mines and glaciers...

 will mix it up and finish June pics. as finished as it will get. enough...well, still Holgate pictures to post but...

 i think i have all the pieces together for packing. just need to physically pack it and then cleaning would be good for the house and car.  mow if possible Thursday before i take off. showed my pet sitter the feeding routine and did a partial walk so she can see how i walk the dogs.  Blossom will head to another friends place so she should be good. life should be much easier that way...though perhaps Blossom does more in the puppy raising than i'm aware of.  distraction and tiring out with play.  they will be fed and walked and should all be well when i return.

 i will miss the furs..i always do.   so much to do and see out there in AK though.  summer is slipping away fast.

 i schedule a hair cut and massage for after i get back from this trip.  :-)  always lovely.  want to get a massage in before she goes out on maternity leave.

 finally stopped by one of the going out of business sales at the Sports Authority.  there are 2-3 stores in town.  not much left on the racks. some brands and items aren't on sale at all. not sure if that means they can return to those companies or what.  there are loads of winter hats and gloves on sale though if anyone needs that stuff there are probably some decent deals in there. i got a few hats...

 i also got some shirts and socks.  shoes have been picked through. not much left.

 also had to buy new collars for the pups.  growing into collar size number 3!!  i remove the collars at home because of the stories i've heard of dogs rough housing and getting jaws caught in the other dogs collar, broken jaws, death by asphyxiation.  i'd rather avoid all of that. wanted to make sure i'm stocked up on animal supplies.

 will the house survive them...what furniture and other items will be found and destroyed.

 when i return i think i will use the metal play area upstairs to block off a few rooms and then the pups can come up here to the office when i'm up here in the evening. slowly open up more house to them.  best to wear them out with a long hike before i let them loose that first day i think.

 rain today and so i did a repeat of the dog park. the puppies really love it there and it is easy.  rain kept most folks away anyway so park was pretty open.  they are generally pretty beat after that.

 this is the face...adorable and looking for trouble all the time.  she seems to be good at finding it.

 many folks comment about how mellow this pair is.  i'm not sure i always agree with that, but i guess really they are fairly mellow compared to many dogs their age.  they do have their rowdy times and today everyone was in humping mode.  not too excited for this phase of life to begin.  will have to get the big surgeries done early rather  than risk an unwanted pregnancy.

 i figured out how to get started on the GoPro camera my brother generously purchased for me for my Birthday this year.  it had just arrived last week.  set it up on the wifi/app.  still lots to learn but i can upload and watch the video's when i get  back to civilization so that should be fun to play with out there with the bears.  i can take pictures and push the button for some video clips as well.  i always seem to forget video so will be fun to have that easy ability..now i need to go back to Round Island...

 seems every time i get a new lens or camera or gadget like this you want to revisit all the cool places you've been and get a do over.  it doesn't work that way in life though

 i still have some old film cameras that actually still have film in them.  i need to figure out where to take all of those and get them developed.  guess there are also places you can send negatives to and they will make cd's out of those pictures  very cool.  i have a box of negatives.  what to do with all that stuff.  eventually you die and it all just gets tossed.  the stuff you have in the end is just stuff.  valued only for the financial return and the cost of getting rid of it all.

 need to take some stickers down to fish and game tomorrow.  think i'll also take a few calendars that are left over and may as well get used.

 hopefully i have loads of fun photo's for next years Betsy Calendar.  should be some bear photo's and the whales..

 we got lucky on our walk today and it didn't rain out there.  pups still haven't done any swimming.  may try and make that appointment for puppy swim lessons.  hard to get a spot at the pool.  bath's would be great as well for all of them.

 stone bench.  puppies on stone bench.

 still hoping to sneak in a short trip to Kennicott just to get that checked off the list.  i suspect i'll want to return again and again once i go once.  it's like that with so many places...then you end up returning every few years and rotate to other spots between.

 will have to see if i can swing dog care.  the girl watching them this week is headed off to University soon so after this i probably won't have her around to help.  boo...bummer.  the boy next door will hopefully pick up some of my work days but he is hit and miss at this point.  perhaps some super cool dog person will move in next door and help out.  get past teething and then they will have the doggie door so hopefully, they can just move in and out as they please later.

 still need to figure out a bit what to pack for this trip. the usual clothing i guess.  camera gear of course,

 will have to look again at the info i've gotten from them and go from there. i'll toss my waders and xtra tuffs in . sounds like they plan to give us boots to use when we get to plane.  may prefer to just wear my own hip boots and then take camp shoes and perhaps the xtra tuffs.  they take up room though.  not sure how many of us will be out there at any given time.

 back to paddling.

 black and whites, always cool.

 mandatory class tomorrow night.  gotta just get it over with.  4 hours...

 much easier with digital to switch to black and white and do other fun stuff after you've taken the photo.  not that long ago i would be planning these treks and have to take lots of extra non-rechargeable batteries and i generally planned for 6-7 rolls of film/day.  i'd toss in a 2-3 rolls of black and white film.  it was random though.  light isn't always what you want for black and white.

 so nice to be able to experiment more and take way more photo's goofing around.  there are still folks who really get to know their equipment and that always impresses me. i'm a lazy photographer.

 the first trip i took any digital on was out to Churchill, Canada.  shooting polar bears.  that was also a trip that sealed into my head my place  in photography...i was having fun.  it's easy to get yourself thinking you can do this for a living or something.  then you go out and shoot white bears on white snow on cloudy days.  nope...there is a great deal more skill involved in taking absolutely stunning photographs. i'm more point and shoot material.  kuddo's to those who really get to know their cameras and lucky them for the amazing photo's they will get.

 i like the whole package...the pictures, the fun treks, the adventure of it all.

 several of us went on that Churchill trip.  i think my friends and i were the only ones that still had film.  it was a good lesson too in that it's easy to just sit there with your camera up to your eye taking stream after stream of photographs.....you have to stop though, set the camera in your lap and just enjoy the experience of it all.

 watching those bears was just fun...so was watching the walrus.  you can take a million photo's but it's best to take some photos that will always just remain safely in your head.

 take in the spectacle and the grandness of it all.  revel in the experience and the gift that you are being given to see and do things that many only dream of.

 we can't all do everything or see everything this earth has to offer.  some come fairly close i guess.  flying all over the world and seeing so many different things.  overall, i'm happy to concentrate mostly in Alaska these days.  plenty here for me to see, do and experience.

 that doesn't mean i have no desire to go other places..it's just that we are limited, by our time off, our finances and sometimes just the safely of some of the spots and our aversion to being put at risk to see this or that.

 thankfully now there is so much access through the internet.  we get to see and enjoy other friends adventures to places we will never see as they enjoy our pictures and stories from our adventures.

 weather in Homer doesn't look too bad. not sure where to look for weather for Hallo Bay. it's on the Alaska Peninsula.  looks like it is across from Shuyak Island and Afognak Island.

 here we are slowly approaching the Holgate Glacier.

 seems you just naturally slow down and work your way closer and closer.  it's quite a sight being in those kayaks in front of these massive rivers of ice.

 fun to paddle into the ice.  guess i shall try and get a few more things accomplished and then turn in for the night.  pups are down for the night. they are like kids.  they get crazy right before they fall asleep.

thankful for:  A.  opportunities  B.  fresh clean underwear...not everyone gets to buy fresh undies...that is so not something i'd want to buy second hand.  C.  the rewards that come from the training.  it's not 100% but so fun to see them  learn and grow.