Mowing the lawn in the pouring rain...

 that could be a country western song, right?  or else i was just trying to get everything done on the pre-trip to do list.  nary a sprinkle when i started up the engine..that quickly changed and i was mowing in a driving rain.  loved this plane out in willow with all the fireweed.

 worked the last two nights.  ER and then adult ICU.  my patients overall were loving me and giving me compliments.  there is so much that happens at work that i can not discuss here, but when you watch tv shows about what nurses do...they don't even come close to covering it.  the emotional toll it can take on you some days....

 hadn't worked adult ICU for a bit.  do love jumping all over. no way i would have done this in my first decade of nursing but now it's pretty sweet.  i have always admired the nurses that could do well no matter where you put them.  now i feel i've become one of those nurses.

 one of my patients last night said i was the best nurse he'd ever had...that he could tell i enjoyed what i did and did it well.  i always love when i hear that families and patients can relax because they know they or their loved ones are in good hands, or on the rare occasion now when i have the same patients more than one night, they are happy and comforted that i have returned.

 did make it out for a walk today. it's almost 1 am....i have lots to do still i'm sure before i catch a plane to Barrow tomorrow afternoon.  i'm never fully in vacation mode until i am on the plane..then i can just relax and enjoy because nothing is in my control anymore.

 Rio and Blossom will both stay with Shell.  that makes me feel more secure. the kid next door just has always been a wee bit flaky and i would be worried all weekend.

 notes are written out for pet sitters.  snacks bought.  bought a cheap kids roll on suitcase with disney all over it...figured i'd carry snacks in that for the hotel. may just leave it up there...i'm sure someone who works there will have kids or know someone with a kid that will enjoy it.  i don't really need a kids suitcase but i'm guessing foot prices will be spendy so snacks brought up will save cash.

 beach, moose in kincaid, walking with TO on Powerline and Eagle River Nature Center to follow.

 lots of selfies as i enjoy my short hair...hasn't made me nuts yet and some have said i look younger.  has not helped me be less invisible to the opposite sex but oh well...haha.  invisibility is sometimes preferred over some of the advances i have had on me over the years

 most in my age bracket seem to have issues with drugs, alcohol, are pedephiles and/or way too many baggage issues.  you only need one and if i ever find someone who accepts me as i am and actually likes me and whom i have mutual admiration for and can laugh with and feel safe with...well i try to keep an open mind.  no point making yourself nuts over how life goes.

 we all have our paths. so much of what i've been able to do and enjoy would never have happened if my life had gone other more "sensible" directions.  my life is strange but i do enjoy it.  we all have days/weeks/moments i think no matter what path our lives take.

 sadly i think it's really easy these days for people to look at the others lives and believe that what they post on facebook or twitter or what have you, is exactly how every second of their day goes.

 social media is just a snap shot of any life.  most of us have boring moments sitting around doing menial tasks or errands.  hard to keep things in perspective for some i think.  i sometimes find myself getting sucked in as well....everyone else looks like they are happy all the time, have perfect lives...what about me, what about my life?  then you just have to remind yourself it's a snap shot, people don't want to see a facebook post of us on our toilets or trimming our nails or cleaning the cat litter box, right? the bulk of each of our days is not shown on social media.

 if anyone is that happy and active 24 hours a day..well they will explode eventually. we need sleep, we need downtime and we need to take a shit!

 this trip is very much unplanned....we have one "tour" planned, otherwise we shall wing it.  wander around town.  maybe rent a car...and constantly keep our eyes peeled for polar bears.  if one does wander in town...well they do see humans as a possible food source.

 i won't be  in a tundra buggy when i see one this time if i do.

 these are at Thunderbird Falls.

 another selfie!!

 want to write a note to the President of USA.  he is planning a visit up here end of August.  would like to put in a few words for WARIS and Walrus.  that is the one thing on my to do list today that hasn't gotten to done.  drat!!

 i'm sure i will run out of time tomorrow.  still gotta finish packing a bit.

 oh did i mention the earthquake.  we had a nice long one as i was giving the dogs their snacks and heading out the door.  it turned out to be 6.3 i guess.  good sized.  nice shimmy going.  was watching everything shimmy back and forth.  i was standing and holding a wall but i could feel my brain equilibrium being totally off. strange feeling.

 these are at Summit Lakes up in Hatchers Pass.

 that is the trail up to the tarns

 it gains a bit of elevations fast for some great views

 yet another selfie...are you sick of me yet!

 stopped by fred meyers, the grocery store, and while i was gone.  the dog/s got into some flat bagels that i had previously purchased to make sandwiches in Barrow...so hopefully no ill comes of that.  i suspect it was Blossom.  so far everyone seems fine.  brats!!

 lovely views!!

 a dentist who likes to trophy "hunt" killed a beloved male lion in Africa.  the people he hired to help him get this lion, apparently used a killed deer of some sort to lure the lion out of the protected park.  i use "hunt" loosely because how brave is it really to stand by a vehicle wait for a baited and tricked animal to wander over and then shoot it.  that seems to be how many of these trophy hunts go...all so that you can have chopped off animal heads on your wall.

 i know, the  money for these "hunts" often goes back into environmental causes and often i hear as well that the meat does not end up wasted as it gets donated to locals for consumption.  for me though the idea of wanting to kill anything so that you can sit in your living room and look at it's head is rather distasteful.  though...i also doubt anyone is eating lion meat.

 it's been pretty clear how a good deal of the folks that have been on the internet feel about this "hunt" and this lions death.  the lion was named "Cecil" and was a favorite in the game reserve...probably photographed thousands of times.  that "hunter" is now the hunted.  people are pissed.

 saw another sad animal news bit. only 4 white rhino's remain in the world as one just passed away in a zoo.  with such small numbers it's just a matter of time before they do not exist at all.  my fear is that we are going to watch this repeat over and over.  species and after species will cease to be except in photo's...makes me so very sad.  the idea that one day my beloved walrus and polar bears may also meet the same fate really saddens me.

 rainbow near Willow on my way back from Hatchers Pass. i took the back roads.

 a before on the roof project

 during

 and nearly completed. i better turn in and start again on the to do list tomorrow.  finish packing and clean the cat litter.  would also like to work on that letter.  perhaps i can take paper and work on it on the plane?  depends on who is sitting beside me i guess.  i think Val is on the same flight to so that will be nice.  brought cards/pamphlets and stickers along.

thankful for: A.  the new roof.  hope it holds up...of course, more big quakes like the other days and it's strength may not matter...entire houses can be destroyed in a matter of minutes B.  kindness and compassion, may i survive this work as long as possible without getting too jaded and negative,may i continue to try and see the good, to treat all with respect and kindness and to go about doing good work C.  the furs...i know i say that one all the time.  they do give me that something that needs me at home which can be really grounding.  i will miss them while i am away...may they stay safe and may i stay safe and return to them with tales to share with them and fun pictures to share with you!! night

mish mash July..

 above is Blossom at Eklutna, below still Byron Glacier.

 more rain today so i opted to stick close to home rather than spend cash for last minute adventure in the rain.  need to be packing is what i need to be doing.  i was doing packing in my brain so that has to help.  temps in Barrow are 30's-40's.

 did do walk with Blossom.  we headed out to Campbell Airstrip..always a rainy day walk.  easy, close.  Blossom was not in the mood to walk there.  for some reason she never seems to like it there....perhaps it's because we walk it so often in the rain.

 there were bear warning signs and my pal was at the bench with Issac when i arrived.  he said a young brown bear had been there yesterday causing trouble.  haha.  the salmon are starting to arrive in the creek...though i never saw one and i was looking.

 i saw no bears or scat.  we just did 3 miles and then i came home, fed the pups and headed to gym for laps.  got my little gym stuff out just need to figure out how to do the bike thing.  looks simple enough...then i can be lazy at home but use the guilt to get on one or both of my machines.  fat...be gone!!!

 too bad i'm not a runner.  that seems the best way...though it always seems injuries get the runners eventually.

 no obvious leaks on the new roof.  i think they used too long of nails on the front deck since you can see the nails quite clearly though the underside.  i shouldn't get too concerned since i plan on eventually turning that into more of a master suite and walk in closet.  still, since they just did it i'd rather make sure it's going to be weather ready and not wait on it.  texted her today with plan to follow up in the morning.  she did text back but it was nearly 10pm and i was deeply invested in a netflix movie so i just put her off til the morning.

 these are fisherman at Bird Creek i believe.  saw some pulling fish out.  chatted with a friend who is retired and once you are of a certain age you can have others fish for you...fishing by proxy...i like that!!  less mess that way.  i have a few years to go before i can take advantage of that one though.

 these are back to Eklutna Lake hike

 the walrus were very entertaining today.  there was another alert/stampede event.  no injuries...short lived.  no idea what may have happened.

 perhaps if they keep up with the camera's next year we will have more than one at a time.  one can hope.  i was working on a calendar for 2016. need to set up the web page for sales and then start to purchase product. eventually the hope is that we can make enough money selling product to help Round Island with some costs and projects.  i may be a dreamer and i still have loads to learn, but...i'm willing to keep at it and see what i can do for the place.

 gotta call the sticker guy as well.

 liked this of the bench. it's at the 2 mile mark about. i had been remembering it at the 1 mile mark so it seemed like it took forever to get there...but when i arrived i saw that i'd gone 2 miles instead of one...aww...

 always love the fireweed with the lake in the background.  this lake is where we get our city water...so it's glacier fed.  the color gives that away. we have really good city water.

 it was a hot day so Blossom got in the creek water as soon as she got the opportunity.

 a bit ago Blossom really started to bark.  i went to investigate.  she is the guard dog of the house.  Rio is the muscle.  hehe.

 there was a very tall moose out there cruising the hood.  Blossom knew that wasn't no kitty cat!!

 always fun to see a moose in the hood. seems like it's been a bit.  they probably roam around a lot more when i'm sleeping or at work.

 tend to see more moose in the winters anyway.

 a few from the smaller camera...these are at U-Lake.

 grebe above and duck with ducklings below.

 the babies in town are all growing fast.  we are getting to that point where the flowers are falling back and the shrooms will soon come up.

 summers are short.  these are some beaver shots from the lake as well.

 this one guy is a big one!!

 they are always busy.

 from a walk to the beach at Kincaid..always a favorite of mine.

 Blossom loves beach walks as well.

 i have to leave my mark everywhere i go...it's a habit now

 it's not over until Blossom is coated in mud

 it's pretty easy to do here at the beaches

 tide was super low.  people do the crossing every so often which i still think is not a good idea.  the city of Anchorage tries to dissuade folks from wandering out on the flats at low tide.  the tide that comes in comes quickly and it's easy to get killed.  that mud is like suction and it can be hard to escape.  i've had a boot stuck in it once.  like quick sand.

 a group was taking people out there for the crossing.  an organized walk seems even more silly. first it just encourages others to try each time it's successful.  at issue for me is what does one do in the event of an emergency.  you can't just leave someone there and go get help as you can on most trails.  they would have to keep moving or run out of time and risk the tide returning.

 could be an issue if you have a heart attack, stroke, anaphylaxis...any number of things.

 these guys did wander out a bit but not really that far.  and they stayed together. don't think they all knew each other really, but they ended up together out there.

 i stay pretty close to the main beach.  Blossom would wander all the way out if it meant getting to the water. she has no common sense when it comes to water

 she enjoys the puddles left behind though.

 here they all come back...

 liked the bikes left on the beach while folks walked.  no fear of anyone stealing them.

 Blossom was my main model of the day.

 not the most exciting post i guess. hope you enjoy anyway. back to work for 2 more nights then i really will need to get ready to go as i am leaving.  want to get the papers ready for my pet sitters.

thankful for: Rain and sun...variety is good.  Swimming.  it always feels so good.   chocolate, it melts so even when i'm an old lady with no teeth i can still eat it.