guess i'm a pit bull...

 who knew.  someone apparently commented to someone else at work something about the futility of arguing with me.  the funny thing is, in my family i felt like i lost most of the arguments.  of course, debate was the family way of life so i guess i shouldn't be surprised that i can hold my own.  highly doubt i heard the truth and nothing but the truth about that conversation.  i'm sure she didn't want to get herself sucked into a debate with me as it was clear she saw this as a thing to avoid herself.

 i now believe our family was unique in this debating issue.  i just remember sundays, especially, being a day of great debate.  mostly politics and religion.  probably more weighted on religion. being the youngest i often found myself wondering why these people continued to go to a church that caused them so much irritation and led to so many debates.  maybe we just saw ourselves as the intellectuals.  perhaps the surprise attack was attempt to thwart my debating skills...to no avail.  we always had to be ready to go at any time and in any place.  still is the case. though now i find i just try to steer clear of such conversations.  don't think i ever really enjoyed the debate that others found so stirring.  i just saw it as annoying and pointless.  if you are unhappy, leave or change.  simple.

 my 7th grade friend,  marcia, helped me see the futility of it all.  she wasn't argumentative but she was one to ask pertinent questions.  she was just curious.  her family didn't attend any churches.  her why's and strange looks helped me to find a different path in life.

 our family wasn't one where yelling happened.  just these seemingly constant debates and discussions.  it was tedious at times so i'm sure that at times i'm tedious.  on the plus side..debates with people who think totally different are helpful in that they assist you to form your own opinion.  to see the world differently.

 on another plus side, perhaps the fact that i am known to be able to hold my own helps me to be treated differently than others who would crumple in a debate.  so i must thank my family for all those tedious days of debating issues and counter debating.  i learned from it and am obviously a force to  be reckoned with.

 went to the beach today out of kincaid.  need to change it up and see what the beaches look like.  they can change dramatically with the tides and weather.  in the second picture you can see the shine of the ice on the trail.  michelle joined me and we both wore cleats to keep from slipping.  love when there is a darkness and then a sudden light that just hits one area.  we were in the area of the sunlight.  sweet.

 teva being more cooperative with a photo op than blossom was for me on this little hill.

 as i went to leave my house some neighbor had slid on the ice in her car and got it stuck on top of some berm.  pretty impressive really.  sadly, i knew my little element was not going to be the best car to get it off the berm.  some guys, including her husband i think, had showed up to help so  i went on my way.  probably lots of cars sliding on this nasty ice we have everywhere.  all the side streets anyway.  the main roads aren't bad really.

 the mail is so boring now that christmas is over.  no fun cards, no cool catalogs to get dreamy over...just the usual junk mail and bills.  tsk, tsk, tsk.

 loved the light going up this hill.  it's another access to the beach.  there are several.  some less accessible during the summer due to water/pond issues.  i take the multiuse trail down just over a mile or so and then cut onto a side trail to get to the beach.

 fire island in the background below.  some people walk to it at low tide in the summer.  not a good idea.  doable, but the tides come in super fast and if you time it wrong or something causes you a delay you could be stuck and then dead.  it's a hike i will avoid.

 we got to the parking lot at 1:30 and to the beach probably just after 2 sometime.

 as you can see the inlet is choked up with chunks of ice.  despite us being in the 30's-40's F this past week. there is some talk in the weather forecast of snow..i hope it is right.

 the tide was going out but again i wouldn't be jumping around these bergs too much.  as it was shell dropped through at one point.  just one leg, but it's a reminder that it's not the most secure of walking paths.

 tried to stay mostly up against this hill.  in the summer this beach is sandy for a bit before the mud takes over, in the winter it's just ice.

 blossom enjoyed chasing her tennis ball though.

 wasn't a spectacular sunset but still pretty.  i tend to leave before it really gets to the most colourful as there is still the walk back and on that walk it's rare not to run into at least one moose.  today we saw 3 coming in and the same mother and calf coming back out.

 sedimentary ice.

 shell took this of me sitting on the above chunk of ice with the dogs.  it was warm enough that i was wearing my rain jacket as i was worried the wind would be strong out there, it wasn't.

 another shot of the beach.  you can see that little hut made this summer by the cairn artist is still there.  has slipped some.  i wasn't for trusting it to stay up to get inside this time.

 for sure it's slid down some...and those rocks look pretty heavy.  wouldn't want them crashing down on my head.

 blossom lost a ball to the hold beside this ice chunk...she eventually retrieved this one, but it got dropped by a larger chunk that went deeper and so i called her away for fear she'd get hurt trying to get at it.  i had a few spare tennis balls in the pack today.  with the melt i've actually found a few tennis balls.

 teva attempts to help.

 more and more blue skies came out as we wandered the beach.

 there is some oil platform outside of kodiak that went aground.  they were able to rescue the workers on the thing, but the weather has apparently been crap out there.

 that is a huge piece of equipment to deal with.  what a mess.

 dinner at outback tonight.  i got ribs..you'd think i'd be stuffed still, but i'm actually getting hungry.  didn't eat much today.  was slow getting moving and then had to get booking so i just snacked all day really.

 dinner discussion turned to how thinner people eat.  i'm a snacker, i never finish anything, i see food really as just fuel that needs to be consumed for energy.  it can be tasty, but really eating and all that is more of a bother to me than the big pleasure that others see it as i guess.  i did finish those ribs, but really, it's not like i clean the bones at all and there isn't really much meat on  the ribs.  i had a salad with it and we got the bloomin onion to split.  sharon i were both hungry when we got there and had to wait for a seat.  we both dove at that bloomin onion like our lives depended on it.  luckily, they were out of ice cream so we had no dessert.

 the dunes with the cool sky background

 a tree i always seem to stop and take a photo of.  i suppose one day i could put them all together in some sort of tree montage.

 trees are cool though.

 back up on the hill looking back at the beach.  the white part is the big pond/bog area that the trail crosses over in the winter.   i avoided it today as we've had some melt.  i try to avoid requiring rescue.

 love this tree as well on the hike back.

 picture 3 is a photo on the way in just of the trunk, which is super cool.

 the mother and calf were laying by the side of the trail when we came through the first time.  as we walked back the baby crossed over to graze on this side of the trail while the mother remained on the other side.  this is not always a great position to be in...mom and calf on either side of you.  walking between mothers and their babies in the wild world can get you stomped on.  we actually passed pretty easily and after we crossed the mother crossed over to the baby.  i don't recommend it, unless you are experienced and crazy like me.
the branch in the center has been grazed on quite a lot by the local moose.  that is what they live on through the winter. looks pretty tasteless, but i'm sure moose would be aghast at some of the stuff us humans eat...like moose i suppose.  hehe.

 the rest are from the rebel camera.  just my zoom and the macro.  too lazy to change to the regular 50mm lens and i haven't bought a wide angle lens yet....

 i am looking forward to acquiring that one of these days and this beach would be a great place to test it out i think.

 the first photo of today was also taken with the rebel.  the rest are my powershot.  i shoot right handed with the rebel and left handed with the powershot.  that is just how it's evolved.  guess i usually am holding dogs or chuck it in the right hand.

 snacking on tortilla chips and a mikes....that should stop my hunger pangs enough to sleep tonight.  it's almost midnight.

 back to work for the next 4 nights.

 have had many readers these past weeks.  always fun...thanks to all those who wade through my photos and my words...for those who do that.  i'm cool either way...reading isn't required.  it can be quite juicy some days...other days...well...

 thought this profile of blossom showed her cool curls.  she's a first generation labradoodle.  you never know what you will get in the coat.  i'm quite happy with her coat.  doesn't require too much grooming, but doesn't shed much either.  some parts seem more poodly like her neck and other parts more lablike.  i just try to give her a good brush every so often.  she is a velcro dog as my friend calls her and everything sticks to her.

 she was a cheap doodle because she had, what was considered, an undesirable coat.  i like a bargain.

 she's been worth every penny and more.  she's pretty cheap considering the joy she brings to me every day. rio was even cheaper being a rescue dog.  she stayed home today.  she looks just as tired as if she'd walked several miles.

 some closer shots of the hut.

 more ice

 more trees...

 and of course, more irritated moose.  the ears are back on both..that is a sign of distress and unhappiness.  not unhappy enough to stand up yet though.  if they stand i move much quicker away...not that i am under any impression that i could out run these guys.  the trick is to find a tree and get behind it.  the moose kick forward.

 still driftwood out there, which i think adds to a picture.

 love the ice.  there wasn't any of the meltage like that one time where i took pictures through the icicles.

 liked this pyramid one though. cool shape.  ok, not really pyramid.  not sure what shape exactly that is.

guess i shall, go read and play inane games on my ipad as i relax from my so stressful existence and settle in for the night.