each day an adventure in alaska: snow is falling...

met up with lena for a stroll out powerline pass. we went almost to the bridge. i had my follow up mammogram and she had to pick the kids up from school. we got lucky though and the sun came out a bit for us up there. there was enough snow that someone had skied on it. at my house what fell had almost all melted when i got back.

the pictures, too many again, are from the past few days. these from the bog in between shifts. things are starting to freeze up a bit, but a bit of snow had fallen and so it was a bit sloppy out there.

every day is a gift though and all you have to do is look around you and you will see all the glories of the earth. i can't believe how dramatic it can be, the changes day to day.

the monday walk was just me and rio and blossom. i suspected by the various texts that i might be alone out there today. i opted to just take rio along and stroll out there and see what there was to see. i figured if anyone else came it would probably be karen and she never minds a photo stroll with me.

rio wore her scaredy cat jacket...it was a wee bit chilly. she went today as well. i have to repair one of her winter coats and i couldn't find the other one. she has quite the wardrobe for a dog of her size. i suppose to some that makes me a freak. i like dogs, i really like my dogs. i live where it's cold and i like to dress my 120 pound blind dog in frocks that i've made for her. hehe.

a state trooper up here was wounded saturday. sounds like not too badly. those traffic stops can be bad news for police. you just never know who you are pulling over really. the guy they pulled over ended up stealing the troopers car i think and was later found dead in it. not sure if he died from shooting himself or from the damage he got from being shot by the officers. sometimes i hear people getting angry at the police over situations like this. in my mind death is the risk you take when you live a life of crime. you shoot at a cop, i have no mercy for you. if you die in this, well i guess you can deal with your maker over the decisions you've made in this life. it does sound like the trooper will be okay so that is good to hear.

the joy of dogs is there is no risk of them becoming drug addicts or taking to a life of crime. there is a risk they may bite someone i guess. in the case of my dogs. it's a low risk, unless they were abused or felt threatened. if someone breaks into my house, in my mind again, getting bit is just the risk they take. i do have a beware of dog sign posted.

bear bread...a type of fungus. i'm sure it has a more scientific name, but i just call it bear bread cause that was what someone else called it one day. it stuck. no idea if bears actually eat it or not?

another fungi. there are some cool things out there in the fungi and shroom world.

had time to look around on yesterdays monday walk.

they are everywhere.

we did have a few for the monday kaladi's. i'd made some brownies, so had brought those to share. amy came with her cute little girl, sydney. sandra hobbled in on her crutches and kim shuffled in after having just woken up from her slumber...she works my same schedule. sandra looks to be mastering her crutches a bit and we decided she should take advantage of all the gentlemanly behaviour of all these boys opening doors for her. apparently, being helpless has it's perks.

blossom is at maximum stink levels. i'm waiting for it all to freeze up so that i can give the dogs a proper bath without worrying they will just soak into another mud bog the next day.

they would both have been great hospital visit dogs, except for my laziness. there are just a few hoops to jump through and frequent baths. blossom is not keen on baths anyway.

there are these ramshackle cabins just out of wasilla. i guess they are all going away. i figured they'd been there for decades, but i guess not. they are called, "felony flats". i'd never heard that before. i always thought they were kinda cool and alaskan feeling. the road is widening...progress, so they will be ditched.

watched a little of the presidential debates before meeting my friend sharon for dinner. it is quite painful to watch. there is alot of dung slung back and forth. i must say i'm not a fan of romney. i never am one to get behind any candidate 100%. i don't think any of them have the power as president to accomplish all they claim they will...way too many checks and balances for that. the other party inevitably hinders all progress in either direction. romney just seems so smug and arrogant. it was like he was trying too hard to be a pit bull and he's really a poodle. just seems so fake to me. dinner saved me from getting sucked in. i see too many people sucked into the whole politic thing. they are a pain to be around quite frankly and i'm sick of all the crap on facebook. so many people just are so black and white about every issue. i live in the grey zone. there are two sides to everything and nobody is all right or all wrong.

what really bothers me too is the hatred that i see in those who are sucked into politics. it's like they have this boiling anger inside of them and the only way they feel safe to release it is at the other side. i remember my mother having a hatred of clinton, a hatred of immigrants, a hatred of sean penn. i just think all that hate harms the hater more than the hated. people can get so riled up, it's nuts!

malala yousafzai has been moved to england for further treatment and protection no doubt. she may end up having a greater impact on history than just in the area of womens education. it is good to see the people of pakistan out in large numbers making their stand against the taliban's rule. i wish them well, and i wish her well.

women having education, such a scary thing. these same issues have been battled about before, not to the death like the taliban, but when you look at history, it's really not that long that women have been given the opportunities in our own nation. still there is discrimination that happens. women aren't always paid the same wage for the same jobs with the same experience. that came up in the debates as well...i definitely relate more to obama than romney on womens issues. hard to take romney too seriously. i mean, in the mormon doctrine men who reach the highest levels in heaven will become gods over their own kingdoms and have multiple wives. it's a very male dominated society. the church is changing as it does with the ongoing revelations that seem to conveniently coincide with societal issues/pressures. it's like a chameleon. no more polygamy in this life, blacks get the priesthood, will gay marriage be welcomed in the mormon church in my lifetime. we shall see. no member should get too comfortable with the doctrine for it may change. see this is why i avoid these topics. it's there though, inside me.

we have a mix of snow and mud at this time. it really won't be long before it's all white. at this stage you actually hope it isn't long. the days get shorter and the darkness can be overpowering, but with snow cover it brightens the whole place up. it's amazing what a difference it makes.

different angles of the same place.

rio sensed moose around a few times on mondays walk, none spotted. of course today lena and i spied a few moose off in the distance, but rio never noticed either.

this is sydney. is she adorable or what?? you don't have to answer that, it's pretty obvious. she enjoyed her brownie and then was hoppity hopping out of kaladi's on a sweet sugar high. hope she and amy got some sleep that night.

ghost dogs on the deck. these are places blossom has laid on the back deck. she melts her imprint into the snow. it always cracks me up.

i never got called in sunday night. it was so great to sleep and feel good. some weeks are just exhausting. part of getting old. i'm sure one day i'll have to find my way to another, less stressful floor. for now, i keep plugging away.

the dogs took turns today smashing through the ice. well, not rio, she wasn't keen on the water at all today. must have felt cold on her toes. i think overall she prefers it snowy to rainy or "hot". she is sleeping well today though. lena and i were both a bit worried about the drive back down the hill from glen alps. i haven't studded up yet and neither has she. i think her tires are a bit older than mine too. i did a few short slips, luckily in the few places with siderails. this state rarely puts in siderails. they are a comfort to those of us who didn't grow up driving snowy, mountain roads. thankfully, i never needed them. i find the element sometimes seems to lock up when you brake and then the trouble begins. not sure if it's all elements or just mine. we both made it down the hill safe though.

i got my mammogram repeat done. first a series of xrays. fun, fun. i think they only stop squeezing down on the breast squishing plates when you yelp...so do yelp. after this i got the ultrasound done. looks like just another cyst so all is fine, as expected. tomorrow is a cavity fill and next week i have my legs ultrasounded. so many other things i need to get done as well...like the tire changeover and the heater check.

dogs had a great time out there, wrestling and tennis ball chasing. well, blossom chased the ball and manny wrestled with her. she always cracks me up with manny. she's like a football player. she fighting him off while still always focused on getting the toy as soon as she gets clear. the tennis ball never leaves her mind as she wrestles. it's quite funny.

we only saw a few moose out there, but we did see some pretty large moose tracks on the trail. they are out there. we could also see the paths where the snow had been moved off plants by passing moose. they were out there. we really only saw two females in the distance.

no bear tracks, so that is always good.

sounds like a bear got someone in southeast alaska. they'd found a boat and apparently eventually a campsite that had the look of a struggle and then they found the remains, cached. so sad, does seem like a very unpleasant way to die.

watched a good movie last night, "temple grandin". wasn't too sure about it at first, but in the end i liked it.

based on a true story about a woman with autism. she was diagnosed when i suspect autism was just becoming recognized. even less was known about it then now. her mom took her in to a doctor as she was 4 and still hadn't spoken and was reticent to allow any physical contact. the mother asked what the cause of this was, at first the doctor said it was probably best if he speak to her husband about all this..too much for a female to be able to comprehend no doubt. she informed him she was a graduate of harvard and she was capable of understanding. apparently back in the day the doctors felt the cause of autism was some lack of maternal bonding in the early stages of life. what a horrible thing to tell someone. she was also told the best plan of action was to just institutionalize the child.

she did not. eventually, the girl did learn to speak. despite many struggles with social situations, the girl graduated from high school, from college and even further education. she was very intelligent. it did show fairly well how different the thinking process can be. she saw things in pictures. so numbers and letters were very difficult, though she did seem to have a photographic memory of sorts. she went on to design better systems for moving cattle in feed lots and also in slaughter houses.

she really related to cows and animals in general. with the cows in her graduate work she noticed the varience in their moo's and how they moved. you can imagine how her cow whispering went over with the cowboy's. she was probably good for doing this sort of work. she didn't get emotional about the death of the cow. she was very factual about it, but she still felt that there was a way to make it so the cows were not at all distressed in the whole process. her changes that she suggested were put into practice in many slaughter houses across the country and are still used. she also went on to speak about autism. she created a squeeze crate for herself that she found calmed her down when the panic took over. i think they have found something similar helpful for many with autism.

she first noticed that he cows were anxious in the shoots but as soon as the bars squeezed onto them they seem to calm down. one day she tried it out herself in the cow area. anyway, a bit strange movie at times, but interesting. it's so hard for us to comprehend how difficult the stuff we do so easily can be for others.

i'm here sniffing play doh. love that smell. bought some halloween stuff for some little gift packs, so they had little play-doh's. brings back happy childhood memories no doubt.

i did have many happy childhood days. life was so easy for us kids. we really could wander about and do what we wanted for much of our time. todays kids are much more monitored. they have to be, i get that, but it was pretty fun to be free wheeling. the first time i remember unhappiness was in sixth grade. things were changing then. siblings were leaving on missions and for college, getting married. my mom was working to try to help make ends meet.my gramps may have also came to stay with us somewhere in there. just a lot going on. i didn't know what depression was but i suspect i had it. my poor mom had no idea what to do with me. i'd leave her notes in a teddy bear on her bed. i think they said stuff like i knew she didn't love me, that she loved my sister more. she'd come in my room, tell me it wasn't true, that she loved me. eventually, i came out the other end. maybe just some whacky pre teen hormones.