deep freeze...

 for some reason i get all happy when it's all cold.  i am mildly insane i suppose.  walked yesterday and then headed to Potters marsh for a cruise around on the kick sled.  i was not alone.  loads of folks had headed out there.  true Alaskans are not afraid of a little cold weather and instead they smile and rush out to meet it.

 always great views from the Potter to McHugh trail.  Blossom enjoyed.  Rio has stayed home.  attempted that fancy and spendy harness on her the other morning.  she wasn't thrilled. it totally threw off her game.  she is blind and i have always lead her from the front, guiding her with a leash on the top of her head.  for me to be trying to lead her from behind really threw her off.  she slid down the stairs and lost all confidence.

 a bit worried  about how she will do when i am away, but really she will probably do better with me not here in many ways.  she is pretty obsessed with me and wants to be right by me.  this means i either sleep downstairs til her end or she has to do the stairs on occasion.  my friend says she sleeps downstairs so this should take the stairs out of the mix.  i have gotten her whittle down to just coming up for the night and returning downstairs in the morning

 got a few errands run today.  not all and i am discovering that my flight leaves pretty dang quick.  aack!!  vacations always have a way of sneaking up on you.

 hopefully flights are uneventful and the dogs are fine upon my return.

 this almost looks more like a golden eagle to me than a young bald eagle....i'm not a birder though and it's usually baldies in this area so it's more likely that it's a baldie.  always a fun sighting either way.

 today i was out in the chill pretty much all day.  met for the Monday walk with speedy and LS.  it's always cold in this part of town and the Campbell Creek Science Center always registers super low.  we must have been close to -10 out there in some parts.  always funny how there are these little pockets of cold and pockets where it's warmer

 everything is frozen around here.  the city hasn't given it's blessing to skate on the ice around town.  they do measurements and like it at least a foot thick i think.  not too many ice bubbles seen, i think the ice just has thickened super fast.

 later i met with a friend who i hadn't walked with for some time.  we just have different schedules these days, she is one of those friends though that you pick right up like no time has passed at all.  great to catch up and laugh.  no drama friends are the best!! i seem to have a lot of no drama friends. i suppose most drama folks move on or people move on from them.  too much work.

 we headed to Kincaid, the Jodphur Trails and hit the Dunes, always a great place.  i was thinking of trying out Oceanview Bluff again and see if it froze up  more but explaining where that hidden gem is may be difficult.  this worked out perfect.  we did a loop out and back.  it's coastal and we timed it so we got to watch the sunset.  Alaskan winter sunsets are always a sight.

 for sure felt a bit warmer over at that end of town.  perfect to as i had errands i hit along the way to/from.  nice to try and save on gas and decrease the old carbon footprint by trying to do all in a lop.  of course, the flight south is a huge dent in the carbon footprint left behind.  our planes are not all that fuel efficient from what i can see.

 i try to do a few things right knowing that i will also be doing a few things wrong . oftentimes it's important to at least be aware of your impact and make attempts even if they seem futile in the big picture.

 Paris attacks continue as the big news item of the week, as they should be.   saw an interesting news bit..i find some truth in it.  it's easy to allow fear and anger to take over when these events happen.  in truth this is just what a group like ISIS wants.  they want to make us angry so that we will take that anger out on those in the Muslim world, thus angering them more and making more recruits for ISIS and so on until they have created the holy war they so want to have happen.

 in truth, ISIS probably did not fund or directly plan the attacks on Paris but are happy to fully take credit.  they want others to do the work for them and they are good at spreading their hate.  there are many who are unhappy and less educated so they can more easily be taken in by the message.

 how do we change that message, how do we co-exist with those who wish to remain faithful to Islam but also want to live in our cities?  we have to strive to not blend every member of the Islamic faith to every terrorist attack.  the bulk of the millions who practice the faith are not terrorists.

 our media likes to take things and focus on them til you start to think that is the entire story.  the entire story is much bigger and the actual numbers of those who are terrorists are small in comparison to the large numbers who aren't.   ISIS doesn't want to counter this and the news media don't really want to either.  terrorists and terrorist attacks make people tune in.  i'm not saying the media are fans of ISIS but i just think we have to step back and not allow these things to become sensationalized.

 today many states Governors have proclaimed that they will not take any Syrian Refugees.  we have a responsibility in my mind to help out those who ask for help.  when we do, we do more good than bad.  will they become terrorists, overall  the answer is no, time and time again.  the average person is not interested in becoming a terrorist, or a serial killer...but they are out there in the population

 i have always thought we are surrounded by pickets of evil folks who are held back from evil only because there are rules that we follow in societies and they feel compelled to follow those rules until...a Hitler or Isis or some other entity tells them they are justified in killing these people or those people.  we have to prevent that from happening.  we have to stop that message from getting to those few evil souls who are waiting for just such a message from anyone.

 we should also not forget that we have played a role, small or large (depending on your views) in the situation in the middle east.  we are not blameless.  this is also where it always occurs to me that the message of Jesus was one of kindness, empathy, sympathy and assistance.  the little old lady, the small child, the mother with children...they are running from Syria.  they are terrified.  at their base they want the same as we do.  they want a safe place to raise their children, they want to see the beauty in the world around them without fear.  they want to work or be educated, sing, worship, whatever it is that brings them happiness.  they are tired of the hell that has become their nation and we should be willing to at least attempt to help them.

 screen them, yes.  there is risk, yes.  we are a society that likes to aid.  we are a society with a great number of kind and altruistic people.  we can't let ISIS or any other terrorist group make us forget our kindness.  we can't allow fear to fester in our souls and turn us away from the kindness we have inside.

 ice crystals are all over.

 silly me...i went out to get my paper (yes i still read a real paper) anyway, i discovered that i had left my keys in the door all night.  oops.  thankfully, i was not attacked and my car was still in the driveway.

 just started reading, "the Martian" i think that is the title. funny now with e-books it's easier to forget what the title of the book is you are reading or who the author is.  anyway, the book so far is great and really sucks you in.  i love books that make you want to stop, curl up and just read until it's done, devouring the words...so i was up until very late reading away

 of course, as soon as i closed my eyes the little beep started on one of the smoke detectors.  can't sleep through that and you have to get out of bed and start searching for the source of the noise.  you have to wait for the next beep and then you head that direction..then, nope, that isn't the one so you wait again for the next beep and off you go again.

 eventually i located the beep, it was my carbon monoxide monitor and it said ERR.  so i did a test and it seemed all happy so i went back to bed....nearly asleep again and beep!!  GRR...is there a more annoying noise?  the monitor again said ERR.  since i have another carbon monoxide monitor that is functional i just pulled the battery out of this one.  i doubt i am at risk as i know there are small breezes that come through some of the windows and doors.  my place is not air tight.

 got well over my 10,000 steps in today and also got a zit.

 really!!  amazing that i would still get the occasional zit.  i really believed as a teenager that i would turn 18 and the zits would cease to occur.  fantasy. " they keep me looking young" a girl in a bar decades ago once said to me.  not sure that works anymore though.

 walked the boardwalk at Potters.

 it had been quite some time since i hit the boardwalk.

 pretty out.

 clearing out the papers...can't possibly catch up with all the old news.

 perhaps my next commentary piece should be about the walrus again....about the ivory.  i've spoken about my desire for the ivory trinkets to have a better method of tracing their origin.  for now you just have to have faith in those who are selling them.  if it has the alaska made seal that is supposed to be enough to assure you that it's not a poached animal. with the deaths again of those 25 walrus...still no news by the way.  perhaps it's time to step it up a bit.  make folks accountable. make us as consumers accountable.  know where your ivory comes from.

 i am not against subsistence hunting but i am against waste.  how do we prove that the walrus ivory came from a legal subsistence hunt without waste?  or was found on a beach due to natural death not by animals shot and left to rot only for those who shot them to return and get their ivory later.

 this is how it starts.  next i process and study a bit and process more.  eventually i just sit down and write and see what comes out.

 got a wee bit frosty out there today.

 we all had a great time though.  now that my hair is shorter i get the frost.  this summer i whacked off 8-10 inches.  i was feeling frumpy and nobody wants to feel frumpy.  may grow it out again at some point, i usually do.

 friends from the morning walk.

 ice in the bog on a Rio walk

 little bird tracks...so cute

 Blossom, my most consistent walking buddy

 when the leaves come down you start to spot all the wasp nests that have existed unknown to you all summer.

 last Monday walk....that is speedy coming to meet me after i'd done the loop

 Rio on one of her rare walks these days.

 the light was so pretty in the bog that afternoon.

 and of course, more pumpkins left for the moose in the bog.

these are all just my opinions.  who am i? nobody really.  just a person who lives, listens and verbalizes the things that run through my head.  am i right? am i wrong?  i'm probably at least a little right and probably at least a little wrong.  you don't learn, you don't grow or evolve unless you are willing to listen and express yourself freely.  once you quit learning you are dead.  i don't want to be dead in my brain, i want to be able and willing to evolve and to see the world through the eyes of the others out there.  there are so many ways to see each thing,  to believe you have  all the right answers is absurd.  i don't have to be right, i just have to be open minded.  to understand others you first must try to find a way to see the world through their lens.

Grateful for:  A.  moose sightings  B.  great walking friends C.  amazing winter sunsets