note before sleep

 you know it! finished a few nights of work...both in ICU.  no sitter gigs this week.  the plan is for RN's to no longer be sitters.  we shall see.  not to be negative, but i suspect patient safety and fear of a lawsuit will override cost of an RN sitting at some point. for a while though i may get put on call rather than be used in this way. 

 out for the usual hikes and rambles.  yesterday i slept and chatted on the phone.  love to chat with my niece, Claire and a friend from Ketchikan called to catch me up on news of a friend...hopefully, she recovers and the tests don't come with lots of bad news....you are in my thoughts dear friend!

 as you can see we got some fresh snow...always welcome.  it was a wet snow and much was melting rapidly. 

 took the pups for a walk and then headed to Woronzof to meet a friend for a walk...it was a bust.  too slushy and too many big ice chunks. those big moons last week probably meant big tide swings so the beach ice was pushed further up. so i cruised around looking for fun photo ops...that was kind of a bust as well though.

 the pups and i both enjoyed very much the snow day though. 

 Skelly enjoyed it as well...as you can see, he is sledding with his friends.

 behind him is my Christmas tree, i have yet to drag it to the store for recycling.  i have time.  still a bit anxious to attempt both dogs walking near traffic on leashes.  one bolt could kill them both. 

 i did finally brave the bog again.  i hadn't gone since the great dragging of December...or was that November?  it was good to be in the bog.  i did short bursts on the leashes followed by tennis ball time.  i knew i was anxious and it was probably better to keep the training bursts short for all of our benefit. anxious can mean inpatient so that is not the best state.  always best to be calm and assertive. will have to brave it more and more as the light returns and i have time for a second shorter leash training walk.  i really want them to get that so we can enjoy more adventures. 

 New Years Eve night saw the loss of our local polar bear at the zoo...Ahpun.  she had lived there for 20 years. she hadn't shown any signs of being ill so the staff and community were pretty shocked.

 i really need to load my kicksled up in the car. Eklutna Lake is solid and looks pretty sweet.  with some advancing light it is time to start exploring a bit further out. 

 always need to be cautious out there on any ice...especially our big rivers in this state.  was just reading that a family was out on their snowmachine and fell through a marked opening in the Kushkokwim River. the father was dragged under with the current and did not survive.  thankfully, his wife, sister in law and 3 kids were able to get out alive but wet and cold. 

 iitoo is at his usual assault on the environment.  opening all our coastal waters for the most part to oil and gas drilling.  just what we all want to see everywhere, not to mention the potential oil spills and danger to marine life.  hopefully, more lawsuits will be filed to prevent this from actually happening.  his presidency has no doubt been great for all lawyers...though the lawyers and the environmental groups are having to work overtime trying to keep up with the protections he and his greedy henchmen are activity trying to dissolve. 

 a book was released yesterday that has everyone all stirred up.  it really doesn't sound like anything we don't already suspect or that hasn't been leaked out about how dysfunctional this current administration is but there it is.  it is funny that because of their dysfunction and lack of organization or plan at all this writer was given a great deal of space to wander and ask questions.  people hesitated at first to speak to him but it seems over time they just bitched to him like they were bitching to each other.

 i immediately bought the book, not even because i had some great desire to read all the tawdry details of life in the current white house, but more because i feel the better the sales are the more it will drive him nuts...so worth the money spent.  call if fake it you want but the guy took lots of notes, recorded a great deal of it and I'm sure a team of lawyers went over it all pretty intensely before putting it out there.

 it does sound like the campaign really never had any intention of winning, never thought it possible, just figured they would bank big time even losing.  so when election night happened and they won...well chaos...it's what happens when there is no plan.  at some point the ever arrogant and lost to reality new potus elect decided sure i guess i can be potus.

 his response to all the quotes in the book by people working for him or having worked for him is to tweet that he is a "very stable genius". he always speaks in extremes which should be your first clue that it's bull. none of us are the greatest at everything, he deludes himself and then he convinces others to join him in his delusion.  no major airlines crashed in the US this year...so of course, that is because he was POTUS.  so ridiculous. 

 in nursing we have hippa but i guess in business you have non-disclosure agreements.  i think he forgets that our government is not a business so doesn't not run like a business so he may be having people sign non-disclosures but they really won't have much standing in a government situation, especially if corruption is involved.  basically, they figured they would lose and all had alternative goals for the sure to fail run to the white house. the goals were not very presidential they were mostly self serving and sadly, i don't think many of them have really changed course.

 seems to me though it you have to have everyone who you work with sign these non-disclosures what kind of person are you? how ethical or moral are you that you have to take all these extra steps to protect yourself and your business. to be near him means you have to swear loyalty and sign non-disclosures.  seems odd. I'm sure some of  this is more common than i am aware of.  i have siblings in business, not sure if they have all signed non-disclosures at every job they have worked and/or when they left.  we sign papers to protect patients but we never sign anything close to a non-disclosure as far as the hospital practises or procedures. 

 seems like in his world everyone he comes in contact with signs something.  seems shady. 

 a roy moore accusers house has been torched.  pretty sad...will have to see if they find who did this.  i think a different accuser has filed against moore. defamation i believe.

 in other interesting news, Charles Manson died last month i think.  there are now 4 people claiming to have rights to his remains and whatever property he had in his cell.  apparently, there is great demand by people for murderabilia....and plenty of greedy folks out there willing to get a hold of and sell whatever they can.  his stuff is worth a great deal to these collectors, i guess that shouldn't be too surprising.  strange. i know these prisoners often end up with cult followings....in his case quite literally i guess.  people are so strange.

 the ski trails in Fairbanks this summer with the pups.  the rest of the pics are from Fairbanks. 

 an 11,500 year old skeleton of a 6 week old was found in AK in 2013, they have been doing studies. it is always interesting that humans have been around for so long and will  be around hopefully for thousands more years.  does help one keep perspective on things.

 the attacks on Mueller and the FBI are pretty pathetic and sad really.  we have a great number of amazing people working in the FBI and Mueller and those on his team also have many years of proof of strong work ethics. the more this administration and those out to protect them fights this thing the more guilty they appear really. if it's nothing, i believe Mueller will come out and say that...a few folks lied but beyond that i found nothing...i really don't think that is what is going to happen...i know this more and more by the reaction of the white house and those around it. 

 these new attacks on all things HRC are smokescreens.  we have spent countless hours and money already searching for wrong doings to no avail.  at this point i just feel like either it's not as sketchy as the GOP thinks or the GOP is the height of incompetency in that they have been on this quest for nearly 2 years have so far they have not found any smoking gun...yet they complain that the investigation into iitoo and his people has gone on too long and is a witch hunt?  20 years, millions of wasted dollars, no indictments vs less than 1 year and 2 indictments and 2 caught for lying. 

 nice to see mushroom and lichen pictures again...not much out there right now. the snow is pretty crunchy.

 lots of snow and cold back east i guess.  more snow and cold than here for sure.  felt a bit colder today though, in the 20's.

 we just hit the dog park today.  always easy

 the rest are sand hill cranes...always a favorite. they gather in mid-late August for the migration back South.  always fun to catch them.  you can hear them for miles. such a distinctive call.

 really need to get some treks lined up for this summer.  starting to look at my calendar so i can request time off.  want to try to hit Iceland.  really should.  i would feel bad if i missed the opportunity

 if only flying were as easy as it looks for these birds. 

 the Arctic Terns travel from here to Antarctica and back each year...crazy migrations.  of course, this administration also cut ties with a migration treaty that has been in place for 100 years.  damn the birds apparently...the restrictions are some major burden to the greedy corporations...more money, more money.  how much money does anyone need? nobody needs all this....

 somehow many animals survive the human intrusion, but many species die off.  many that are yet to even be discovered will vanish unknown. 

 love to try and capture them flying. it's not easy though.

 I've read there have been over 100 cases of mumps in AK.  i think most of those were in Anchorage area. i had it as a kid.  don't remember it being that big of a deal for me. swollen cheeks.  chicken pox was much worse, so itchy....all those pox. 

 coming in for a landing.

 it's getting late. I've read some papers from last week. always playing catch up with the papers.  get most of it online, but still like to support papers. 

 peeking out of the grass. these are at Creamers in Fairbanks.

 just enjoyed the time out there.  left the dogs in the car...they would have gone nuts chasing these birds all over i suspect.  there were a few out there walking dogs.  i wasn't ready to attempt it though.

 harder to take pictures if I'm trying to manage the dogs. i took them for a walk before and after before i headed out of town. just stayed overnight i think.  goodnight

grateful for:  A.  kindness of those around us.  may kindness continue to flourish despite rough times in our nation  B.  cleverness.  i have enjoyed how clever my fellow humans are at times of stress.  laughter really helps us get through the worst of things some times.  c.  puppy snuggle time...gotta love that!