a walrus kind of day....

 so the back of my little free library was needing painting so i sat down tonight.  one of the old Round Island rangers, Stephanie Sell has been my artist...so great of her.  so she had created a piece from a rough sketch i had given her. so i took that and blended it with my initial sketch to create this.  i think it turned out pretty darn cool.

 happy i added the background.  it's actually a lot of fun blending the paints and creating...I've always done just rough sketches, but perhaps i have more ability than i give myself credit for.  there will be more to paint once the stand is made. excited to get this up and available for the neighborhood. hoping nobody steals it or trashes it.  always a worry i guess.

 my friends daughter stopped by one afternoon and worked on more art on the library.  i just ordered her a nice art kit like the one i have that my brother and his family had given me.  thanks Tom and Darla.

 my favorite of hers is the one below.  turned out cool. like the colors.

 the place is greening up fast.  several walks with the pups of course.  baby moose are dropping which will also mean crazy moose moms and hungry bears looking for baby moose to eat.  can be a bit sketchy in town for a bit.  some rain this later part of the week as well.

 good time to work on the garden.  will do planter boxes and veggies i hope.  watering the yard is play time for the puppies.  they go nuts for the hose.

 above Scott and i dine while he is in town from base camp in Hawaii.  feel bad as they pretty much forced the check on him.  i realized it was mothers day and i suspect no female was going to be allowed to pay..i will pay next trek to the rock.  these desserts were so good!! chocolate chip cookie on the bottom cooked in the pizza oven and ice cream and chocolate syrup on top. he got the butterscotch one. decadent!

 one guy stopped by yesterday.  a handyman.  will see what he would charge for the base for the library and perhaps my walrus bench.  want it to be cool...kitschy libraries are all the rage! he also looked at my kitchen area for some ideas.  got a number from one of the docs i work with so I'll see if her construction folks will come take a look and see what is possible and for how much. the short term loan i was thinking I'd get for the trailer i can just get for the kitchen.  pay cash for the rest.  kitchens are big and so I'm more anxious about it. the handy man is not bonded from what i could see.  for a big project i would for sure want that.

 if he's a good handyman I'm sure myself and others could keep him busy.  a few friends are short handyman services as theirs have both taken up drinking and drugs again i guess.  can't deal with that.  ER was crazy busy the other evening...but in the wee hours it slowed down.  i was allowed to leave shortly after 5am.  the sunrise was beautiful so i stopped a few times and snapped a few shots.

 bed snugly time with the puppies too of course.  these are random phone shots mostly.

 so i worked ER and then the last 2 nights i worked in Peds ICU.  always fun working with my old crew.  super nice folks there. just a different world.  my work is never dull.  it is nice to be respected by co-workers and doctors.  i have a pretty good reputation as a nurse...pretty proud of that.

 being a nurse has made me a better person.  it continues to make me a better person.  i really never thought i would enjoy what i do as much as i do.  sure some days are crazy and stressful or just annoying i guess. no job is perfect and there are things that drive me nuts.  mostly, it's all those things that you have to do for the office folks.  you waste time that should be used to better care for your patients.  i seem to manage to find time though.

 i started working at a young age.  my first "job" was when i was in second grade.  i went to a lady in our church and asked if i could clean her house one afternoon a week for a dollar.  she and my mother must have gotten a laugh out of that but a deal was made so i went there after school one day a week and dusted and vacuumed.  next was baby sitting.  i started at age 10 I'm pretty sure.  i think by age 13 i had a summer baby sitting job at the local YMCA within walking distance.  they had drop in so parents could work out.  of course, this would not be allowed i guess now. age....though i think starting to have some "work" and learning to manage money at a young age helped me to have really good work ethics.  this was instilled by my parents as well.  i "worked" for my dad at tax time working on changing out old pages to new pages in these tax books i think they were.  no idea what if anything i got paid. we had no allowance.  can't say my mom made any real chore charts.  we just did stuff, dishes, run to grocery store, peel potatoes, set table...it's just what we did and knew we were to do.  i guess some kids aren't even required to do chores and some say it's mean to make kids do chores.  i think chores are a good thing really...again teaches those work ethics and teaches kids how to deal with the money that you do get.

 this is Ivy Rose's favorite toy.  she's carried it around since i got her. i think it was one of the first group of toys i picked up for them.  she took a liking to this one.  Tusker never really selected a favorite toy...his favorite toy seems to be whatever toy Ivy has decided she is interested in.  then she kindly gives it to him and selects another toy and then he wants that one, and she gives it to him...and so on.  Ivy is a bit of a nut sometimes, but she is the sweetest, more forgiving, loyal and happy dog you can imagine.

 loved this of this tree in  Kincaid. today we were at Connors bog.  they must have gotten worn out as they have mostly been sleeping since we got home.

 Tusker has these amazing natural highlights.  he gets many comments as he is so handsome

 he's super sweet as well.  more easy to snuggle with as Ivy is often just too excited to settle down.  legs and licks...that is Ivy. Miss Breezy Chatterbug seems to be getting used to her more limited house life.  the bed seems to be a safe zone.  they all can snuggle together on the bed.  anywhere else she roams she is chased. the pups are fascinated by their cat friend.

 watched a lot of Charlotte's web last night.  i kept hitting replay.  all night i swear i saw the same scenes over and over again.  it's really not as long as i remember it being when i was a kid.

 below is at Connors bog.

 crazy week in politics....every day is insane really.  so much breaking news.  it does seem that things are escalating.  the GOP try to have a story and be on the same page in all this crap but then the iitoo tweets or does an interview and totally throws them and their lies under the bus.  he's met with the Rus in the oval office at the request of Put no less.  he fired Comey, they had some story that it was all because of how he handled HRC emails stuff...right, then he gets interviewed and says it was because he wanted the Rus investigation to end.  Comey wrote memos out after each time he met with the iitoo and sent them to key folks.  sounds like iitoo was trying to convince him to lay off of Flynn and the investigation.  also that iitoo was trying to get him to swear loyalty.  apparently, folks have been obliged to oaths of loyalty to him.  it's all so nuts.

 our government seems to be a total mess at this time.  hoping he is out sooner than later, but they did finally get a special prosecutor i think so hoping things move along...at least until the iitoo obstructs again.  the shit he says and tweets and does..it's beyond crazy.

 at work we decided we would start planning an impeachment party.  we may have to wait a bit but we should have fun making plans.  we were working on the menu.  lots of Whine of course and im-peach pie.  cheeto's would be a must and maybe some bull-oni.  any idea's?

 potential game could be pin the surrogate on the RUs.   perhaps a dart game.  that scene from 50/50 came to mind where they torch that girls art piece.

 these are all snips from the walrus cam out on Round Island. it's pretty close to time i would go, not sure i could swing those plans that quickly.  i do have a few blocks of time off though so it is tempting.  but i could do other things as well.  road trip comes to mind.

 maybe a flipper painting on the library.  i love their flippers.

 i have my stretch off now.  i have lots to get done.  best to focus on kitchen remodel and hikes and road trips rather than plan for expensive treks. i do have my reservation out at Kennicott so that will be my bigger trip.  i could also think of some thing for July...use my air miles and fly.  there are many places to explore.  Alaska will not disappoint me I'm sure.

 full  beaches on Main beach.

 always great sunrises and sunsets on the cliff cam.

 lots of regulars out there enjoying the walrus on the cam.  i thought for sure i was seeing some northern lights out there in the wee hours last night but i think it was just the moon on the clouds.  we have lots of day light now...pretty slim chances of seeing the lights until fall.

 fall will come super fast though.

 fox above on the beach and below some beautiful sunrise shots of the amazing light on the walrus. so cool.

 love when it does this.

 walrus are just silly and fun to watch .

 look at this guys head.  haha.

 hard not to fall in love with these amazing beasts.

 it's also tough to keep up with my wood chipping puppies.

 put a load of free crap out in the front.  wasn't sure if any of it would get picked up....a few things here and there, then i looked out and everything was gone....even the "free" sign on cardboard.  will try to do more spring cleaning and prepare to give away more stuff.  can't believe how fast crap can build up.  it's time to just unload.

 the upside down walrus.  he's gonna wake up with a crimp in his neck for sure.

 stragglers on the beach.

 it would be nice to go out there again though.  very tempting.

grateful for: A.  friends and co-workers and all that we go through together.  we laugh for sure, but we also help each other deal with crisis and emotions.  nobody understands what being a nurse is better than another nurse  B.  the sweet critters that share my life.  they fill my heart with joy C.  the opportunity I've been given to advocate for this amazing place called Round Island and for such a beautiful creature...the walrus.  i know they could do better being advocated for by someone else, but i don't see anyone really jumping up begging to take over the job...I'm proud to be able to help these animals and this place.  it's an honor for sure.