overpacking...

 and this loaded sideways.  gotta wake up early to catch my flight north so i'm just going to let it go.  it will drive me nuts tomorrow though.  to bad as it's a pretty picture.  ok...couldn't take it.  who says i'm not a wee big type A from time to time.  probably mostly when i'm prepping for a trip.  it never feels real until i'm at the airport.   tonight it feels a bit real as blossom and rio are off in different homes. better tonight for everyone..except me.  it's always strange home without them.
i'm sure i'm overpacking.  what will the weather be like, what is the mosquito count.  will i have time for other things, how long will roads take to drive.

 these are from a walk on the main bike trails in anchorage.  always amazing how much wildlife is right here in the city.  of course, how could i walk past these adorable baby ducks and their mom.

 got my ride sorted out for the trip. i'll park at gail and macks and they will get me to/from the airport.  so nice!  thanks! posted it on facebook and got several offers so that was awesome.  don't want to put anyone out though so i went for what seemed the least bothersome to the other people.

 wish the dogs could join me on this road trip.  i do need a mini vacation from the dogs every so often. i think it's good for me.  i have to learn to socialize with the humans from time to time.

 only had one night of work this week.  ready for vacay though i can tell.  post open hearts.  hearts can be annoying as so many people who have heart attacks are so anxious and they worry and freak over everything.  who says there is no correlation between having a heart attack and poor handling of stress.  i get more and more convinced that handling stress is a good way to prevent many illnesses.  some crap is just genetic and  bad luck, but some of these people ruminate about every little thing.  i actually told the one guy to stop ruminating and try to get some rest.  he slept and i think a small part of him got what i was saying for those few hours anyway.  by morning he was back to himself.  mr stress.

 the cairn artist was out there again yesterday. always love to see those little cairns.  he'll be out there for hours and could make 50 or more of them.  i think he just finds it relaxing.  i saw him back in the trees.  i'm not expecting him to have a heart attack anytime soon.  takes a great deal of patience to spend hours balancing all these rocks.

 blossom was a bit concerned.  she was all happy as i pulled up, visited with her friend and then i went to leave and she wasn't too happy about that.  poor pup.  i will miss those dogs.

 for how much i'm packing i'm sure i'm forgetting some stuff.  i'm guessing i'll survive.  too spendy up there to just replace stuff or go on some wild shopping spree. not much for shopping options up there either.

 bull moose takes a drink from the pond.  wild roses above.

 we all felt a little earthquake last night.  turned out to be just over a 4.2 on the scale.  it was pretty short, loud, bang, bang.  then it was over.

 trying to put in a few layering items. camera gear, computer stuff.  should make a list i suppose, but then i'd think of more stuff that seems critical.

 i'm a bit scattered.  not too much sleep today.  wanted to get the errands run, walk the beasts and meet gail for dinner.  i did it all!  we ate and ling and louis's.  always a nice place...thanks sharon!  she had sent her freebie card for eating there so many times.  gail and i split the free meal and toasted sharon...miss ya!!

 fields of dandilions.  some guy was following me as i walked across this little ball field.  hate when people act like you are some evil dog owner when you are just innocently walking the dogs.  they were on leash, i pick up their poop...what up?  back off dude.

 funny how some people just need to feel they are in control of whatever little pocket of this earth they can find.

 hopefully, all goes well on the flights.  just over an hour i think north.  i'm a chicken flyer though.  never feels comfortable and when it starts to feel comfortable, something usually happens to make it feel uncomfortable again.

 it's good in life to feel uncomfortable.  it's good to go places you've never  been and see things you've never seen.  it's good to put yourself out there and be open to meeting new people and making new friends no matter where they pop up from.
was talking to someone about this and they said they kinda got how some people as they get older get more nervous to be out and doing things.  bad things happen in that world out there.  bad things happen in that safe zone that is home too.  that one dude was sleeping when a sink hole sucked him into the earth.  bad people come into that safety zone you call home too.  in truth we are never truely safe anywhere so instead of letting that fear hold you back, you have to try and let it go from time to time.

 am i nervous to travel to nome, a place i've never been, without anyone i know.  sure i am....but what if i don't go and i miss a totally cool trip.  friends had spoke of going and then didn't end up going.  maybe that is just how it was supposed to be.  at least this time.

 baby geese at cheney lake near my house.  i only took my little camera today.  charging batteries.

 finish laundry and crash...that is my plan.  my flight isn't until after ten, but i'm the sort that likes to get to airports early.  i always wrote my papers at the last possible minute, but airports...i don't like to procrastinate.

 i'm taking my lap top so if i have time i'll try and download some photo's and write in the blog a bit.  if not, i'll just wait til i get home.  there is a lot to see up there. will be very different from what i'm used to here.  old mines and miners gear all over...could make for some fun photography.

 lots of wild iris out at cheney.  may miss the eklutna irises again this year.  can't wait to see what wild flowers nome has to offer.  maybe i should add that book in too....no more luggage!!!!

only gone less than a week so really not that long at all.  i can  do without a lot of stuff for that short of time.  good night.

could these goslings be any cuter???

never tire of the babies and there were plenty of them out there right off the boardwalk tonight. i headed down to potters marsh after 9pm, cause you can do stuff like that this time of year. i'd felt like a shut in all day. i don't do well sitting. i did take the dogs around potter, out and up through the neighborhoods and then back down home via patterson. it was an amazingly beautiful day though and i longed to be on some big hike. today was destined to be a day of dissappointments though. to counter the loss of plans made and remade i headed to potters. these goslings made sure to put a smile on my face, just by being themselves...adorable.
my carpeting got installed today. it looks and feels much better, pictures later, but it took ALL day. luckily, the weather was nice and i spent some time just lounging with reading material out in the back yard and on the deck, something i don't do enough of anyway. my arms are for sure sunburnt though. one forgets the power of this alaskan sunshine. it's always stressful for me having work done. partly because i'm a bit of a hermit and with workman there i am forced to attempt to make small talk and interact, partly because it's unnerving watching someone tear up the place and hope they can put it all back together again.

a few trains went past as i wandered out there. looked cool against the sky. tourists making thier way between the cruise ports and anchorage flights out or further travels north.
more train action. it was so relaxing to get out there, i'm really happy i got out. my first hope for a plan was to get to the rodeo in anchorage. guess they haven't had an actual rodeo in anchorage for years if ever so i would have loved to support that. i do enjoy watching a rodeo anyway and besides, i love to cowboy watch. the hats, the tight jeans. i'm old, but i ain't that old. we had the rare cowboy in at work last week with his family. it just made a spark light inside me itching to see some cowboys. that started at 6pm and the carpet guys were never gonna get out in time, second plan was to hit the gym and do some laps. too late for that as well. they close early on the weekends.
spotted a few wild iris out there tonight. may miss the eklutna bloom, but i could stop on the way out to talkeetna this week or better, coming back.
meet the gosling crew. actually there were several pairs of geese with all their various babies. i often spy them sharing parenting duties, tough to tell who belongs to who.
met a guy out there that was like me. sitting at home itching to get out in the nice weather. the light was good. his camera looked way bigger than mine and he seemed to know the bird names better than i do. he may have even been a real birder. we chatted for a bit out there.
loved watching the various groups of babies make thier way through the reeds.
was cut off from the upstairs portion of the house all day, which is odd. i think i'm overly sleepy tonight due to all my sun exposure. it felt good and blossom is actually pretty worn out as she got to chase her tennis ball, rest, chase tennis ball, rest. i filled up her puddle pool so she can chase endlessly with that available.
did get a little bit of a headstart on cleaning. not that i will go hog wild cleaning. if you visit me, don't expect a pristine environment. clutter is my middle name.
last of the baby geese. could tell the gulls were hiding thier young out at the pull out. the terns were divebombing anyone who came near thier nests. bet thier babies are cute too! so fluffy!!
lots of birdhouses out at potters. oddly i heard what sounded like the calls of sandhill cranes out there today. thought they would have all moved on. it's a pretty distinct call and there was another lady on the boardwalk by me who heard it as well. never say them though.
was laughing watching the terns in defense mode. a native family was pulled up next to me and one young guy was taking big steps towards the water and then everyone was laughing as this prompted the tern to go into attack mode. after they drove off the bird settled down right by the pull out so the nest must be real close.
the scene at potters.
grebe collecting a meal

here is the tern. doesn't look any worse for wear. does seem mean considering how long these birds fly. they migrate between the poles, some 22,000 miles each year or each way...not sure. either way very impressive. summer here, summer there.
quite a handsome bird.
the house is probably loaded with mosquito's tonight, the workers left the front door open almost the entire day. free for all!
tern busy feeding baby.
these are when the bird was active and divebombing that dude.

liked him against the green.
we were attacked by mosquito's today in the bog. it was nice to get out and on the side streets, less buggy. no moose sightings.
just love the patterns of water out there. back at potters.
more train passages.
soon these creeks will have salmon running through them. none spotted today. lots of people pull off the highway to enjoy the birds and wildlife. guess the marsh was created accidently when the railroad tracks were built. worked out great for everyone though. the marsh is very popular.

rio enjoyed her deck time.
blossom in her puddle pool.
and resting between tennis ball fetches.
one of few photo's i took in the bog. too buggy.
rio joined us on the grass for awhile, of course, i was fearful i'd accidently hit her with the tennis ball when tossing it for blossom. i do like that the side of the house is long and perfect for tennis ball/frisbee tossing.
eventually the clouds started to close in on me.
above is before and i guess the lower shots are more during than after. the cats were locked up in the downstairs bathroom all day. i almost forgot to feed the animals thier morning meal in my frenzy to get us all ready for the carpet installers arrival. probably best they ate at close to 10 am as they didn't eat dinner til after the installers left at 8pm.
tried some phone calls, was able to chat with my brother eric for a time. got heated with politics briefly, but then toned down. i really don't like to argue this stuff anymore. it just got too crazy. i like a pleasant sensible discussion and it seems like people get too worked up. i have no kids, eventually i'll be dead, who is next president or who pays what taxes is just not enough reason for me to get totally stressed, angry and worked up over. not that i don't enjoy a healthy debate, i just don't want to be lectured about stuff over it being discussed. overall a very pleasant chat. always great to catch up with a sibling here and there. phone calls don't come as often as i would like, but that is how life is, people get lost in their own stuff and next thing you know it's been a few months or more since you talked.
it's been a long day. sorry nothing too meaningful today, just me rambling about nothing...and me the girl who doesn't like small talk. i think this is small talk.
just have felt stressed trying to think of all the stuff coming up. i need to just take it one trip at a time to some degree. watched a few episodes of big bang...always makes me laugh, like sienfeld. laughter is good.