most of these are from Hallo Bay with a few left over from Holgate as well. what can i say summers are busy picture wise. these are scenery mostly as this evening walk was not bear filled. we did have a great opportunity to listen to the call of the wolves which was pretty amazing. what a sound!
light rain right now. i'll don rain gear soon enough and head out with the puppies. makes for a lazy start of a day when it's raining i find. once i'm out there, i quite enjoy it. yesterday started out like that as well but soon the sun came out and in the end it was pretty sweet out there.
ran a few errands and did some touch ups on the little free library. hopefully i can get that base built soon and get it out there.
met with friends to hit the bear tooth and the movie, "zookeepers wife". wildly depressing but still well done...except the last bit where it's a year later and the baby they had suddenly looked about 4 years old. that was kind of odd. could have done without seeing all the animals blown up at the zoo and shot. it's based on a true story though. these things do happen.
it's rarely a mention though with all the human bloodshed. the animal losses are morphed by the human losses. the animal losses are always there though. i'm sure many of the Jews killed had pets that were left to their own devices or killed outright. Zoo's that fall in to war zones are rarely left untouched. even if they are the animals are often left to starve to death. keepers are forced away and food is scarce.
had debated an outing this stretch off. so far that hasn't happened. lots to do around the house to though. this break up/spring time is a great time to get some of that stuff done.
the mosquito's are coming out. especially in the evening. after the movie i went moose spotting, only saw one, but there were quite a few mosquito's.
we did a loop around Little Campbell Lake yesterday. no moose spotted there.
these lenticular clouds were the ones that kept the plane from coming to pick us up for a few days. the plane lands on a beach with an up slope so a cross wind could be very problematic.
iitoo is out of the country. snippets from his speech to the males of the middle east (it was a vast sea of males in the audience as is common in modern middle east), he seemed to stay on the message given to him. thank God. he does not do well with ad lib. so the speech was not bad really. sadly, i don't really think his actions match the speeches he tends to make. but a nice speech can keep some peace for another day. fear was he'd piss people off. i'm sure he loved his greeting in Saudi. he was treated like a king, which is exactly how he believes he should be treated...oh that he wasn't born in America and he could have risen to the level of king. so they wisely stroked his ego to get what they wanted. more arms and in return they have made a donation apparently to Ivanka's non-profit i believe.
it is amazing that everything that he does that is totally like the crap they screamed about that HRC did is suddenly just fine. as long as it's their person, all the corruption is totally fine.
the GOP still wants to gut medicare and social security. still want to make it easier to drill in monuments and national parks, still want to take away insurance...their core values or lack of values still remain. we, the people, matter very little to those in office at this moment. sadly, so many who still are on team Drumpf still don't seem to see that he is not fighting for them as much as they believed he would.
they that watch faux news get the usual crap...if it's negative about iitoo it must be fake, or but obama or but hillary still, yes still. they seem to push the victim role. poor conservatives they have no power, they have no media, they have no influence. once a martyr always a martyr it seems. we all take on roles in our lives and it can be tough to reverse course. truth is they have gained all of those things but still act like they are the victims. being a victim does make success more difficult and fleeting so i'm ok with that. just think it's become so self destructive.
this attitude seems to have also lost the conservatives their moral/ethical high ground. since they have sunk to even lower depths than those that they call their enemies they no longer have any moral stand. this administration is a source of constant lies. they blame everyone else for all of their errors and take absolutely no responsibility. the secrecy is extremely detrimental. they blame leaks and leakers, but the leaks are only really a sign of how dire things have become in the administration. he demands loyalty but, when those around him see mayhem and live in fear, their only recourse is to leak and hope that some how this mess will be discovered and dealt with.
they like to think the leaks are from Obama holdovers but i suspect the bulk of them are just those in the know who are scared of what is happening. the GOP knows it but they have an agenda that they would desperately like to push through before the crap storm takes away all power and respect. before their base figures out that faux news has fed them a line of crap for years.
below our guide is calling back to the wolves...they responded. we had some fun out there.
walking along a remote beach like this is always a treat. it's amazing what you might find out there.
we were a fairly early group as the bears were just collecting waiting for the big salmon rush.
looks like a pretty big bear to me.
i wear a size 6.5-7 for some perspective.
remnants of the Japan Tsunami.
these pups are overall pretty chill. they are currently just laying around waiting for me to finish doing this so we can head out walking. they are never demanding. not for walks or food. they don't rush me for meals and often i just fill the bowls and set them down without dog presence. Tusker still tends to pick up the bowls and move them to a preferred eating spot. usually scattered across the main room floor.
love beautiful big clouds and big skies.
below you can see a wolf. a nice sighting
checking out the crossings.
we chilled and waiting on the sides. i think he was just curious how deep it was out there for potential crossings with later groups.
they will move camp. in the old days they had an established camp but the rules changed and now they have to switch locations every few weeks i think. more of a pain but the powers that be feel it's better for the land.
family of some sort of bird.
and of course, eagles. can't be around salmon without eagles.
this one is a juvenile bald eagle.
coming in for a landing.
adult
fox prints
bears down the beach as we head back to base camp for night.
it was the mom and three cubs
love these little cotton flowers. the purple is monks hood.
the rest are scenery from Holgate. that is actually Peterson glacier i think. these are from the ride back to Seward.
all seemed pretty calm out there, but it did become a more exciting ride as we turned into the bigger water. had reminders of my trek out in Bristol Bay. not excited to repeat that, but i just rode it out at the front of the boat. we weren't really in any danger and we arrived back safely, but it was a bit sketchy in a few spots
tough to take pictures once the slop began, but for this section it was flat and calm. on the way out we had big sways. those were fun. it's when the sways come from all different directions that it gets more dicey out there.
i guess i have wasted enough time for the morning...now afternoon.
ice from the glaciers can be seen pretty far out depending on the tides.
off we go...below is more whale action though seeing them and taking pictures in the slop proved pretty tough at times. we still stopped and attempted to watch. our best views of whales had been on the way in.
grateful for: A. folded chips. man those are good..it's the little things B. snuggle time with puppies. i'm sure they don't enjoy it as much as i do, but they oblige. C. the company of my pets. it would surely be a lonely home without them.
Showing posts with label bear tracks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bear tracks. Show all posts
Sunday, May 21, 2017
Monday, November 3, 2014
no idea what loaded and in what order...ice bubbles and bear tracks.
headed out to Eagle River Nature Center today. it's always pretty scenic and the light looked like it may be nice that way. not sure how it ended up being here. i did a few of the needed stuff for the morning and then took off.
Rio again stayed home and braved the great outdoors from the couch.
lots of bubbles by the boardwalks and also lots of bear tracks. they appeared to me to be black bear, mama and cub or cubs i guess.
heard there are still a few silver salmon out there, as long as they can get a few more meals they may. lots of good trees to den up in or they may have some other den fairly close by, ready to crawl into. it probably takes them some time to totally settle in for the winter when it's mild out or somewhat mild. i never ran into them just saw all these paw prints, which i thought was pretty cool.
you can even see their claws marked in the snow.
few drops of rain as i finished up my walk but otherwise great weather and cool temperatures.
someone posted something on facebook about some people having the opposite of SAD in that they tend to get more depressed in the sunny or hot weather. i don't think i get depresssed in summer or winter specifically...i think i do have brief periods of what i would call melancholy so not a true depression.
i do think that summers can be more stressful for me at times. you just feel obligated to do and go constantly. we have all the hours of daylight and you feel you really must fill them up with amazing things. there is some guilt if you are just lazing about wasting the daylight and summer days. everyone is rushed off in different directions and it's just more nuts in summer.
winter you are allowed and ever expected to slow down and cabin up. if you do get outside, as i do, you are just seen as exceptional.
winter also tends to be bug free overall and bear free once these guys settle in. i also love that the dog poops are frozen and easy to clean up. the only yard work i have is shoveling snow on occasion. i thought i'd be thrilled with getting out there and working on the garden...but it's not something i have some burning desire to do on a daily basis.
after i walked i ended up stopping by a friends place who lives nearby, Maria. haven't seen her for years. she's been busy with life, 3 young kids and all that. the house looks great and it was fun to just sit and chat with her for a bit. most of my good friends are people that despite how long it's been we can just pick up a conversation like not a day has passed.
read my paper this morning and enjoyed my extra hour of sleep last night.
Blossom had her 9th birthday last week. no fanfare..i think i am in denial. she is not allowed to get older as i'm pretty attached to her and aging is just not an option for her. i want her to live forever...she's just been one of those dogs...perfect for me. we are a well matched pair. not that i'm dishing Rio...she is adored as well. sometimes in life though you just happen across a dog that fits you and your life.
eventually we walked on to the rivers edge. i kept Blossom on leash. she has never been one to be concerned about frozen vs not frozen. i'd hate to lose her to falling through the ice so i'm pretty protective of her during thaw/freeze times of year.
i didn't see any fish, but the trail rumors were that they are out there.
as you can see the light and scenery was beautiful.
it was a relaxing walk. always a few folks out there walking. one lady seemed to stick near me, she was walking alone as well, it seemed like she wanted to keep ahead of me but also wanted to keep me in sight. at one point she turned around to head back...she was super close to the rivers edge so i actually convinced her to get to that point before she turned around. i think she was happy she did that.
the trees are stark...but i like that. i find it peace inducing.
here are the views at the rivers edge. you can walk for miles, you can even do the traverse over to Girdwood and Crow Pass. i've never done the full traverse. i think there are some tricky bits and you have to cross this river further up.
i should walk partway up either end at least. so many hikes....this is why summers are stressful, you never get to all that you want to do.
selfie.
not sure i even took a picture of Blossom today.
i stopped by the Yurt and the cabin that they rent out. both said they were unoccupied. saw some folks with backpacks as i headed in so the yurt may be occupied tonight. both are quite small. i've never rented them but it would be a fun over nighter for winter i'd guess. good as they are easy to get to and close to city....
probably a good winter over night run for a less experienced person.
i haven't done really any winter camping and am hesitant to head out alone...these ones would be fine on my own though. so close.
so this is the yurt
nature graffiti...i try to do some free advertising for walrus when i'm out walking. will have to do more of this. was thinking i could even do my snow writing on snowshoes this winter...have always wanted to do a design on a lake...maybe it could get some attention.
all biodegradable and will return back to it's natural state in a short time. create, photograph and let nature take it back.
view from the cabin.
and the walk back.
they have this cool birdhouse that i always seem to have to stop and take a photo of.
pretty reflections
bubbles in ice
a bigger view of the bear tracks.
these are from the drive out and over to Maria's place.
looks like it was an amazing sunset. i just pulled over before turning down Maria's street and i snapped these few.
chopped and cooked up the two smaller pumpkins i'd bought. have enough for another round of pumpkin bread. then i bought another pumpkin on sale so that i can chop that one up and freeze it for future loaves. nummy!! i'm sure i'll be sick of it soon but it really is good.
liked this reflection shot
strange loading of photo's but still a beautiful day. thankful fors... 1. amazing scenery that is ever present in Alaska. 2. catching up with friends you haven't seen for awhile 3. bubbles and bear tracks...both made me smile. good night.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)










































