the last of july...

 many from the drive to homer and back.

 seal keeping watch on me and the dogs on the homer spit.

 i just finished my work week. i'll be off work until after my brothers leave so that should be fun.  it's raining pretty good right now.  i think they had a good time in seward though.  hit many of the highlights.  they are on their way back to my place now so i get to hear all about it soon.

 baby gulls..baby anything is cute.

 work wasn't bad.  first one in peds icu, a kid that i kept hearing was looking bad is looking better so that is great, especially after this summer up there.  too  much sadness so nice to see something positive happen. my other two nights were in the adult icu.  they had a lot of 1:1 patients so i took one of those..a dialysis patient.  they gave me the easy one.  that works for me.  it's great to be in the float pool and not have to take the sickest patients anymore.  i have done enough, will continue to do enough and you don't get paid any extra anyway. i still enjoy it, but it can be stressful to have those super sick patients all the time.  i see float pool as a semi retirement or a step towards that.  i ain't getting any younger, right?

 alcohol and it's effects coupled with drug abuse are job security for me.  sad to see people waste their lives.  life is pretty sweet so it's just such a waste in my mind.  so many people just have zero coping skills.  they also seem to have few activites in their lives besides drinking and partying.

 spit in the distance.  won't be able to get my brother down to homer.  only so much time to do a few activities.  i think my brother was pretty stressed yesterday.  sounds like the drive to seward probably chilled him out.  travel can be pretty stressful, i have been known to have a meltdown or two on a trip.  my quote of late that i love is from a movie, "everything will be alright in the end, and if it isn't, it's not yet the end".  great quote!

 today's walk took me to campbell airstrip trails. it was sprinkling a bit so i just got a short walk in.  the dogs seemed pretty happy.  ran into a trail friend.  i know several people from walking these trails.  i don't know them any place else but i've been seeing them and chatting with them for years now.  this lady wasn't young when i first met her and i've really no idea what number to put on her.  she is always a person i like and look up to though.  she is not doubt more fit than i am, despite her somewhat advanced age.  it's impressive.  she does brace herself when the dogs are playing.  she has 2 labradoodles.  we had spoken on the trails about how she wanted a dog like blossom for her next dog.  i found a listing for labradoodles in homer.  she and her family have a cabin in katchemak bay so she checked out the dogs and got two of them.

 always fun to run into her and my other traill buddies out there.  it is funny though. i rarely see these people in the summers. we all gather back on these local trails come late fall and then we see each other and chat all winter.  summers are just like that in alaska.  everyone just scatters.  she said she's spent a great deal of her summer out at the cabin, kayaking with friends.

 tempted to take a little nap here in a few minutes.  it's gonna take a different kind of energy to keep up with my nephews.  got home after 12 hours of work to very excited boys...actually they were all excited.  they headed to seward after 10 am and then i crashed.  will be nice to visit when my brain is a bit more clear.  so excited my brother finally made it up.  of 6 siblings we are now down to only 2 who have never come up here to visit in all these years i've lived her.  tragic in my mind.  i tell my sister that she really should come visit and not wait until i get in some car wreck or attacked by a bear.  you have no idea how many families of patients i take care of are in alaska for the first time...and sadly they are here to deal with a very sick or even dying loved one.  i tell her she had better not let that be her.

 will have to watch myself this week too. when you live alone you get used to open doors, wandering around naked or i don't know picking your nose or your arse when the urge comes. i'll have to be a bit more socially acceptable.  haha.  it's a challenge, but hopefully i can conform to social norms for a few days.

 these are from a walk in kincaid.  butterflies are always so pretty.

 seeing more and more berries out there.  looking like it will be a stellar year for berries.

 also have spent some time out at lake hood.  the planes are always cool.

 my cats are pretty slow to warm up to visitors as well.  not sure why that is.

 a nap is sounding pretty good.  feed dogs nap....

 bear scat on the trails today, but no sightings.  didn't see any salmon in the creek either though so maybe that small run is ending.

 i should be packing some stuff up for the cabin this next week.  maybe 1/2 hour nap then i will try to organize some of that gear before they get back.  figure they won't be back here til closer to 8pm.  may have to see if i can locate any sleeping bags to take out to the cabin.  may just need two bags and a few pads. they could take the big blow up mattress i guess.  put it in the loft.

 the other day as i was walking the dogs there was suddenly a whole crap load of police activity.  they were cruising all over, lights and sirens  blaring.  the various cars turned different directions.  there seemed to be a break in the action so i proceeded to cross northern lights with the dogs.  rio is pretty slow on these street crossings and we tend to have several motorists watching our slow passage.  most of them are smiling or make nice comments about the big old dog.  so i was focused on helping rio.  then bam...this car slams on it's breaks and stops a few feet from us.  he was turning left and was probably distracted by all the sirens and activities.  he almost took me and the dogs out.  of course, i raised my arms up and looked at the guy and just said loudly, "DUDE!!!".  we all survived.

 these are up in hatchers pass/independence mine

 anyway, turns out they were chasing a guy who stole a car.  the car eventually ran into the gates at JBER, which is the military base.  he'll be in a bit of trouble no doubt.  thankfully, we were all okay.

 a lovely news story...a horse was possibly sexually molested at the fairgrounds in fairbanks.  what is wrong with people??  hopefully, the horse is okay.  poor beast.

 have started to see some mushrooms.  we shall see what sort of mushroom year it is.  i always enjoy getting out on the trails taking pictures of shrooms.  i don't really eat them, but they are super pretty.

 didn't take too many photo's at independence mine.  the weather was looking a bit worse.

 always pretty up hatchers pass though.

 a few from the harbor in homer.

 love anything related to the ocean.  it's my happy place.

 i have run out of things to write about...well probably not. not sure i'd ever run out, more that my brain is beginning to go into shut down mode.

 these are at the cut off on seward hightway where you either keep going to seward or you head to homer

good night..july is finished. i can actually begin august!!  i do still have a few cool musk ox from nome that i will slap in here one of these days.  good night all.