the wind blew....

 dang blogger loaded this top one sideways...grr!!  have never figured out how to fix that.  anyway.  i was woken in the wee hours to the sound of the wind, well it was hard to tell what was wind and what was rio snoring at first.  i did get up and go outside to batten down the hatches as it were.  my cute little pumpkin lantern was nowhere to be seen though....off on a journey across anchorage no doubt.

 tried to sleep, but it wasn't overly successful.  on the plus side i settled in at the computer and worked on the annual christmas cards and calendar.  done and done!!  also made address labels.  hopefully, i was awake enough.  i'm always my worst judge and see all the flaws.  in this case, i did see later that i hadn't put a caption on the november entry.  the world won't end though.  keep it all in perspective i guess.

 the amy's were headed over to university lake and though i debated just crawling back in bed after my projects were done the rain stopped so i took the pups and ended up running into them.  i figured i'd be too late to see them.  they were kind enough to loop around a bit with me...thanks guys!! they both have fancy and cool strollers so they can get out no matter the weather really.  i mean if they are getting out with wee ones i really had no excuse not to get out with my dogs.
2 above is a larch tree.  it's one of the few evergreen trees that actually change with the seasons.  the needles look so bright this time of year.  pretty cool.
we did get some wind while we were out there and pretty much every leaf in anchorage is now off the trees.  you can see them on the ground in the foreground above, but the yellow behind is all leaves in the lake.  the current was taking them to this side of the lake.

 the amy's on the bridge.

 more leaf collections. so cool.  below one of many projects that the beavers are working on.  i have my projects they have theirs i guess.  leaves again in lake behind the tree.

 there are still a few leaves out there i guess.

 none on my little tree..this one loaded sideways as well.  eye roll here.  anyway.  my poor amur maple is totally naked.  amazing as it was on fire yesterday and now it looks all sad.  i should look up how to make my tree shape up more decoratively.  surely i can trim it somehow and make it look more organized.  this time of year it's at it's peak in beauty and then...poor amur!

 cleaned up a bit, bought a few pumpkins as we will be carving them on the 18th.  should be fun.

 a few last pictures and i'm all caught up on pictures.  so these are from recent hikes and walks.

 government still on shutdown mode.  idiots in d.c!! guess when they shut down they also shut down the office that assists families of fallen soldiers.  sadly several have passed away since the shutdown and their families have been unable to collect the assistance that they deserve.  embarrassing.

 on a lighter note apparently some grammar schools are banning "dangerous" play equipment such as footballs, soccer balls, soft balls...what a nation of pansies we are creating!!  what happened to live and learn.  kids are so overprotected it's ridiculous!

 see what happens when i stop and read the blips of news on the internet?  another story i just caught a bit of was something about the people of haiti i think suing the UN because it is believed that an aid worker may have been a carrier of cholera.  how many more people would have died if they hadn't gotten aid at all.  post disaster outbreaks of things like cholera in nations such as this is not uncommon from what i understand.  that goes under  dammed if you do, dammed if you don't.  so many cliche statements today.

 let rio loose to make her way under this branch while i walked around it.

 blossom is enjoying all the mud she can before it all freezes.

 dying leaves and a pretty red mushroom.

 while driving around  i had NPR on.  they were doing an interview with elisabeth smart as she has a new book out.  strange, not sure if it is post trauma or just what we would have called a mobot when i was still in the mormon church.  it was just a strange interview.  mobots from what i remember are just mormons who are almost dull in the head for following the word of god.  they say all the right lines.  i guess kind of like a stepford wife.  i don't know, i mean she's had a lot of trauma and i'm sure it's impacted her more than the family has ever really let on. they just went from her captivity to she has put it all  behind her and is totally fine.  i do wish her well, but that culture can sometimes put pressures on people to put on the face of perfection no matter.  don't see myself picking up her book

 another book i don't think i'll be buying is suzanne somers.  she did that one sitcom ages ago and has cashed in on it.  she does seem to have used her time in the limelight to creat a conglomerate, great for her.  she is another odd duck though it seems.  gonna live forever. she was on "the talk" i think it was as i was getting ready to walk.  happy people have these perfect lives, but i find it a bit difficult to buy it all.  so another book i won't be buying.  i have always found perfection annoying.

 really enjoyed this months national geographic.  they always have great photo's and interesting articles, but this month was especially good.

 bought some root beer schnapps for the last party and was just on a little hunt for what could be done with it.  will just do a search and see what that pulls up i guess.  it sounded good.  i remember having shoot a roots one night with friends years ago..they were tasty!

 should turn in early tonight. i've got to get the car in for it's tire changeover.  loaded the tires in today.  may just hope for the shuttle thing so i don't have to sit at the shop all day...i'd really like to make sure they tighten the lugs this time.

 haven' made it back up to powerline to look for moose.  weather not really cooperating.  tonight i was happy to settle in to the tub and relax.

 back to work on thursday...hope they have work for me.

 here are the amazing fall colours before this storm came and sent all those pretty leaves flying!

 just local trees and below the local ski jump.

off to bed i go.  may have to open the schnapps and see how good it is at stopping my coughing...haha!