Anchorage can be very beautiful...

 i know it's the big city of Alaska, but it's surrounded by amazing trail systems and those who came before us were wise and saved aside land for recreation.  of course, there are many at this time who would like to pummel away at the pretty places and turn a profit.  i hope we can hold the greedy off though.  above is Cheney Lake. i got lucky and decided to go there right when the light was amazing.

 these are a few more from N.Biv walk last week. the reds have been pretty sweet there of late

 fall seems to have gifted us with some extra time.  great weather. everyone is pretty happy with this September.  crazy beautiful. 

 haven't done the big hikes it seems this summer but i still get out there and there is beauty everywhere.

 these are out at Potters Marsh.

 most of the birds seem to have headed south.  always those that stick around longer and some stay all year.

 the light was pretty sweet when i was out there as well. love the colors in the grasses this time of year. 

 i hear the Kenai is getting started on color peaking .

 may need to head to Seward/Hope area on Tuesday and/or Wednesday.  just to see some new stuff and enjoy the fall.

 as long as the weather holds.  the silvers are still coming in. these are salmon.  they turn red when they spawn.  all sorts of strange things happen to these salmon as they spawn.  such an interesting life cycle and we were lucky enough to run in to some biologists from fish and game who were happy to answer some questions for us.

 today was another beautiful day.  i headed to the beach off of Kincaid with the dogs.  amazed it took me as long as it did to find this beach.  there is always so much to explore here...I'll never see it all.

 it gets harder and harder to leave Alaska...fear of missing out for sure. it changes so quickly, i love it all and i don't want to miss any of it.

 the light was hitting the local mountains....check out the colors!

 more fish...there is one that looks more silver, probably a young one that came in a bit soon...it will still continue on with the life cycle of the spawners i guess.

 thanks to SH for joining me for a bit this evening.  we got several more cabinets removed and the big microwave out.  neither of us were injured.  demo is fun!

 still debating, but leaning towards taking out the microwave and opting for tile and a cool vent cover thing.just think it will break up the wall of cabinets and look better.

 will have to think of measurements first and then get that checked into.  need to figure these measurements out and get the tile ordered as well. 

 more from Cheney Lake.  such a beautiful walk. 

 got the yard picked up and mowed.  not too many mowings left this season. 

 i think i wore out the puppies today.  i probably walked a good 5-6 miles and they ran most of it.  i made them walk on leash for the mile plus coming down to the beach trail.  good training.  they were getting loads of compliments.  i know they can do better...they are super smart...i hinder them.  they could do so much more if i put more time and effort in.  fun to have well behaved dogs overall. 

 Ivy still gets the leaps.  brat.  she's super cute though...so that helps. she's out cold right now.

one of my favorite little summer moments was out at Byers.  she was so sacked out, she was limp and she fell asleep with a tennis ball in her mouth.  i have never seen her do that.  so cute.

 was messaging with one of my cousins this morning.  her new puppy has been diagnosed with some scary sounding stuff.  so sad.  MRI and veterinarian neurologists.  she will be loved and spoiled where she is it's pretty clear.  feel badly for both of them though.  these pups sure work their way into our hearts and it can be tough to watch them struggle.  i guess the pups has some blindness so i spoke of how well adjusted Rio Catalina had been.  she lived a long happy life despite it.

 great to see so many out and about everywhere i go.  Alaskans sure do love the great out doors.

 my hand is a bit swollen...got nailed by a biting fly on the beach.  so far no demo injuries.  was a bit worried about the microwave...it's pretty heavy.  we googled how to get it down. 

 what you don't know you can google!!

 at least one more woman has come forward about Kavenaugh.  after all the GOP did to prevent Obama from putting judges in, especially on the Supreme Court it does seem fitting that they don't have the smooth ride they arrogantly hope for.  man there is a lot of arrogance in DC. power does that to people i guess.  we need to clean house!!  the House of Representatives with it's every 2 year elections was supposed to have high turn over to keep more in touch with the constituency. this has not been the case.

 our state idiot has been in for decades. he is rude and nasty and still he gets elected back in over and over.  i hope some of these lifers get taken out.  there are a few lifers on both sides that need to go. 

 still lots of leaves on the trees.  probably not the case further north though. snow already up in Barrow and i saw termination dust on the tippy tops of the mountains today here in Anchorage.

 need to do a bunch of shredding..always so fun and rewarding i find.  it's recycling day.  was also hoping to get more demo material out to the curb today.  just cabinets off today though.  I'm thinking the electric will need upgrades and some outlets moved. the real expense will be lighting i think.  really need to get the tiles...i think color and design will be based quite a bit on the tile i end up with.

 it's all fairly new though.  I'm learning as i go. 

 several little boats out on the lake on the day i was there. this is actually a man made lake. may have actually been a quarry at one time...so it is nice when nature is allowed to come back in.

 the house is cutting into some of my fun time...it will be great when it is done though. a bit scary now though.

 need to just put the stove up for free. pick up, but make sure they know how to safely disconnect the gas, right. i could google it...it actually looks pretty easy though.  turn gas to stove off, disconnect.  electric, gas, plumbing...all a bit freaky though. 

 taking stuff down I'm okay with, but putting the new stuff in...i will leave that to folks with more expertise. 

 these are a few different hikes in Campbell Airstrip.  i haven't ran into any moose of late. the rut should be happening though so i probably should get up to powerline pass at least, check it out.

 look at all these colors.

 lost moose shoe..so cute!

 very few of these Amanita's left out there.

 the airstrip

 some amazing clouds out there.

 this was another day i think...no i know, i went out to the airstrip and then back tracked to take other trails. i think this was dog avoidance.  Ivy still coughs, mostly just when she gets excited.  so SH got to hear her coughing tonight when she arrived.  no puppy greets you with more exuberance than Ivy Rose.

 there were salmon in this creek last week to. 

 happy puppy with her tennis ball. 

 when i find a mushroom now i try and set it up for a photo. 

 guess i should be off the computer.  snack time...out to the garage one more time to the garage kitchen...will be chilly this winter out there.

grateful for: A friends willing to help with demo and remodel stuff.  B. cute puppy photos today C.  healthy pups.  always a gift.