trees and moose..

 one blogger i saw did her entire blog on trees.  very cool actually, wish i'd have added it to my reading list.  trees are cool.  with winter and the leaves off the branches make for some fun photo's.  loved this one above.  who knows if anyone else likes it, but i thought it came out sweet!

 the day after...election hangover.  the news analysis is so annoying.  remember when all news did was report news and didn't spend hours of each day trying to make mountains out of molehills.  is that how that goes?  anyway..if you watch for a few minutes your head starts a spinning! was it romneys fault or was it the republican party.  what now? spin, spin, spin.

 just let the dogs out for a late night pee run.  supposed to be a decent northern lights night.  it's also like close to 0 degrees F out there.  love to watch the northern lights, but i love being warm too.  some people get almost obsessed and they will be bundling up and heading someplace to try and get photos. i hope they post them for me.  one of these days i'll make a trek to chena hot springs in the winter.  they accomadate northern lights viewing with warmth options available.

 they did look like they may be starting up.  it's hard to tell in the middle of the city.  they are either getting started or there is one tiny area of clouds right above me.  action slow, but i do believe they may be the lights.  in town often they will just look like clouds dancing around.  the colours are more visible when you get to darker, less lit area's.  they are worth the view though.  beautiful...especially when you can clearly see sheets dancing about and colours that one generally never sees in the night.

 today i took the dogs to jodphur.  we did the coastal portion and then dropped down to the main loop i often take.  now more i seem to split it to get this coastal view.  i headed down the trail and then up the hairpin turns.  that part is a slight workout.  as i was almost to the top where it starts coming back down again...there was a male moose happily relaxing right next to the trail.  after some thought, i opted to return and go the other direction on the loop.  so a longer walk, but as you can see a beautiful day.

 debated heading down to the coastal refuge for the sunset, but it comes mighty early these days.

 made dinner for amy and crew and enjoyed a visit with them and miss lucy.  she looks even tinier at home. babies are so bendy.  so cute!! looks like the dogs are adjusting as well. i think they were looking for blossom since i was there.  poor pups.  i'm sure blossom would have enjoyed a visit with her friends as well.

 haven't accomplished too much this stretch off. i will have to get unlazy soon.  the christmas season is approaching. i have the calendar to make, the card to make, the letter to write, gifts to buy and mail....yikes!!

 rio really is a trooper.  she goes on these fairly long walks and i've no doubt she has some arthritis at this point and yet, she just keeps walking.  she enjoys getting out and getting some sniffing in.  she got to sniff out a few moose today. actually 4 moose were seen on our walk today.  there were two females, probably a mama and older calf as we approached the parking area.  they were like 30 feet off trail.  was able to get passed them, but the mama didn't seem too keen on us.

 i try to avoid getting chased by ticked off moose more than once every few years.  i'm good for the year already.  bear encounters i try to have even less than that.  i'd prefer zero physical contact with both of these guys.

 did almost walk into a moose one spring, on this very loop actually. i think that moose thought i was totally nuts and therefore she kindly didn't demolish me.  though she had every opportunity.  luckily, mostly animals don't wish to waste their energy on us silly human sorts as a general rule.  i came down an icy trail, very carefully as i'd forgotten my cleats, i was so focused on staying upright that i neglected to look up and ahead of me.  when i got to the end of this large icy patch...there she was, not 2 feet away from me.  she had to have watched me with some curiousity.  eventually she obviously decided i was bat shit crazy and took off.

 bears...it's been awhile.  all my close encounters with bears so far seems like they happened in ketchikan when i didn't wear bells.  they only have black bears there.  they look pretty big and imposing when they are 10-15 feet away.  i did have many close bear encounters out at mcneil river and in southeast i also went to anan creek where i had many close encounters.

 have seen so many bears that i couldn't begin to recall them all. that kinda reminds me of my dating life back in my 20's and 30's.  those were the days. haha.

 seed pods.

 more trees

 he really doesn't look all that large here, but this picture shows where said moose is in relation to the trail.  i started to go around him, probably could have.  with 2 dogs, one blind in tow though, sometimes it's just easier not to force the issue. the moose looked happy and i always feel badly if i am the cause of them standing up and moving.  the way around the moose would have taken us out of view of the moose.  i prefer to have one eyeball on the moose i'm getting around just in case they get spooked and come after me.

 having been the prey as it were with more than a few moose, i am probably more cautious than some.  they really do look large as they are running towards you.  it's quite impressive.  i don't like to be prey.

 fungi on a felled tree.

 this guy was the first moose i saw.  loved the light in the grass around him.  he is actually missing one of his antlers.

 i didn't stay too long near him as it looked to me like he was possibly limping and i didn't want to stress him more.  he was aware of my presence and rio was aware of all of these moose we encountered.  so there can be a little tugging on rio's part trying to get to the object of her desire.  it may be tough for this guy to survive the winter if he does have an injury.  never got close enough to know for sure.

 seems pretty fit from this end.

 another shot of the seed pods.  they can look really pretty.

 a few closer shots of the moose on the trail.  kincaid is known for it's moose population. soon it will be ski season and the skiers will have to watch out for these massive beasts on the trails.

 i have mostly been off chips and soda for several weeks.  haven't kept any large bags of chips in the house and only allow myself a small bag like if i go to subway or something.  i was having chip withdrawl issues today.  finally, i just had to get on the stair stepper and shut my brain down.  who would think you would yearn for a chip so badly.  would really love to drop a few pounds.  chips and soda seem like a good place to start.

 liposuction would be easier.  not cheaper though. oh well.  back to sacrificing the chip vice.

guess i will peek out at those lights again before heading to bed.