it's happened, blog changed my format....

 i have been dreading this day.  i was warned and now i just have to cope apparently.  it's not the end of the world.  lord knows i have plenty of pictures to post.  the problem i'm having is that i like to turn my camera and take photo's vertical.  this new format doesn't allow one to turn a photo right or left.  has anyone found a way to do this?  also the photo's seem to come in somewhat randomly when they load so i'll have to figure out how to be able to select the order of photo's.  anyone again?

 these are the last of the chicken ones....that blogger will allow me to post without posting them sideways and some from the last few days walks.  several ptarmigan crossed the road when i drove the taylor highway.  why does the ptarmigan cross the road i ask?

 so there are a few cool pictures that i won't be able to share, which disturbs me.  i'm easily disturbed.  obviously, i'm not one to adapt to changes sometimes.

 currently the change i'm also adapting to is the runny nose, sneezing and sore throat that seem to be the signs and symptoms of the day.  took care of  a snot nosed kid on sunday and i remember thinking...i hope i don't get what that snot nosed kid has...the downside to working with children.  they are little germ factories!! no fever yet, just aches, chills and the like.  of course, always a bummer to feel sick when you start your stretch off work.

 did manage a nice walk.  extended actually.  kincaid is starting to attract the amorous activities of the local moose population.  i almost had to shield rio's eyes a few times.  ok, not really.  tried to do the old loop in jodphur but when i was heading down the homestretch i ran into a large male moose resting near the trail. his ears were back and there wasn't a safe route around him.  this meant backtracking and doing a few hills again.  as i back tracked i ran into another even larger male moose and his object of desire.  had i passed these guys previously and not noticed?  his picture is below.  no set order remember.

 a few more snaps from chicken.  that is one old snowmachine.

 we ended up coming back along the coastal route.  it was pretty.  got kinda lucky in that it started to rain just a bit on the way back, but we had decent weather for most of the walk.  we've had more wind and rain. some parts of alaska are experiencing flooding from these last storms.  the photo's from seward were quite impressive.  makes me a bit hesitant to drive too far from home.  this cold may alter my thoughts of adventures anyway.

 it was actually beautiful as i drove home from work this morning.  too bad i was so sleepy or i could have been out in actual sunshine for a bit.

 work wasn't bad. started with a bang.  report was quick as i'd had the same patient the night before. i went in did an assessment and it was still a bit early to chart my 8pm notes.  no sooner had i thought about how ahead of the game i was, my patient had a mucous plug put a knot in my easy night plans.  her right lung went down, her breathing became extremely labored. i tried to assist her to cough it out, but she just got worse and fast.  her oxygen sats should be near 100% and they were half that, crap colour.  it's enough to get your heart beating fast.  luckily my co-workers came to the rescue.  just meant a much busier night with lots of what we call pulmonary toilet.  not sure who coined that phrase.  it's just so weird how fast stuff can happen!  i never even left the room or the bedside, just snap!

 on an annoying note. once again, they had a traveler nurse orient a new nurse to the unit.  not that the traveler nurse isn't a super capable nurse, she's great. i just find it slightly offensive that they would select a travel nurse for training over someone who's been there for years.  they almost changed my assignment, just strange. i know i am lacking in social skills, but really, am i that bad?

 hopefully i will feel well enough for my swim tomorrow.  was just too sleepy today.  the pool is my neti pot...just kidding!

 i believe both dogs are beat from our long walk today. we managed to do a loop or so at the dog park yesterday.  ran into a dog park friend i haven't seen for a long time.  we chatted a bit.  have met some really nice people over the years out there at the park.

 a local woman was shot and killed by her boyfriend/exboyfriend.  so sad.  she was a mother of 4 according to the news.  the dating world can be pretty brutal.  so many women are killed or otherwise injured by people who "love" them.  you have to be careful who you select to date.  can you predict who will behave so vindictively when you attempt to break up.  she probably saw signs of this and that was why she was getting out.  hard to trust anyone. possession and violence are never good in relationships.  people can play nice for quite awhile, then they can turn on you.  i've had my share of bad experiences, nothing at this level.

 still i have to say i've had a date rape situation.  we'd broken up but were in close quarters.  no is supposed to mean no, but you can't always count on that.  i kicked myself at the time as i could have fought harder, could have done this, done that...i think sometimes that women just give in and then get out and away.  sometimes just seems safer.  so i can't say it was some traumatizing experience like what most women encounter.  it's more like you make a choice to give in and stay safe.  guys a jerk and good riddance to him.

 my life has had it's experiences, but i know that compared to what many women endure i've had it pretty easy.  it's best to keep it all in perspective.  it is amazing how many women have experienced sexual harrassment/abuse.  not sure how to catagorize it all.  some women seem to get more of the negative experiences than others.  i've been frontally flashed i'm not sure how many times when i was younger. i think the first time i was 15 or 16.  some guy pulled up in a car while i was walking to "ask directions". he was jerking off.

 when i was 19 and housesitting with a friend, the son of the homeowners accosted us in the middle of the night.  we were both felt up as we slept.  sadly, our society cares little for the plight of women in these situations and it took many phone calls to get anyone to show any interest in our plight.  i think between my friend and i we made 4-5 phone calls to family before anyone bothered to show any interest in coming to our aid.  i certainly remember that it was made clear that i shouldn't make the homeowners feel badly for what happened....they had their hands full.  no apologies, no payment...it was pretty tough on my already fragile sense of self.

 again...compared to the plight of other women across the globe, my little episodes are pretty mild.  you hear of 5 year olds who've been gang raped, who am i to complain.  i often think of how these incidences have impacted me and my heart goes out to these other victims of extreme violence.  how must it impact them?

 eventually, i found my strength, my power and moved on, but for many women across the globe, they have very little freedom.

 our fall colours won't last long here.  i was at work realizing that september is almost over.

 there are a few movies out there that look interesting.  hopefully, i can catch one with friends this weekend.

 fingers crossed this cold bug passes quickly.

 sneezer...

 the fireweed is gone now..sneezer again.  was going to head out and check on the swans at potters, but the weather was looking a bit crappier.

 sneeze...

 these are at university lake.  that place is always amazing in the fall.

 my little ducks are still there.  not sure yet who i should call. maybe i'll see what the bird center has to say.

 anchorage is totally hitting it's prime as far as the fall goes.

 cool reflections

 how is it possible i grew up in a place without seasons.  california has it's pluses but a big minus is the lack of seasons.

 was at the local pet smart trying on dog costumes.  they have none that fit rio catalina of course, but blossom will be dressed as a frog.  lots of oohs and aah's when i put that one on.  she seemed to tolerate it pretty well.  there was a dog sock monkey costume that was very cute too, but i went frog.

 there is my white duck friend

 the pair does stand out there at the park.

 a few shrooms at the house.

 photo's from todays walk in kincaid.

 love the huge devils club leaves.

 blossom happily chased her tennis ball for most of the walk and then she also enjoyed all the puddles out there.  she is really dirty tonight.  once the snow comes i'll take her for a post season wash. no point right now,she'll just get all mucky again tomorrow.

 a few trees down in the park but nothing like what happened on this end of town.

 as you can tell, i got a bit obsessed with the devils club leaves today.

 ended up being nice that i went out with the water views.

 always a pretty walk.

 the trail is thinner and so i have to be careful about rio.  will have to try this in the winter this year.  i think it's one of the few dog friendly bits in the park in the winter.

 steep drop off's so i do avoid tennis ball throws here until we get to the sand dune

 it was starting to rain there though so i put the camera's away.

 love the colours of the grasses on the beach this time of year.

 here is one of the obstacles from todays walk.  his ears are clearly back and though he looks very comfortable, you'd be surprised how fast these big guys can move!

 back to the denali highway.

 i saw a few caribou that alluded the hunters...at least that day or that hour.

 the bridge over the susitna river i believe it is.

 probably already getting coated in snow out there. i know denali park the snow levels are coming down fast.

 every year is different so i often do the same things and see them in totally different ways.

guess i've gotten to the end here.  hope it works.  mostly the new system seems find, just the photo loading is annoying.  will just have to adapt.  how bad can that be, right?