Walrus Cam is live at explore.org

 here is my first capture of the season!! go check it out. you can see the steam rising from the many walrus who have already come to the island.  amazing!!  the crew is out there getting all set up as well.  the camera lens is super clear as the flies haven't had a chance to gum it up.

 this guy was my Tuesday.  he is part Dogue de Bordeaux(french mastiff) and part Tosa (Japanese Mastiff) Romeo is looking for a home.  i said I'd come meet him and see if i could at least help with foster care.  actually only had him for a few hours.  mastiffs tend to do a bonding thing pretty rapidly and i could tell when he decided to become protective over me.  sadly, he seemed to be protecting me from the puppies and i opted to just call and have him picked up rather than risk waking to a blood bath.  he'd started to butt up against me and grumble at pups when they came near me.

 overall they got along fairly well.  that is a powerful dog and they are my babies. i don't know the actual owner who is looking to rehome him...my loyalty is with the puppies.

 it was constant motion after he arrived.  the dogs all never really settled in.  there was no peace until he was picked up. i think i had him like 5 hours. my old mastiff had done a rapid bonding with me.  she was protective over anyone who was with me.  some seem to get protective over the family others to just an individual.  Rio was a lamb chop though.  super sweet.  with her and Blossom i had some once in a lifetime dogs.

 my current pair have gotten themselves wrapped around my heart and i fall in love with them more each day.  they have their own personalities.

 these are from the bear tree the other day.  in the tree is mama bear and on the ground is a male.  she wasn't too happy with him coming to her tree.  she's got a few cubs in there from all reports and he was probably interested in them.  there was some huffing.  just checked on the walrus cam.  the walrus are coming in to the beach to rest.  squabbles are happening over positions and occasionally i hear chiming immersed with the various other walrus sounds and the sounds of the rocks being moved by those large beautiful beasts.

 beautiful sunny day out there today.  walked with LS again.  saw the airstrip was without snow now.  we are carrying bear spray as there are a few males out and then the female in the tree.  yesterday before i got Romeo we just hit the tank trail.  we saw a male crossing the road as we headed back down the street home.  it walked in front of LS car.  she got a nice sighting.  i was a few cars back.

 watched a documentary by Noam Chomsky last night, "Requiem for the American Dream".  pretty interesting.  initially, he was saying the Senate was not elected but appointed.  the original government and really continued the power has been in the hands of the wealthy .  system was set up in many ways to decrease the level of democracy.  the people have fought at different times to increase democracy.  women's rights, civil rights, environmental rights.  it's always a battle of the population in general vs those with wealth and power.  they want to maintain their wealth and power over the people.

 as people fought for more power, those with wealth fought against the people.  one method was to redesign the economy.  as manufacturing slowed in our nation, the financial institutions gained power.  increased advertising shifted the burden as workers were increasingly encouraged to want more and to be the consumers.  loans and debt kept the workers dependent i think.  plutonomy...the goal being profit over the working class. tax system has continued to be tweaked so the rich pay less.  one of the reasons our current iitoo will not release his taxes.  will have to write more letters before i crash. no new tax plan until we know how it will benefit him and those at the top.  from the tax "plan" they released today it will most definitely benefit those at the top.

 the drive to defund social security, public schools...part of a drive to decrease solidarity and make people want to care only for themselves.  it's a huge shift. sadly so many who seem to fight for these things don't really get how losing them will damage society and also impact their own lives.

 the bail outs began for the large corporations, this is not capitalism.  they create the crisis, then create the bail out plan.  then determine how to utilize the money from the bail out for self gain.  the power more and more is in the hands of a small percentage of the super wealthy.  can't understand why so many citizens are not the least bit concerned about all this.

 he went on to discuss the changes in elections.  citizens united where the wealthy used the 14th amendment to  argue that corporations have personal rights.  money is a form of speech...this has created a horrible situation where corporations are buying elections.  this can potentially destroy the last remnants of our democracy.  if this doesn't scare people it should.

 the only way to save any portion of democracy is for the people to rise up, become vocal, active. people need to become aware of the truth.  at this point the general population is often marginalized and tend to make choices against their interests.  i was writing notes as the documentary went on so much of this is pulled from that, reworded as i can't write that fast.  you can see what happens so easily if you just step back.  blame others, make others at fault.  get the little guys fighting each other rather than fighting back against the corporations and wealthy powers that control us.

 here the male bear is making a move to climb the tree where the mama is

 she's leaning out checking him out and huffing at him.  not a happy bear.

 anyway, it would be much better for you to watch the documentary yourself than to listen to me try and do a synopsis of it.  we can only  be marginalized if we remain quiet and do not get involved.  it is up to each of us to make those phone calls and to let our representatives know that we will be voting and not sitting at home letting others make choices for us.

 the first 100 days of the iitoo are nearly here.  thankfully, he has actually done little but freak us out with executive orders, most of which are just ordering look at this and check that.  what will actually happen is not known yet. there does seem to be a great deal of corruption and i sense he and his family are using our tax dollars as their personal accounts.  his business expertise, which got him into deep financial debt and several bankruptcies is going to take our nation down as well.  his tax plan is not balanced so no idea how he plans to make that up.  they are making another swing at health care.

 the male walks away after his failed investigation of the tree.

 mama was uneasy in the tree.

 stands to check what the male bear is up to

 she decides it's time to head down the tree.  she is funny.  she seems to climb up and down pretty regular.  the cubs are kept pretty hidden. twice I've thought I've seen a little head pop up...but who knows. i know if she didn't have cubs in there she would have been out and gone a bit ago like the other bears so it seems she must have cubs.

 i was also laughing as the bear paparazzi moved quickly back towards the cars when the bears looked like they may head our way.  there are some pretty fancy camera's out there these days...then there are others who just use their cell phones for snaps.

 here she is climbing down the tree.

 she went after his scent to scare him off.

 she is a beautiful bear.

 looks annoyed though.

 finally got a few things off the to do list today.  got a camera in to get cleaned.  got the oil changed.

 it's a start.

 between the mud getting tracked inside and the wood brought in and made into wood chips...house cleaning is not an easy task these days.  hard to keep up with two puppies.

 she returned to the tree after chasing off the male.  stood for a bit of a scratch.

 pretty cute.

 I'm not opposed to paying taxes if the money actually is used with some discretion.  not happy that our tax dollars are now used for the family vondrumpf.  they are clearly violating the office and using it for personal financial gain.  there are still many questions unanswered that need answers.  I'm not one to let these things slide. so odd that the GOP who were so hell bent on anything the dems did, have now turned a blind eye to all this guy does. hoping there are some decent journalists out there who still know how to follow a story and break it.  the GOP could care less about any Rus connections or possible collusion or use of these offices and the power for financial gain  internationally...but God forbid anyone have sex in the oval office.

 our state department is gutted and there was this secret meeting today where all the senators were bused to the white house to be briefed on NKo but from all reports not much was really said.  it just seems like this administration is clueless but tries to pretend they aren't.  lies and incompetence continue to be the mark of this administration...add in to that the shady continued business deals/ties.  this is a sad time for our nation.  our international standing has been destroyed in less than 100 days.  he has pissed off our allies and played chicken with our enemies.

 butterfly above and a young bald eagle below.

 these last ones are at Point Woronzof.

 the trails are melting back pretty fast but right now that just means mud.  we got some hail at my place today followed by rain.

 last night after dealing with the three dogs for several hours i was wiped out.  i think i hit the sheets by 9pm...totally unheard of.  even though i watched the movie i was in the sheets.

 pups playing on the hill at Woronzof.  they were pretty good at the oil change today.  lots of folks coming and going, a little kid who wanted to say hello. they were pretty good at down stay while i walked up to desk to pay.

 finally was smart enough to just leash them and hang on today until after they settled so they wouldn't jump all over Ls.  sometimes you forget the obvious.  so I'll just do that, once they hit the trail they moved forward so no jumping.

 loved this, right as i drove up the next day to walk there...the water was at slack and just so flat and calm. it started moving before i left.

 wading in.

 on one of the few remaining ice bergs.

 doodles on ice...

thankful for:  A.  well behaved dogs and non-alpha dogs.  B.  my fur family being complete and me being chill with that  C.  activists...those who are brave and stand and shout.  nothing happens if people don't rise up.  i am proud of all my activist friends.  be the change you want to happen, make it happen, resist.