the temperature dropped today...

 i could have used an extra layer. it was clear out, which generally means it's colder this time of year, but it really dropped.  on my walk out jodphur the ground was frozen beneath my feet for the most part...a sure sign that winter won't wait much longer to arrive.  i had a dentist appointment at 11 am, after that i took blossom to jodphur for a loop up the trail system and then across the water view back to the dunes.  then i made a short drive down to potters and windy point just cause it was too pretty not too.

 rio seems to be opting out. perhaps the monday walk this week was too face paced for the old girl...for sure the summer of rio is over.  poor girl.  she's chilling in here with me.

 that is Mt Redoubt.  the closest active volcano to anchorage.

 my cute blossom, who woke me up a few times last night.  she's a sweetie though.  how could i refuse such an adorable mug.

 even with my late arrival there was still frost on many of the fallen leaves.  thought a few looked cool so i took a few photo's.

 the beach below.  great views as always.

 found myself cheering as i was driving.  on NPR they were talking about these Saudi women who are driving and videoing themselves in this act of defiance....posting them to youtube.  it's just amazing that in this day and age there are such restrictions to my fellow females on the earth.  you go girls..!!!  they are the next revolution and they deserve to be free!!

 also heard that the small blonde, blue eyed roma girl that was taken away was actually DNA tested to be a match to the people who had her?  sounds like a mess.  embarrassing, right?

 always nice to have clean teeth.  don't have to return for any cavities.  yippee!!  not fond of the whole process, but i did have a nice chat with the hygenist..at least as good a talk as one can have with instruments in your mouth.

 chilled with my friend amy tonight after i went swimming.  only got in 15 laps, but it was good to be in the pool.  felt like i did more as i was in the furthest over lane and the little water jet things were making me work to stay in a straight line.

 always nice to hang with amy.  been awhile.  when she's come to the monday walks i've been at the back of the pack with miss rio.  so we caught up a bit.

 ran into this moose as i was leaving kincaid park.  just loved the light through the trees today.

 there were a few swans quite close to the road.  they were just feeding and i didn't stay long.   there were several of the long lensers out there.  one lady said she'd been out there all day.  i'm just so not that dedicated to stay in one place that long.  yikes!!

 my kindle fire arrived. i had debated this purchase, but i bought the cheaper version of it.  i just wanted something to toss in my work bag for when i get these 1:1's.  they really aren't that bad as long as i have something to occupy myself with.  didn't want to leave my ipad in my work bag for fear it would get stolen.  these are for sure not as nice as the ipad and it's fairly small so i think it will be able to hide in my bag and have less chance of being snatched.  apple has better apps from what i can see when i looked around...meaning i couldn't find ski safari or bookworm. horrors!!

 i mean, what is the point without those.  haha!

 few mountain sheep/goats whatever they are pretty far up.  i'm not a long lenser so this was as good as it got. always cool to watch though.

 bear bread and some lichen.

 more frost covered leaves.

 most of my pics were of the lovely view from the water view trail.  several people out there.  i didn't see any moose though i ran into a few young guys who had gotten turned around out there ( so easy to do) and they'd seen a few mother + calf combo's.  i never saw them.

 great light...amazing, really!

 liked the reflection of those two clouds on the water.

 blossom ponders whatever it is that dogs ponder in life.

 more cool light.

 the greenpeace 30 taken into custody by Russia have had their charges decreased from piracy to hooliganism.  who knew there was actually a charge for being a hooligan.  apparently it can come with a sentence of 7 years.  i'm sure better than the piracy charge would have been.  heard this on NPR as well.  the hooligan charges caught my attention.

 every day i say i'm going to stop by the shoe store and replace my work shoes and buy new hiking boots and then every day i put it off until the next day.  just wearing my short walking boots for now.  i just think my old boots had been used up.  i think proper footwear is critical. i have high arches so i think i need really good support.  was thinking today that i really need to go through all the shoes i have and purge some for a donation.  not sure why those old boots never seem to get tossed when i get new ones.  then you have all these old shoes of questionable support...time to purge and start over.

 homeless people could still make use of my shoes...they are generally in good shape, just lack some of the structural support.  feet are important...could buy some socks to donate with them.  i'm needing to build up my good kharma bank after my bear encounter.  of course, it did occur to me that it was the dogs good kharma that kept us safe.  probably a good idea to start donating blood on a regular basis. i'm type A+ which is one they could probably use.

have my PALS check off tomorrow. not sure how long that will take. hopefully not the full 4 hours.  figure i'll hit the shoe store after that if it's not too late.  we shall see.  i'm off for the night, then back friday and saturday.  probably load a non fiction book or two on the kindle.  something i can pick up and set down easily.  thirsty tonight, walk and swim always does that.  i also tends to make me sleepy...night