able to stock up on eggs yesterday...

 

head back to work again tonight for my stretch.  much less stress than a year ago. still some anxiety at the start of each run.  residual effects of all we have all gone through these past years. as covid stress wanes it's the newer stress of low staff and potential for poor ratio's. we have not been hit up here as badly as it's reported in the lower 48 though. 

a major issue in my mind and current experience is with the covid it became even more clear how poorly staff are really treated in the big picture.  the smucks like myself who sign on and stick with it are treated with minimal regard really. so for the past few years we watched nurse after nurse with often less experience and dedication get large contracts, bonuses and whatnot.  it made the core staff feel highly underappreciated watching this total inequitable payment for work play out before us. they get bonuses of thousands of dollars and we get a few hundred. i think there is just no way to have that play out and i think that is what we are watching play out across the lower 48.  a basic f-u to upper management. 

as i got called in last year for my annual evaluation it wasn't all the hard work, the extra efforts, the staying when so many others left.  it was about me being less than 5 minutes late to my shift one night and sick calls. is suspect this years evaluation to be more of the same.  

i could have left, i still can leave.  it's worse other places and i do just want to stick it out in many ways and just get to retirement. what these hospitals are setting themselves up for is having their entire nursing staff say screw their bull and they will be required to negotiate with individual nurses or travel nurse companies for their entire work force of nurses. nurses who live in the community are often more invested...i think it better serves the patients to have a good supply of core staff. 

as i said, things here just aren't nearly as bad as it is in many places.  we shall see how it all goes. the ones coming out of school programs also have a lot more school debt that they need to pay back.  they need more money to do that.  the nurses themselves over the years have made getting higher degrees a priority as if that was all we needed to get respect they wanted.  get a bigger degree.  

associate degree nurses were like myself.  more likely to become core nurses in hospitals. the further up you go degree wise, the less likely you are to stay in a job.  so for years the hospitals have employed staff who have ambitions far above and beyond bedside nursing and so guess what, surprise, surprise, they leave the bedside...in many cases to try to pay for the degrees the hospitals encouraged them to have. 

so we shall see what this week brings me work wise. 

eggs...they are in short supply of late. CostCo the other day was totally out. yesterday i hit the grocery for eggs before i headed out on walk.  success.  so go early. i do enjoy eggs. 

i am good for a bit now. these are from Sept 21. so far behind. always enjoy the fun mushrooms of each fall. 

it's a hunt i take in every year with gusto.

did a winter camp out with friends overnight Sunday.  roads were in pretty good shape coming and going. temps were a bit chilly heading out but warmed over night.  always night. a dusting of fresh snow. 

we had a beautiful sunrise in the morning.  all the dogs did pretty well. i'm always anxious getting them from the car onto the trail and back. it's a super busy road where you park and so it only takes one dog taking off to have a lovely trek become a tragic trek.  all were safe and nothing bad happened. 

good to get out and get some laughs in.  we all need that. i have many really good friends. life has been great to me friend wise. 

last night i hit the Wildlife Wednesday lecture at the zoo.  this one was on Round Island. given by one of the rangers that's been out there now for several years. i don't think i'd met her yet. the new and the retired managers were there.  the director over it all is going to retire later this year. 

it does sound like funding has been much more stable these past few years. still not from the state but funding has come through.  explore.org was out there last summer and will return hopefully this summer.  they will talk to them on Friday i guess. 

the boat captain that helped me travel out there the first few times passed away this last year.  so sad for him and his family.  will always remember him peeing in that nalgeen just before taking us into extremely rough seas.  we survived but it was a rough ride and very scary. 

feeling like i need to make some moves towards developing the non-profit.  it was started as a rag tag thing.  it's time to start to try to build it into something more professional.  not sure what all i am capable of. the hope is that we get more board members and that eventually one of those board members is enthusiastic and capable enough to take over for me one day. 

would also like in get some youth in there that are more capable of the modern things, making a new website, setting up a better system for donations. working towards having events that bring in money that can go more directly to the sanctuary. things that are probably more suited to someone with more experience and expertise than i am. 

i think i can be proud for what i have accomplished though.  for someone with zero skills in this non-profit world i did manage to get it set up and got the feathers ruffled that needed to be ruffled.  i wrote a few articles that were not only published but well received and effective. 

too many papers collecting in the house.  how does that happen.  i really need to do some serious purging of all the paper and crap here. it just becomes a fire hazard.  shredding and purging...next stretch off goal. 

love these mushrooms.  every year they surprise me. 

grooming session on Sunny after we returned from the trek.  kept his hair a wee bit longer for the cabin just to make sure he was warm enough. it was hot in the yurt though really.

he fell asleep so i snapped a quick video of him sleeping while i shaved him. i thought it was funny. i posted it to the poodle page on facebook...of course, the critiques soon followed. snobby, judgemental people all over the internet.  haha. i handled it well i think but this morning i just removed the post.  it was just meant to be cute and funny.  i had reminded a few people that it was literally 21 seconds long of a hair cut/style that i spent hours, off and on doing. that is the world we live in now. people hide behind their computers and try to lord everyone with their expertise. maybe those people just have small and unhappy lives. 

started taking down the Skelly group. want to make them valentines ready. not that i really care about valentines day. i'll be working.  but who doesn't love hearts. 

various classified documents are being found in Bidens old papers.  have no idea what level of classification they are or why he had/has them.  his team is finding them and dealing with them appropriately it sounds like.  they were first noted right before the last election.  there is a part of me that distrusts the right so much that i wonder if these have been planted.  who knows anymore.  trump still has many documents that he hasn't returned apparently.  of course, the right, who were quiet or outraged at the inquires into the trump classified documents are now happily chomping at the bit to take down biden for these.  

of course, his few documents compared to trumps boxes upon boxes are of little matter to them. anything they can get their hands on news wise they will scream out about like biden just gave the nuclear codes to china. 

it's also a great deal about intent. trump and his team were asked for over a year to return things, refused and ignored, and then a search warrant was issued due to the sensitive nature and their non-compliance. the right all just blamed the fbi and the dems and looked the other way at the same thing they are now acting outraged about. 

the main difference between right and left at this point is that the left is for anyone who breaks laws to be held accountable whereas the right is for only holding the left to account and ignoring anything from anyone on their side. as long as it benefits them politically, who cares.

there are some calls for a new representative on the right to step down because he basically lied about every aspect of who he was and all that was on his resume.  they could care less really because the margins are slim in the house and they need his vote. 

the right is less about governing and more about chaos and destruction....so they are already creating committees to investigate those who are investigating many in their party who took part in the insurrection. how convenient.

the dogs are getting anxious to get out there on the trails. i haven't gotten much done.  

these are more from the big snow storm and the after affects

most of the trails have gotten a bit wider but still you drop off pretty deep if you come off that trail. side trails are still only the width of a wide balance beam.  the main trails are much more manageable. 

the element remains fairly dug in.  battery dead.  really need to get that charged back up. 

the ever building to do list.

Ivy in deep

me, happy out walking and enjoying all that fresh winter air

love the snow laden limbs

the view out my bedroom window got more and more blocked the deeper the snow

so far i haven't hired anyone to remove the snow from the roof of the house. not many have. 

the snow has shrunk back.  some wind, dries out the water so it shrinks back on it's own.

have slept great this week. was tired after the overnighter.  amazing how just changing locations can alter your sleep. the dogs were super tired to.  we all get used to our routines i guess and any change is stressful in some way to your body. 

i don't clip him too short ever really.  

will probably just hit north bivuoac again today, though it is getting later already. 

am i due for another lazy day?  it's pretty out and fairly warm.  

the dogs are not into lazy days.  some one posted on tiktok that dogs have much shorter lives and those daily walks mean so much to them. it is an added motivation.  there is a cute dog walking van in Skagway that has taken the internet by storm.  super cute. a few of the poodle looking pups maybe from his litter that ride the bus.  they are for sure from the same breeder. our little connection to the mo mountain bus. haha.

grateful for A. these sweet faces that bring so much comfort, joy and companionship to my life. B. that the walrus are still being monitored. C. all the fun treks and experiences that i have been lucky to enjoy in this magical place.