the rock artist continues to build...

 went to the beach to walk blossom with a friend, sandra.  was delighted to see the local rock cairn artist was there doing his thing.  i saw him last when i was out bike riding by campbell creek or was it chester creek.  he spends his spare time in the summers patiently creating this rock art.  it's pretty cool to see all his creations.  his name is daniel james vanpelt.  his rocks made my day.

 blossom doesn't seem to notice the rock art much.  dogs aren't into art much it seems.  he must have been out there for hours today though.  there were dozens of cairns scattered on the beach.  it's pretty cool! amazing how he gets all the rocks to balance.  i made a comment that he'd moved on from the creeks.  he said it was too cold and now the water level was also too high. i'm happy to see he's continued on with the creations.  i'm sure it's super relaxing.

 i love that he's not looking for money or anything, he just creats and shares it freely.  that is a true artist in my mind.  he's not concerned that the water will rise and take his art with it.  he doesn't seem to even care if anyone ever sees it.  people have at times suggested to me that i sell my pictures.  it's too much effort really for minimal returns.  i like that people just see the pictures and their day is made better.  he said in an article in the anchorage daily news something about how he thought when he made the cairns they were somehow his, but then people were enjoying them and he realized they were everyones.

 turned out to be a beautiful day out there.  my place looked like it stayed cloudy, but the beach was rain drop free.  blossom is wiped out and coated in mud and sand from her day. rio stayed home. she seemed to be limping a bit yesterday.  gave her some pain meds and i'm giving her a break.

 texted a few people, sandra decided to join me for this one.  she'd never been here before.  it's one of my favorite local spots here.  i have always enjoyed walking along the beach.

 the fact that we were privy to this secluded little art show made it all even better.

 blossom started the day barking again.  the moose and her calf were wandering through the neighborhood again today.  seems like it was about the same time as yesterday too.

 sandra out on the mud flats.  the mud seems pretty thick and solid for the most part, but then there are a few places that will surprise you and you will begin to sink in. i've heard that the mud makes great clay for pottery projects. mud mixed with silt.

 the grey is the mud, the white is tiny clam shells and the sand of the beach.

 the mud flats never look the same so it's always a new photo op when i go.

 we were out for 2-3 hours i think.

 i think vanpelt did some work on this hut.  it may have been started by someone else as it seems i've seen it out there before, but for sure he added the rocks.  when we got there he was inside having lunch.

 here, he is in the distance working on his rocks.

 dang blogger won't let me turn this one the right way.  i really liked that it showed his cairn work though so i'll leave it sideways.  apologies.

 a great deal of patience must come to play getting these all balanced just right.

 blossom blends in with the grasses.

 can't say as i got too much accomplished today, but no matter.  in the big picture what does it all matter anyway.  i got the walk in, got the litter changed and dishes and laundry are cooking.

 even got to the gym for 20 laps in the pool.  i was a bit slow getting over there so i only did 20, but it did feel good.

 we saw no moose as we headed down to the beach from the kincaid chalet, on the way back.  we saw this little guy and his mom above and below in the background are two bull moose.  we lingered and enjoyed all the moose activities. it is rut season.  we heard and saw yet another  moose running in the brush on the other side of the trail from these two.

 none of them seemed to bothered with us.  city moose.  they are used to us.  the one bull moose lay down near the trail while we were there.  blossom is lovely around the moose, very respectful.  she'll bark like a mad dog if she sees them from inside the house or in the car, but when we are on the trail, she's very good.  perhaps having been run down by a few of them helps us all to treat them with the respect they deserve.

 as i drove out of kincaid i noticed the usual beware of moose signs on the road.  have to wonder...is it sexist that all the signs warning us of moose display a male moose.  shouldn't there be some signs with female moose...i mean one must beware of the females as well.  just something to ponder.

 back to some beach shots.  i've never  been good at getting these in much of an order and now i don't even bother.

 it could be the methane gas i've been forced to inhale all night.  i've got the fans on in the house, not because it's hot out...i have them on because when my mastiff farts, it's tough to even breathe.  it's toxic!!  she is oblivious and insists on laying near me.  i'm sure it's some kharmic punishment for something i've done in the past.

 liked this of blossom, the water, the tennis ball in the mouth.  she was such a happy dog out there.

 more rock art.

 a few of blossom.  she is coated with mud. i'm sure she drank quite a  bit, but she's never gotten sick from it.

 try to flip over to black and white a few times.  i think i need to start wearing my glasses for photography. i seem to have been getting more blurry shots than i used to.  it may just be time to admit that i may need the glasses more than i care to believe.  these came out nicely though.

 more shells.

 these birds flew past us.  not entirely sure what they are.  they honked a bit like geese which would seem to mean they may be snow geese. i am leaning towards swans though as they have been seen in the area and are white.  they cruised past pretty quick and i only snapped off 2 pictures of them.  always manual focus with birds in flight.  takes extra time, but the auto can't cope with the motion.

 had to get rid of two more cairn shots as i took them sideways.  will transfer them over to my shutterfly so all is not lost.  next two show van pelt at work on multiple rock cairns.  he said finding rocks is much easier here at the beach than in the creek, trying to select rocks as the water rushes past.

 we decided it was like our own first friday art event.

 a baldie also graced us with his presence.

 took many photo's of the various moose.  i just loaded a few.  this guy was right off the trail and ears are forward, not really worried.  the mother moose wasn't too concerned either.

 2 bulls, a frequent sighting out on the trails in kincaid.  you do always have to be careful around these guys. they are big.  of course, not nearly as large as this bull moose that was in the paper today.  it was around 1500 pounds and the rack looked gigantic.  the hunter that took it way up north in the brooks range i think was a bit of an older guy.  he's taken his share of moose, but this one was by far the largest.  one for the record books.  the man didn't look small but he you could tell the moose' rack was impressive.

 this guy was the larger of the two moose out there that we saw.

 here is his buddy.

 just so fun to chill there for awhile and enjoy these great beasts.

 ready for a nap.   they may be happy soon when those racks drop off and they are lighter to start winter off.  i'm still amazed that those things grow in one season.

 most of my black and whites didn't turn out.  again, i think motion and my eyesight in the setting i used is the cause. operator error.  this one is kinda cool though.

 i certainly had enough pictures to choose from.  no worries.  i'm not low on moose pictures.

guess i'll go start this netflix movie.  i've had it for a bit.  sounds interesting.  hope it doesn't give me bad dreams.  last night i dreampt that my car got stolen while i was on a road trip, some couple let me borrow their spare car and after i'd driven a bit my car turned up.  a bag had been taken but luckily i seem to always have all the critical stuff on me like cameras.  this is what i was thinking in the dream.  tonights movie is called, "of gods and men".  it's about 7 french monks living in the mountains of algeria who are taken captive by islamic fundamentalists.  if it gets too scary or violent i'll shut it down and put in something light to make my brain forget.  have a good night.