handing out cards...

 today i slept in late...as usual for this week, eventually i headed out to Eagle River Nature Center for a walk with Blossom . Rio opted out today. these should complete July...all that is left over are some of the Misty Fiords pics from the little camera. a few mushrooms popping out in Eagle River.  lots of bugs biting as well.

 these young shore birds were out at the bog...along with this little dragonfly.

 it was warm out and my body was pretty sore today...mostly my left knee.  so i did an easy 4 mile walk which was fairly flat out to the river and back.  Blossom was so happy to get into that glacier fed water.

 i was happy for her to get into that water as well since she'd laid down in every mud puddle she could find.

 like having the cards to hand out.  got to talking to a few folks out there.  getting better at talking walrus to people.  i wish i had a better plan laid out for how to help, but i really don't.  get as many people gathered into the same group, educate those who have never heard of the Walrus Islands Sanctuary that it exists and is worthy of our help and attention and then raise money and work with fish and game and other entities to best serve the sanctuary.

 talked to jm there at fish and game today.  i'd gotten an email from him that apparently vincent-lang has tasked ew with getting figures together for costs of running round island.  i figured v-l had no idea what all was involved in this.  i also suspect that v-l thinks someone will just totally take over the islands and that will be that.  nothing is ever that simple, nor do i have intentions of completely taking over the day to day running of the sanctuary.  that was never my intention.

 i may be able to help find volunteers to head out there this next summer if we have been unable to get the funds for paid techs..i may even go out there myself for a 2 week stint or two 2 week stints if that is what is needed.  wouldn't want to be away from the dogs for more than that or take off my real job for more than that either.  it may be a walrus summer.  i can think of worse things to do than hang with those sweet walrus for a few weeks.

 need to work out what fish and game would cover for these volunteers if we find them . i already have some interest.  great to talk to jm today.  he is very supportive and understanding of what is going on with this process.

 the person who is running the eagle river nature center took it over several years back and turned it into a non-profit endeavor.  would be great to talk to her, not too many people have started this sort of thing with the mixture of politics and dealing with other groups so i am excited about the idea of having that conversation.  i left my card and spoke to a very nice volunteer (i think volunteer?) at the front desk.  she's been out to R.I 3x and is interested in getting involved...so she got a card as well and hopefully i'll hear from her.

 these are Byron Glacier pictures...

 have to get approval from Kickstarter then we can get that live and hope for the best.  would be tough to save the sanctuary with the current balance of $35 in our account!!

 so things are moving along...i must be doing something right i guess.

 lots of construction on the road out to the nature center.  seems like a long drive but i was surprised at how many people had still made the drive all the way out there.

 socially, not a great week.  sometimes i think if it weren't for WARIS i would have zero contact with the outside world aside from people clicking "like" on my facebook page.  so it's probably good that i have collided with this non-profit.  may have to figure out my social issues as i move forward with this thing...

 did send off a few photo's to Alaska Magazines photo contest.  some friends on facebook sent me the contest page and encouraged me.  doubtful that i will win any photo contests but i do appreciate the support.  photography and blogging are hobbies.

 big eratic...that is a huge rock that is leftover from the glacier retreat.  this one has retreated a lot

 it felt so cool by this snow and the creek.  same today...eagle river was immediately cool and comfy.  i poured water on my head to cool off for the walk back.

 Blossom has enjoyed her week of walks.  we've gotten in some good walks.

 had a tough time getting her to leave the snow that day.  she sat there and then she rolled on it...such a cute and happy dog!!

 took more of the same pictures on the way back to the car.  the sun was shining through the snow, which looked so pretty.

 it's been a week of staying up late, sleeping in late and not getting much done other than walking and WARIS.

 watched a movie/documentary last night.  "first position" it followed various ballet students who were going to this huge dance event in new york.  kids get scholarships to ballet schools.  there were different age brackets. it is interesting the variety of backgrounds that these kids came from.  they had just taken an interest and had parents who supported them.  it was cool to see the boys with parents that admitted that at first they were worried that their kids would be teased, but they saw how happy their sons were and how much work it was to do ballet.

 so many parents really sacrifice everything in order to help make these dreams come true.

 one young man was from Columbia i believe it was and the family had sent him to New York to train.  he did very well, and was moving on to England for more training. another young girl had originally been from Sierra Lione.  it was a violent childhood, both her parents were basically executed in front of her, she was dropped off at a orphanage, tried to save her teacher, but the woman had her arms and legs cut off and was left to die.  eventually she was adopted into a family in US with another buddy of hers from the orphanage. she had skin pigment issues and the orphanage had encouraged the family to take her along with the other girl they had already decided to take.

 they feared the pigmentation would cause her grief as culturally many would think it was a mark of evil.  she'd seen a picture of a ballerina at some point in her early days and decided that was what she wanted to do.  her parents were so cool, they seemed like people who would do anything to make her dreams come true. she had an injury but struggled through it and got a scholarship as well.

 it's a tough road, ballet.  seemed like these kids put more pressure on themselves than their parents were putting on them.  some people are just born to do certain things and they just find their way to them.  could be a sport, music, art, dance...if they are given the opportunity they will excel.

 of course, for every kid who dreams of being this or that, there are many who will find that dream falter.  not everyone can be the lead ballerina or form the rock band that makes it big.  you just hope that those kids/adults can find another way to happiness or at least figure out how to incorporate their dream into their life in some way.

 these are at Eagle River today.

 when i was young i always was passionate about animals.  i trained as a veterinarian technician and worked as a licensed tech for years in an Emergency room for dogs and cats in L.A. , i also trained as a zoo keeper at the L.A. Zoo.  i was never a paid keeper but i was a volunteer keeper for years.  i also took many courses in Marine Biology.  never turned those into a career but here i am starting a non-profit for walrus.  perhaps it all was just preparing me for this path.

 hopefully, i can do this role i have taken on justice.

 the "big Bang" is going to be delayed as the actors battle for higher salaries.  seems pretty silly considering the amount of money they are no doubt making at this.  money is so often strangely divided in our society.  we pay actors and athletes so much and teachers and police offices relatively little.  hard to judge the crew for trying to get more money in that those above them are making even more outrageous sums of money...these are, of course, the people i should be hitting up for walrus money.

 will have to get moving a bit earlier tomorrow as i'm picking up rh from the airport to talk walrus.

 our PFD check is guesstimated to be pretty high this year. i'll have to get these walrus on there for next year...people can donate part of their PFD to charities of their choice.

 pretty day out there walking.

 i will try and get to bed a bit earlier so i can get my day rolling a bit earlier as well.

 must be time to go back to work...recover from this weeks mosquito/bug bites.  the side of my face is swollen from a biting fly bite. those always swell up on me and then i get a little sore.  buggers!!

 it won't be long and the bug numbers will drop down.

 these mushrooms are a sign of the coming fall, and fall doesn't last long at all.

 may try to call a lawn place and see if they can do a big lawn makeover for fall to prep it for next summer.  it's a mess out there.  i thought about it but sat in my chair instead and chilled.

 at the river...love that grey/blue colour from the glacier

 Blossom was just happy to be in the water.

 it is cold water.  felt great when i first poured it on my head and then i got the chill rush...brrr..

 this shows the colour better.

 hard to tell but this mushroom was gigantic!!  it was already falling apart. i put my phone next to it for size comparison..very impressive.

 short boardwalk along the trail..complete with wet lands and increased bug counts.

is there anybody out there?
grateful fors...
1.  cool water and beautiful views to enjoy on my walks
2.  the support and positive feedback as i work on WARIS.  i've for sure put a dent in my personal bank account and spend way more time on this than i write down.  i often feel inadequate and knowing that others value my going through this process really helps.
3.  i get my aches, but i am very grateful for the relative good health i enjoy, that i am able to get out and enjoy the beauty of all we have been gifted with on this earth.