long time no blog.

not the photo i wanted at the top. the blog changes how it configures things at times. it's been nearly a month since i posted. lazy. busy with kittens. 

the kittens do give me a schedule to work with and distract me from the insanity that is my country imploding. he wants to go after and even deport people who are citizens who speak out against him. how much mayhem will he cause before he is removed/dies...clearly, it's screw the constitution and the shared powers. the tariff crap is all over the place. I've lost like 200,000 from my retirement.  those who act all whatever are clearly orange lovers. they selected him for this or that and then he just moves the plan/goalposts, and they just change their culty narrative. 

he's basically kidnapped a bunch or people and sent them off without any due process. forget the just going after criminals.  of course, a criminal would not go after criminals.  hes had gold pins made of his face and now the gop will wear those...like a tramp stamp.  used to be the flag, then it was an ak-47, now the orange fools face. fall in line, that is what they do best. 

he tariffs all but the russians, including penguins. so many just live in a bubble, like this is all just normal stuff.  there is so much that i can't even begin to cover it in the blog. there was a large protest nation wide. over 5 million. of course, they lie about everything and said that all the protesters were paid. 

here we've had an odd spring.  snow returned but as it falls it mostly melts. 

the bear trees have been very active.  loads of photographers. i stop by coming/going from walks. the first tree has a nursing mom, no babies seen yet. hope that doesn't mean they are sickly, like that one year.  the further tree has a mom and one healthy cub. the cub comes out from time to time.  a few times i've stopped briefly and the one bear was at the base of the tree.  when i show up she seems to head back up. people are dumb though.  she's super tolerant but it just takes that one time.  once there were camera all around the tree pretty much. they left her no exit.  today after she'd crossed the road people set up their cameras between her and the den in the tree with cubs.  dumb.  a few people walked their dogs under the trees with bears out.  dumb.  kids playing under the tree with a bear out.  

it's not just that the bear can come down that tree super fast.  the area around the tree is a creek covered in ice/snow with snow bridges. those could give way at any moment with this warm weather. still fun to see the bears and the only time she was really stressed was when someone drove by honking and yelling for the people to leave the bear alone. mostly she is pretty chill, digging up roots and grass to eat while she is out. 

this second litter of kittens got hit hard with this cold bug.  weight loss, bad conjunctivitis.  i am on a second eye medication and they do seem to be responding well and gaining weight.  the littlest ones are beginning to play which is a good sign.  my kitten weights are from 1 pound 8 ounces to 14-15 ounces.  thinking they will be able to return to the shelter at the end of this week. i have Tonsina cabin on the 27/28 and HOmer the 29/30. kittens will be gone before then.  

it was a bit stressful with this group.  a few days i worried i'd come into the room to find a dead kitten.  it can happen. things you don't really think about when you take on a litter. i did ask at one point what do i do after hours if i have an emergency.  i was worried about the mom getting eclampsia with so many kittens and being so unwell herself.  i have a cell phone number to contact. they said if i didn't get permission from them i may be responsible for the cost. that is absurd. 

i just have the kittens. i took them in for a visit since they were doing poorly.  they kept mom. she is spayed now and looking for a home. i actually just looked and she is no longer on the list so she must have gotten adopted.  good for her. they did a sweet write up about her. she was really sweet.  

work hasn't been too bad. i'm for sure less stressed there now. a bit ago i told picu i did not want the sickest patients and pretty much told adult icu that as well. not having those patients has for sure been good for me. 

these are from the first litter. they all got adopted as did their mom

the open water is getting larger out at the dog park.  Sunny Boy got to close to the edge once and i had to go rescue him. have hit the dog park quite a bit this past month. no bears and the moose haven't been too bad.  n bivy I was having a lot of moose sightings. sunny will have to be on leash more and more.  yesterday and today I was in the car by the bear tree when the bear got fairly close. i just get right in car rather than risk it. i thought i may get a video of her charging a few of those photographers.

i think i just learned years ago that it was just a fun hobby for me.  i wasn't going to make money at it and i think you have to just enjoy nature and not be consumed with getting that perfect shot. i'd guess most of those folks out there have thousands of photos of that bear and will never sell one.  

i hit the beach a few times, perfect days for probably the last of the ice.  i've not gone too far these past few weeks worried about these kittens.  still a few tiny's but overall, i'm feeling better about their survival. 

was doing steam sessions 2-3x day. Ivy has loved giving the kittens love.  i took them all out on the front deck for a second time today. the first time it was sunny, breezy but i wanted to give them a reason to live. one's eyes were basically shut but he just sat in my lap listening to the birds and feeling the breeze. i think it did help 

i keep informed, i play games, i escape to the kitten room. 

it's a lot of kittens, even with mom gone.  3 litter boxes, 4 meals a day. eye drops 3 x daily.

it's been good emotionally for me.  all hell is breaking loose in our nation and i'm helping kittens. 

the hearts are done for the year.  those were a great distraction.  once at the dog park a lady recognized me or the dogs and asked if i was the one putting out the hearts.  

of course, have pissed off a few people on the trails these past months with dogs off leash. one ran up from behind us but didn't let us know she was there. that would have helped. when she got to us she yelled at us to get our dogs.  as she passed, she yelled, nice training, to which i responded, nice attitude.  people are just more pissy these days.  she turned around and ran back at us once we'd hit the woods.  that time we heard someone coming and had all 7 dogs off trail. she yelled at us again. something about people like us ruin the trail experience.  i yelled back, back at ya. 

i'm tired of being nice.  I'm old i guess. 

so many people have accepted so much that i just can't look past. 

i should be more careful on the trails though, i guess. i may run across one of those people in the ER, haha, that could be awkward. when you yell at people in Alaska you have to realize that those very same people may be the ones saving your life on the trails if you get attacked by a bear or something.  best to just be civil. i am not perfect and i will occasionally give what i get. 

schedule tomorrow morning. i slowly get things accomplished on the to do list.  got my taxes done this stretch. hated paying taxes this year knowing what bull this idiot and his idiots are doing with the money.  keeping it.  sending legal citizens to concentration camps in other countries.  he apparently wants a military parade for his birthday golfing.....

tried to charge the battery on the element but it's dead so I'll probably call AAA to get a new one. i have the tire change over scheduled for this week as well for the CRV.  i also got the annual heater check. so far, it's ok.  it's at the end of its life apparently. 

I've got one more kitten run tonight and then I'll crash.  gotta get my calendar out as well so i can do the schedule tomorrow. these kittens have had a few visitors.  

they do steal your heart a bit.  each litter

bear sightings

i was looking at a few photos from the big camera. with this new computer I'm not clear on editing. still too new.  also, not sure if i ever looked at Iditarod photos, i don't think i did.  

these are the more distant tree. i don't recall seeing bears in there before.  

maybe it's less roomy so  it's usually just a single bear that just takes off.  this year there is a mom and her one cub from last year

these are just cell phone snaps

waving goodbye

mom and cub climbing

i have tons to say but i can't get sucked into the orange vortex. 

off to feed kittens and plod along with life. 

the animals are the best distraction

 grateful for A.  bear sightings.  always fun, from a safe distance or from inside the car. B. kittens and my pets as a great distraction C. that there are many out there who view this orange idiot just as he is, a criminal and a Russian asset no doubt. 

back from Haines Alaska

 

these are from the big camera from this trek. it's been a busy few weeks. a lot to catch up on, but thought i'd toss a few in and give a brief tale of the trek. above is like a rainbow and a half at least. i've seen double rainbows but this was a rainbow with extra color

these were far away but mountain goats or sheep by Kluane Lake.  this was in the Yukon Territory. my friend arrived on a Sunday night. we went for a drive since we'd ordered pizza after her arrival. in that time we saw a moose and her calf and a trio of young black bears.  we never saw the mom but the black bears were chill and playing so i'm guessing she was near by.  seeing bears from the car is almost always the best. 

i had to work one night before our trek away. it was in the ER, so slammed and exhausted after words. sleep and a walk at the dog park.  then since it was my friends Birthday we headed out to eat. Brewhouse for herb crusted halibut. we both love it. 

we did the drive to Tok day one.  it was ripe with fall colors.  we stopped several times to allow the dogs to play/walk.  we stayed at the Caribou Cabins in Tok.  great little cabins, dog friendly. they do have a few caribou there. they were chill about the dogs. we stayed here on our return back as well. that night we were gifted with a little northern lights display. always a treat.  there was a big show on the Sunday/Monday night we returned. it kicked in after 12:30 and after all the driving i crashed after dropping CR off at the airport so i slept through it. 

the next day was the longest drive. from Tok to Haines.  border crossing in and out of Alaska. you have to leave Alaska to get back to Alaska. we saw these bears driving the Haines Highway.  anyway. before we hit the border that drive to Haines, we hit construction.  really it was the only construction zone delay we had but it lasted about an hour. usually, this is a great opportunity to get out and walk around but there were so many biting flies surrounding the car that neither of us found that to be an appealing option.

it was a beautiful drive though. our border crossing in to Canada went smoothly. he only asked if my license plate was real. 

we had a mix of rain and sunshine. rainbows and fog. other than the bears we saw on the Haines Highway part we didn't see much scenery through that section. it was super foggy.  i always had decent visibility and there were hardly any other cars on the road out there. Kluane Lake was beautiful so we stopped to make sandwiches and walk the dogs on the lake beach. 

on these long drives you top off the tank every chance you get. since we'd be in the Yukon and British Columbia for only a matter of hours i put the phone on airplane mode to avoid roaming. we did see some fox as well along the road. no photos of them though. 

we got in to Haines just after the sun had gone down so the last part of the drive we didn't get scenery.  we crossed back into the states easily. showed him our bear photo, which impressed him. the dogs health certificates were checked and the dogs looked at. the CDC forms he never bothered with because he told us the fact that we knew what he was talking about was proof enough that i'd filled them out. the guy crossing back over in to Alaska on the drive home never asked.  he was our only serious/cranky border agent.  it's hit and miss really. 

we stayed 3 nights at the Beach Roadhouse in Haines.  they have a series of buildings/cabins/yurts.  almost at the end of the road to the right of town, past a landslide area. we were in one half of a duplex. dogs allowed as well so it worked out perfect really. the owners have quite a bit of property so plenty of places to walk dogs. there was a great trail at the end of the road.  we took that the next morning down to a beautiful beach. i think that was less than 2-3 miles round trip. 

that first day we explored the town. not ton to the town and many buildings for sale.  apparently one guy came in with the intent of re-inventing Haines and bought many properties only to abandon his plan so subsequently a lot of places on the market now.  reminded me of one of the stories running through the old series Northern Exposure. a wealthy astronaut in that series was hell bent and making Cicily an oasis that people would travel to from all over the world. 

this bear gave us a lovely show.  day 2 in Haines was a beautiful weather day.  we walked on a long beach at Mud Bay. the dogs got to run off leash and had a great time. after we opted to go check out the haines highway again since it was foggy on the way in and the drive out was looking like a rain day.  so back over the border for a few  hours.  we just did around 60 miles each way. check out the highest elevations and see the mountains we would other wise miss.  this bear entertained us coming and going. in these he's playing in puddles by the side of the road. 

rolling around.  so cute from the car. as we drove toward border crossing i saw something ahead  on the road.  couldn't tell if it was a biker or motorcyclist...in the end it was a small plane.  they can use roads to land and that is what happened so that was interesting. that was at mile 33 restaurant.  we stopped there on the return trip and took in an early dinner. CR had explore places to eat more than i had.  so we checked off several places during our stay.  we ate well for sure. quite a few options. 

we also cruised over to the Chilkoot Lake a few times over our stay and there was also some cool old buildings that used to be military ages ago.  many have been transformed into condo's.  there was also a big grass field in the middle of those buildings so another good place to let the dogs play while we enjoyed some totem poles and historic buildings

we also stopped and enjoyed this cool gyrfalcon on our sunny day drive. it looked to have captured a chipmunk and was enjoying it's meal.  

there was some discussion as to what sort of bird this was.  several sources seem to confirm gyrfalcon. 

there were quite a few totem poles in town.  there were some really old ones on the field laying down.  loved those and there was one a the library where the clever totem carver had placed a book in the hands of one of the characters on the pole...the book was titled, "totem carving for dummies".  i found that amusing. 

there were several beaches that we stopped to let the dogs play on too. i always enjoy exploring small towns up here. i had been to Haines briefly years ago. it was a stop on our cruise of SouthEast Ak. we stopped, got in a van and then headed out to the Chilkat River to see bald eagles.  they congregate in October/November so really not tons of eagles back then or this trip.  lots of bear scat all over and some bear tracks on beaches. 

nice feather display

the drive back tends to feel shorter and technically it was shorter. no construction stop. ended up with better weather than expected. stopped again in Kluane.  we also stopped at this pretty waterfall in Canada. again...just stops to eat, stretch and walk dogs. gas up when we could. 

got back to Tok and ate at really the only place in town Fast Eddy's.  Tok it much better than Glenallen, charm wise, but neither are really all that charming. the coastal towns have it all over some of the interior towns which are more utilitarian than pretty. 

we made a stop at the Matanuska Glacier on the way back. the dogs love it.  better to get them silt stained on the way home. 

overall, a lovely trek.  

i got a bit lazy after i returned home and my friend left. typical after a long drive and excitement of exploring this amazing place. 

the pets survived, thanks LS for stopping by to check on them. the dogs and humans survived the border crossings. 

Covid Cat has an air tag on so i checked on him at times. mostly, he tends to stick very close to home so that is comforting. 

dog park and local walks.  only skipped walks one day this past week after returning.  that was a total lazy day.  it was sunny so i just enjoyed the sunshine and read a novel i've been working on.

got my two shifts in last week.  pcu and peds. 

i'll have to hop in the shower and get these guys off walking soon. my handyman has been coming in this last week working on the shed.  so great to see progress after looking at the shell all summer. i got a layer of primer on the wall up front as well. so progress all over. 

he's on his way over now to finish the roof. i was thinking of a metal roof but in the end it would have to be ordered and take weeks to come so just going with shingles now. 

i bought some little boat style port windows so i'll have him put one on each door and then i'm thinking put one under the roof and set it up so the cat can have a place inside/outside to chill.  just enter through the little window. put some cat steps up to the top. 

always about these pets.  

it was a lot of photos to load in the computer...caught up.  

yesterday i walked in N. Bivouac.  found one of my favorite tiny tourquoise mushrooms.  lots of them.  so pretty. 

watched a mini series the other night.  met with my friend SJ for dinner last night.  

todays goals...maybe get a new skeleton...it is getting to be that time of year.  stopped at home depot for more primer and they had Halloween and Christmas stuff out. 

MT picked a date for the pumpkin massacre that sounds like it will work for about everyone so that is great. 

this is that old fort area above and below from a beach outside town. i better hop in shower. 

grateful for A.  safe travels to and from Haines B.  more amazing sights and memories. C. health and happiness