sunny summer days....

 feels like we've had a great summer so far.  Ivy Rose is quite happy with it anyway.  she always looks pretty happy though.  she always reminds me of an excited 5 year old.

 these are various hikes, Reflections Lake and Arctic Valley. 

 no walk today.  it was beautiful out there, but i got busy with projects in the back yard.  there are the rocks to haul.  my neighbor still has rocks to get rid of.  she bought a load, which turned out to be more than she needed so I'm finding use for them.

 so hauling rocks as i threw the chuck it for the pups. 

 there was some leftover boxes of bamboo flooring in the shed that i wanted to get to.  the lower level of the cat run was in there in front of the boxes and the area the cat run goes needed some cosmetic cares...thus rocks!

 battled the spider webs in the shed in order to get to all, tossed more stuff out in the front yard for free.  took pics of the old chairs from the table that crashed in the wind and put those on facebook market...see what happens.  still no bites on the drums, but perhaps closer to school starting.

 messaged the guy who bought the table yesterday to see how the surprise birthday gift went.  he said his brother was super happy.  cleaning the garage out today in order to give the table the place of honor.  he said they saved the old table in the end so that it will be just for the kids...keep them off the good table.  so it sounds like it has found a good home.

 the wildflowers are always so amazing out here once they get going.

 yesterday i joined a friend for a walk in Hatchers Pass, always a favorite.  the wildflowers were really beautiful out there.  we did a walk towards Reed Lakes, stopped at the beaver dams below. we took our time and were enjoying looking for more flowers hidden everywhere. 

 remembering our instructor in our wildflower class in Denali National park.  she is pretty well known here in Alaska for her wildflower identification books.  sadly, she recently passed away.  we were remembering the class and feeling so grateful that we had the opportunity to spend that time with her and learn about these amazing flowers.

 have had thoughts of doing all sorts of things on this stretch off.  i guess some times it's good to just have a day to catch up, clean up, sort stuff and haul rocks.  clearly my chest is feeling much better.  it only rarely rears itself in a twinge of pain at this time.  hope i don't get that again...

 pups found some snow and enjoyed it!

 between all the yard work and tossing the toy for the dogs i am nearly at my daily 10,000 step goal.  the pups seem tired enough.  debated taking them for an evening walk.  they really don't miss many days of walks, but dinner out took longer than expected.  no complaints really, we were on an outdoor patio and the sun was shining down.  so relaxing. our first meal ended up splattered all over the patio so a second meal had to be made. 

 always great views from up here...bet the wild flowers are busting out up here as well.

 where to go tomorrow.  probably should head to Eklutna for an arse killer hike.

 Ivy seems to stick to tennis balls, Tusker, well he is the toy destroyer.  it makes him happy.  funny to watch their different personalities.

 i can trust them more and more in various situations now which is great.  they do really pretty good on trails.  allow others to pass by, don't get too focused on dogs or kids. it's nice.  i always want dogs that i can take out on the trails that aren't a big bother.

 could just head to hidden lakes tomorrow too.  another option.  i always like to end up at a tarn. anything with good water sources for the dogs helps too. that one doesn't have any big drop offs to worry about.  bears of course, always gotta watch out for bears

 gotta take the good with the bad in the summers. 

 with friends at Arctic Valley....

 i have been lucky to have found so many great trail companions over the years.

 this is looking back to Eagle and Symphony Lakes. 

 i saw an animal as i was driving out of Hatchers yesterday. it was on the side of the road and the crossed in front of me.  it wasn't small, bigger than a marmot or ground squirrel.  dark with some light.  moved more like an otter or pine marten.  not sure if it was a pine marten.  part of me wondered if it was a wolverine...I'll never know.  too fast and far off to take a photo and it moved into the brush fast.  amazing how quickly animals disappear.  probably a pine marten

 there were some flowers already showing up in Arctic Valley.  different things show up in different places and different areas, wet/dry, high/low.

 another good hike is Rabbit Lake...so many possibilities.

 you can go much further on these trails than i tend to go.  love looking at the more adventurous folks photo's.  they get way up there, slide down snow, are on edge at times.  I'm pretty happy with basic hikes. 

 looks pretty outside. sun setting.

 happens earlier and earlier again.

 we met this little mini me doodle on the trail that day. so cute.

 i remember seeing this flower in our class.  pretty.

 heading back down...the dogs had to head back to the big snow pile leftover.  still some snow out there.  you can usually find some anytime of year. 

 was listening to NPR as i drove to Hatchers.  the science show.  they were talking about the big asteroid that hit earth and caused the death of the dinosaurs...of course, it's not been totally decided what actually happened.  he was surmising it occurred within a few hours.  things deep in sea or buried under ground would have survived. 

 apparently, the ground is a great insulator against extreme heat.  he was surmising that with the impact gas shot up from the earth into space, then it cooled and crystallized i think he said.  then as it returned to earth the crystals burned up but caused heat, extreme heat. 

 when you did down each 3 feet down represents about 10,000 years.  at some point you get to a distinct layer in the earth which they called the KT boundary.

 reading a bit...it used to be called the K-T(Cretaceous-Tertiary but is now known as the Cretaceous-Paleogene or K-Pg boundary.  it marks the end of the Cretaceous period and the start of the Paleogene Period.  estimated at 66 million years ago.  the earth is sure old.  it's associated with the extinction event. meteorite lead to extinction event. that is the most believed theory anyway. 

 the layer has a high level of iridium.  asteroids have high levels of iridium.  our earths surface generally does not. the asteroid size is estimated at 6.2 miles wide and a power of 100 trillion tons of TNT.  crazy strong.

 of course, these days there is a large segment of the population who have chosen to just not believe science.  it is funny.  with climate warming research, something like 98 % of science says it is happening, but these folks prefer to get their information on climate change from politicians, and businessmen...oil giants...seems rational i guess.

 lately i just respond with the laugh emoji as these folks troll people with their insane theories of deep states and fake news.  at some point all you can do is laugh.  you aren't going to talk sense into them.  just act like they are trying to be funny.  hilarious.  oh, wait, you  believe there is a deep state?  haha.  oh wait, you believe that the thousands of scientists are totally wrong and trump and friends is right, haha!! 

 it's pretty sad. 

 hail to England and the grand protests they put out there.  loved the balloon by the way. 

 the iitoo calls our friends in Europe more like foes and then there is his boss, Put.  he is meeting with him now i guess...only the two of them. that is great idea.  there may be a translator or two...as one comedian said,  the translators had best be careful about what they eat from now on.  what instructions is Put giving to his puppet leader?  it's pretty pathetic how he fawns over dictators and trashes our allies.  so much crap has been driven into the minds of his followers.  they have lost all sense  of what is truth at this point.  so many lies thrown at them, it can't possibly be clear any more what a fact is.

 these are from the drive to Valdez a few weeks back.  so pretty.  had to keep stopping.

 this is the matanuska glacier. it is 26 miles long and 4 miles wide. 

 this moose was coming down to get a sip out of the puddle here

 the moose was not keen on all the car activity at his little watering hole.

 i paid the fee to enter.  this part is privately owned. 

 i just walked around out front of it.  i have walked here before. i could tell a difference in where the face was from last time i paid the little fee.  i only do it if i have time and the weather is nice. it is worth it though.

 looks cool with the flowers in front i think.

 guess i shall head to bed.  no idea what i will end up doing tomorrow...walking for sure. 

grateful for:  A.  laughter  B. friends  C.  sunny days.