Happy National Dog Day...

 and my brothers Birthday...what a lucky day to have as your Birthday...shared with dogs.

 i was just petting all my furs. they have lovely soft coats. misse the cats while we were in Homer but they had a visit from their co-owner.  :-)  covi played in the sinks with the water. i haven't ever seen that.  so funny.  he has so much personality.  he was happy to  be able to get out and run outside again.

 the dogs and i made many stops coming and going from Homer. that is how these trips go for me. the journey is a large part of it all. i try to take at least one new stop/road each time i make that drive. the dead fish pictures are, of course, from Deep Creek.  not many bald eagles out there this time. still lots of dead fish.  they seemed a perfect fit for black and white photography.

 we stopped at Girdwood on the way out.  as i had just been with the dogs in Portage the day before it seemed a nice option

 the second night i decided to make a fire and try to get the dogs to just chill by it.  eventually, they did.  it's a new trick for them as they seem to believe that anytime we are on the beach...or outside for that matter, the tennis ball needs to be getting thrown. so some treats were in order and a few lessons to keep them safe from the fire.  i had to rescue each of them at least once to prevent a fire incident.  i bought a bundle of wood and we chilled there until it burned down.  it was very relaxing for me once the dogs settled and i think relaxing for them too.

 Ivy was pretty sore and i need to make the call to the vet to just get her hips checked out.  really just want to start with pain meds for her.  she's generally ready and willing to run the next time we go outside.  she has no off button.  she is chilling inside with me today.  just avoiding activity for the day..they had plenty over the last three days.

 we also made a stop at Kelly/Peterson Lakes.  it's a great place to walk and there is apparently a cabin 1/2 mile in that we can rent some time. the trail is in the burn area on the Kenai. lots of fireweed mixed in with the burned stuff so that was actually pretty.  so a stop or two to check that out.  happy to see the growth coming out of the ashes...also grateful for all the fire troops that fought the fires of last summer and that are now fighting fires in other areas of our nation.

 i hear some beautiful trees in CA have been lost to fire. so sad always.  fire is terrible.  natural disasters just have a way of making life difficult and dramatic.  mother nature will never be tamed.  an independent female for sure. still love a line from an old series....some women cannot be tamed and so they run free.  then there was something about until they find a man who can run free with them.  it takes a strong and confident man to be able to allow the untamed to be free. those men are tough to find.

 as i write a hurricane is coming towards the coast...headed to the border area between Texas and Louisiana.  my SIL parents live there and have refused to evacuate i understand.  i have quite a few family members in the Houston area.  may they be safe through this. those hurricanes are awful sounding.  so scary.

 a few of these are also from the Portage adventures the day before.  first we walked the trail of blue ice and then walked out towards Byron Glacier.  as you can see the official trail ends about here and you can see how far away the glacier bits are...it's receded a lot

 there is a section of the blue ice trail that has all these branches coated with moss.  always so pretty, especially as the light hits it

 a contrast to the Girdwood trees.  just varies with how much of a rain forest you are looking at.

 on the beach

 these two love the beach, as do i.

 Covi has actually been inside quite a bit. getting attention.  the sun is out right now.  i should be rushing out there.  i'm very slow moving.  sleeping in is good though since i'll be back to work tomorrow night.

 busy not watching the RNC convention, haha.  sounds like quite the line up of lying is happening. using every scare tactic they can to terrify the right that the left are worse than handing the nation over to Putin to run...Trump actually sent the dictator a fan letter several years back before running for potus. that's what you want in your potus...a guy who sends fan letters to dictators.

 quite the class act.  the ex-porn star turned wife with lies that got her made a citizen and her parents though nobody else should have such rules apply to them. the couple who held loaded weapons pointed at peaceful protesters.  the potus who has so many NDA's that it's highly doubtful there aren't at least a few that contain pay offs for abortions.

 the religious right...the party of morals and ethics and family values who's potus has been married 3 x's and has cheated on every one.  the ruse is they never believed in these things really, just used them to gain the trust and support of people who do believe in those things...however, those people now seem blinded by the total lack of morals, ethics and values as they believe the agenda they desire out weighs any morals ethics or values they may have once possessed.  it's now a take all attitude.  they speak of the hate on the left but their whole trump joy is that he angers the left with what he does and says...for them, their hatred towards the left is so great, so complete that they would watch the entire nation burn down in order to piss off the left.

 so there it is...the morals, ethics and values were all just a smoke screen. they just wanted to get their way, no matter what. that is the truth.  they have been convinced or they convinced themselves that God is on their side so it doesn't matter what illegal, unethical, immoral acts must occur as long as they carry the mantle of God. such pure arrogance or is it ignorance. time will tell i guess.

 hatch law...flouted...they have corrupted our government beyond anything we thought possible. 

 Covi Kitten knows when the red bag comes out he will be left behind...he was not happy.

 there are little signs of the fall coming towards us. 

 more of the light in the trees of Portage area.

 our first steps onto Bishops Beach in Homer...these were toppled within seconds. 

 these rocks with the seaweed just always seem like crazy hair so i feel the need to find shell bits to make faces on them. 

 i stayed at the Driftwood again.  i take cleaning wipes and wipe it all down, open the windows to air it all out.  bring most of my food.  basically, i ate one actual meal a day and then just snacked.

 we are out exploring much of the day. at night we crash hard. these dogs were wiped out each night.

 i found mushrooms where i could.  they are still out there.

 the end bits of the fire.  it felt good to just sit with a campfire. i do love a good campfire, especially one with such an amazing view.

 another spot where i stopped to view the burn area

 quite a few jellies on the beaches this week.  no sea stars seen.  on Deep Creek i noticed that all the jellies had seagull footprints all around them and the centers had been pecked out.  those gulls are brutal.  with the salmon each year they bounce on them as they are dying and peck out their eyeballs. i still think those salmon must have done some terrible stuff in a previous life to get the life of a salmon. 

 you can see some of those gull tracks near our feet/paws.

 there were some nice groups of mushrooms out there at Portage mostly.

 here Ivy is relaxing by the fire.

 this sweet swing is under the stores on the spit.  i swang and chatted with my niece for a bit...right after i got off the phone, Ivy became impatient with me swinging and not throwing the tennis ball. i was jumped on and ended up on the ground.  swing session over. she then wanted to jump all over me while i was down...that is my girl. 

 in some areas the sand really sinks with each step.

 as the evening ended, i tossed the tennis ball..it went under this log at one point and required teamwork and digging to save it. of course, minutes later as we were leaving that ball was dropped some place, never to be seen again.

 looks like it's clouding up outside again.  i hear it rained quite a bit up here while i was enjoying the sunshine in Homer.  it was wet both ways except on the coast.

 the dogs, thankfully, still ignore the dead and decaying fish.

 i think i saw one moose so not a lot of wildlife sightings.  there were some congregating sandhill cranes, love listening to them. their call is so unique and can be heard for miles.

 another night of tuckered out dogs....or as i often say, Tuskered out. 

 always a blend of photos.  hopefully, tonight i will actually look at some from the large camera. i still haven't looked at the ones from Valdez.  i just got busy with the cabinets.  i still need to reload those cabinets and work on the back splash.

 then flooring next i guess.

 always the projects, but it is worth it.  looks so much nicer already. the kitchen is so much nicer as well and i really enjoy cooking more.

 sounds like the neighbors is almost done as well.  i enjoy watching the process..those shows that show the before and after and the process.

 thought some of these jelly shots came out cool.

 not sure if they will be calendar worthy but i may have less stuff this year to use since no big trip happened.  could always pull from past years i guess.

 not sure if this is a jelly being eaten by a sea anemone.  looked strange but interesting.  jellies and anemone's were the most seen creatures this week....and dead fish of course.

it's after two and we are still in the house.  better get motivated.  drives are a bit exhausting.  thankful for A.  another safe journey with beautiful views and fabulous dog companionship  B. these escapes from the Covid stress C. my brother Jeff, who listens to me, who understands, who relates and appreciates.