another day, another moose...

 this guy is scattered throughout these.  we saw him out in kincaid. passed very closely to him and he really didn't seem to mind us.  was happy they all got to see one so close that was so chill.  you never know with moose and you really have to keep an eye on them.

 loved my brother joel falling asleep in the chair while my nephew played with the cars i got them at his feet.

 today's moose sighting happened in the bog.  we went just to walk dogs and kill some time before their plane took off.  grayson wasn't happy with this walk idea and he was letting us know.  well, that moose had no appreciation for the added noise and started coming after us.  always best to not agitate the local moose population.  they have little tolerance for tantrums.  a lesson grayson learned very quickly. we were all safe and there was no more crying on the walk .

 elijah checks out the mud as the tide goes out...soon he discovered that the mud of alaska is also not very tolerant.  he got himself sucked in pretty good.  uncle joel came to the rescue.  he was a brave kid about it though i must say.  i think his folks were more worried than he was...they had probably read the books about the mud around anchorage.

 it's good to have a nice uncle to help you out from time to time.

 was really happy that joel was able to come up for a few days and join in the visit.  we were a bit packed,  but it was fun to all be together.  got to spend some car time with joel and visit which was great.  it's been a long time since we were able to have that kind of time together.

 tom and grayson.

 we spotted a few bald eagles that day as well out at the beach.  it was a bit harder to get chat time with tom or darla.  the kids kept them pretty busy...as the days went on though we were able to get more of that time in, which was great.  i think the cabin just slowed everything down.  the kids didn't have access to any computers which i always think is great for kids.  it's gotta be a tough one for parents.  trying to pry those games out of their kids hands.  a place like byers lake takes that battle away.  they just don't work there and if they do they don't work for long.  most parents i know around here just have a no games rule for the outdoors.

 it is amazing how quickly kids learn to be kids and use their imaginations to come up with stuff to do when they don't have access.

 elijah in hatchers pass.

 i'm not used to the energy level of healthy, non sedated children and they don't let you sedate random kids that stay at your house.  it was an adjustment for this old girl, but we all survived the week.  the kids had fun and i did my best to keep them entertained and to work that excess energy out of them.  not that people like to have their kids compared to dogs, but when blossom had extra energy i just took her for a walk or played with the toys or did some training. kids and dogs seem similar to me in that you have to drain off that energy and give them rules, boundaries and limitations.

 truth me told the kids were more successful at wearing me out than i was at wearing them out.  haha.  they did seem to pass out each night, exhausted.  each day was a new day though.

 they are at the airport, i hear the kids are once again tired and crashed out so hopefully they have a pleasant flight home to texas.  the house is quiet except for the laundry and rio snoring.  miss breezy chatterbug has been in hiding most of the week, only coming out when the boys are not in the house.  she didn't even seem to risk it when they were sleeping.  pogi adapted and let himself be seen and petted.  i guess they all met the mayor of talkeetna today, who is an orange tabby.  tom found it quite amusing that the mayor of talkeetna is a cat.

 they have been very impressed with how friendly everyone in alaska has been.  even waiting in line at road construction was made more pleasant by the flaggers and other people in cars popping out to chat while they waited.

 a selfie in hatchers pass.

 i'm grateful for my friends who always give me good advice and keep me grounded.

 i made a roast like mama used to make for dinner tonight.  i figured they'd be tired after driving back from denali today and it was their anniversary.  i knew they'd want to be getting packed and ready to go so having dinner ready for them seemed the best plan. i think they appreciated it...at least tom and darla.

 these are from the drive back from hatchers pass. the sun is setting closer to 11pm now...maybe even 10:30. it changes all the time.  soon it will be dark most of the time.  the fall colours are starting to show up and the mushrooms and popping out.  loads of berries this summer it looks like so everyone is happy with that.  i've got raspberries in my backyard.

 i was pretty lazy most of today.  slept in, caught up on the newspapers.  the bog walk tonight was the first of the day.  it rained this morning.  i did go out in the rain and pick up dog poop and mow the lawn.

 my sink in the kitchen appears to be leaking so  i'll have to call someone out for that.  maybe they can put in a garbage disposal or get this one to work. it hasn't worked for a few years i think now.  it's not like i've really missed it, but i may as well have one in that works i guess.  took me a few hours to click in to put a bucket under the leak in the sink. i'm a bit slow i guess.  i had put a towel under there.  a bucket does make more sense.  proof of how unhandy i am.

 this moose was super cool...loved his rack

 they didn't waste any time getting this drunk driver charged, which i'm happy about.  two teenagers were run over on the sidewalk as they walked home from school shopping.  both were killed. the drunk driver that killed them was 31 years old.  we have way too many drunk driving incidents in this state.  when will people learn and be responsible?  so sad, such a waste.

 some signs of fall emerge

 this moose was showing us his rack.  i think tom got a picture of todays bog moose.   i was holding tight to the dogs.

 while they went to church i walked the pups.  a few mushroom shots from my stroll in the woods.  it was pretty wet out that day.

 stretch!

 this was my favorite shot of my moose friend that day.  his ears are back but he was being pretty chill. i went by with the dogs first and everyone strolled past after me.

 we hit the museum one day. they did have a cool plane exhibit, it was the last day. they will change over now.  i liked these old ski's and floats.  always amazed at how people come up with these ideas and then are brave enough to try them out...at great possible risk to themselves.  it's how things change though.  fear doesn't make progress.

 this was an early snowmachine.

 the kids lit up at the imaginarium...i think the adults had some fun there too. i think i figured every big city has a place just like this, but i think there were some different things here that made it fun.  kids and adults all had a great time.  was a way to beat the rain i guess.

 part of why i slept in was that i woke with a headache.  i think all that wagon pulling made for some knots that gave me that headache.  took excedrin and whacked my knots with the bonger. love that thing.  feeling pretty good now.  no more headache.

 joel had a good time making bubbles.  it looks like he's in this one,but actually another adult was also having fun making bubbles and was pretty good at it.  i think the guys been there a few times.

 joel also worked the tsunami maker.  some kid came along to show him how to really make a wave.

 a few more from independance mine.  this guy is a ground squirrel. i did see that marmot again, but he was too quick and i never really got a shot off.

 can't recall the name of this mountain. it's pretty prominent in the valley though.

 liked how the light hit this old building out there.

 still some pretty flowers scattered about.  soon the will die off and drop their seeds for next summers bounty.

 grayson spotted this frog out at north bivouac.  we don't have any snakes or lizards here, but we do have these cool frogs that freeze up for the winter and reanimate in the summers. very cool!!

 tom tries to record the frog capture before it got released.

 i took them a different route than i'd taken with just the dogs the day before.

 didn't see any bear signs on the trails i went on these days.  here is tom and grayson coming down the tank trail.

 thought this turned out cute of elijah and blossom.  gotta love dogs.  they were great with kids all week.

guess i am off to bed.  will post more over the next few days.  i am a bit sleepy though and ready for some big bang episodes before i drift off for the night i think.  sweet dreams all.