early spring continues..nobody is complaining....

 lots of folks out enjoying the warmer temperatures and blue skies.  also the long days.  this couple was skiing down by the creek/river as i walked on the trail above.  we got to the parking lot about the same time.  it looked a bit tough skiing at times, but they said it was great fun and relaxing being right there by the water.  of course, i'm more of a nervous person but maybe i see/hear of the worst things that happen and it's made me more cautious. you slip in under all that ice you could easily be taken under and that would not end well i fear.

 there is a tree filled with shoes on the way up to Gold Mint trail, which is where i ended up today.

 work continues slow as far as i go. i think they know i have a hard time saying no to on calls and have cont to put me on call.  night one i never got called in, night two i got called in pretty early at 2100, night three it was 3:30am.  that is a tougher call in.  it does go by fast i guess though.

 that last night i got called in to be a sitter, which means i come in to try and help keep a patient from hurting themselves or others. often alcohol related...which is how it went last night.  alcohol withdraws are nasty at times.  i still think it would make a fun reality tv show...i really need to write some producer of reality shows with the idea. put a bunch of folks going through alcohol withdraws on the island and then have games with winning team getting to have a drink or ativan.  hallucinations, craziness...you gotta laugh sometimes or you would go nuts i think.
i kept looking for porcupines in the trees but only saw these nests.

 lots of trees trying to bust out already. also as i drove through Palmer i noticed they are already playing golf out there.

 still...the snow is pretty thick out there in many places so we still will have break up.

 you don't get out of break up that easy.

 i think this magpie was eating another dead magpie...survival of the fittest, who knew magpies would resort to canabalism.  of course, blossom was very interesting in checking out the dead bird and i had to keep her close.  i'd really prefer my dogs not eat dead crap they find on the trails..i'll leave that to other more wild animals...pampered pups don't need to go there.

 the trail was really good over all, much  better than my last trek out there.  Rio did pretty well with it.  sadly there are still some holes punched in it and poor Rio seemed to land in every hole.  i tried to direct her away from them, often causing myself to fall in one as i walked forward while directing Rio behind me.  it's gotta be exhausting for her though, thinking about every step.

 so i didn't feel too much like i worked hard all week.  i don't think i slept too hard either.  tough to sleep when you are on call.  you tend to stay up late and then crash as the night goes on..seems less and less likely they'll call you in, but they can call you in...and they often do.  did have to use some PTO this week but i try not to get too concerned.  i'm sure i need the mental break from time to time.

 i guess Ted Talks was in Anchorage this weekend.  i didn't notice it until too late, but hopefully i can catch a few on the web site.

 thought this ice kinda looked like a grand piano!

 more bird nests that aren't porcupines.  haha.

 as i was driving to work in the wee hours this morning i began to be followed by a police car.  i think the cop finally realized i was headed to the hospital and turned around. i was driving the speed limit.  perhaps they have begun profiling middle aged females in honda's...

 i have been followed by many cops in my many days of driving.  my California days were my most prolific as far as police encounters. i lost count at over 40 somewhere for having gotten out of tickets, that was in California.  i did go to traffic school every year ( in CA law you could go once a year) for 4 years at least and then i did have tickets on my record...so that would mean that before i turned 30 i had to have been pulled over at least 50 times. i recall a few fix it tickets in there as well.

 i even yelled at one police officer and i think i actually had him a bit flumuxed as before he let me off he told me to wear my seat belt, at which i pointed out that i was wearing my seat belt.

 i know i got at least one ticket in my two years in South Dakota and i have gotten tickets in both Ketchikan and Anchorage.  i find i get out of less these days but i also rarely get pulled over anymore.  so it was kind of odd to find myself being followed again by the law.

 had fun with the shoes.

 lots of black and white today...i always love it.

 it's midnight and the street crew is out there.  maybe not best day as everyone has their trash cans out, could make snow plow work more difficult.

 was thinking about life as a single female and how sometimes i feel like i have to be even more careful to not get irritable or angry.  i mean when you are alone you don't want to piss off the few people who bother to spend time with you.  was feeling a bit melancholy for a few days, but then i got some random phone calls from my brother Jeff and niece, Claire...so that was fun.  also on the days i got called in the folks in PCU were super happy to see me and one tech was raving about me and how much fun she'd had working with me.

 i of course, did some model walking for this tech as she had enjoyed that the last time i worked with her, i aim to please. this whole month i haven't been in either ACC or Peds.  strange i guess.  overall i  would say i am enjoying life in the float pool. for years i really rarely got an on call.

 the trail here in the summer goes to the left, the lump in the middle is actually a beaver house.  the trail today went over the beaver pond.  those beavers can be nasty, hopefully they are resting.

 we walked to just past the 2 mile marker.  it was easy walking to that point.  i guess just beyond where i turned there is an avalanche area that you can walk over and then a biker i spoke to says it gets kinda punchy and soft beyond that so i was happy we had turned around.

 Blossom at the 2 mile marker

 tomorrows goals, ACLS check off, cat litter and bills. gotta get to those taxes as well.  nice to be getting a few things accomplished though. the bills and cat litter were on todays list, but they didn't get done and i'm getting tired.

 a friend texted and i opted for a movie over cat litter. it was that new "grand budapest hotel". or something similar to that.  i liked it.  it was quirky and humorous, original and interesting.  also some fun cameo appearances by a variety of actors, always fun.

 they still haven't really found the plane from Malaysia, they seem to think they are honing in on parts of it...i will wait for confirmation.  it's been such dramatic reporting that one must not get sucked into the drama and instead await facts...remember when reporters actually reported news and didn't just try to create it?

 a few of the girls tonight at home....both dogs are happy and tired.  that is the sign of a good day.

 yesterday i just walked up Patterson and back and the day before i did a loop of gasline/powerline/tank.

 a few here from rovers run day

 always love the shadows of all the trees.

 and lots of little animal tracks all over the place.

 blossom has had some good toy time so she should be happy, but it seems to never be enough.

 these are snapped out the car window as i was driving to Hatchers.

 the shoe tree.

 the bridge out there had a good 4 feet of snow on it, seems like it anyway. it was a drop off to the bridge from the trail of snow and then a further drop down to the creek below.

 mile marker 1.

 selfie

 had to get a few of rio...she really is a sweet dog.  she's such a trooper out there.

 this picture really doesn't do the depth of snow on the bridge justice.  hmm....

i'm tired and i've run out of photo's. grateful for  1.  blue skies and warm spring days 2.  unexpected phone calls that brighten up your day 3.  having people be happy to work with me

the sunshine continues...

 temps in the 30's this week.  so lovely out there.

 mixed bag of pictures, as usual.  yesterday i headed up towards Near Point with Blossom.  we didn't go to the top.  it was a nice walk and a good work out though.  ran into friends in the parking lot when i got back.

 the day before was the Monday walk. realized that we are starting to get to the winding down of the Monday walks for the season.  seems so fast, winter.  i know that sounds nuts to those who don't live with 6 months of winter, but it really does go by quickly...every season seems to.  some faster than others up here i guess.  winter lasts the longest but otherwise there is just this constant change break up/spring/summer and fall and then right back to winter.  i love it though.  a few above was a young eagle.  right above a new puppy joined us, Dharma, she is a golden doodle.

 it is funny as i guess, i didn't remember, but the owner, pj, had apparently kinda gave me crap for paying for a doodle and now she has one.  she said i convinced her.  i don't remember her giving me crap for paying for a "mutt".  above is from the near point trail, anchorage below. i probably just should have kept walking to the top.  i'm sure if i'd gone with someone else i would have.

 this little guy.  i was downstairs at the kitchen table and i kept seeing movement out the window.  turned out to be all these tiny shrews zipping out from beneath the fence to the neighbors yard.  they were nibbling on seeds the birds had dropped from the feeder above.  there must have been 3-4 of them.  no decent pictures.  i attempted, but it was getting dark, they are small and fast and i was shooting through a window.  cute little buggers though. i'm sure they can cause havoc on houses and wiring and such.

 have gotten a few things done finally on my to do list.  finally bought my plane tickets for Ketchikan.  hate buying tickets...!!  it is done though.  so that makes the trip feel more real. i'll get there a few days early, i rented a car and can hopefully hit a few trails and see a few friends while i'm there.  still have to figure out hotel.  thinking i may do the cape fox place for that last night after the kayak trek for good eats and a nice atmosphere.  was looking for a cool b&b for those first days.  had a great one, but they require 5 night stay.

 still have to get final confirmation from a few folks and then i can shore up my numbers.  perhaps i could crash at a friends for a night or two as well and save money.  not sure how many are left in Ketchikan that i can crash at.

 was listening to NPR today and there was something on there about an app for the homeless, i think in San Francisco area.  it directs them to shelters with openings or food places...

 of course, the obvious question that came to my mind was, do homeless people have phones.  apparently the government gives out cell phones to the poor.  according to the guy they were asking questions of, cell phones used to be a luxury but now they are a necessity.  he even took that another step and they are, in his mind, a right!!  so life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and a smart phone.

 not sure i'm buying that!!   we don't have the money to feed or house the homeless, but everyone gets a cell phone!  interesting...and silly.

 early morning, well early for me anyway, Dr appointment.  only my second year going to this Doc, but i like her.  wanted to have a doctor other than my gyn.  with my reactive airway it seems like a good plan.  had my bloods drawn the other day.  all are normal.  even better my cholesterol numbers are great.  yeah me!!  wanted to touch base with her regarding my brain as well.  still moments of fuzziness.  don't last long.  for sure sensitive to noise and flashing lights.

 i was able to meet with L and we booked it through the big loop out at North Bivouac.  no wildlife sightings just a walk, enjoyable!

 a few more Iditarod dog shots.

 got highlights and low lights put in my hair this afternoon. i hadn't been to the hair dresser for quite awhile again. i get bored of dealing with it so i just let it grow out.  so some colour and some longer layers just to freshen it up.  looks fine. not ready to put in strange colours.  always seems silly at a certain age to me, but to each their own.

 just haven't gotten into this trend where people my age get tattoo's, piercings and dye their hair bright colours.  for me it just seems like something one does when they are a teenager or in their early 20's, something one grows out of in my mind.  clearly i'm not in the majority in this one...i am apparently an old fuddy duddy.  some one posted pictures of their evolving tattoo on their calf on facebook.  i clicked the "i don't want to see this" button.  50 year old calves are not always things of beauty...another reason i would not be putting a tattoo on  mine.try to avoid the varicose veins and spider veins...or i guess you could work them into the design.

 anyway, was catching up with my hairdresser.  he began speaking of this person that he seems to be following.  sounded pretty strange to me, but i feigned fascination...the guy could totally screw with my hair, right. haha.

 anyway, this guy is a transphysical phenomena medium.  he was explaining it to me, not sure i totally got it all, but somehow the guy is supposed to be some portal to the other side and jewels and crystals i think apparently come from his eyes, mouth and belly among other places.  he ends up with one such jewel for each person in the crowd and magically always has one for each person.

 according to my hairdresser Jesus had this same ability.  don't recall reading about him spitting out jewels, but he said this was how he did the whole bread and fish miracle.  it came from inside him.

 of course, i was skeptical and curious so i just had to check it out.  everything and everyone is on youtube, right?  so i did a search.

 there he was.  he goes behind a curtain and then returns and makes this big act of releasing these jewels.  i gotta say..it looked pretty made up to me.

 always amazing to me that people go for these sort of charlatans i would say.  there is so much hype around them and people just eat it up apparently.  i'm just don't convincing enough to pull it off.

 my bull shit meter was hitting the highest levels watching these video's of this guy.

 i told L that if i'm found dead tomorrow to please inform my family and friends that i was only searching this thing out and not into it.  would hate to have people see that search in there and think i've begun to believe folks like that.

 poor guy really did seem convinced that this guy was the real deal.  it is amazing what people will buy.

 guess a law is being put on the books making it illegal to use drones in hunting big game up here.  it is determined to be unfair.  i do think it is unfair, but it is ironic that it's not unfair to kill humans with drones, but unfair to kill animals with drones.  not trying to start a big discussion....just struck me as interesting.  i am all about the animals so i'm cool with this.

 big landslide in Washington. very sad, but at the same time so often people seem to build/buy houses in places that seem concerning at the very least.  it is true, the scientists try and warn against building in certain places due to risks but then it becomes a political issue and then permits are handed out anyway.  i'm sure it's the same here with earthquakes, especially our big one.  lots of talk of it this week with it being the 50th anniversary. it is funny how the further away the event is the more lax it seems we get on rebuilding in those area's that were most hard hit.  we forget.

 didn't get to sleep in today due to my appointment. always a bummer.  tomorrow i must stop by work and do this check off thing.  not sure why, but i absolutely hate going into work if i'm not going in to work.  oh well. this is this mandatory check off thingee.  i have another check off next week that i'll have to go to.  bummer...i am back to work tomorrow night as well.

 run dogs run!!

 a team stopped in front of us.  i had just mentioned to someone who was with us that every year it seems like at least one team stops right in front of us....then one did.

 already getting some snow to keep hydrated.

 long tongue, happy dog!!

 a little blip in the paper the other day.  down in Juneau someone fell through the ice in front of Mendenhall Glacier.  apparently it's like up here where folks walk out portage lake to the glacier...there is a risk of falling through. i'd think more so down there as it probably doesn't freeze as thick and the thaw/freeze no doubt happens more frequently than up here.  still something to think about and be aware of out there on the ice.

 paperwork to fill out and mail off...the to do list lingers...

1. grateful that i have worked my way through my own spiritual crisis and have come out the other end at peace.  2.  grateful for those tasty oatmeal chocolate chip cookies given to me today, nummy!!  3.  grateful for seeing all those tiny tracks out on the trails today. we don't always see the animals but it's always fun to see those signs of their activities out there.  good night.