radio spot cancelled...i am so last week already...!!

 so not prep time required tonight.  spent time starting to move pictures over to my shutterfly page so i can prep for calendars and christmas cards. it's that time of year.

 today did a few house chores/yard chores and headed off to the dunes with the dogs.  we walked a bit of the inner trails but Blossom knows the way to the dunes and she stopped and looked off towards the dunes with such hope that we headed off in that direction.  she loves it there....nothing better i guess than chasing your tennis ball in that sand.

 the grasses have given in to fall and have turned colors...as you can see from the first picture the trees that miraculously grow on the dunes gave up their leaves as well.  looked cool with all the leaves on the sand.

 Blossom is one beat dog tonight.  it's great for Rio as well as we don't really go very much distance and she can sit next to me at times while Blossom just runs back and forth across the dunes chasing the ball.

 these little plants have super colors in the fall.  they vary from yellows to reds all on their own.

 not sure how this rather tall dunes came to exist here.  there are a few of these strange sand dunes in a few locations in Alaska.

 of course, this is rather unstable ground and if a big enough quake were to happen as i was out there, it would be very possible to be sucked under never to be found again.

 can't live your life completely risk free.  odds are against it, but that is exactly what would happen to everyone and anyone who happened to be out there in "the big one" as it were.

 the area is very popular with locals.  this is one of several places where you rarely find tourists in the summer...

 saw and heard this strange fake duck below me on the "beach".  didn't notice the duck hunters until i got the card on the computer.  those are probably decoy ducks in there as well.  they can hunt ducks down there.  never heard a shot go off while i was there, but then next to the open dunes is an area for motorcross...so loud off road motorcycles.

 no idea what kind of birds these were...many passing by.

 debated staying for sunset, which i'm sure would have been lovely, but we didn't.  i was ready to get home.  ate something that didn't agree with my gut. ever since i got my gall bladder out greasy fried food can be a bad mix...still i go for it every so often. really it's just pan fried potatoes in butter, but for some reason...amazing the other crap i can eat and my gut could care less.

 did enjoy the time out there and the dogs were quite happy.

 when i got home i found a note from the person in Dillingham cancelling my radio interview.  no mention of rescheduling so i'm guessing that is that. no new donations, don't seem to have generated much for donations from our letter writing campaign to past visitors.  so i guess that was more of a bust than a success.

 one day you feel up and positive about it all , the next it seems a bit like an uphill battle. when i'm down i generally find something else comes up that makes me feel positive again.  have to look at overall progress.  i also have to remind myself of how much we have done and that it is unrealistic to think we could start this and have some sort of miracle happen. time and patience.  we are building something positive.  just being in existence and plugging on has been enough to let them know at fish and game that this decision isn't going to be swept under the rug...we are watching.  putting out the article may have just brought this home to him a bit.  i'm no pushover.

 of course when it comes to these sweet pups..i am a pushover. they were happy today though which always makes me happy too.

 chatted with my brother, Jeff and my friend Marcia today.  always great to catch up a bit.

 poop pick up and more leaves raked.  i also put in the invites for this years pumpkin carving party.  this will encourage me to decorate and clean the house.  always a good idea. it was fun last year so worth another shot this year.  will have to text a few others to invite them over as well. i actually enjoy having people over and wish i had a bigger space that was more adequate  for entertaining.

 it's always fun looking over the photo's from the past year.  amazing how much you see day to day up here.  just such an amazingly beautiful place to live.

 winter is the only season that stays the same for any amount of time.  spring/summer and fall are always so quick that they change week to week up here.  this place is ever evolving from season to season.  the winters are cold but even at that you will find each winter has a rhythm of it's own.  some will have more snow, others more wind, still others more fog.  some will have crazy ice formations, or awesome sunsets.  moose will be in town more some years than others...

 the light is always changing as well.  there is a lag time at summer solstice and winter solstice, otherwise the light changes just over 5 min/day...so that means over 35 min/week.  that is really quite astounding.  those are even more pronounced in the latitudes further north.

 living here you do get to know the rhythms of the seasons.  more so here than even in Ketchikan.  there were mostly evergreens there and rain.  there was fall change but not as dramatic as it is up here. fall on the tundra is like nothing else.

 i got a bit obsessed with the leaves...i just thought they looked really beautiful out there.

 water views..but i would not want to put a house up here.

 houses are getting build back up on this side of town more and more it seems with each passing year.  i think the memory of the big '64 quake diminishes and the views draw people in.  many places weren't built on before the quake so i suspect with the next big one there will be some pretty major damage. the area near where i live used to just be woods....i'm told this is where Anchorage residents used to come out to go moose hunting.

 city takes the place bit by bit.  the dunes is there and won't be built on, not houses anyway.  never say never though.

 Bishops beach in Homer is getting a bit wild as it becomes more and more popular.  i have always loved it there.  i do wish they would just stop beach vehicle traffic. i don't see much cause for cars and trucks on the beach in general.  some limited use may be okay but people seem to drive to fast and recklessly down there.  it gets too loud.  a friend showed me another, more quiet beach down there that i will no doubt be headed to more often.

 watched, "julie/Julia" while i loaded pictures into shutterfly.  always a fun flick.

 it was clouding up as i was out there on the dunes...hadn't brought any rain gear so i'm happy it didn't start raining.  will have to figure out what to do tomorrow now that i don't have the radio thing hanging over the day. was mildly nervous about that but was excited to be able to speak to people who live so close to Round Island.  would be great to be able to try and find a way to instill a sense of pride and perhaps action into them.  haven't really been able to gauge what the thoughts are out that way about fish and game removing the biologists.

 the radio show would have been a good way to maybe open some doors in the community.

 liked this beach shot above.  so beautiful.

 back to my favorite plant of the day.

 looks so pretty against the sand. check out all those colors...awesome, right?

 gay marriage is taking hold across the nation.  a few continue to refuse to let it go.  our governor is one of those who has vowed to take it back to court to the next level.  as i said he will lose.  3 couples were married before his first hold was put in place and now couples will be able to obtain marriage licenses on Monday.  Friday was a holiday here...Alaska day.  congrats to those who will finally be able to make that commitment and be able to enjoy the legal benefits that comes with that.  it's a positive for many families out there.  the right to marry and with that the right to divorce and have a fair split with visitation rights with children.  there are so many things that are impacted when these unions are not allowed to be legal.

 hopefully the overall rate of people staying married will go up...Lord knows heterosexuals have a pretty poor track record for remaining monogamous, perhaps same sex couples will show them up with their commitments.

 loved the color with the sand...

 the grasses were in fine form as well.  i'm easily impressed by the beauty of nature.

 all beaches are great...the ones up here can have a bit of a uniqueness.  soon the ice will dominate the land and the sea.

 interesting read about the training of the next generation of totem pole carvers in southeast Alaska.  great to hear that there is interest growing and that totem poles will continue to be a tradition.  i recall that generations ago the poles were put up but allowed to just rot back to earth.  now they do try to restore older totem poles to keep the history alive.  there were several in Ketchikan while i was just there that were being repaired.  they are beautiful.  it is sad how many cheesy totems made in China are sold in the many tourist shops in southeast.  the art of Southeast Alaska is some of my favorite native art.  the wood and the colors and the designs are all fabulous.

 this is how most attempts to get photos of Rio go.  she was sitting pretty when i attempted to step back and get a picture...she was on the move as soon as i walked away though.

 this is again Rio on the move as soon as i attempted to step back for the picture...as you can see Blossom is a much easier subject to photograph.

 Rio still has that adorable and sweet face when i can catch her.

 a few more scenes...

good night all.  thankful fors for the day.  A.  Quinton and his moment of bag use...thanks for the tip...we are one in that now!!  haha!!   B.  the gift of the dunes for fun and for beauty.  C. the senses...each gift makes life so much more full.