the sea, the sea, it always calls to me.

 like this of blossom.  she seems to be pondering her existence.  i'm pretty happy she exists.

 i'm not flipping very well this week . i usually flip over to sleeping from 1-2 am-10 am.

 the mountains looked pretty awesome out there as there were these low lying clouds that the light was shining on.  i could see them as i drove to the trailhead.  often, like today, i find myself debating in my head where i will end up walking.  in the end i headed to jodphur trailhead in kincaid park.  the dunes are always pretty and you get great views of the mountains from there.

 plenty of space for blossom to chase her frisbee as well.

 i find that dogs are pretty much oblivious to great scenery.

 you can see those low lying clouds in these.  i debated heading down to the beach,  but i'll save that for another day.

 after i walked around the dunes for awhile i headed over to the campbell estuary. i'd never been there in the winter so i have been wanting to head over there.  i for sure wanted views of the water/mountains and sun today.

 got a swim in this evening as well.  always good.  starting to ponder goals for the new year.  not that i'm a huge new years resolution person i guess, but it is always a good time to ponder what has or hasn't been accomplished and what may be accomplished in the coming year.

 those things are going through my head anyway so may as well put them down in words this time of year.  you know, make it all official.

 things i'm continuing to pursue...1.the book 2. going over photo cards and making some of my favorites full size 3. swimming 4.  add more weight training 5. going with those is toning up this body and dropping a few pounds (preferably in my arms and arse).  6. actually sign up for ccrn exam.  (fear i'm not smart enough to pass, but i'll never know til i try) 7. plan some kick arse fun for summer

 guess that is a good enough start for the moment.  if i can work on the book i can delay the goal i've been using at work of going back to school to make my adn  a bsn.  the idea of returning to school is just so distasteful.  figure starting with the ccrn course may inspire me.  haha!!

 a change in career to writing sounds so much more appealing at this point.

 just a lovely day today..amazing scenery.  did i say how much i love living in Alaska?  there is just so much to love about it.  still hoping to see a few things like a wolverine, a lynx  and humpbacks bubble net feeding.  would also like to see polar bears in this state.  so i have some photography goals there as well.  just for fun though.

 the refuge is off limits to dogs. i suspect that really only matters in the non winter seasons, but blossom waited in the car anyway.  the only birds i saw were magpies, crows/ravens and these woodpeckers.  actually there was a male and a female.  didn't get the best shots as they move pretty fast beating their heads against the trees.  may have to look up why they do this.  seems a strange habit..of course, i suppose there are plenty of humans out there banging their heads against walls.

 anyway, most of the pics i took were fairly blurry.

 the frozen creek looks pretty cool with all that ice.

 not a bad sunset either.

 rio is on walk break again.  ask her every day.   she seems pretty happy at home though.

 we shall see what happens tomorrow. it's the day the hospital in california is supposed to be removed from the ventilator.  people seemed to like that post of my ramblings.  good to show people i have deeper thoughts from time to time.

 not many deep thoughts today.

 this was at the end of patterson off of tudor as i headed out for the trailhead.  this is probably about 1 pm.  the sun never gets very high.  we are starting to lengthen our days...well not much each day but soon it will be about 5 minutes increase per day.

 lots of planning to do for this summer.  should plan for a few winter treks too.  i've never been to fairbanks in the winter and i'd like to rent one of those hatchers pass huts for a night or two.  maybe even one of the byers lake cabins too.

 this is probably a better picture of blossom.  she's just so dang cute..i'm quite partial to her curly locks.

 the dunes covered in snow and ice.

 no moose sightings today.  seems strange to go a few days without a sighting

 views from the bluff trails.

 this is clearly supposed to say world peace...people who draw on objects illegally may want to look up the spelling first.  no spell check on concrete i guess.

 circled around the other side of the dunes, well the other side of the motorcycle area.

 looked like there may be a bluff trail on that other side, may have to explore that next summer. it was deep snow though today.

 looking back at the dunes...i never see it from this vantage point.

 old container near the motocross park.

 another cool light shot i thought.  this is back at the refuge.

 so, i guess i'm happy with the places i chose to walk today.  though i suspect anyplace i went today would have been beautiful.  tomorrow is Monday walk.  not sure which loop we'll do tomorrow. maybe we'll do the gasline-powerline and then take off on those side trails.

 this was the last one i took before i dropped my little canon powershot into the snow. ooops..this is why one should wrap the strap around ones wrist.

think i'll go look at a few pictures on a card....then i will have done everything on the list, well not everything but it's a start. worked on the book a bit. the character is kind of exhausting and you have to write as that personality. probably not much different than me.  flight of ideas is an exhausting thing.