flowers....

 braved the airstrip today, despite signs that said brown bear with cubs in area a few days before.  bears can move quite a few miles in one day so a sign one day doesn't really mean all that much.  you just have to be bear aware at all times.

 these are also from Homer and a few other hikes and rambles in July.  rotating around the pictures is always a way to keep it interesting for me anyway.  hope you enjoy the variety.

 it  looked cloudy and dreary everywhere but in Anchorage.  needed to change it up from the dog park though.  the pups don't really care but we did have a fun walk doing this loop.  just under 4 miles for me.  knee feels a bit stiff but overall fine.  no pain killers no brace today.  i'll ice it tonight when i crash.

 Homer was a relaxing trip of beach walks and shopping.  some eating as well.  would have loved one of these art pieces below.  so beautiful.  didn't have that sort of cash planned for my shopping in Homer though.  haha. need a bigger house as well if i decide to really start buying all the art that i end up loving.  safer to buy a pair of earrings.

 the puppies were pretty tuckered out each night...or as we say now Tuskered out.  haha.

 turned out to be pretty hot here in Anchorage.  we stopped at the creek at the other end.  the dogs moved ahead of me so i called them back...thankfully, they came right back as they had obviously spotted a moose.  i think it's a pair of younger moose that were kicked out of moms care this spring.  i was pretty excited that they so calmly returned to me.  i think they are just hitting that age now where they learn and it's sticking.  yah!!  all my hard work is starting to pay off i think.  don't want to get too confident.

 above is the remodeled walrus enclosure.

 came in my room to see this adorable moment.  the cat was sound asleep when i walked in but she was awake by the time i got the camera out .

 we had another big moment while on the airstrip.  i have been having them take off, then i have them "hold up" and we have gotten really good at distance "sits"...Tusker was the slow poke on that one.  i then can work on distance stays, walk around them...this at the dog park as well.  today, Ivy did a distance "down".  so we did that several more times so we are on the way to getting that down.  can i change that over to sphinx like i did with Blossom?  Tusker was a no go on this one, but Ivy...such a smart girl.

 did have to take her down for jumping once but that was it.  she did great.  is there a light at the end of the jumping tunnel?

 would love to get them both certified as canine good citizens.  Blossom could have done it but not when she was young since she too was a jumper for greetings.  stopped taking courses before i got the good citizen award. so that is the goal for these two.  more classes in the winter again i think.   above is wee jelly on the beach.

 Ivy impressed me last night as well.....or was that this morning. she was seeming to be sleeping next to the bed when suddenly she jumped up and barked at a dog and owner walking by.  how did she hear them?  how did she know they were out there.  i hadn't heard a thing.  Tusker also did not rise from his sleep.

 view out a window at Independence Mine.

 Ms Breezy Chatterbug cuddled up with Tusker.  she is a lover of dogs.

 we have had some good puddle pool time.  after our walk today i got the hose out for them. figured it was pretty hot out there on the trail so i'd cool them off.

 so no Talkeetna today.  hopefully, i will get there before my next stretch of work starts up.

 it's almost August so on cue the mushrooms seem to be starting to show up all over.  this trail today is a good one for mushrooms..this entire park is actually.

 still loads of flowers on the airstrip so i had to stop and snap photos

 my puppies are so cute.

 did not take too many pics with the iphone yesterday.  this was off the old Glenn.

 cool dandelions....or closely related i guess.

 puff balls.

 bear signs all over.  i didn't note any salmon in the creek so maybe that run is coming to an end...or just not too many fish right now.

 there is an older guy who i see out on this trail all the time.  saw him and his dog Issac today.  he looks thin and was dragging an oxygen machine behind him.  happy he is still getting out but it is worrisome.  poor guy.  so happy he has his buddy Issac.

 more puff balls.

 they should actually be good eating right now at this stage.  eventually, you can pop them and watch the actual puff explode. super fun to do.

 Ivy and Tusker were both running pretty hard out there today and their tongues were hanging out.  successful walk i'd say.  tomorrow will be a new day.  they have no muscle memory of walking the day before.

 look at these adorable faces.

 clean up from the weeks political messes it seems.  the scouts are apologizing for the iitoo address at the jamboree...mind you the iitoo isn't apologizing. he seems incapable of such.  most of his "speeches" are simply campaign rally speeches.  except the rare time he actually reads a prepared speech....nobody can control him obviously.  the faces will keep changing with the thought being they are the issue when all along the problem is the iitoo.

 police departments are also coming out after a speech he gave at a group of gathered officers.  he basically told them to crack skulls into the car door as they were putting the accused inside the cars.  so many police agencies are trying to distance themselves from this aspect of the speech.

 a recall my friend and i meeting a few police in LA at a bar.  she is married to one of them now.  i was unimpressed when the guy she eventually married was regaling me with tales of them "handcuffing sp....'s to fences" and then driving around the block while they sat there handcuffed to the fence.  charming.  not all police are good souls.  not all of any group will be good and decent people.  you can't judge all of them by the few.  you do have to do your best to control the few.  having the iitoo encouraging bad behavior doesn't really help.

 these are at ArchAngel trail.  that is always a beautiful trail as well.  trying to get some bigger hikes in before summer is gone.

 loads of flowers up there.  many when i was there as well.

 came up here with my niece and her family when they were here.

 wild cotton.

 wild puppy

 it can be a bit brushy. i tend to do some of these bigger hikes on the weekend if i am alone. then there are just more people around to scare off the bears.

 didn't see any bear scat out there.  only one today, but it was older.

 the high country seems fairly safe right now as the bears are after salmon.  soon the berries will be out and that does interest the bears of course.

 loads of columbine flowers .

 did a bit of shopping today. need to get a little package off to my nephew who got married yesterday i think...or the day before.  just bought some Alaska themed kitchen stuff. so i need to box that up.   will try to hit the post office tomorrow.

 got some shredding done today.  so rewarding, shredding paper. the recycling gets picked up tomorrow.

 above is another wildflower Jacobs ladder i think.

 these are  headed towards Rabbit Lake. could hit Hidden Lakes or Arctic Valley tomorrow.

 so beautiful once you get above tree line everywhere in this state.  my friends texted me from Ke'sugi Ridge yesterday. can't believe they had coverage.  really need to get up there one of these days.  i always hear great things about that hike.  amazing views.

 so two moose today and zero bears.  that works for me.  the bugs were really only annoying right at the smaller creek.  took a bit to get to the creek as the moose was moving away from us and towards the creek.  i was happy the moose moved on though as i wanted the pups to be able to get a sip of water there.

 just figured out there are up Rabbit Lake way.  that was a beautiful day!!

 we stopped for a snap shot of all of us.  best way to get pics of me with the pups is to get them on a rock.

grateful for:  A.  Ivy doing the Down from a distance  B. the puppies returning when called and not chasing a moose  C.  no bear sightings today.