enjoying the perfect temperatures...for me that is in the 20's!!

 

some from Fall and some from now. that seems a good blend for the blog these days.  Tusker will be showing up for years to come in the blog since i'm so far behind in photo's and i'm okay with that. 

today we hit the beach at Oceanview Bluff Park.  as i snapped photo's it occurred to me that i may be putting those photo's on a blanket one day. 

have done some rock painting, getting some Valentines rocks done. 

also restarted the ice hearts now that the temperatures are down a bit again. today i made hearts from the snow on the beach. works when there is a crust on the snow. i kick from below and shape them

went shopping at the boutique dog shop.  got some better fitting booties for Sunny. also a new coat to grow into. shopping for dogs more than myself

love this new beach i found...so always more to explore out there.

really liked these trees this fall

my stretch of work was spent in PICU, ED Holds and CTICU. always interesting.  some of it is now that i go where folks are out sick with Covid. 

there are still fungi out there, will have to wait until late summer again for the big mushroom bloom.

i'm itching to get back down to Homer again. i'm sure i will start escaping soon. 

i think this is Deep Creek.

left this whale tail in Ninilchik. 

looking across the bay at a glacier..so Alaska.

went shopping online for some dog clippers and books on grooming the poodle. if it's a basic cut, perhaps i can learn to groom him at home...haha.  we shall see. 

i've already been starting to add the brushing into our little training time in the morning at breakfast.  sit down stand and brushing.

back to January. of course, January is at an end. time flies.  

these are from the Manitoba trek.  Sunny's first camping trip. 

the waterfalls are frozen and looked so beautiful with all the colors coming through.

he's already getting used to his new life as a dog of adventure. he is super cute and it's fun to watch Ivy Rose get attached to him as well.  the cats are also tolerating him more and more. 

still has his snuggly tendencies. still eventually gets out of the bed at night and curls up with his water bowl.  i put just a little water in there that he drinks and plays with, then he chews the bowl and falls asleep. they all have their little quirks.

he seems to be recovered nicely from his little surgery.  happy to have that all behind me .

i packed much better for the walk out from the yurt. 

never needed the snowshoes but always good to have this time of year. 

here we are on the bridge

back at home for this shot.  Ivy is blurry...the puppy has his moments of zoomies and being annoying to big sister.  he's using the dog door, mostly follows her out there. still a few piddles on the upstairs piddle pad, especially on days i'm working/sleeping. more when i'm sleeping.  the plan is to remove the pads slowly. figure i'll try to add back the second flap on the dog door my next stretch off in hopes he will adjust to that pretty quickly 

he plays hard and sleeps hard.  so does Ivy though and that has never changed for her.  she looks pretty mellow next to him but he actually is a pretty mellow puppy. 

everything is a new experience.  need to start doing more leash training with him and get him into some of the big stores.  today he did go into the Bark Ak shop.  he was a little nervous.

my last night in CTICU was fairly tame so i did start a new Novel.  a strange one so we shall see. 

it's almost time to do the taxes...it's on the to do list.  got the pfd checked off the to do list several weeks back.  today i did go look at tile.  i could go nuts in a tile store...i just love tile so much! 

i brought some home to look at. a larger hexagon pattern than i was initially thinking but a dark grey and then an azure blue color tile, same size/pattern...could scatter some of the light colored tiles in on the floor in the downstairs bathroom. i think that would look pretty cool.  left the above memorial rock out there on the trail for others to enjoy. 

will need to prep more of those rocks. 

i also found a few tiles that look like wood that have a more textured feel so the dogs could have an easier time walking on those...for the main room.  so i brought one sample of that home and got the name of another lighter sample .

can't believe it's almost 9!  i slept in today.  great to get some rest again.  the puppy is starting to mold to my schedule more.

i kept him loose downstairs this stretch i worked.  put the gate at the bottom of the stairs to block those.  will probably do that again these next three nights i work. after that i may just put the gate across the upstairs bathroom door like i did with Ivy and Tusker so the cats get to have the bathroom to themselves...i think it also helps the dogs learn to not go in there.

inside the yurt....cozy.  probably more cozy than here some days. with the one flap that is more cold air coming in than normal.

camping in cooler temperatures. 

you can see the rope of a climber below. 

i really should be reading my retirement books that i bought.  time does fly and if i can retire a bit earlier from Prov at least and find another part time gig that brings in some cash and benefits that would be good.  there are a lot of options out there.  may be time in a few years to give my body and soul a break from life in the hospital. 

why work your arse off longer than needed...the tough part is we have no idea how long we will need to support ourselves once we retire.  how long will i live? i could die tomorrow or live for ages. how do you plan for that.  i think in the big picture you plan to enjoy the days you have.  some like working and stick with it for years...i am not sure that is me.  i don't mind having some place to go sometimes though.  also it will force me to mix with the other humans...it doesn't have to be as stressful on my body and emotions though. 

i'm happy chilling with puppies.  sleeping in and taking walks.  making little road trips.  

watching pretty sunsets...it's all good. 

there is so much to explore out there.  even if i explore the same trails over and over, up here they change week to week.  this place is so dramatic.  especially in the summers.  

things change a lot in the winters as well.  ice comes in so many forms and snow and little adventures like this.  

places just look totally different in different seasons so that makes it 4 times the adventure.  

most of the time i could care less if i ever go south again.  

thankful for A. my canine companions on the trails  B.  my human trail mates as well.  C. that i am on the second half of my stretch.