signs of summer starting to end...

 they are out there..the fireweed has hit the top, which generally means winter is due in 6-8 weeks.  fall will be squeezed in there at some point.  i have seen some yellow leaves on the ground.  small signs, but it is beginning to happen. these are mostly from fishing out of whittier.  such a pretty day out there.  that is a humpback whale above.

 today was spent cleaning and prepping for my brothers arrival this week.  should be fun, excited to show them Alaska.  right now it's looking like rain is in the forecast.  hopefully, not the entire time they are here though.  still pretty in rain and i always love some clouds.

 3 nights work down, 3 nights work to go.  they will arrive while i am at work.  it will work out okay.  they will have to make friends with my large dogs without me.  i'll have to leave them some pointers.  they are friendly dogs though so hopefully all will be well.  rio is big and kinda scary looking i think.  she has been known to let out a low growl which can sound pretty terrifying with her size and look.  i have never minded having one dog that looks like it could kick arse!

 rio does worry me this summer.  just not at all like she has been in the previous  years she's lived with me.  not eating as well, walking slower, just ain't right.  not sure what to  make of it yet.  doggie dementia? have i just been away more this summer and it's making her more needy, is she losing her hearing?  i have no idea.  just watching her for the moment.

 my first 2 nights of work were in the adult icu.  can't complain, they were steady but decent nights.  my last night was my first 1:1.  it was an easy night.  mostly i got paid nurses wages to watch tv all night.  on a 1:1 i am basically an assistant who just makes sure the patient doesn't hurt themselves or pull any lines out.  it can be horrible 12 hours.  alcohol keeps us in business.

 never seemed to get good sleep this week between shifts.  each day it looked like this great sleeping day with rain through the night.  during the day though, the sun came out and my body seems to know when it's sunny and it wakes me up to get out and enjoy the sun.  trying to get ready for my brother too so maybe i had a to do list in the back of my head.

 today i just walked the dogs at campbell airstrip.  lots of bear warning signs out.  apparently a biker got chased by a bear on rovers run.  i stayed on the airstrip and all was fine.

 more of the humpback whale.

 was attempting to take a few self portraits with my rebel.  had the macro lens on...boy was that a mistake!!  nobody my age needs to see their facial flaws on macro!!  depression sets in!!  lesson learned, photo's deleted!!

 didn't get the best tail shot, but i saw that hakam did so i was happy it was him and not me since they were out on vacay!!

 a few random pictures from a trip down to homer.  rio and blossom had both a shadow and a reflection.  i know, i am easily amused.  took loads of shots of it with both dogs.

 selfie in homer.

 spit in distance.  the drive down was beautiful  with all the fireweed out.  it was really the reason for the drive.  don't think i got amazing pictures but sometimes it's just as well to just drive and soak it all in.

 through the passengers side window as i was driving.

 random shot of blossom on the trail at the dunes in town.  had to drag poor rio through as it gets super bushy and there are bear signs posted there as well.  i'm starting to get ready for the bears and mosquito's to leave and for the changes that lead up to winter.

 the rest are from fishing.

 pella above and tanya below.  she made this her profile picture. always fun to take pictures of friends that they like enough to make their profile photo.

 bait

 bob and tanya happy with their day of fishing.

 got ya!!

 it's hard for me to tell when these flat fish are on the line sometimes.

 ernie pulls in a big one!!  i hear they've been enjoying their halibut in Sweden.

 the boys...all smiles out there.  don't think they ever got any salmon while they were there.  i have heard hits and miss from various co-workers.  some have loaded up with salmon while others get skunked.

 bob helps pella reel in his fish.

 loved this one of pella...he is such a great kid!

 martin was wonderful as well and the best big brother a kid could ask for i think!

 heard there was a small quake last night while i was at work.  i never noticed it, just saw it mentioned on facebook. i rarely notice them if they are under like 4.5 or so.  the fact that i had time to go on facebook last night tells you how slow it was for me.  not much else to do as i didn't know i'd be on a 1:1 so didn't prepare for sitting around.  it gets darker again now and the room was fairly dark so it wasn't good for reading.  the patient would pop up every so often and need to pee.  i'm lucky i move fast as i came close to getting pee'd on a few times.  oh...alcohol...

 ernie, tanya and i.

 wore my "lucky" fishing hat.  probably should have gone without it.  it kept trying to fly off my head out there.

 everyone but bob is sacked out.  gail and mack were in front of me, but i think they were sacked out as well.

 always the beautiful skies.

 was messaging with a friend who moved away through the night and again through the day.  we used to meet up for dinners/lunches.  do miss our outings.  it was fun chatting with her.

 otherwise i was pretty much spinning early on in the day.  have never figured out how i can be so organized at work and such a whirling dervish at home.  my brain is going in all different directions at home and so focused at work.  do i use it all up at work? cleaning i start in one room as it would be much more logical to clean one room and then move to the next.  but no, that isn't how it works for me.  i start in one place, go to put something away in another room, which then causes me to notice something in that room to work on, which leads me to another room where i find yet something else i should do.  it's exhausting.

 had the music on as i work better to music.  if i put the tv on i am too tempted to sit down on the couch and then nothing gets done.

 ended up ordering out chinese food tonight.  tasty. always.

 another ball cap shot...selfie.  no macro...much smarter plan.  i seem to rarely like photo's of myself though.  i'm kind of hit and miss.  i know i'm no great beauty, lighting and angles are everything and i don't think i know how to work them for myself.  besides, i think we all seem to be super critical of pictures of ourselves.

 bob and maddie take a turn on the pole

 gail and mack grabbed a spot in the rear of the boat.

 ernie and i on the way out to the fishing grounds.

 the fish begin to pile up.

 blood is flowing.  i know gross.

 i try to never make excuses for others...i think it goes along with that, "he's just not that into you thing". i learned...or tired to learn..that if someone isn't doing what a person who wanted to be with you would rationally do, then they just might not be too interested and you should move on rather than make excuses for them. it's admittedly not as easy to do as it is to say.  it's still the truth though.  if he's interested, he'll call, if not, well...it's time to look another direction.  people spend years in relationships making excuses for a partner that clearly would rather be somewhere else or with someone else.  i never wanted to be that person.

 sometimes the words are there, but actions are still the final determiner.  what is it alicia says...show me don't tell me?  can't recall.  it's true though.  it's easy to say the stuff people want to hear, but if you want to know the truth watch how people behave.

 the truth here is that everyone is engaged in the halibut fishing.

think i may have to crash early.  get a start again tomorrow. i'd love to see if i can get a deal on a mower at lowes...the push mower may have lost the battle in lawn care for me. i need a closer cut if i want to get on top of this lawn.  the weeds are once again winning.  soon lawn care will change to leaf raking and then to snow shoveling . good night.