wildlife wednesday...owls

 the lecturer brought a great horned owl.  i think he's maybe 5-6 years old.  he fell out of a nest as a baby and is partially deaf due to his injury so he was hand raised and great for education.  quite handsome too i think!  this was my favorite shot as it showed off those feathers.  you were allowed to take photo's even with flash, though most of the flash were just odd looking.

 earlier in the day i met my friend kelly and her dog mandee out for a walk.  haven't seen them forever it seems.  happy that she has dropped her 9-5 job and perhaps we can walk more.

 later in the afternoon i took both dogs in for a vet appointment.  blossom has a yeasty infection in her right ear.  so originally i was just going to take her in for that...but vaccines will be due in the next few months so one thing led to another and both dogs went in.  rio is always happy to be there.  they give her shots and it's like it doesn't even register with her. blossom stays close to an exit door and hopes she will be forgotten. the vet laughs as she is such a wimp.  my poor puppy!!

 she survived her vaccines and ear exam and the medicine is in..hopefully it kicks this bad bug in her ear.  it's her first ear infection ever and i hope it's her last.

 the only owl shot with my little powershot.  i sat up front like i said and she really only had him out during the question and answer session.  it said bring your camera so i think several people were in the back and hoping she'd have him out after for pictures.  so i was happy i was there early and got a seat near the front.
all through the lecture the owl was hooting from his covered cage.

 a few from my brief ski after the owl lecture.  i just had to get on the trails.  we've had pretty crappy snow in town.  these trails aren't really groomed it doesn't look like.  also when i put my poles down they were hitting asphalt.

 i only skied for about 15-20 minutes.  there was absolutely nobody out on the trails, which is weird...and a bit eerie.  you start thinking you are making yourself a target for a killer or rapist or something.  alaska is a state with a high number of rapes and that keyes freak had admitted to looking for victims on the various bike trails in town.  he's dead now, but still makes you think twice.

 a few more from todays walk.  not too many pictures.  kelly walks fast...i'm getting old!  we enjoyed catching up and after the walk headed over to kaladi's to chat more.

 she just got bling on her teeth so she says she's not going to smile til its off.  haha! of course, she couldn't keep from cracking up right after this picture was shot. brat!!

 got to chat with my friend marcia back in california today for a bit. always fun!!  she calls when she's commuting some days and we get to catch up.  we met in 7th grade....

 blossom and mandee!  mandee quickly took over the tennis ball and made sure it stayed safe the entire walk.  so no toy loss today!!

 the owl lecture was interesting.  she mostly went over the 10 species that can be found in alaska.  i'd love to see the snowy owl.  those live up north further on the tundra.  their faces look almost comical to me.  beautiful birds, just a different look.  owls are super popular right now.  they are on everything.  they are pretty dang cool birds.  their eye balls are fixed in their skull so their heads have to spin around a bit to see stuff...they do not spin all the way around however.

 apparently birds we thought "mated for life" don't really.  dna testing is showing they are a bit more promiscuous than we'd all figured.

 back to work tomorrow night.  sounds like it's busy.  i've been getting calls begging me to work overtime.  i've enjoyed my days off though.  6 more days then i start in the float pool.  hopefully, the transition goes well.

 there are supposed to be owls in campbell airstrip park area...probably would have to go later in the day or at night to see them.  many owls tend to do more hunting at those times.

 so many cool facial expressions on this guy.  it was fun to be able to have him there at the lecture and see how he moves and behaves.

 they probably look pretty similar from here down.  i still like all the different angles of his face.

 with his handler.

 our mayor is trying to pull a fast one on the local unions.  many union members went out to the assembly meeting to try and let their voices be heard. he trying to draft into law ammendments that will lessen their power and take away the ability to strike.  i know many don't like unions.  i'm not a huge fan, but sadly, it's the best hope for many workers to get treated fairly.  they wouldn't  be necessary if workers could have faith in those above them to keep things fair and equitable.  it just doesn't happen.

 as i sit here munching away at another laffy taffy i must admit that both my dogs were up on their weights today at the vets. she is always getting on me about their girth.  blossom was up to 75 pounds and rio weighed in at 135 pounds...oops!!  of course, i blamed it on needed winter weight and rio was wearing her coat...that has to weigh a few pounds.  we are all a wee bit stuffed as it were and in need of a few pound droppage.  rio has sat out many walks this winter and the first part was too cold and the second half there has been a fair amount of ice, which could devastate a big dog like her.  not only do i need to make excuses for why i'm overweight i now have to make excuses for why my dogs are overweight!!  so painful!!  of course we could all just diet and exercise more and then we'd hear no complaints about the weight!!

 i guess i can tolerate a little complaining. i seen a lot of people in my age bracket that are way worse off than i am and a lot of dogs much chunkier than mine.

 this look here just says all of what i have to say about that!!!  the face is cool, but i'd hate to be a vole.  those tallens and that beak will rip the crap out of you!! not sure they take the time to make sure the critter is dead before they start eating.  it's a cruel world out there.  they have an amazing ability to hear and see. they supposedly can hear a vole like 3-4 feet under snow.  that is crazy...no place to hide.

amazing how little these birds weigh considering how large they appear.  less than 5 pounds.  hollow bones...that is what i need!!  hollow bones.  all this marrow is weighing me down!!