Happy 4th of July....or just another day in my world...

 i have chilled today. was awake off and on last night.  the gut seems to improve and then the upset repeats.  i had started taking Nexium not to long before these symptoms started so i looked up the side effects and severe cramping/gas/diarrhea are big ones....so i am off that and just hoping the gut stuff is related to that and that soon i will be back to my normal gut routine. amazing always how much your gut can impact how you feel.  so today and yesterday i stayed close to home. no Denali Highway crossing.

 if tomorrow feels more normal i may pop out and back for just an overnight trip.  that would be fine.

 wondering if the good days were because i had crapped so much the drug went through me as well.  if it continues i'll have to talk to Dr and perhaps get a covid test, as it can have a GI component.  no fevers and no respiratory symptoms.  also nobody i know has come down with anything similar so that makes my Nexium thought the most rational i think.

 that above is glacial ice. it's got a lot of dirt and rocks mixed in.  this section gets the fall out from an area above it. 

 trying to stay hydrated.  by this morning i felt a bit dehydrated for sure.  i had bought gatorades and have nibbled on crackers, yogurt and ate some rice earlier.  so far so good, mostly just a bother.

 i've done several outside sessions of tennis ball tossing for the dogs.  Ivy has a sore hip it seems, so i'll need to get her checked out soon as well.  she's on glucosamine but may need some other pain med as well.  she is good at pretending all is fine but at the end of the day she is limping. she loves her tennis ball.

 it's hot out there these past few days.  i saw 79F on a sign yesterday as i drove to the dog park.  for AK that is hot.

 there were some fireworks last night.  heard, not seen.  i closed the dog run gate as those started, just don't want Covid Cat to get spooked and run off.  i have left the run gate open all the time and so far the kitten keeps returning and mostly seems to stick close and in the yard.  not always. when i call him he's back pretty quick if he's not spotted in the yard.

 always love the ripples left as the tide retreats.

 one of those early morning sunrise shots.

 i got a few small videos of this little guy taking on the log in front of him. it's super cute.  i posted it on an Alaskan page and it's gotten over 400 views and over 100 shares.  mini viral for me.  kind of fun.

 you never really know what folks are going to like.  i know what i like, but that doesn't always match others. 

 i still have photo's i'm looking through.  i have felt better as the day as gone on and overall i think.  we shall see how tonight goes.

 not sure what caused the colors on this rock.  looked cool though.

 i have a few more days off and then i have 3 nights on, followed by another 6 off.  so hopefully, i can get a little Denali Highway trek in and perhaps a Valdez trek...

 the Covid numbers have jumped so not sure if little jaunts will be possible soon. i imagine another spike after this holiday weekend like what happened with Memorial Weekend. 

 the naysayers are on the internet screaming about it all being a hoax and fake news and inaccurate and overblown statistics. they trust nobody so refuse to do anything to protect others.  i'm hoping that some are keyboard warriors but actually wear masks and avoid crowds.  i know i'm fooling myself.  they are really idiots and asses.  i did crack up as one guy who was arguing with me yesterday made some crack about me having edited a comment. then he made a comment that he should have edited.  i haven't heard from him since.  he said he's not not stupid...which really is just saying he is stupid.  he said it not me..so i just pointed it out.  funny since he'd been a jerk about me editing...which really i hadn't changed anything i had written but had just added to it.

 if you allow yourself to get sucked in to those heated discussions you will occasionally get trashed.  we all misspeak.  it was just funny. 

 i am kind of having fun with trump supporters because i really think it's a tough thing supporting him right now with this bounty issue out there..but believe me they are not backing down on their complete support of the fool. it really just means they end up defending Putin as well and accepting the possible loss of US military lives.  i hope that gets a bit hard to swallow. so far no signs of it though.

 the circles below are sea anemone.   just hiding out for the low tide.

 thought i got lucky with this wave catch.  i love the sound of the waves crashing.  so peaceful.

 a bit of rain fell when i was first in Homer.  it's never a bad place to go for me though. the dogs love it. 

 most fourth of July festivities have been cancelled or greatly curtailed.

 of course, the iitoo had a rally in my old home of South Dakota.  the white trump supporters were yelling at the natives protesting to go back where they came from...they are not, not stupid i guess too.

 i do recall being in a hot tub with a black woman at a gym in South Dakota.  she had moved there from the south.  i asked how it was for her in South Dakota.  she laughed and said it was great, the people in South Dakota mostly ignored her, they hated the native population.  the comments stuck with me.  always sad that hate based solely on race exists at all.  it is embarrassing being white some days. 

 from what i have heard/read his speech was even more divisive than usual.  he seems to show little to no interest in making any attempts to unify or be inclusive.  he mostly just clings to his base.  i'm hoping the base isn't as large as it was.  there are now two groups of GOP who have splintered off and are campaigning for Biden over Trump.  the Lincoln Project and now a group that used to work with GOP administrations i think, who state they will vote Biden over Trump.

 we found this pretty baby bottom feeder in the pools.  so cute.

 dwarf fireweed above and below is the usual fireweed.  in some places it's popping out and in other places it's like this.  not quite started.  the fireweed is amazing when it is in full bloom. hill sides just covered in pink.

 not sure how many are hospitalized in our state with Covid right now.  there are large increases in other states though.  some places are reaching capacity.  anytime that happens you can expect increases in deaths...i suspect patient ratios bump up and staff just can't keep up which increases chances of death.  we have patient ratios for a reason. 

 we do live in a "not my problem" society. i have some hope that perhaps our society will emerge at the other end of this with a little less "not my problem" and a little more kindness and compassion.  i may be too idealist though.

 i also see so many on the right who vote against their own interests and for the interests of the very wealthy with some foolish notion that the top 1% somehow will have their backs and rise them up..when all proof is to the contrary in the general sense.  there are a few up there who do put their money back in to society but sadly, the vast majority just use their increased wealth to then increase their personal wealth more.

 i hope that this is the last hurrah of those who refuse to support programs that help the common citizens.  clearly we need a much improved healthcare system.  having your healthcare based on working has been a huge fiasco in this pandemic.  also will testing be based on ability to pay and how will that impact our ability to monitor this virus.  capitalism has it's virtues but there are some areas where more social programs can help the nation as a whole.

 education comes to mind as well.  we would do better as a society with a robust education system and with programs for those who want trades and/or advanced degrees.  it puts people to work.  supports them in that. 

 i laughed at my friends on the right during the lock downs who were suddenly very concerned about suicide.  really?  because they have voted to limit assistance for any mental health issues for decades...so suddenly they were concerned about these same people that they have for years refused services to.  interesting.

 just had the slightest twinge of heartburn.  that Nexium had knocked that out completely. it just occurred to me that that twinge of heartburn may be a sign that the nexium is getting out of my system..so hopefully, my body will return to a more normal state.

 love the bright green anemones.

 i have also laughed because so many who call Covid a hoax and scream that the numbers are not real as they believe that many who die are falsely being claimed to have passed from Covid when they have comorbidities. these same folks claim that it's the same as the flu but do not seem to concern themselves with the fact that people who die of the flu often also have comorbidities...those numbers they trust. they do not seem to think those numbers are falsely elevated.  the claim is often that hospitals are just claiming it is covid to get more money.

 on the beach.

 the big kitten has been enjoying his outdoor time on these sun filled days. 

 he climbed on my bag as soon as i got home. 

 the covid numbers are probably much lower than reported rather than the rights views of the covid numbers being over stated.  you will never convince them of anything based on facts and/or science at this point.  it's pretty sad. they have allowed themselves to be deluded.

 man it is hot!!  i'm so happy to not live where it gets super hot.  another lie the right told it's people was the heat and humidity would magically make this virus go away.  they seem to have just ignored that however. anytime the lies they are told are proven wrong, it doesn't matter to them, they have just moved onto believing the next load of crap.

 my little sign below probably has paw prints in it as the dogs always seem to land right where i am trying to write.  silly puppies.

 fresh green and burned areas. new life springs despite the devastation. the morel hunting has continued to be good from all i have heard.

 beautiful day.  not as hot as today.

 i'm getting licked.  i'll shut the dog run gate again tonight as i expect the fireworks to start up again.

 cool looking ice below.  it looked like rock until you saw the blue spots peek through.

 well, i shall hope for a good night sleep and a better belly day tomorrow.

thankful for A. those who get into government for the right reasons B.  those in the past who put together a good start for our nation...can we keep it going and improve it to fit the times, well that is up to us i guess C.  people who are wearing masks and distancing and avoiding crowds...thinking of others over their own needs.  we need more of that.