it's a wild world out there...

 these birds totally swarmed while we were out there.  there is a term for this, but i can't remember it.  i'm sure there are a few birders out there that know the real word for a bird swarm.  nobody on the boat got pooped on.  thousands of birds though...quite impressive!

 more of the sea lions.  good to finish off the pics from my nieces trip up here before i head to Homer and see what turns up down there.  always enjoy a jaunt down to Homer. will stop a few times along the way no doubt.  walk the pups. walk me....sitting is still the worst thing for me knee. activity is the way to go. so i like to stop and move around...still want to get those steps in anyway!!

 let Rio chill out side for a bit today and then she was a bit easier to convince to stay on the couch.  wanted to do some hills for more of a work out of a walk.  too hot for rio out there anyway.

 no big excitement for my birthday just a lovely sunny day, a few errands and dinner with friends....so just really nice.  in between all that i got lots of texts and calls and of course the facebook love!!  gotta love that aspect of facebook...it makes birthdays even more fun!!

 stopped at the garden shop and so my deck now has flowers...always just a nice summer thing.  still need to try and find someone to spiff up the yard and then it looks like my neighbor is ready to tackle our roof.  it's due.  was hoping to do that with a remodel of the bedroom but probably too spendy to do both right now.

 we walked Little Campbell Lake.  always nice as i can get Blossom wet in the lake before we take off, just keeps her cool.  only one moose encounter, a young bull, probably just set free by his mom.

 guess the zoo has some baby grizzly's and the conservation center has some abandoned baby moose and some baby musk ox.  so cute.  babies are just so dang cute!! the musk ox are all fluffy and puffy and the moose are all legs.  the bears...well they are bear cubs, everyone knows bear cubs are adorable!!

 a few goats way up high and in the shade.

 a fun gathering of friends at Ling and Louis.  always good eating, not too loud, kid friendly and a big table with no wait!!  can't complain about that!!

 think i'll download the pics i've taken since this weekend.  they've been in the cameras. then i'll be ready for Homer and where ever i head to on this stretch off.

 more of the bird swarm .  not sure i know how to take pictures of a bird swarm . probably should have switched to the wide angle, that is first lesson.  oh well..you still get the idea...a hell of a lot of birds!!

 you'd probably get sick inhaling all the feathers and bird dust if you were too close. birds are pretty but they can also be kind of messy and gross. can't we all i guess. i love walrus  but they are not all clean and scent free either.

 attack!!

 i do love being by the water. hoping for some decent weather while i'm on the Kenai.  right now it looks pretty sweet, but that can change.

 trying to see stuff i haven't seen yet this summer.  add a few new haunts to my regular rounds.  find some new beaches or trails to visit.  there are tons of them.  it is easy to stick with the tried and true.

 murres.

 at the top of this island are some old remnants from a world war..is it 1 or 2?  dang it i can't remember right now. i think 2.

 can't imagine it was easy to get these up to the top and build these bunkers.  a hundred years ago really doesn't seem that long ago but technology has changed so much and tasks like building these bunkers up here would be done totally differently

 lots of cool rock outcrops.

 and birds...loads of birds out there!!

 a little closer view of the bunkers up there.

 my dad would have totally loved this history stuff up here.  we just were never taught any of this in school.

 Bear Glacier showed up for us. i guess it's tough to get close to due to the moraine.  pretty from a distance.

 these guys were a ways off but that is a baby on the mama otter. so cute!!

 and a seal..all by it's lonesome!!

 more cool rocks.

 watched "Juno" last night.  hadn't seen it for a bit and someone had mentioned it.  always a funny flick.  haven't seen that writer do anything else worth seeing yet or even that actress who played that role really getting any other good parts.

 a bit closer to Bear Glacier.

 no bears spotted on todays walk which i was very happy about.  you just have to remind yourself that those bears move so just because there was a sighting in one place one day doesn't mean those bears will still be there a few days later. doesn't mean they won't either.

 that is a big glacier!!

 tempted to drive through the tunnel tomorrow and check on that newer trail...well i think it's an old trail but it sounds like they have widened it and made it more of a real trail now.

 we saw one humpback out there...gave us some good tail action before diving.

 music is on...trying to round out my steps and get to 10,000 for the day...less than 1000 to go!!  :-)

 today it's Train.  like a lot of their stuff!

 gotta get your whale tail fix every so often. do miss living by the water like i did in Ketchikan.  such a beautiful place!! saw whales from my front deck.  sweet!

 the sea stars in Kachemek Bay are apparently starting to turn up with the same wasting away disease that has been getting sea stars off the western coast.  it was thought it hadn't come this far north but something is killing them off.  i've always been a sea star fan!  well anything ocean is pretty awesome in my book.  love the inner tidal zone.  so much diversity. life is a challenge in that zone.  several times a day the creatures and plants that live there have to deal with changes in salinity, temperatures, moisture and dryness...among other things.  different predators to contend with.

 interesting article the other day about the diversity in Anchorage.  i'm all for diversity.  Anchorage public schools lead the nation in diversity.  people are often surprised by this.  many refugees land in Alaska.  i'm sure it's a huge change for many who have probably never even seen snow.

 high schools, we have the top 3 positions.  Hawaii follows us with the next two.  in our middle schools  have the top 4 slots, then one by Hawaii and then back to Alaska for the next two.  in elementary schools we have by far the most diversity.  Alaska holds the top 19 positions with Hawaii in the 20th slot.  that was as far as the chart showed.

 it was interesting how getting these refugees into sports can really be helpful for them in many ways. i think there are 99 different languages spoken by the diverse population of our schools.  pretty amazing.  often i'm sitting at a place like cost co having a slice of pizza and it is amazing just to watch the people funnel past...so many different backgrounds and cultures are represented just in that small sampling.

 more of the moose swimming. it was a pretty cool thing!!

 dancing got me over 10,000 steps!! gotta be good exercise.  these past weeks i think my knee has turned a corner.  i have even found myself semi jogging down hills.  once i realized that i am just out of shape at this point more than anything else.  it does really inspire you to make the move to more acitvity.

 back to walrus!! here are a few more shots from the past day or so.

 haven't had as much time to pop in and check on these guys.  when i do i try and scroll back and see if anything new has happened.

 look at the flipper extension!!

 the beaches were super full for a few days.  the count looks to be less than with some free space again on the beach.  a sea of pink!!

 they are so adorable. i really enjoy the peace of the sounds by the ocean.  the water and birds and the rocks rolling with the tide.  of course, there is also the sound of the walrus.  at times the chiming is quite prominent.  it's really amazing.  such a beautiful and haunting sound.

 to every camera a fly may come.  i survived another birthday...

grateful for:  1.  each day, waking up and being here on earth to enjoy all that was created...the diversity of humans, animals, plants and scenery is awesome and beautiful!  2.  flowers on the back deck.  it's the little things that brighten up your day 3.  friends and family making me feel loved on my Birthday...Thanks all!!  Good Night!!