catching up....

 it's been a bit of a week.  loved this above of the two cats in black and white.  he's getting so big..8 months. taller than her for sure.  he just keeps eating.

 news from out on Round Island.  of course, no cameras due to covid. the crew, Margaret and Amber are out for the duration to avoid bringing the virus out to the island. doubt any visitors to avoid bringing any covid to the crew.  there is a tiny little walrus that ended up out there with all the big boys. no tusks spotted which i guess puts the little one at under 2 years.  unusual, hopefully the big boys will take little "Grub", as the rangers have taken to calling the little one, under their big flippers. 

 butterflies seem plentiful.  this one may have met the ginger kitten though.  Sir Covid Cat has been honing his hunting skills. there may or may not be a dead bird in the house.  lots of feathers again spotted in the living room.  bird never found. eaten? taken back outside through the dog door.  still in here but hidden.  will there be an odor.  i'm not happy with the hunting but he is one determined cat and he will be indoor/outdoor.  some cats are just like that. 

 we are smitten with him here though.  i feed him often in hopes i can at least curb his hunting and exploring desires. mostly, he does seem to stay in the yard.  when i do checks on him he's out there.

 the blue poppies are popping out in the back yard, not out front yet, but we did get some good rain this week so perhaps that helped them out.  the back yard gets watered much more than the front due to dog water play time.

 i am currently feeling very hungry. 

 my guts have not bounced back as they usually do after a little bug.  is it some sort of covid gi thing?  who knows.  considering my history of bronchitis with a bit of asthma tossed in i'd think i would have some respiratory component.  i have not had fevers though so i'm guessing the covid thought is pretty far fetched.  more likely, my normal digestive flora have taken a hit.  every time i've tried to return to regular food, the cramping, gas and runs start up. 

 i called out my first night, made it back the second night...thankfully i had very understanding co-workers and a pretty chill patient assignment.  walking all night for work probably didn't help either.  spent some extra time in the head...and that work tp is not angel soft i can assure you. 

 tried the dog park the next day for the pups and to test out activity and the gut.  so i haven't eaten anything but jello, gatorade, water, crackers and yogurt since late Thursday night.  last night i did eat some rice...so that was my first meal.  bought some otc lactobacillus and i'm hoping that i can get my gi tract back in line.  called out my third night. 

 this is Covi's favorite place to nap now.

 so i'm hungry but a little nervous about advancing the diet. 

 so it's been a pretty lazy week at my end. 

 happy solstice.  the longest days are happening this week.  i have time off soon...was hoping for some road trips.  so may plan a few of those.  looked into heading to Brooks but i think overall, camping is the best bet this summer.  doing drives, hotel rooms.  perhaps short bursts so i can take the dogs and leave the cats for just a few days at a time.

 really should spend some time tearing out carpets and checking on the counters for the bathrooms.

 get some stuff accomplished this summer so i can feel like i've been somewhat productive.  so far i just have felt like i've been lazy.

 easy to be lazy in the times of covid.  it's going to be with us for a while or the duration. 

 seems that folks are not maintaining immunity so a vaccine will be more like the flu shot where you have to keep getting updated versions of it.

 our nation is full of selfish fools who scream about their freedom...of course, they are more than willing to take away others freedoms...they only scream freedom when it comes to what they want or don't want. you can't love who you love...but they are burdened by wearing a mask in public places so their freedom is being taken away.  so ridiculous.

 now when i hear anyone just respond with fake news to anything they don't like to hear or whataboutisms...it's really just a sign to me of their refusal to hear any truth but the truth they have created in their own minds. some have chosen ignorance.  there is nothing to be done about that really. 

 doesn't bode well for this society and it's future that we have so many who are only concerned about themselves. 

 hopefully, my gut stuff gets sorted out and i can get out there exploring again.  managed a bit this week despite the gut issues.  short walks mostly...

 felt bad calling out..especially since the day working in the middle technically will just mean two absences instead of one. 

 everytime i work peds/picu i seem to piss off someone.  not because of anything i do or say, but just being there often means one of them is off to float to nicu or the other night a picu nurse was sent out to peds.  my guess on that one was that the two picu nurses are both still fairly new at picu and don't have any other icu experience.  i'm guessing i was put back there because i have decades of experience so it's a better mix.  the floor was busy so the charge was needed out there a lot that night, i'm guessing she would feel better knowing there was someone back there with lots of experience.

 still, i guess this person bitched about it to her several times. i always figure they need to put me back there on occasion just to keep my skill set up as well. things are not always fair in life. i'm sure i have had my share of unfair stuff in life.  you just don't get everything...at least most of us don't.

 figure i was the unlucky in love one.  love just never worked out for me.  i do think much of love is luck though.  luck with some work no doubt...also i think some are just more committed to commitment.  i for sure had some restrictions.  stuff i just knew i would not put up with.  many stay in relationships but they are horrible relationships.  i think i was just not as committed to that as others may be.

 so when i look at relationships as a whole...i think there is actually a pretty small percentage of truly happy couples.  i mean around 50% end in divorce...there is another percentage that just end up tolerating each other, that are too scared to walk away, that stay together for the kids or due to religion.  there are some really abusive and awful relationships out there...and then there are those that seem to really have a connection that endures. the grass is always greener though so it's easy to look at those really good relationships and think you have missed out. 

 i decided long ago it was far better to be alone than to be in a bad relationship.

 it's also Fathers day...so happy fathers day to all those out there that do fatherhood right.

 look how tall Covid cat looks.

 stretching out to see check out a bug

 our state covid numbers have been 10-20's every day.  many are from outsiders.  so up but not crazy up like many states have been having.

 trump held his first rally in months. he made them all sign waivers that they wouldn't sue him or his campaign if any of them got covid and got sick or died...so i guess it is real.  haha.  the crowds he claimed would come did not show up really. our citizens have a terribly short attention span.  nobody stays in the spot light forever..so perhaps...we can hope anyway, that his time is coming to an end.

 perhaps, though he has his most adoring fans...many will be moving on to others...hopefully others with more good in them than bad.  hopefully others who are less damaging and selfish. 

 pondering what to attempt to eat still.  am i ready to advance a bit...? 

 another shot by the rangers of the wee little walrus

 they also had a baby sea lion born there, which doesn't happen very often either. so they have two babies to watch.  too bad those camera's aren't up...hopefully next season.  they sounded like it was a good possibility this year, until covid.

 the rest are from the may trip to Homer.  the stars have moved on from what i've heard.

 rainbows and eagles.

 an eagle in Homer did attack an 80 pound dog so Tusker had better be careful.  they can inflict a lot of damage if they choose to. he's been lucky so far.

 quite the scene. 

 an eagle with a rainbow.

 i've also heard reported that there are baby swans out at Potters Marsh.  that is sweet.  they are so cute.  i've never seen babies there so that is fun.

 probably been a nice break for Ivy, even though she wouldn't agree.  she had a small wound on one pad and her hips are a bit sore.  started her on some glucosamine.

 she never shows any signs of discomfort until she gets home.  a bit slow getting out of the car these days.

 not sure what happened to this poor star...looks bad.

 the clusters dropping of the poles

 funny to watch them cling...then hear the plops as they fail and drop to the water below.

 this one is about to drop...

 well, i shall attempt to start my day.  attempt to eat something a little more.

thankful for A.  fathers, mine was steady and safe and responsible.  giving us a stable childhood is something that many never are gifted with and i think stability really makes a difference in our outcomes in life.  B.  solstice...love the long days  C.  happy gut...forgotten until you catch a bug