more fires added to mix....gonna be a long summer if this keeps up.

 hoping for rain.  structures have been lost.  DeeDee Jonrowe has lost her house and one cat, one dog and some chickens.  always devastating, fires...just a total loss.  it's painful.  sunset did look pretty so i headed to Worzonof along with a lot of others from Anchorage.  it didn't really set until about 2345...almost solstice.

 my poppy plant is blooming.  will have to call about that crew who were going to come do a clean up in the yard. would like to plant these guys and get a few beds looking more presentable.

 i forgot to take my zoom lens tonight.  oh well.  Rio takes a few minutes to enjoy the day..it was in the 80's again.  really takes it out of me.  did manage a walk/hike with TO and LS.  Rio opted to stay home. not sure what she wants these days. she is looking good and eating pretty well.  planning on packing the car and doing a bit of a drive tomorrow.  not sure where i'll end up or if i'll just do an overnight or just keep driving. with the sun...that is always possible.  just pick a spot and take naps.

 one from the dog park

 on todays walk...we spotted this young moose ahead on the trail.  he decided to head out way.  not too many options for us so we just pulled over to the side.

 he started to walk towards us and then i waved my arm and that was enough to spook him the other way. just a curious young bull, but i'd rather not get too close to him anyway.

 so he booked.

 came home for a bit and then headed to Bird to do a bit of the bike trail there...time my bike got off the rack and on the road.  seat is dang uncomfortable and i only did 8 miles but i did stay on the bike for the up hills and enjoyed feeling the breeze on the downhills.

 jealousy is not a good thing to dwell on.  one friend is always saying she is jealous of others...find myself reminding her of how good she really does have it.  if you are lucky enough to have love and family in your life...well i just think you have little to complain about...then to have so much more.  it just seems we all should do our best to be grateful for what we have and not spend our time wishing for stuff we don't have.

 often all this social media stuff can remind you of what you don't have by falsely giving you the impression that everyone around you has it so much better.  it could just be that they document what they do have better or they are just showing you one piece of their lives.

 columbine...that is that flower.  they were all over out there.

 had to call my sister to clarify...in another conversation we'd had i was telling her about all the strange dreams i have and she mentioned she never has dreams so i sent her a text this morning with a dream to share with her, being dreamless and all.  in my dream i had a pet hippopotamus and  i'd walk it along the shore as it swam and then i'd ride it i guess...but in the dream the hippo was very painful this day and i had to put it to sleep.

 she got confused and thought i had to put Rio to sleep. Rio is alive and well...the hippo  in the dream...well i can only guess, i had just gotten to the vets house to discuss the hippo with them...then i woke up.  oddly, i opened my newspaper to find a story with a picture of a hippopotamus...apparently, flooding in Russia's Georgia has caused some zoo animals to get loose and they were directing the tranqualized hippo back to an enclosure.

 thankfully i bought that root beer yesterday...i have  been enjoying it today!

 coming through a tunnel.

 tonights smoke filled sky made for some interesting sunset shots

 worzonof.

 Denali

 my bum is still sore from that dang bike seat...may have to upgrade on the seat.

 i also twisted my thumb back trying to get the bike on or off the rack.  hate when that happens...still can feel that as well.

 these colors just come from the smoke...or smog like growing up in Los Angeles.

 lots of other people there getting pictures...of course, this is always a popular place to enjoy the sunset.

 Blossom was happy to get a swim in and it was finally starting to cool down a bit.

 80's is some kind of heat for Alaska.

 it's 1 am and finally looks dark out there...this week is always crazy...will be strange also to go to Barrow at the end of July and have 24 hours of daylight up there.

 some young photographers were attempting to get this shot, so i showed them how i may go about doing what they were doing...came out cool except for it being crooked.  may have to try that again sometime.

 the skies are similar out on Round Island...seems strange to have a place so far away impacted by all these fires but it does seem to be the case.

 that is from tonight.  the rest are from the past week or so i think.  the camera is back to main beach as of sometime this afternoon

 these were taken at 1st and 1st prime.  love how they play there.

 buddies

 total relaxation on this rock...looks like a lazy boy chair

 and then another guy who understands how to relax on the beach...i called it mermaid...he looks like one for sure!

 sunrise or set...can't remember. from another day..pretty

 just a handsome guy

 another shot of tonights sunset

thankful for...1.  that most of the dogs from the kennels seem to be getting out of the fire area alive 2.  that winds are more calm than they could be...hope they can control these fires soon 3.  silly dreams.  entertaining anyway