wind is blowing...

 hoping it calms some so i can head out walking the dogs. in the meantime, there are always things i can do inside. may have to drag that window to the front and slap a free sign on it before it falls and breaks this time. 

 not keen on hiking in the wind and the wildlife tends to be overly spooked out there, which then makes me overly spooked. 

 these are from June trip to Valdez and the cruise i took.  coming near the end of June photo's. 

 so amazingly beautiful out there.

 in the land of reality here, it's been one year since the rallies in Charlottesville collided and one racist idiot drove his car into a crowd, killing one and injuring several others. 

 there is currently another racist rally in DC.  last i checked it was a pretty small contingency.  haven't checked for a bit, but hopefully, that will be it.  a few dozen people walking and showing themselves to be the racists that they are.  the old racists were at least smart enough to wear hoods i guess.  often those who march and show their racism for all the world end up losing jobs, if they had them.  phone cameras are everywhere and faces get posted on social media sites.

 it won't be that many years i guess before the US is no longer majority white.  this terrifies and /or disturbs many.  our nation has always relied on immigrants/slaves/visa holders of all colors and creeds to do much of the grunt work, however, i doubt the fore fathers really planned ahead to the day when those folks would eclipse the white male and put that power hold in doubt.  this makes many uncomfortable and i suspect it is part of the rise of this outright racism.  fear does that to people, makes them put the blame on others to deflect their own fear and sense of inadequacy. 

 hopefully, right will prevail, but it will be a rough ride for some time i guess.

 our current iitoo is solidly in that camp.  he is no doubt wrangled in on the worst of his racist feelings.  he doesn't seem to have made much of a strong statement against this being true.  always lumps everyone in the same group, the racist and those who stand up against it. in truth violence on either side is not helpful but you do need to make a distinction between people who believe they are superior because of their white race.  to create a nation that remains predominantly white you have two choices.  kill non-whites or put a stop to any and all forms of immigration.  clearly, killing non-whites is not the option most  want to take.  even they know how horrific this is. it seems much cleaner and easier to stem the tide...still it will not have the desired outcome.  eventually the numbers of humans on the earth who are not white will eclipse those who are white. 

 loved this reflection below.  the color of the water is so beautiful...it's due to silt in the water from the glaciers.

 have been testing various yellow paints on the new wall.  not sure if I'll even go with a yellow.  may be a yellow and grey or a yellow and brown or something else entirely. really need to seek out tiles and go from there i think.  i was briefly looking at tiles on wayfair...i want subway tiles in a green hue.  may just have to purchase several and then once i get them here i can decide.  also do i want some other cool design tile to be an accent tile to add some more zip to the room or keep it classic and simple.

 so many decisions. 

 mama otters with babies...so cute.

 made a small mobile this morning with driftwood and shells.  pretty basic.  i guess a tester.  may have to do a few serious beach combing treks and see what i can find for more of these. 

 in the distance is an otter nursery we were told.  did not get too close to not disturb them.

 those are all otters though.

 was chatting with my one brother yesterday.  we began to speak of how much we admired another brother.  Tom was the least patient in our family growing up.  his life gave him a test in patience and he not only came to the plate, he hit the ball out of the park.  life brings challenges and some just really rise to the occasion.  he really did. 

 i never want my discussion of a few days ago to be taken as some sort of wish to purge those who have disabilities.  i just want all who have disabilities and those who care for those who are disabled to have the ability to care for their loved ones in a dignified and respectful way. i want these families, such as my brothers, to have access to health care, to not lose their homes and lives because of their loved ones having disabilities.  i want them to not have to battle insurance companies to be insured.  mostly, i want them to be able to live good and happy lives and pass away in a dignified and respectful way.

 my brothers son lived much longer than the Dr's expected in a good part because of the love, patience and kindness he received daily from the family he was blessed to become a part of.

 i always felt that my brother and his wife gave him the best possible life he could have hoped for.  i just hope that all with disabilities are granted this.  i also felt that they were able to speak openly with each other about his future and the choices they would one day be forced to make. 

 I'm not for cutting off life early, i just don't want to extend the lives of others beyond what is dignified and respectful.  i want our society to be supportive of the needs of families who have great medical burdens so that they do not have to be concerned with losing their homes and jobs.  far too many families dissolve over the stress related to caring for loved ones.  i just wish we would do a better job helping all of the families. 

 i believe we are a wealthy nation, wealthy enough to be able to care for our citizens medically.  this administration has opted to cut taxes to the rich.  this administration has also opted to put a wrench in our trade norms and create a trade war.  this is leading to our nations debt sky rocketing.  yet instead of curtailing their spending on big ticket items, they further destroy the possibility of health care for the citizens and instead try to pass big spending on a wall, that will be extremely costly and not very effective.  they are also willing to pay billions to farmers who will lose out because of their decisions on tariffs..and now speak of creating a space branch of the military...something we have already worked into the various branches of military that already exist and would cause havoc and cost a great deal to pull out of those other branches to create a new one.

 so as they claim to be the fiscally responsible party they show constantly that they are not.  decisions they make today may look good on paper in the short term, in the long term they will be devastating for our nation financially.

 enjoyed watching a few humpbacks out on the water.  always a treat.

 watching them feed and dive

 the tail shot...

 the trees are getting ready for fall.  the wind is blowing the world is cooling and the darkness is coming towards us all. 

 this world is always changing. i love that about Alaska.  never get used to how this place looks because by next week things will have changed dramatically.

 did a walk in Kincaid yesterday.  of course, i was again focused on the mushroom action.  always a favorite time.  no idea why.  mushrooms and lichens are just cool.

 one of the state ferries in the background with a whale in the foreground.

 stopped by PetSmart and Home Depot yesterday, took the dogs into both places together.  this was something that was nearly impossible a year ago.  now it's getting easier and easier.  they are hitting their stride. 

 today i need to pay bills and prep for a few days in Homer if i decide to go for it.  I'll see if the dog room is available. 

 that always makes it easy.  i like it there because it's so easy to run to Bishops Beach with the dogs.

 watched the NetFlix movie i had last night. it was the PT Barnum movie.  strange.  it started pretty slow for me.  I'm not big on these modern musicals i guess.  did enjoy it the further it went along thought it was just strange to me.  the modern music set in a time that it didn't fit at all.  admittedly, i break out in song all the time, but it doesn't come with dance as well.  i do try on these movies, but generally i just find them too sappy and silly to fully embrace.

 last week i watched the other NetFlix movie i had. the 3 billboards in Missouri movie.  that one was also strange, but more to my liking i guess.  more quirky strange.  more these are real people strange. 

 the sea lions play near the boat.

 more of that beautiful water.

 we spent some time hanging out near the Sea Lion haul out.  we were also able to see the humpback in the same area so a nice little area filled with wildlife to enjoy. there were also many birds in the area to enjoy.

 the camera out at Round Island remains down.  bummed the season seems to have ended early.  the rangers are attempting to leave the island in the coming days so I'm sure they are busy packing up camp.  would be great to have the cameras run in the days after they leave as a protection for the walrus there.

 the weather was pretty bad though and the rangers seemed to believe they would not get out on their planned date.  a few groups had failed in getting out there due to weather as well these past weeks.

 nice leap out of water by this sea lion.

 there are moments when the wind appears to calm, only to have it pick back up a few minutes later. I'll have to go peek at the window again.  i may have to just slide it out front and put a free sign on it.  better than having it crash and have to deal with a zillion bits of glass in the yard.

 loved the sea lion action.

 i think they were having fun entertaining us

 there could be a rainbow outside.  seems like a good day for rainbows.

 liked that one sea lion perched above the rest.  enjoy your day. off to move a window i guess.

thankful for: A. health and health care B.  our opportunities in life to learn, grow and become better individuals C.  diversity, i love that we are all created different but equal.  the world would be rather dull if we all looked and thought the same.