just another perfect day here in anchorage!

was able to get out there and enjoy it. met a travel nurse, michelle, and her two dogs out at prospect heights to do a loop. took rio and she took her older dog with knee problems. if my blind dog can do it so can hers. rio is the ultimate trooper dog though. she is no doubt in more pain than she would ever let on, but she just keeps walking and seems to enjoy getting out for a good sniff.
more from chicken. forever adding in the old and the new. old buildings, in this case a dredge, are always cool to photograph.
after the walk today i slipped down to potters to check on the swan situation. i only saw one though someone else said they had seen two. so, swans are coming, but not there in numbers yet. they always collect at potters. i left the photographers in the parking area and walked down the road, then crossed over to the turnigan arm side. that is the first shot on the entry today. when i crossed back over i noticed more photographers had followed me over to get a better, closer shot of the swan. they must have assumed they had to stay where they were before they saw me brazenly going up the road.
love taking weed shots and fall shots of old seed pods.
chicken likes to decorate with thier namesake. quite cute actually. i cooked my chicken up today in the form of homemade chicken noodle soup. gotta love it. we are feeling so like fall. that crispness is in the air. denali national park seems to be already getting coated in snow. winter will soon be upon us. may be less time than usual to prepare. i better get crackin. there was frost on the neighbors roofs this morning and temperatures have been in the 30's F in the am. i have water in the car. will have to bring that inside before temps get much lower.
my eyes feel dry. i suspect it's all those fresh chemicals in the pool. got in 25 laps today. felt good. the water temperature wasn't bad, the room temperature seemed a bit chilly though.
cut off,

unable to reconnect,

lost at sea,

wandering a desert,

afraid and free,

i once was bound,

but i ran,

i hid,

life was simpler,

when i was a kid.
my only caribou sighting along the taylor highway. the porcupine herd is still escaping me. will just have to keep driving to chicken until i find em.
loved the contrast of the bright fall colours against the old burnt trunks.
wind blows,

lights flash,

then the darkness,

the silence,

leaves rustle,

a snap,

a crack,

silent explosions,

illuminate the night.
at the first portion of the taylor highway there are these cool sand patches. no idea how these random patches of beach came to be in various parts of alaska, but always cool to run into them.
ptarmigan cross the taylor highway.
scenes from the campground i stayed at on night one.
alone, alone,

on my own,

staring down,

an empty road,

no thoughts exchanged,

no angry fights,

no questions asked,

in the dark of night.
alone, alone,

no children grown,

just empty rooms,

nobody home,

all i am,

all i have,

will cease to be,

when i'm not me.

alone, alone,

i will always be,

rattling around,

surrounded by me,

no touch,

no sound,

just silence abounds.

occasionally i get in a mood to write a few poems. watched, "sunshine cleaning". i like random and somewhat strange movies like this. i like that it gets into the characters more than the usual powerhouse flicks do. most of us lead very simple lives, hoping to have others around us who care for us and will be there for us. family is what it is. sometimes you want to go mad from them, but still they remain forever yours. they are the people who knew you when even if it seems like you baffle them now. love when people have hope despite all evidence to the contrary. when they realize the life they thought they had to have turns out to be easier to leave behind than they thought. the people who really care for you are kind to you and treat you with respect. eventually, the others, no matter how shiny they appear, need to be walked away from. probably read way more into the movie than the average guy, but sometimes even if you've seen a movie several times it speaks to you in a new way.
these are from todays walk with michelle. she leaves in a week or so here. it was a lovely day to get out. didn't do the longer walk but i really enjoyed the day and the variety of it. i also got laundry and dishes done and the bed changed and the litter box changed...there are just some things in life that have to get done. my list seems much shorter than other peoples. i really should do more cleaning and stuff, but i'm a minimalist. on a day like today, one should be outside enjoying all that has been created with such intimate attention to details.
nice views. i was actually pretty surprised that i saw very little wind damage on the drive up the hill to the trailhead and the trees were all happy and intact. driving around my end of town after i went to potters was a different story. still many trees on their sides waiting to be chopped up. the east side was clearly much more damaged by the winds.
there has been some improvement on the electricity front and a few friends are now back on the grid. congrats amy!! i've no doubt the crews are working very hard. some people have unrealistic expectation like that they should be working 24 hours a day, each and every one of them to get this done. someone from pharmacy was doing their rounds the other day and mentioned that she had called the electric company within a few hours of her losing electricity. with the winds howling like that it never occurred to me to call in my outage. i figured nothing would be done until the wind stopped.
the last thing i would want is for these crews to be out in a horrible storm like that just so i can sleep with a light on. they have done a stellar job getting everyone back and it seems that neighbors are helping neighbors and generators are getting shared across town to try to keep food fresh and coffee made. alaska is a big happy coffee drinking place.
fall colours aren't at their peak yet in anchorage, but they are coming fast.
great to have blue skies out there.
though we did have some rain while i was in the gym. was kinda happy i hadn't ridden the bike there.
one of michelle's dogs.
fireweed.
a few from around potters marsh.
i really should plan on some sort of mini drive this week. perhaps i'll hit hatchers pass and then keep driving for a bit.
drove out by russian jack park and that area...it was pretty hard hit.
not a lot of roof's caved in by trees that i saw, i'm sure there was some damage of this sort, but it could have been much worse.
i tend to keep a camera near the back door just in case something cute happens to show up in the yard...like my friendly squirrel.
it's an awful cute squirrel...i hope blossom never catches it.
the other day i had a lot of bird activity. there were several robins, magpies and a stellar jay or two. all chasing each other around.
they were pretty quick so i didn't get many shots off.
i had to check on my little domestic ducks after the storm. so far so good. he's pretty adorable.
back to potters.
i didn't stay long at potters, just snapped a few photo's and was checking it out.
the lone swan.
lichens on a rock near the tracks.
to the end of another lovely day in alaska. enjoy yours, walk, snap pictures and be merry!!