no nuclear weapons dropped yet..

 

every day that doesn't happen is a great day. 

today as the ceremonial start of the Iditarod. tomorrow we head to Willow.  less than 50 teams but it does feel like the Iditarod and more normal.  it was snowing like crazy out there. big wet heart attack snow..i say heart attack snow because it's so heavy to lift and that can mean folks end up having heart attacks from working too hard. photography can be tough in that flat light with lots of flakes....the camera was getting wet and not happy. i was getting wet and chilled as well.

went downtown and then headed over to the curve that gets several teams. great video of a team going sideways right next to me. there was a guy who hangs there every year with his family and i think he loves being there to help scrape up the iditariders and get the team on their way.  so he got to help a few today. he said one year he had to help 8. 

by the time i got home from that i was pretty chilled. i still had a few dogs that wanted to be walked so i got under the covers for a bit, turned on the electric mattress pad and reheated. then we headed to the dog park.  nice to have that back added to the mix. Sunny does enjoy playing with all the other dogs out there. 

he had his first class. he did pretty well.  i'm getting  better at training with each dog in many ways. i know i'm a bit behind on him. i get lazy i think putting in the effort i did with the pair...because i put so much effort in with them and it's a bummer to be doing it all again so soon..but i need to just put on my big girl pants, stop being lazy and get him out there for a leash walk every day until he starts to really get it.  he did pretty good in class though on leash.  he's super smart. i think i also feel guilty taking him to class or on a walk without Ivy Rose. 

he got high praise from the instructor and a few of the other dog owners really wanted their small dogs to meet him as their dogs are scared of larger dogs and he seems so mellow.  he still does use that piddle pad every so often still and yesterday he just pee'd on the dog bed which is very near the dog door, so go figure. he's not perfect but he's pretty dang great little pup i must say. he really does pick up on stuff fast so if he has issues it's because of me.  we've been working on leave it when it comes to the kitties. i've also been trying to have more play time with the cats.  they have had some spats and i figure it's probably because they need more human play interaction time.  

sunny is like Tusker in that he loves those kitty toys. so he's been in the mix playing with the cats which i believe helps with bonding too. it is cute to watch all the animals develop their own relationships. 

the Ukraine war has been terrible to watch.  there was nothing they did that caused this attack on them.  an attack that is out of nothing but a desire for dominance over another nation is the most selfish and heinous act.  he could care less about war tribunals or rules.  he wants what he wants and he has been getting anything he wants without much difficulty for years now. nobody wants to jump in fully and start a huge world war, though i don't see him actually stopping with Ukraine. Europe is at war. Belarus has a puppet government for Putin and so they are helping him out. 

so many trump supporters will say trump was tough on putin and this would never have happened when he was in...they forget that he held up military support for ukraine, that decreased emphasis on Ukraine was the only GOP platform change in his initial election.  he was trying to get us out of NATO and for as much as they bitch about Biden....he's been working with our allies not against them like trump did. 

i do not love Biden....he's a guy we elect.  only the GOP treats their candidates like they are picked by God and therefore are somehow worthy of God like treatment. it goes along with their magical thinking that God is on team GOP, when in actuality, team GOP couldn't be further away from the teachings of Jesus. i do laugh as many in the GOP loved the movie, "the Kings Speech" about the king who had a speech issue...they were inspired by it but now with Biden and him having speech issues they treat it like he is a complete fool.  i think most of us would love to find someone as amazing as ukraine has leading them. i mean he is the complete opposite of trump...

he is wisely using his popularity to appeal to a global conscience in getting help for his nation, which he clearly loves.....by the way...for those fools in the GOP who believe they are patriots...they are not.  patriots protect their capital, they don't attack it. 

some have said, we only care because Ukraine is filled with white people.  i'm not going to totally ignore that, yes Syria was sad but did not get the global sympathy seen here. why is that...? i think part of it is that Ukraine is a more globally connected place.  there is easy access to social media so that makes them more connected to everyone on a personal level.  we saw little really of what was happening in Syria or Afghanistan, Iraq or Iran.  these are not societies that seem to utilize the social media sites.

Ukraine has lost some ground with the Russian onslaught especially on the seaports.  they have been able to hold back a line of tanks headed for Kyiv. russia is just firing without a care for what they are bombing. happy to bomb civilians. sadly, it sounds like they have zero issue killing off their own military who get injured...why bother with field hospitals or collecting the dead on your side...they apparently bring crematoriums along to dispose of bodies. it does seem like they are even bothering with that. they have tight control on "news" their citizens get back in Russia so they are forbidden to say the word war and believe they are freeing Ukraine rather than attacking it. some bombs hit buildings in a nuclear power plant site...

covid...still with us but fading again a bit.  many fewer cases in the hospital at this time.  less cases overall. the mask mandate will be gone soon if it isn't already.  some will continue to wear masks.  i will in shops for sure.  outside i've always felt fairly secure.

i worked 2/3 shifts.  the middle shift i was on call and never called in.  the other two i was doing holds in the ER. some of the newer charges do not seem to realize we are there to help and that they need to pay attention to which nurses they assign which patients. not every hold nurse takes every level of care patient 

my heart breaks for all those people trapped in communities that are just getting slammed day after day...it's all so pointless. he just wants power over the place...obviously he doesn't care about the humans that live there or the infrastructure of it all.  completely obliterating a place to desire to obtain seems an odd goal. 

many have been trying to leave, often with children and pets in tow. there are also others that stay and are trying to rescue the animals that are invariably left behind.  there were also shells falling near the zoo in Kyiv.  i can only imagine how terrified and confused the animals all are.  Poland has been very good at allowing passage of animals and i hear zoo animals that can be transported are being transported. 

finish this and then pay some bills and head to bed.  tomorrow will be another busy day.  i think the snowing is supposed to stop through the night.  maybe it already has.  

happy i got the dogs out for a walk this afternoon.  they will not be happy with me leaving them again tomorrow. as there are only 50 teams we may get back fairly early tomorrow so perhaps i can sneak in a walk when i get back. of course, they don't start there until 2pm so it won't be early. 

these are more from Homer. since i'm not down there i will enjoy some scenery from other treks down there

i am excited for Sunny to play on those beaches.

i drove around one afternoon.  explore new roads.

i do always try to check out new places.  always good for us. 

keep things from getting too routine.  happily nature, especially up here, keeps changing constantly and keeps us on guard. 

fall colors on the beach. 

do need to get on some rock painting.  it's good for me, relaxing. 

hit the native craft fair yesterday after a loop in the bog.  only bought a few stickers, which i just remembered are still in my coat pocket...hopefully not destroyed. with nuclear war a possibility it seemed a bad time to be frivolous. 

i'm trying not to get too anxious about a war that i can't do much personally to impact. we are all just peons in the power play that happens.  most of the humans in every nation are just trying to find their piece of happiness.  it all goes okay until some dick-tator decides he wants more than he has.  i'm always baffled at these people who are never satisfied. i mean how many villa's and yachts do people need.  

the more money and power you have the more lonely you end up really. people are say what you want to hear, do what you say but you can't trust anyone.  that is no doubt why Putin sits a mile away from his own cronies at meetings. that much money and power can easily make people nuts.  no man is infallible and he may have screwed up with this plan.  no matter what happens, he still seems hell bent on causing total destruction of what was a beautiful place by all accounts.  

i find myself finding it more and more difficult to have conversations with trump supporters.  that they can support this fool still is beyond me.  i have lost respect for so many.  they seem like normal, intelligent humans and then they open their mouths and complete idiocy comes out.  i mean total lies and conspiracies and  then there is the short term memory loss.  the party of blame everyone but themselves for anything and everything.  the people who worked with him are happy to write books and do interviews but still refuse to actually man up and speak the truth to the proper authorities under oath.  clearly they found him unfit for office but they all still fear him.  

he was a puppet.  Hillary nailed that one. 

this wood looked cool on the beach. 

a WNBA star has been detained in Russia.  bad timing. she apparently had cannabis oil in her luggage...i must say, unless that was planted i would say that was not too smart.  feel badly for her though as the timing could make things so much worse. 

not sure China has put itself in a great position making so nice with Putin.  i guess he delayed the attack on Ukraine until after the Olympics...how so very nice of Putin. 

some call Russia a gas station with nuclear weapons.  they do not have tons they seem to export.  China is a totally different place. 

some old vw bugs laying about.  funny to see them all lined up there.

found this cool rock in Cooper landing. 

found a really cool rock friday with breaching whales on two sides.  very cool. i have been at Ruths less of late. it just started to feel like there was a lot of rock grabbers and few rock exchangers.  so i went with few expectations the other day, tired after working over night. happened on that pretty rock.  

left one of mine.  a newer hiding spot. the freddies have been taking and i suspect there is someone with a crap ton of rocks at their home.  it's just more fun when it's a more equal give and take situation.  rather than get into the brewing drama i just backed out..that is what i do with drama.  one joy of single life is the ability to walk away from drama. well, time to curl up for the night.  

perhaps i'll post some Iditarod shots tomorrow night.  grateful for A.  how peaceful and trauma free my life has been.  so many others live with constant war and threat of war, horrible dictators, natural disasters..i've been pretty lucky really.  i'd love it to stay that way though.  B. the return of the Iditarod.  always a fun event up here.  C. some easing on the covid madness as well.