another beautiful monday walk....

 tanya directed us back over the open area and it was lovely. always like to change it up and see what is up. the light this time of year is just awesome...no way around it.  the sun just sits so low on the horizon.  these are all taken on the walk between 12:30 and 2:30pm.  below is in the parking lot right at 12:30 so you can see how low the sun is at this time of day.  the moon on the other hand at this time is fairly high in the sky.  so strange to be mid day and have the moon higher than the sun.

 just cracked open a mikes winter blackberry.  so tasty.  only comes out this time of year so i bought 2 six packs! nummy.  of course, if you look in my fridge it is packed full of alcohol.  not that i'm a heavy drinker..i'm so not, it's a rare treat for me.  when i have these parties though people always bring alcohol over.  there is always leftovers so i'm well stocked.  the house is mostly clean.  just some vacuuming tomorrow and cat litter duty and it will be good enough for me.  i should clean and then hire someone to come in and do the cleaning that is beyond my capabilities.

 my mother was not the most gifted housekeeper.  my house sparkles in comparison...but then i also don't have 7 kids and all the activities that she tried to squeeze into her days.  2 dogs and 2 cats add enough to the mess.  can't imagine trying to keep up with myself and 7 kids!

 it is funny.  you never get to know your parents as they were before you.  the people that got lost in all the stress and business of child rearing.  you get glimpses and i suppose with the internet now it will be easier for kids to discover more about their relatives...if they are so desirous.  my grandpa and my grandma on my mothers side both kept diaries at some point in their lives and i so enjoyed reading those and getting an idea of who they were.  they watched me growing young, i watched them growing old.

 the temperatures have dropped a bit.  i think it was somewhere below 5 out there on the trails. my end of town is always a bit chillier than the more coastal bits.  tanya always gets a lovely ring of ice around her when it's cold out.  i was wishing i'd brought my skhoop out today.  still getting my layering down with the addition of the medical hose.  my saddle bags were getting numb...i was wishing i could just chip them off.

 the malemutes get some wrestling in.  not too many folks out there today....perhaps the cold weather, probably people at work for the short week, getting ready for thanksgiving.  i'll toss my turkey breast in before i head out for my walk tomorrow.  maybe pick up some potatoes for some mashers.  make some dressing and then see what anyone else brings.  food i would have eaten anyway.  may have to stop by freddies and pick up another breast or two to stock in the freezer.  so tasty!

 blossom is pretty wiped out from her day.  i still got a few requests this evening for tennis ball tosses so she wasn't totally wiped out.  rio stayed home.  strange morning.  rio was almost acting like she was blind..i mean i know she is blind, but she seemed confused as to where she would be eating her breakfast.  i thought it best to let her rest up.  maybe i just overworked her yesterday.  i forget that she is 8 years old and a large breed dog, she will just do whatever i ask of her without complaint.  so i was a bit nervous this morning witnessing her odd behaviour.  she seems alright this evening and managed to get to her evening meal.

 these are taken about 1:15.  lena and tanya below with the pups

 amy and her little girl joined us for coffee after the walk.  she's hoping to get on the trails more and hopefully she does.  tough on the wee ones in this cold temp.

 the ice out there on the trail was cool.  lots of hoar frost.  looks like the ice melted and re-froze.

 blossom comes back to check on my progress.  i'm only allowed to take so many photo's before she is itching for a tennis ball toss or attention.

 more blue skies.  it's strange...when i wake up and look outside i find that i'm slightly disappointed that it's totally blue out.  i like clouds.  so i know i'm kinda a freak.  too much blue skies and i get bummed!  this served me well in my 6 years in ketchikan.  they get  a ton of rain there.

 when i was out here the other day these icy bits were soft and i was sinking in a bit.  not today.  no slush at all.

 we cruised past stumphenge and then into this back trail that parallels the tank trail.  again, beautiful light.

 love the simplicity of it all.

 blossom blends nearly perfectly in the grass.  can you see her eyes and nose below.  too funny!

 karen was seen behind her lens for much of the later part of the walk.  seems to make her happy.  i know that happiness.  something about looking at the world and seeing it on film (or digital as it is).  it just makes you look at it all a bit more closely.  i see the greatness of the creator by all the beauty of the land and the animals and plants that live there.

 the land and the sea are powerful and it's easy to forget in all this beauty the power the land holds.  all this can change quickly by a big quake.  the east coast is still trying to deal with the huge storm that destroyed much and has left a reminder of the power of nature.

 i remember being a kid and seeing malibu canyon deal with mudslides and then fires year after year.  the government and insurance companies seemed to just give out more money and the people rebuilt.  it will be the same here.  an article in the paper was discussing the irony of it all.  the wealthy live in these big houses with views that are totally vulnerable to the elements and then poof...a storm comes and takes them out, we pay for their extravagant lifestyles at times.  hadn't thought of it that way before.  i have always thought it silly that they keep rebuilding in places that are so obviously vulnerable.

 when i lived in rapid city in south dakota there was often talk of a terrible night when the creek caused flooding and destroyed many homes and took lives.  they were smart though and the areas right along the creek that were destroyed are now parkland.

 the same is true up here in many areas that are coastal.  building has been limited in the areas that the earthquake and tsunami did major damage.  but the years pass and people start to find a way to move in and get the views.  we all forget the devastation.

 it's just something to think about.  you can never plan for disasters completely, but i think it would be tough to go through something like that and then want to rebuild in that exact location.   i think i'd be scared every time a storm blew in.

 i had a little frost of my own.  a little goofy self portrait post walk.

 blossom is coated with ice and twigs.  i actually just took that last greenery off a little bit ago.  hadn't noticed it was still stuck to my velcro dog.

 i drove down tudor after our coffee meet and this was the lovely sunset view taken from the car window.  i know i shouldn't be taking photo's from the car...but really, the colour is amazing.

 went to the party store.  they actually do have costume stuff around, but nothing squatchy.  i could have gotten a native american headdress but feared it could be seen as politically incorrect.  should look up how to make pilgrim hats from trash bags.  we used to do something like that in the old days.  could be easy and fun!!

 the ice looked to me like a shot of some lunar surface  cool.

 so delicate, all these crystals. i'm sure us walking through and the dogs plundering through destroyed a great deal.  no worries...with temps as low as they are tonight again..there will be more frost tomorrow.  at least it doesn't look like my ice decor will  be coated in snow anytime soon.

 more of the strange lunar ice formations!

 may have to go back there and take more time.  it all changes so fast though.  was debating hitting spencer loop before the snow comes and it becomes a ski only trail.

 spindly pine trees.  this is why we ship our christmas trees up from the south and don't just pop out to the forest and get trees.  these guys could be a challenge to decorate.  hehe.

 just a few at the creek coming  back down the tank trail.

 off to enjoy my drink and get to bed at a reasonable hour again..!

after a relaxing party tomorrow i'll have to begin focusing on christmas.  tough to be able to try to enjoy thanksgiving. not much out there.  it's become a totally overlooked holiday.  just a shopping holiday. i'll be working all weekend so black friday means nothing to me but work.  of course, my christmas's aren't like the average americans.  the neices and nephews have grown and the list i shop for has gotten smaller.   people go way over the top with it all.   did find some turkey ornaments at pier one.  had to look hard for the small display in the back of thanksgiving stuff.  goodnight.