tossed in some August pictures.

 August seems so long ago.  these are from August though.

 lots of mushrooms this year...so i was quite happy. 

 i never seem to get enough of any one season here...okay maybe winter in the middle, then the light starts to return and I'm all good with it.  break up can be a bit tedious.

 it was a bit breezy out there today.  the mountains have some termination dust on them.  i had debated heading up and I'd debated hitting the beach.  it looked a bit like rain and wind all over...well near me looked okay...so i stayed close to home.

 later i met friends for dinner and then we went to an improv show.  always good to laugh. 

 cup mushroom

 we've had such an amazing September.  crazy how great the weather has been. 

 love these yellows.

 painted some forget me not's and a dragonfly on the cabinets doors i put up in the garage.  moved a bit more stuff out. 

 I'm pretty slow at tearing stuff up.  easy to drag your feet when you know that soon you will have no range or dishwasher and the sink will be gone too. 

 colors were starting to peek out last month.  they are hitting peak around Anchorage it seems.

 the mushrooms are melting. literally, many of them end up looking like slimy globs.  kind of gross.

 we did the gasline-powerline-tank trail combo today.  no signs of wild animals.  just my two.

 one of those strange days where you have sun coming down and then some rain falling on you.  light was pretty though.

 flowers are few and far between now.

 liked this guy working it's way out of the earth.

 slime mold.

 went to Target to check out there Halloween stuff.  didn't want to get a second full sized Skelly..but i did pick up a smaller side kick version.

 that could be fun.  i had a refund card for Target....it was burning a hole in the wallet. i do love Halloween.  with my kitchen getting torn up, i don't see the annual Pumpkin Massacre happening. 

 missed hitting a few of my favorite haunts for mushroom hunting this year.  it is always funny how the different dogs you have alter the different walks you take.

 would love to do another day trek out to Seward or something. heard the colors are great. maybe on Tuesday.

 love the tiny mushrooms.  really should have gotten the macro lens out a bit more this summer.  Ivy and Tusker have a way of crashing through any mushroom i am eyeing for a photo op.  it's uncanny...how can they hone in on the one mushroom? 

 puff balls when they are apparently good eating.  I've never been a mushroom eating fan...but they do fascinate me...them and the lichens. 

 see the mushroom in the tree.  the squirrels tend to leave them in trees. they do like to eat them.  since this was pointed out in our mushroom class a few years back i see them more often out there in the woods. silly squirrels.

 Ivy and some blue wood.

 i see this all over as well.  i turn them over and look for those beautiful tiny bright blue mushrooms.

 pups waiting for their throw.

 still coughing though thankfully, it hasn't amounted to much.  she seems to cough right when she gets active or excited and then i rarely hear it....so hoping that means it's a pretty mild case. 

 stopped at the Conservation Center on the way to Homer. this was the trip where the car broke down and i got the alternator repaired in Seward.

 musk ox

 and a sleeping wolf.

 and of course, the young bear they have there.  not sure if/when they will put this one in with the other black bears.  he's all alone.

 this was in Seward after I'd gotten my rental car. there was a family of swans I'd noticed as i was looking for a car repair shop.

 the dogs were ready for some beach time.  we headed around so they could play a bit.

 i think by then i was ready for some relaxation as well.  cars breaking down is never fun. 

 beaches are great therapy.

 a man strangles a woman until she passes out as he tells her he is going to kill her and then rapes her.  he ended up with zero jail time. zero.  she told, she went to the hospital right after and went through the whole somewhat humiliating process. still he gets literally nothing.  next time he will no doubt just kill his victim.  the judge feels he has a good chance of rehab...and people wonder why women don't tell, why they don't bother....why would you?  you get put through the wringer and they get off free. 

 we didn't hit the low tide this day and it was a bit wet, the pups don't care about any of that though.

 was a bit worried about keeping the rental clean though.  stopped in Soldotna for supplies

 the fireweed is all done now.  it's a pretty fun plant to watch go through it's rapid process.

 kingfisher out at the cut off towards Homer. 

 wait that one is in Seward.  i saw another one as well ..it's partner is flying below..and the last picture is the whole swan family.  I'm off to crash. 

thankful for: A.  laughter B. walks and fall colors  C.  Halloween...it's the fun holiday!!