Mud Day!!

 Blossom loves getting all wet and muddy...these are mixed with yesterdays trip to Hope. above beach, below Hope.

 as i'm stamping up a few more envelopes i am realizing that some of the people that i may be sending these to may be dead.  i sure hope not and if so i hope not too recently and their loved ones will remember how much they cherished their trip to Round Island.

 that list of stuff to do didn't get knocked off as hoped, but it was so pretty outside.

 i am a constant procrastinator.

 a few of the cool cafe there.  last i went i do remember they had surprisingly decent food.  haven't been for years and it's all now closed for the season.

 snow on the mountains, the moose are collecting at the usual spots to spar for female attention and the swans are passing back through on their way south. soon the land will be frozen and covered in snow and the silence will return.

 i'll watch more movies and read more books and hopefully get a few things accomplished on my to do list.  it has been tough to do all this WARIS stuff this summer when the outdoors is calling me. hopefully i will be able to dig in more with winters return...and hopefully the IRS blessing that we are still waiting patiently for.

 did run into a to list from a few months back and i have done a lot on the list...well on that list i'd done pretty much everything.  there is always a new and revised list to turn to but it's good for me to look back and see what has been done.  these are just more old cabins in the main part of town.

 today was my best knee day in forever it seems.  i'm doing a lot of stretches and mini knee bends to try and increase the flexibility in the joint again.  was going to hit the gym and i bought new tennis shoes for this purpose, but i waited too long.  better to not push it too much i guess. i am excited to get a gym routine going though.  winter is a good time for that.  would love to shed a few extra pounds and tone up a bit.  gotten soft and i don't like it.

 last night i was watching a documentary on Antarctica.  it was more about the people who work there.  an interesting and eclectic group of folks.  they seem well educated and well traveled.  one said those that aren't hanging on to the earth fall to the southern most reaches.

 i found the various personalities interesting. i think i would have fit in well had i gone. i got the application at one point.  would be tough to be away that long though.  i was holding on still and didn't fall south i guess.

 one guy was part Apache i think and he was talking about how he has this genetic trait that one researcher in that field had said meant he probably was related to the Aztec's.  his two middle fingers were both longer than the other fingers and the same length as each other.  the lines in all  his knuckles lined up.  he seemed quite proud of this heritage trait.  it was pretty cool.

 wanted to rake the back lawn as the leaves are starting to fall rapidly.  i like to keep them raked up so i can locate the dog poops...best to keep up before the snow hits and they are lost forever..only to create poop soup in the spring.

 trailhead of north resurrection trail...i really need to go on this one...part of it anyway. i think this section is fairly level for a ways.

 ordered potato soup mix from Amazon.  i love the produce partners packet and i can never find them locally...so they were on Amazon.  bought a box of them.  just sounds good with the weather cooling.  soups and stews.nummy

 a large number of walrus are again hauled out near Point Lay in the far north.  it appeared that 30+ were dead and the state may send folks up to do necropsies.  polar bears and brown bears have both been seen in the area.  Walrus can stampede and their large size can cause death to the younger and smaller members.

 WARIS is about Round Island but it's impossible to not be about Walrus in general i think.  education and increased awareness for all walrus and making sure that this sanctuary lives on and that the walrus are safe in this place.

 back to today.  this tree was so pretty with the light hitting it.  i loved the shot above from yesterday too...so pretty with all those leaves down.

 had to take several of my favorite tree in Kincaid Park.  the trunk and roots are just so unique and beautiful.

 didn't see any moose on my walk today.  did see a mama and calf as i drove out.  this area near this tree has in the past been a big area for males to congregate...of course last fall, during the rut, some one decided that was a good week to open up these new biking trails.  that may cause some conflicts are drive the moose somewhere else.  bike vs bull moose...i'm going with the bull on that one.

 i'll need to get another roll of stamps to get more letters out...hopefully not to dead people....

 this lady was out on the mudflats walking as the tide receded back.  looked all cool and sparkly with the sun hitting it.

 was reading a bit of my latest Readers Digest.  there is a story about sole survivors in plane crashes.  they felt some pressure to be something great due to this event and depression could swallow them up. it's a blessing and a curse in ways.  there is talk of survivor guilt.

 i was interested as well because that is the basis of a novel i had started writing...and need to continue to write...there is that procrastination thing again.  a few have written books about it, may need to do some research...may help with this fiction novel i have in the works.  i can't even get the lawn raked on my to do list so the novels may take some time  for me to get motivated.  right now i need to write a killer commentary and a smashing letter for the university heads to read.

 the blog is good for me mentally...as is the walking so those always seem to win.  if my head is clear, then other stuff can enter into it.

 really hadn't gotten how getting involved with this island would land me in the global warming battles..man people get really nuts...conspiracies that it's all some liberal plot and is total bogus.  when you read the comments on any of these walrus or polar bear articles people just get so worked up.

 pics of my adorable puppy...and a wee bit dirty.

 great to be out and enjoy all the sunshine.  the sun is going down earlier and earlier.  we lose just over 5 minutes a day so over 35 minutes of light per week.  that is pretty fast.

 December will come soon enough and the reverse will happen...the days will get longer and longer, week by week.

 have to leave my mark all over the place.

 Blossom left hers as well today...

 she also left a great deal of muddy silt in the car and on the back deck and where ever she lay inside.  when she leapt out of the car after we got home it was like pig pen...a big cloud of silt followed her.

 a few more scenery shots from today...

 these are all with the canon powershot.  still playing.  the only thing is i wish it was more compact and fit in a pocket like my others. it does have a better zoom and more options though.

 there is a small amount of actual sand on this beach which is so great...amazing how you miss sandy beaches from time to time.  most of our beaches up here are rocky.

 heading back up the hill and off to run errands.

 liked this fall tree against the marsh below.

 one swan shot and then a few from Hatchers...these are back to the rebel.

 this tree always has a ton of shoes in the branches...still not sure why or what the story is on that but they are there.

 a few water shots...not my best thing

 but still kinda pretty.

 more swans from yesterdays drive. only stopped here for a minute

 will curl up in  a bit to read the latest nat geo and maybe work on this readers digest a bit more.

 may have to print what i have on the commentary.  maybe if it's the last thing i read before i go to sleep i'll wake up with some grand plan.

 colors

 and glaciers.

 and my daily three...

thankful for: A.  chats with my sister, Linda and my friend Anita...always great to catch up! B.  the sounds of paws and feet getting sucked into the mud at low tide.  C. fall, the time of great beauty across the land...and the return of silence.