the mystery chew toy...

 the investigation began soon after i woke today.  Tusker was seen at the foot of the bed with the remains of some item.  what item had it been in a previous life.  i looked around the house and saw nothing amiss...except one slipper was missing.  this has happened before though.  i soon retrieved the missing slipper and a pair of pajama's from the back yard.

 puppies are good relocators of goods.

 i put the slipper with it's partner in the closet and the pj's in the wash.  the dogs needed to be walked so i'd have to continue my investigation after our walk.

 we walked the gasline/powerline/tank route today.  enjoyed the last bit of sunset. on the way back i had a bad owner moment.  i'd put the pups back on leash for that last section of trail near the parking lot.  then i saw a pair with two dogs. the dogs seemed to be jumping all over the place so at that distance i figured they were off leash and a bit out of control so i just let mine off to save myself...being a bit on the tired side. the dogs were on leashes though.  my pups terrorized them all.  i know i apologized many times and tried to explain but i felt bad.  my laziness was a big oops.  should have just pulled them off trail and on leash.

 i am far from perfect...thankfully, most people that i meet in life are kind and forgiving....or they just curse me out from afar.  Ivy also took some nice spontaneous leaps at a guy dragging a sled behind him. of course, it did occur to me after he passed that one never knows what the guy had in the bag in the sled he was dragging....parts of an ex-girlfriend?  it was getting dark and he was heading out.  didn't seem enough stuff for camping...perhaps i should be grateful i got past him.

 anyway, when i got home i got out of my winter walking clothes and pulled those slippers out.  when i put them on and took a few steps i had my answer....Tusker had taken the entire bottom of the slipper apart.  didn't notice until i took steps.

 so interesting week at work.  on call the first night,  never called in.  the second night i was put on call but called in right after i finished my blog. easy money night of sitting.  my third night they again put me on call...i got called in before the shift even started.  so 2 nights full of overtime...works for me. seemed to keep busy last night though.  ICU.

 phone calls today.  texting...catching up.

 a bit heated at times.  i knew it was destined to happen.  sometimes you just have to i guess.  so many strong opinions there is bound to be a clash on occasion.  we will never see eye to eye on some issues.

 another person used an assault type gun to kill and injure others in rapid fire.  so sad.  this shooter had lived up here and for some reason put gun in checked baggage, when he got his bags he apparently went into the bathroom got out his gun, loaded it and came out at baggage claim and just started shooting.  he was ex-national guard.  news said he'd lived in Anchorage....

 he'd gone to local FBI and informed them of what the voices were telling him or something like that.  they decided he was not an imminent risk and took him, to the ER , and he ended up on a 72 hour hold perhaps at a local psych hospital from news stories.  he was released and eventually got his gun back.  folks get mad but they seem to blame the wrong people.  the local police and FBI followed the laws that are on the books, the air companies followed the rules/laws they are held to.  it is up to all of us to let those in politics know that we want different laws.  that we want folks with mental health issues to get better care.  he was probably some combination of schizo/PTSD...

 heard some question the authorities for letting him go...but there are laws.  you can't just hold people in psych wards who hear voices. also people with these issues do hear voices and as one guy i saw interviewed  said, they get folks in all the time with bizarre stuff to FBI/CIA.  they don't all end up on the terrorist watch list.  everyone wants that after the fact but again...that isn't how the laws work.  so just another sad situation and more lost lives and devastated families.

 the various security organizations came out with more information which seems to show that Putin was involved in attempts to influence the election. of course Drumpf and his supporters, want to down play the results of the investigation rather than risk admitting that perhaps Drumpf was helped along to his current position.  we may never know how much the fake news stories did play that role in who our next POTUS will be.  i certainly feel that it is a great possibility.  it was a very close election.  he would like us to believe he won by a landslide...but clearly that is not the truth.  he lost the popular vote by at least 3million so it was close and Russia could very well have played a role in the outcome. i was in the Never Drumpf camp and tend to be in the Not my POTUS camp.  i do feel this election turned out to be a scam .   there is some question of legitimacy.  not that i think that will alter the outcome or even hope for that.  we will have to wait and watch and protest and write letters and hope.  the man has lived his entire business career nudging the line of legal/ethical issues..surviving on his money and team of lawyers. will this get him in the end in a political arena..we shall see.  there are many in GOP whom i doubt are huge fans of his and don't want to see him destroy their party or this nation.  will they be brave enough to stand up and speak out and act for the good of all people.  these are the days that will make you see the truth in character.

 sadly so many of the fake news stories were repeated so often that many have never separated out truth from lies...and many don't really want to i suspect because the lies suit the truth they would like to believe.

 there were stories i read that i would look at and be like...i hope that is true...still i see them, but then i would turn to several other sources and note that these stories never showed up elsewhere.  if news is fact, it will eventually be picked up by major news entities...all of them.  if it's a lie it will only be seen on few or on news broadcasts that cater to one way of thinking.  more and more i avoid the 24 hour "news" shows which in truth have just become spin rooms filled with opinions rather than facts.  too often people seem to see these commentary discussions as facts and news when they are just opinions and speculation.

 frost at the ball park...no games right now

 hit Basher for sunset the other day.

 yesterday was a slacker day. no walk.  did play in the yard with pups.  could have walked, but i do take a day on occasion to just chill.

 you can see a touch of the Fata Morgana in the distant mountains at sunset.

 always enjoy a good sunset.  the pups did as well.

 the busy weeks ahead. haha.  puppy classes on both Monday and Tuesday evenings.  want to try and get out on some good walks/hikes during the days. classes seem late enough that is possible.  never done rally before so that should be interesting.

 did get the bulk of my thank you notes written the night i was a sitter.  the guy slept most of the night.  i just had to keep myself awake. i work hard most nights so it is nice on occasion to get a chill shift.

 more Fata Morgana below

 just love those pink hues.

 the city with fog in the inlet and Mt Susitna

 like the light through the trees...

 i think that is Redoubt with some Fata Morgana...illusion

 the city bathed in frost and fog.

 on the Basher trail.

 temps dropped down near zero. i just discovered as i plugged in the car tonight that he prong broke off...not sure if it will still work. could be tough to start car tomorrow. 1 degree out now...supposed to warm up to 10F

 pups are barking outside....hopefully, i can do some good long walks and wear their little puppy arses out this week.  :-)  good for me as well.

 it's always amazing that the next day they are right back to the high energy level having forgotten the many miles walked the day before and the day before that.  i'm not really likely to totally wear them out.

 still worry about them as i'm at work.  i think that comes from never having had a dog door before.  it is funny, they are different dogs and a clean slate in some ways.  Blossom wasn't here long enough to really stamp them with all her habits.  Rio and Blossom had their ways and these guys are adapting their own.  when i used to leave for work i'd give Rio and Blossom some peanut butter in a bone.  these guys don't seem to relax as much with this and when i leave them with a treat, i tend to have to sit down until they either start to settle in with it or take it outside and forget i am there or leaving.

 meals were much more regimented under the Blossom/Rio era.  these guys eat but never with gusto...they have their own habits.  Ivy starts to eat, Tusker licks the can out.  i take the can away, Tusker then picks up bowls one by one and drags them across the room, spilling the contents.  no clue...

 each dog we share our lives with comes with it's own unique personality.  these guys are still developing into theirs.

 a guy was running up the trail to try and capture the sunset...he was met by these two, who were excited by this running thing.  they won't catch me doing it anytime soon.

 last of the skies from that night.

 these are a few more from Dec...still many missed photo's...perhaps i'll have a day to add more from the bear trek in here.

 that is a large sheet of ice out there in the water.

 the tide was moving super fast that day.  we tend to have 20-30 feet tides.

 we've had good snow coverage and some nice hoar frost this year.  it's been a pretty sweet winter in my mind so far.

 these are out by the airport.

 another foggy day.  that is the moon rising.

 still behind the mountain tops

comment to see if you are reading?  hmm...i wouldn't want to be trapped in a patient transport with a person with a GI bleed.  that sounds like a nightmare.  what patient would you least want to be in a closed space with?

thankful for:  A.  opinions...even though we may not share the same ones, it's good if we can share them.  you never know when you will learn something new or change your views....if you are open to the idea of it.  i have been wrong many times...you have to be willing to be wrong in life.  happy i have been wrong, happy i have listened and happy to have been one to have changed my mind. B.  the on call night...a seemingly rare night for me...that i was able to have 3 x this week.  C. that i wasn't all that attached to my slippers...that stuff that has been destroyed over the years by life or dogs has not really been irreplaceable though, the carpet on the stairs will be a drag to replace.