clarity is a wonderful thing...

 thought i would try and get as many pics in before my brothers get here and i take a crap load more pictures!  another mixture of pictures..that kinda rhythms.  many from my overnight trek to homer.  you can never go wrong out there.

 these were from the morning stroll on bishops beach with the dogs

 let blossom off to play in the surf.

 today we just walked a loop in the bog.  i'm sleepy, back to work tonight anyway.  tried to nap and gave up for a bit.  just three nights work then i have vacation time off next week to hang with my brother and his family.  another brother will be here for a few days.  he's just coming up tomorrow through sunday and so i won't really see him much.  i work tues-wed-thurs.  they don't show up until close to midnight wed and i had them book a room for seward for thursday night.  hopefully, they have decent weather and have fun.

 my brother is pretty excited to come.  after his visit there will still be 2 siblings that will not have made it up here yet.

 fishermans memorial in homer.  one fisherman friend is safely on land.  just chatted with him for awhile today.  so great to catch up with old friends.  we were sweet on each other in grade school.  he's still a sweet heart i can tell. his kids and family are lucky to have such a great guy in their lives.  he fished up here for years.  sounds like life is treating him well down south again.  we've both managed to get out of los angeles.    each of these tiles in front of the memorial holds name/s of people lost to the sea.  seems like the paper always has some report of an injury or death.

 the ocean is beautiful but it is also extremely dangerous.  i think i learned that last summer in the bering sea.  that was the most scared i've ever been on a boat.

 watched another baseball movie last night.  "moneyball".  it was a pretty good movie, but brad pitt and angelina jolie have become to big and i find that i can never seperate their hollywood selves from the roles they play.  it takes away from whatever movie they are in.  not even sure if it's that they can or can't act really. just that they have become a distraction to their acting roles.

 i walked around on the spit for a bit.  was kinda hoping to run into a few bald eagles.  never saw one out there though.  oh well.

 several people fishing off the  beach though.

 always like the pilings under the piers.

 blossom was very happy to be by the sea.  she is a beach dog for sure.

 i still do miss life in southeast alaska though.  there are more options up here though.  being single too, it's a healthier place.  i found in ketchikan i tended to work alone and then go home to my house and be alone.  not many social opportunities on the island.  my social skills have never been to impressive though.  i do have a lot of good friends and one can never have too many friends.  my friends have always been so great to me.

 the house is about as clean as i'm going to get it.  housekeeping is not a skill set that i have.  so it's clean to my level.  of course, getting it nice and clean makes me think i will have to have a pool gathering after my siblings have gone...i mean it'll be easy to just spruce it up post visit and get a party in.  i have played a few rounds out there these past few days off.  i'm pretty lousy pool player, but i have always enjoyed it.

 a few from lake hood in anchorage.

 i'm sure more will turn up later.  may try and squeeze in another post tomorrow between shifts.

 loved these of the dogs with both a reflection and a shadow.

 for some reason these marmot pictures show up randomly.  i think their numbers were the same as what was on another card so i started tossing them into the new folder.  will need to load a ton of pictures onto my shutterfly account so i can make calendars again this year.

 homer

 a very cranky marmot.  thing scared the crap out of me at first.  they sure can scream.  i have never seen that.  there are still some things i've left to see in this state.  haven't seen a wolverine or lynx in the wild yet, though the lynx actually are seen fairly regular on the outskirts of town.

 i have also never seen humpback whales bubblenet feeding.  that would be awesome.  just can't leave alaska yet.  haha.

 i think these are on the road towards homer.

 almost home again. i  just had to snap a photo of this old station wagon.  you just don't see these dinosaurs on the road much anymore. i spent a good part of my childhood with my head out that back window inhaling the toxic chemicals.  i'm sure that was good for me.

 raspberries in kincaid.  ate the ones i picked at my house yesterday. they are starting to ripen up.  my neighbors went looking for blueberries yesterday. said they weren't quite ready yet.  should be a good berry year.  i want to find the salmon berries.  those are always super tasty.

 marmot dudes lady friend.

 hard to see her, but this is rio taking a break in the thick brush along the dunes.  didn't want to linger long there with it being bear country.

 view from the trails beyond the dunes.

 random marmot shot and more from the dunes trail

 a safer place for rio to take a break.

 random marmot.

 we chilled in that spot for a while on the dunes while rio got herself together again.

 the rest are from the drive to homer and back.  this is byron glacier.

 excited for my brother to see the spectacle that is alaska.  even if it rains a bit it should still be a beautiful trip for them.  of course, i'm hoping that it doesn't rain the entire time they are here.  he's excited but nervous about the bears i think.  they are here.  hopefully, we have no close encounters while they visit.  i always try to avoid it, unless i'm at  a specific bear viewing place or in the safety of my car.

 more fireweed shots.  you can barely see redoubt glacier back there on the one below.

 there is redoubt.  lots of sunshine on the drive.

 oil rig of some sort.

 back to bishops beach.  i think this is a pair of loons on the water.

 i should have gotten better pictures of this eagle. i saw something down the beach and thought it was a dog.  was trying to figure out where the owner was and then the "dog" took off flying with a fish in it's talons.  missed opportunity.  perhaps a sign that i could use some glasses.

 views of the water.  i'm always at peace on the waters edge.

 pleasure boats

 guess i had better start getting ready for work.  so excited.  hope i don't have another 1:1.  i'll be happy if that just comes only once every 6 months of so.

 lots of birds under the docks/piers. didn't get pooped on though.  thankfully.

alright, enough goofing around for one day i guess.  enjoyed my day though .