moving slow due to rain!  so i'll do a blog and hit the trails. i fell asleep last night with the gate door open and all is well.  so far kitten hasn't shown any interest in getting out of the yard....or are my barriers working? 

 he also seems to be in a bit of a growth spurt as he seems hungrier than usual. i give him extra...he looks like he will be a big covid kitty cat!there are baby geese out there now...so cute.  baby everything out there!

 tiny wasp nest that i destroyed.  must watch for more.  those wasps are pesky and quick.

 cats are happy to have me and the pups home.  Covid was happy to get to enjoy some sunshine these week.

 the other day i thought i heard thunder and then i heard Covid cat zip through the house in fear, hiding under the bed.  i looked down and pulled him out...he was pretty wet.  a good rain hit pretty fast.  he was not amused but quickly settled into a night indoors.

 he's not a fan of rain. yesterday after i woke i debated heading to Arctic Valley for a walk.  see some flowers.  as i got nearer it was darker and darker.  i opted to bail.  good thing i did.  i headed to the dog park instead but the dark clouds followed quickly.  thunder again grumbled and then as i headed towards the car there was a bright lightening strike.  a few later i saw fire trucks headed past in a hurry...heard later a friends neighbor had their house get hit and a fire was started. i think it was quickly dispatched. thanks to the great fire crews of Anchorage.

 i know cops are getting trashed of late and that is not the right answer. most are good and decent.  as i've said, there are some jobs where it is just more imperative to weed out those who are not good and decent. 

 i think for too long the police forces have done a bit like what the Catholics did with those bad priests who couldn't control their sexuality...they slapped their wrists and eventually encouraged them to move on to other places. perhaps it's time to treat the profession with more professionalism...like doctors and nurses...get them licenses, have them required to do intermittent back ground checks and continued education.  perhaps an occasion psych eval. have a more rigid process for when they fail...less human failure. more of a 3 strikes you are out plan.

 if you are a bad waitress or bad retail clerk, folks do not die at your hands...they may look bad or get or get slow service but the end results of a badness are limited.  if you have a bad doctor or a bad pilot the end result of their incompetence can be lethal...it's the same with police.  so i'm not for disbanding the entire fleet of officers.  they are vital to our society...but perhaps some major overhauls are in order. less focus on fancy killing toys and more on mental and emotional stability. you can calm a situation oftentimes with words and actions over force and violence. 

 i know this..i'm a nurse. 

 had to stop to allow for goose crossings.

 Tusker demonstrates post trip exhaustion!

 kitty demonstrates happiness

 i was on call the other night and for my last night i was the runner.  i only actually ran a few things anywhere.  not much going on that night really.  i did get my mannequin work done, some continued education for work done and i offered myself up as iv nurse for peat.  she took me up on it and i slapped in a few iv's up on the top floors.  the views were quite nice so i stopped to enjoy the sunset.

 in the morning i understood i was to man the main door which i originally thought opened at 5 am...when i called security, they said it would open at 6.  after 6 it wasn't open so i called again after a bit and they requested i go outside and try it....of course, that is when i saw a sign on the door outside that said it would open at 7.  the security guard was unable to open the door for me at that time so i had to walk around.....  so then i delivered some bread that had been donated and went for my breakfast. i did not work too hard but i did get a few things done and then i worked as back up at the ER door. lots of preggers coming in.  so we did deliver women to delivery all night.

 now some folks who are pregnant concern you...there is some doubt that becomes quickly apparent as to whether they will be decent parents.

 have seen a video going around where this girl says she won't treat floyd as a hero or martyr. he is no saint that is for sure...though saying that makes it even odder that trump was the one saying he was smiling down from heaven for all the amazing stuff trump is doing for black folks..sounds like he was trying to make him a saint.  better to say nothing at all.  that is generally how most funerals i've attended work....when someone dies you don't really focus on the negative stuff in their lives.

 she goes on to point out that he had served time for a robbery.  he and others broke down the door that was answered by a woman who was pregnant. they were caught and he did 5 years.  apparently he held a gun to her abdomen...he is no saint.  she is possibly no saint either.  somehow, when women are pregnant they are automatically deemed to be saintly as well. she was impregnated by a man who apparently either does drugs or sells them drugs.  this robbery happened because they were specifically looking for drugs and drug money.  they do not choose random houses for that.  does she do drugs as well? who knows.

 the point is that the victim should not be blamed...even if the victim is not a good or decent person. a girl shouldn't be at fault for getting raped, even if she does drugs, drinks or wears sexy clothing, a pregnant woman or any other who is just in their home should not have a person break in and hold them at gun point even if they are a drug addict or married to one.  a man should not have officers kneel on his neck for nearly 9 minutes killing him, even if he is a criminal. 

 we have courts and a justice system that is supposed to impose sentences.  the officers are only meant to apprehend people.  now i do understand that sometimes with a violent person, the only way an officer will have is to take that person out.  they have a weapon and are using it or seem very willing to use it.  pilots do training in simulation labs over and over in order to be able to make snap decisions...why aren't officers doing this more often.  when do we use deadly force, when do we realize we have control of a situation and pull back.  those can be tough choices in scary situations and they are only human themselves.  practicing situations/scenarios over and over help make them go smoother.  we practice over and over for a code situation in medicine.

 this is a more relaxed Covid Kitten after he has dried off a bit from his run out of the rain.

 the dark clouds accumulate in arctic valley.

 i did get caught in a bit of rain at the dog park but i really don't mind the rain.  i like it.  i'm not a fan of camping in the rain.  it's nice knowing you can come home and warm up.

 i was a bit chilled when i got home so i put a fire in the fireplace and snuggled in for a warming nap...i woke up this morning.  clearly i was a bit tired.

 i was in a bit of a funk yesterday.  not sure why...just a bit of melancholy making me feel a bit broken. we are all a bit broken i suppose.  it lifted me up to walk and also a few folks texted me...so often it feels like i always initiate any interaction so it is really nice when that thread in my head is proven wrong.

 the rest are at Deep Creek.  shots of Tusker chasing bald eagles.  no doubt illegal bald eagle harassment.  we did move past the hoards of bald eagles eventually. mostly they just chase their tennis ball, but they do occasionally spot an eagle that interests them

 thankfully, the bald eagles seem more interested in getting back to a meal than chasing the dogs back.  they would surely win that battle.  so far we haven't had an eagle turn on him.  that could be deadly!

 it also means no lesson learned for Tusker this trip

 like below how Tusker seems to be attempting to fly into the air after the bird. dogs cannot fly though.

 no matter how hard they try!

 work just called today to check with me regarding these forms we have filled out every day we work since mid March.  doesn't give you much faith in that system considering i have listed on the form each day that i have a cough and it isn't new since the beginning. so several months later they query if this is something covid related.  i would have infected the entire hospital by now.  haha. so many things have been so poorly handled in all aspects of this covid stuff across the nation. thankful that we just haven't had many cases yet.  there but for the grace of God go all of us down the path of NY and Italy. 

 a co-worker told me she had mentioned she had a low grade temperature one day.  no other symptoms and not high enough that she would have been sent home.  they wanted to furlough her until she was cleared, make her use her pto for this. she'd worked the covid units..this was early on.  she was just trying to be cautious...the lesson don't tell them.

 we have had a little bump post Memorial day. i suspect there will be another covid bump post all these protests. the Tustemena that i spoke of the other day that was docked in Homer when i was there en route to Seldovia and then all the communities along the Aleutian chain out til Dutch Harbor..had a positive test and are now in quarantine.  many had gotten off/on i'm guessing though.

 our state will require testing or a 14 day quarantine for travel.

 hadn't realized that Tusker got this close to a bald eagle. i remember thinking once he was fairly close but these photo's are pretty impressive!!  not the best quality but for some dog on bald eagle action...wow!

 i did not post them on facebook as i think there would be some nasty comments.  no birds or dogs were injured.

 maybe he did catch a bit of talon?  not sure.  it could have easily happened.  he was dang close

 the eagle was quickly back to his meal though.

 some teens were first on a the scene of a plane crash out of Aniak.  the plane landed in the water.  they were able to call for help and help rescue the passengers/pilot.  all are recovering i believe.

 i'm going to have to eat some lunch before i head out on the trails.

 Tusker moves on down the beach.

 another group of bald eagles awaits his attention.

 makes for some intersting photo ops though.

 hopefully, i am less indecisive today about where to walk.  i think the melancholy aided my indecisiveness yesterday though.  feeling a bit better today

 the times are a bit rough out there.  keep your heads up and take care of each other i think. check on your friends, reach out. 

 we will get through this mess.  alive and kicking hopefully.

 the critters are happily napping.  it's time for me to get myself motivated.  get the dogs out there on the trails.  maybe see if i can find some cute baby ducks and geese to photograph.  the time passes quickly and they will all fly away

 nothing like a dog and his bald eagles though.

 so silly

thankful for A.  a less melancholy day despite the rain, the brain feels better B. being able to get warm after a rain C. the pets, who are constant and always accept me for who i am.  flawed and all.