are barking...

 Blossom and i took a trail at Arctic Valley.  have wanted to just head straight up and so i did...that desire will doubtfully never return.  not impossible but pretty good pitch.  did fine.  not a lot of mileage but it is some work.  it was a good work out though. loved this of Blossom...we are up at the top and slowly making our way back down the other route.
 such a change in weather from yesterday.  these are mushroom shots from a rainy Campbell Airstrip trail walk.
 it actually was cloudy as i drove up arctic valley road, but cleared as i started up on my hike.
 it was a good work out and some sweat was spilled...the good part was when you are working out at that level your brain is only focused on the workout.  good to get my brain cleared.
 the WARIS stuff is great, i know i'm doing the right thing.  it is an added stress.  trying to manage it all and figure it out and sound like i am worthy of the honor of being an advocate of these great animals and this amazing place.
 fun to have my mushrooms back again.   not many on todays hike of course.  the rain prevented too much photography yesterday.
 got a few errands run and will wait and see if the stuff i did these past few days make it so that i can start kickstart and accept donations to our web page. right now it will take donations, but won't deposit them into our account...hopefully i have that fixed.
 Rio sat out todays walk.  no way that girl would have managed that hill.  she seemed fine to skip a walk today.  i have some leftover roast which really sweetens up the peanut butter filled bones she gets when i leave.
 that Ebola virus is really getting some steam.  over 600 dead, including some aid workers.  it's a big risk working in medicine some days, especially when you are traveling the globe doing aid work.  my heart goes out to those brave individuals who put their lives at risk to save others.  the one doctor from Texas sounded to be doing poorly but also seemed from reports to not regret the work he's done.  if he passes it will be a great loss to those he serves and the family he will leave behind. hoping he manages to survive.
 Ebola takes a very large percentage of those it infects and the scary thing is planes are coming and going to those regions. in this modern age a virus like this can travel fast.
 Alaska  is more at risk from diseases coming from Asia over Africa i'd guess, proximity.

 loving all my mushrooms...they get me all excited each year...and i don't even eat them.
 they just come in such a cool range of colours and styles. also, they change as they go through their short life cycle.
 you can see them i your yard in the morning looking one way and by mid day they look totally different.
 guess we had an awesome lavender sunset tonight..i missed it.  it was looking like it would be pretty cool.  the times change so sometimes you lose track of when the sunsets are happening.
 this is when the rain was coming down the hardest out there on the airstrip.  you can see Rio's coat is totally soaked..good thing it did keep the bulk of her dry.  this morning i did notice some nasty looking nasal discharge...hope she doesn't get sick from her walk in the woods.
 she is eating great today.
 blips of NPR today as i was driving around.  sounds like things are very bad for environmentalists in Brasil.  Pollution is rampant. should be lovely for the summer Olympics. they were supposed to have this bay cleared out a bit before then, but there is a big sailing event and it's not cleaned up at all.  those who do stand up for the environment find themselves at odds with the government and the oil industry, who work together.  always sad.
 they were also talking at some point about this type of anteater in China that is on the verge of extinction.  apparently, here if you are trying to impress someone you would serve them good wine, there it would be outrageous meat...anteater is the meat of late to be served.
 lots of folks out berry picking at Arctic valley.  they came just for that and were filling up their buckets.
 some still looked a bit green to me.
 hard to really see the pitch here...it was no easy climb though.
 you can see here that it totally drops off.
 we wandered around the top, rested and then headed back down.  Blossom would have preferred to rest more i think.

 cool harebell.
 great views from up there at the top though.
 these are the only mushrooms that i saw.
 our sitting rock, covered in lichens

 Blossom puts her paws down and refuses to walk on...it's rest time!!
 the trail back down
 more flowers and cool stuff.
 a bunch of harebells, usually don't see so many clumped together...it was pretty cool
 my business cares arrived in the mail today.  these pictures don't do them justice, but pretty cool i thought!!
 at least i can hand them out and feel like i look more professional.
 will eventually make some changes, but these are good for now and the other board members should be able to go on there and make themselves cards if they want.
 these are a few from out at Byron glacier  don't think i put the ones from the big camera in yet.
 always experimenting with black and white.
 these days off are flying past me.  soon i will be back at work.  i still have a full day tomorrow.  not sure where to go or what to do.  i should really wander a bit
 i had been craving the pool. i could feel myself swimming and the water and so it was time to get back in the pool tonight...felt great!!
 liked the sun on the snow here
 lots of my friends have been hitting Byron Glacier these past few weeks.
 i think one friend found salmonberries in Whittier..i'll need to head there and look for them...they are so good!! don't want to meet any hungry bears though..they love berries too

 i have babbled on again and have come to the last of my photos for the day. still behind but trying to mix old and new now. keeps it so exciting.  summers fly and you just see so much cool stuff!!
thankful for A... my new cards...they make me feel more legitimate.  B...conquering the big hill, didn't take that long either, but it's good to take a challenge and succeed at it C...my sitting times this summer.  i try and just chill in my swinging chair for at least 5-10 minutes every day it's nice out.  it is sweet.