making peace with the grizzly..

 so i went to visit a few of his friends over at the conservation center near portage.  you can get quite close to the bears there and i figured it would be good for me to get over there and see the bears.  trying to desensitize myself so that i don't have lasting negative effects from my bear encounter. it was a lovely day out there...a few sprinkles here and there as i drove out but i was happy with my day!

 i barely made it into the park when i got sidetracked to all these cool caribou and then i got obsessed with their reflections.  those antlers are just too cool!!  how could i not.

 took tons of these, but i loved them.

 one caribou in particular seemed quite fond of me.  i think he may have fallen hoof over antler for me actually!!

 here he is.  he antler bombed several of my photo attempts and was frequently found nuzzling my coat or pants when i was trying to take photo's.

 i stopped often and gave him some lovings.  he was so sweet!!

 so despite some clouds it was amazing day in my book...

 love it out there, the animals seem to be healthy and happy. they have plenty of room to move about and lots of food to eat.

 noticed as i drove around all these really big veggies, found out later all those giant veggies from the state fair get donated to the center for the animals.

 did remember to flip it to black and white a few times through the day. not often though.

 this guy was jealous of my caribou love and had a thing or two to say to us over there by the fence.

 before i headed out i took the dogs to the bog for a spin.  they are both tuckered out now. after the conservation center we took a walk on the trail of ice for a bit.  i had my bear spray but it was just me and the pups.  figured it would be a good time to get myself back to normal.  didn't walk for miles today, but part of that was it was time to head back.  saw some old bear scat but overall i was pretty calm and normal.

 i loved these..hopefully, they aren't too boring.  will have loads of others.  figured i'd mix these in with all the other september photos that i'm catching up on.  good to have some current stuff in there.

 debating getting an early start and making a round trip to denali and back tomorrow.  would be cool to drive those first 30 miles in the fall...i seem to make the run in the spring but have not done it in the fall, except the one year i had the road lottery ticket.  the vibrant colours will be gone up north by now, but there  may be some moose in rut opportunies, who knows.  just a change i guess.  i have a few days off and figure i want to make use of them before the snow comes in and i am less apt to do road trips in the cold and dark.

 i'm thinking my tv issue is my tv.  it occurred to me that i should try watching a movie...if it did the same thing when it was a movie then it probably isn't related to the cable.  technology is great but the stuff just isn't built to last at all anymore.  sad.

 here are a few more of my new love...he's quite handsome really.  a little needy though...haha!!

 pet me, pet me!!

 how can you turn that snout down though.

 here he is antler bombing more pictures.  i figured i'd try to work him into the picture since he kept following me around along the fence line.  the tourists were laughing...he likes you!!

 another antler bomb shot!

 this was on our walk after the center.

 looks like we may get frost again tonight.  it sure feels cold out there already.  below is from the other mornings frost.  the paw prints do seem to appear with the frost on the car.  so below is one from the window on the passenger side.

 the rest are from local september walks with friends mostly or just with the dogs.

 love how the carpet of the forest turns this amazing red colour this time of year.

 makes me need to take mushroom photo's all over again.!

 a lichen above and more of the red flora below.

 i'm always amazed how fast it all happens.

 more mushrooms...

 i can't be stopped!!

 blossom looks spectacular in the fall colours..!!

 walking on the bike trail in town.

 creekside.

 i didn't take but a few shots of the party.  busy enjoying myself and friends who were there.  i'm not keen on bothering people with pictures at parties...rather just let them enjoy themselves.

 rio does always seem to find bob. she gets a bit crazy with all the smells and people.  takes her awhile to settle in when everyone is zipping about.

 amy and lucy.

 liked this one of lucy and rio nose to nose.

 just a few from a bog walk . the leaves are starting to turn in there as well.

 the mug that amy brought me to help me get desensitized to bears...haha.  put him prominent so that i get a smile every time i open my cupboard.

so i quite enjoyed my day and feel myself moving on a bit more every day.  got to tell several tourists my bear tale and show them the paw prints on the hood of the car.  very impressive...i may not have photos of that bear, but he did leave his mark on my car!!  good night.