sunshine to hail and thunder....that is today

 these are not from today however...above from Homer paddle day 2.  we had some sweet weather and the water was glass.  so perfect!

 the dandelions are still numerous but i have noted that many other wild flowers are beginning to pop out.  it's wildflower season! these are at Lake Hood. 

 more dandelions on the way up to Arctic Valley the other day. 

 worked the last 3 nights.  on the way home these guys were hanging at the curve Tudor/Muldoon.  a common place to spot moose i find. always fun...no matter how long i live here i still stop to take photo's of the moose and everything else really, i never bore of it all.  such a wonderful place to live.

 they look pretty young, probably sent off by their mama who no doubt has some babies...all baby calves have remained hidden from me this year so far.  boo.  have had some sightings of baby ducks and geese though.  always fun as well.  baby everything is cute!

 took the pups in to the vets today for their annuals. both look great except Ivy apparently needs a root canal.  who knew they were now doing that on dogs.  I'd noticed her tooth had gotten chipped, her canine.  i just joked that it was probably impaled on Tuskers skull.  it's down into the root so i guess that can lead to infections which can be pretty bad.  so she starts on AB's and will have to get her scheduled for the procedure. 

 the pups weigh in at 71 pounds and 74.4 pounds so they really didn't grow much since they turned one.  i am just fine with these weights.  they look overall very healthy and were showing their sweet personalities to the vet and staff.

 these two pictures are actually what were once boring ceiling tiles.  the peds unit has been working with local artists to paint some of them and put them up in the hallways.  i think that is where they are at so far.  pretty cool i think.  great idea too.  well done JT!

 i was able to use my peds skills this week to jazz up an insulin pen.  the tiny princess i put on there did kind of resemble a pole dancer as the MD pointed out laughingly.  it was loved by all though. that is the difference between peds and adults.  fun is encouraged.

 my week was spent in ICU, ER and then PICU.  the first night in ICU was pretty nuts.  changing assignments, sick patient.  was happy to head down to ER the next night.

 I'm all ready to start paddling for day 2...that sweet flat water was a gift.

 below you can see the Fata Morgana effect on Mount Augustine.  it is a mirage that you can see at the base of the mountain.  we were blessed with it for most of the paddle that i did that day.

 to start out it looked like it was raining on the water, i even looked up like an idiot...as there wasn't a cloud in the sky, then i looked down and saw these big schools of tiny fish.  so cute. they moved between the kayaks for a bit as we got started.

 loved the clear reflections.  crazy calm water.

 the Denali Highway is open.  snow prevented opening any earlier.  there are a few later in the season openings this year.

 again below you can see the Fata Morgana. 

 spent the last two afternoons with a friends new puppy.  so cute.  my brother is also getting a new puppy...adorable! I'm partial to labradoodles i must admit.  baby everything is pretty wonderful though.

 can i just write that scrubs are not leggings and were not meant to be used as such.  if your scrubs have become so tight they resemble leggings it's time to buy a larger size.  just saying.

 after working three nights i woke fairly early yesterday.  that evening i headed to bed for a "nap" around 7:30....that nap lasted until like 4 am i think.  i woke to the sound of pouring rain and remembered that i still needed to put the garbage out to the curb! so an hour later, still trying to to drag myself out for this task and hoping the sound of the rain would abate...i got up and headed out in the rain. 

 can i also point out that when you try to fake a seizure, you must also find a way to raise your heart rate, act super sleepy afterwards, not speak during said fakes seizure and probably pee your pants....if none of these things happen, the staff will be on to the act.

 on the health front.  i have an appointment tomorrow with my MD.  been trying to do the ibuprofen atc again. (that is around the clock) still some soboe (shortness of breath on exertion) and breakthrough pain so I'm hoping i can get an xray just to be sure it's nothing more than just muscular and me being wimpy.  it's a different sort of shortness of breath than my usual bronchitis/asthma type.

 this is elephant rock or elephant head rock, very cool and fun to paddle around.

 a Polish couple flew to Alaska to start a year long honeymoon across the continent....while climbing Denali though she took a 1000 foot slide down the mountain.  this is lucky to be alive, the paper says she is recovering.  not sure the planned trip will recover though.

 more Fata Morgana below.

 a friend posted a meme (you know how i love those) about suicide.  a few well known people have killed themselves these past weeks.  Bourdain and a purse designer.  seemingly people who "have it all".  depression takes over no matter how much you have or how good you have it.  this meme was pointing out that two famous people kill themselves and it's all over the internet and that 22 veterans kill themselves and not a peep.

 i just mentioned that i feel quite certain that if families want to use their tragedy to be the face of suicide they could probably go viral with it no matter who they are.  it may be that the families of those who are famous would rather not have their loss splattered across the internet.  many families actually prefer to grieve in private. it's not a contest....it's a loss.  it's a loss no matter who is impacted by suicide..in truth we all are impacted by suicides.  it's happening too often in too many lives. 

 again, too bad these folks who want to help those with mental health illnesses but refuse to want to have medical availability for all...our system is broken.  people go broke when they try to get help, so they just don't get help or they mask their depression in drugs and alcohol. posting a meme won't get that done . electing people with a spine and with compassion who understand that our tax dollars would be better spent on taking care of the people who pay the taxes than building walls and giving corporations more tax breaks.

 John Oliver did a great set on the smoke screen that fox news and the current administration is attempting to pull off...sadly, it's working for many Americans.  all this about fake news and deep state and trashing Mueller, the investigation, the FBI, the DOJ, so many conspiracy theories.  anyone in the GOP who actually doesn't fall in line will soon be added in as a member of the deep state themselves.  they will quickly find themselves in a conspiracy theory of their own. it's hammered in every day all day on conservative sites, radio broadcasts and fox news.....eventually they start to believe it all, even though it never really comes from any facts.  it's all just this illusion and so many are just falling for it all. 

 the G-7 meeting was a total embarrassment.  the iitoo is tearing down our long relationships with allies and instead is trying to cozy up with dictators...loved that one fox host mentioned something about the meeting of the dictators..meaning NK and iitoo.  how true is that.  he'd love to be a dictator or king of the US.  what is the rational behind starting trade wars with our allies and neighbors?  what is the rational for alienating our allies?  it makes zero sense. 

 there is only so long that the GOP can blame everything wrong in this nation on everyone else.  at some point they will need to take responsibility for the mess they are creating for future generations.  we are not so powerful that we can do everything without allies.  we never will be. 

 the iitoo has a personal vendetta against anyone he feels wrongs him and he uses his office to carry out that vendetta.  it's nuts.  for some reason he hates the NFL.  could be that he once wanted to own a team and was refused.  all this propaganda about patriotism, and people are totally buying into it...but the emperor has no clothes. he didn't serve, he's never served anyone but himself.  he never sacrificed, he insisted others sacrifice on his behalf.  he never even learned the words to the songs that are held dear as patriotic.  he is a fool, yet his subjects hear that he is giving them their agenda and they look the other way to the danger he poses.

 Iran is already planning to start rebuilding it's nuclear strength since our iitoo withdrew from the deal...he's meeting with NK leader.  flying by the seat of his pants...and we are supposed to trust him?  he's given no indication that he has any skills at diplomacy.  he's given no impression that he understand history, he's given no indication that he understands trade between nations.  with his history in business he actually gives no indication that he truly understands the art of the deal as he claims.  he's filed bankruptcy multiple times.  you just hope he doesn't make it worse, indications say there is a good chance he will. 

 today i also stopped by Cheney Lake and the Campbell Creek Estuary.  so we were outside quite a bit today.  the dogs skipped those last two and chilled in the car.  there seem to be less birds at both than usual.

 same picture basically but the black and white did look kind of cool i thought.

 flowers were a bit earlier down in Homer than up here. they are further south so no surprise there.  everything changes so dramatically in these three seasons that aren't winter.

 just saw that the Polish couple wrote a letter to the editor to thank those who performed the rescue on the mountain and those at Prov for caring for them.  i was not one of them but always happy to read that folks are happy with their care at our hospital.  often you hear the negative so it's good to hear the positive as well.

 back to work again tomorrow night.....after 3 I'll get another stretch off.  that is cool.  we shall see what this stretch brings.  always interesting for sure.

 cool rocks...nature does rock cairns...guess that is okay.

 this is the bridge of the head/nose on the front.

 the other side of the trunk.

 well, it is getting late...after 11, but that sun is still shining.  i really should be doing more yard work.  planned on it this evening but it had started raining at this end too.  it's cleared up now...i probably should eat though.  late as it is.

 that is the elephant rock...pretty cool i think. 

 otter joins as we watch friends arrive to join us for a day paddle.

 our group doubled.  who could not love a day like this to paddle!

 of course, i did head to the beach after we circled the next island and another little island as well.  it was warm and sunny and they could watch me paddle back as they headed off for more islands. 

thankful for: A. baby everything! so adorable.  B.  surprise hail and lightning storms. rare here really...totally common when i lived in South Dakota.  C.  lots of outdoor time these days off with friends.