just a quick middle of the night note

 i made it through the Homer pictures last night and got started on the photo's from the real cameras for Harriman.  still a lot to look through.  these are the iphone shots from Homer. 

 i have wanted to get down there for weeks so i had a few days before work started, the tides and weather looked like they were going to cooperate....so i called, they had a room and we headed out. 

 figured the dogs deserved a beach trip after i was away all weekend..they are wiped out!! our full Homer day i walked 8 miles on the beach so you know they did at least double, plus swimming.

 i was debating going back out for the low tide/sunset, which was near 11:30 pm, but they were beat and so was i...so we bagged it and went to  bed instead.

 i had seen a post that said there were sea stars. i made a guess as to where they were and i found them...then i became a bit obsessed with them.  they are cute.  the stars have had a few rough years so it's great to see their numbers coming back.  i didn't see any at Bishops Beach.  these were all on the spit near where the ferry docks.

 there were some really low tides! both mornings i hit the lowest part of the tide down by the sea stars.  Bishops Beach was really far out as well so we hit that several times. the dogs do not concern themselves with scenery.  they just want to run and swim.  they did a lot of that for sure.

 our full day was really beautiful and sunny as you can see! the usual wind blew. no rain fell so that was wonderful.

 there are a lot of stars.  i did see a gull with a star in it's mouth. 

 made for some fun photo ops though. 

 look at all those stars!!

 yesterday we walked far out on the low tide at Bishops before heading to the spit.  we had to get to where the water was...which was way, far out there.  the dogs wanted to play in the water though. 

 they were great in the hotel...only one bark was uttered.  the folks that were in the room next to us were impressed when they saw us come out of the room. they never heard a peep and had no idea that two large dogs were staying next to them.  i directed them to the stars, they were tourists.

 took a few black and whites of road construction.  there is quite a bit of it on the Kenai presently.  stops weren't too long  i guess.  it's part of summer in AK.

 stars holding arms

 ate at a few of my favorite places, did a little light shopping.  i do always enjoy Homer time.  it's nearly a 5 hour drive south without construction.  there was a bit of rain on the way down, none on the return though.  5 moose spotted heading south, only 2 coming back north.  no bears, lots of baldies of course. 

 I'll head back to bed for a bit after i write this.  back to work tonight.  we shall see what that brings.

 the iitoo is refusing to do his job....which is impeachable by the way.  the closer the investigations get to the truth the more deranged he becomes.  Nixon and Clinton both managed to govern despite their investigations....as did Bush and Obama.  not sure why so many feel the need to protect and defend Mr Bonespurs...he does not deserve their sympathy. 

 lupine are starting to show up....just about to blow up the place with lupine...always a favorite

 above is tern lake...we stopped at the little day area there...hardly ever used, so a good place to let the dogs stretch...and me

 finally found the dead grey whale.  it's off the road on the left after the Portage cut off.  wasn't expecting this large animal to have been pushed that far up.  you can see they did a necropsy.  sad...they have found like 60 dead grey whales up and down the coast.  not clear why they are thin and dying.  i think we have found at least 3 dead up here.  this one, one in Cordova area and another around Kodiak i believe. 

 back to happy sea stars.

 and deranged potus.  the courts have been packed by McConnell with conservative judges...interesting that McConnell allowed a Russian Oligarch to be taken off the list of those sanctioned...then suddenly the guy promises to do business in his state.  the ties to Rus just never seem to end.  suddenly, the right is perfectly happy to become Rus buddy.

 despite him packing the courts, 2 have found that the iitoo does not get to block banks from releasing records to the investigation team in the House.  the GOP is doing everything it can to protect their beloved iitoo from being investigated...always hilarious that they are protecting this guy when they went after Clinton for sex in the oval office with every thing they had...but secret conversations and financial ties with a dictator is no big deal.  if any of this crap was being done by any Dem they would have been on it with every thing they have. 

 can you imagine if Obama had secret meetings with Put or if he or Hillary owed money to Rus banks or had been working on deals with Rus as Rus was doing what it could to interfere with our election to benefit them.  really?  really? no agenda is worth selling your soul, but plenty seem willing to do just that. 

 the abortion attacks continue.  they are putting up every ridiculous law they can in hopes one of them will make it's way to the supreme court and they can overturn Roe V Wade.  guess it's worth destroying a nation over.  the irony is always that no matter how intensely they work to protect these embryo's they could give a damn about the kids or the families that have them once they are born.  they do not want to support any of them post delivery...

 if they put any effort into protecting and supporting the kids and families that they already have i may find a bit more support on their anti abortion stance....as it is everything they do proves otherwise. 

 they want far worse punishments for the victims of rape than the perpetrators of it.  they want to jail MD's for 99 years for performing an abortion?  it's irrational. they want women to get abortions only before they know they are pregnant...one guy even said that.  that women are free to get abortions before they know they are pregnant.  of course, the bulk of those creating the laws are males...none of the laws go after the males that cause the pregnancy...only the woman of course. 

 our dictator wanna be has the full support of the GOP at this time.  we can become  a Christian theocracy as long as they finally get their way.  the GOP is anti compromise. 

 look at all those stars...

 Tusker is less impressed. 

 many of them were very active.....tiny little legs moving them around.  you could see trails in the sand

 another Taquan Air floatplane went down just outside of Ketchikan on Metlakatla.  may be a bad year for small planes.  seems like we get trends of accidents each summer. some summers it's small planes, other summers it's atv accidents or moose encounters or falls off the big mountain.  some summers it seems the bear attacks are more common. or the summer of motorcycle accidents.  it's strange how that happens.  hoping that the plane trend does not continue though. 

 summers should be full of flowers and baby animals and happy sea stars.  :-)

 that is a power position right there.  some look like they are dancing

 quite a few otters seen out there this visit...and when the pups were playing a large sea lion began to pop up...so then i kept the pups on shore for a bit.  those sea lions are large and i wouldn't want the pups to get bit by one of them

 i hit the sea star area 3 times on my two night, three day stretch in Homer. 

 so loads of sea star pictures

 below was Bishops beach on the first night.  i made it there before 9pm so we checked in and walked to the beach...the pups know the way.  it's just down the road.  perfect!!

 back to sea stars...

 this guy is walking above.

 above is again at Bishops...the iphone always load all funky. strange

 didn't see any of those sun stars just these guys.

 well, i should try and get more rest.  will need to wake up, do bills, walk dogs and get groceries before work stretch begins again. 

 i adjusted my work week so i would have my Birthday off, but that screwed up another kayak trek.  will have to figure out something fun to do with my time off.

thankful for A.  return of the sea stars in Homer  B.  two safe and fun adventures  C.  happy, sleepy puppies

a whale of a week...

 more pics of this dead humpback in another post.  i drove down to Portage the other day and caught a sighting of him.  the tide had just gone out and he had washed up, this time he had passed, succumbed to the stress of being trapped in Turnigan Arm.  the tides vary so greatly that at low tide there are only shallow passages to get in/out.  figure he followed the smaller beluga whales or the hooligan.  not sure why he was not with his mama. very sad.  they were planning on attaching a rope to his tail in order to do a necropsy.  the native population then came out to harvest the meat. to them whale meat is a delicacy. to have one come to them in Anchorage is a huge gift.  usually you must live in the villages for this. sad, but good that the animals loss was a gift to others.

 had done some shopping on Esty the other day. here is my new walrus necklace. always good to see there are other walrus friends out there in the world.  was watching tv and there was a Geico commercial that featured a walrus in goal for a hockey game.  hilarious.  shared that with the explore chat folks at the walrus cam.  really bummed to not being going live this year.  really hoping they get things sorted out for next year...and the years after that.

 roadwork has begun in AK...that is the other name for summer.  they don't have much time to get roadwork done so when it dries they get out there.  was waiting behind this iditarod finisher.  liked that he had a Bob Dylan quote on the back of his rig.

 dogs haven't had a great week for walks.  lots of tennis ball time and this day of running and swimming.  i worked two and started to cough more and more. i even got to go home early from ICU the first night. usually that means for sure they will get a good walk, but i was feeling super tired. the cough worsened over the second night and i felt crappy when i woke up yesterday.  no fever really though.  hate fevers, those really make me feel crappy

 this bug went right to my lungs though. i hit the inhalers immediately. mostly just tired and coughing.  hoping i can get some stuff accomplished over these days off. hated calling out sick.  i used to push through more.  I've just found over the years that when i do that i end up being sicker longer.  just smarter to just call out and let my body rest.  coughing is exhausting.

 a few more of the whale out there.  happy i saw it before it was cut up and dragged out of the water.  bummed that the outcome was what it was...but i figured it's fate was sealed as soon as it went up the arm.

 these old stumps are usually covered up by water, just the tops sticking out....so it's been nice to walk around it them.

 did manage to put up a few of the old cabinets.  may do some painting inside and then load them up.

 the photo below is by ADN's Loren Holmes.  it is of whale meat being harvested

 the ice is melting fast out at Portage Lake.

 all these chunks are pretty much gone now.

 shows the old size better, next to the visitor center there.

 does give some indication of size

 pups are hoping for a walk today.  we will get out there. not sure how long.  shower wore me out.  have to pace myself today i think.

 bald eagle out chasing hooligans along with the natives and the beluga's.  some times this time of year you can see loads of baldies.

 there have been some good pods of beluga sightings as well.

 these are from the big camera.  we had fun chasing the tennis ball out there at the little lake.  eventually a young bald eagle joined in on the fun. the thing was keen on the tennis ball and the dogs running.  seemed curious mostly. flew close a few times and then landed in a tree by us and seemed to just watch the dogs and the tennis ball.  it was pretty fun to watch the eagle watching them. of course, the pups were watching the eagle as well.  they love to chase birds.

 strange news...some person was attempting to take a big bag of moose poop on an Alaska Air flight.  no idea why they would want to do this...or why i guess that this would be illegal....strange but is it illegal?  good manure?  art? edible?  no clue. 

 the supposed Attorney General...who is really just another lap dog for trump...refused to be interviewed by congress yesterday.  he went to the Senate for the hearing there but refused the house.  he felt it was not fair to be interviewed by a lawyer..funny that this was fine with the GOP at other instances...most recently for the woman who testified about Kavenaugh.  sadly, there is a different set of rules that only apply to those not in the GOP.  they can do anything.  total lawlessness at this point.  he totally worked his way around the Dem Senate questions at the hearing.  he is pretty useless.

 he did admit that he didn't bother to even look at the evidence that supported the claims in the Mueller report. this was a bit better than Graham, who admitted he hadn't bothered to even read the report. of course, the iitoo spoke at length to Put today and since he is Puts lapdog, Put also claimed the Mueller report was some sort of witch hunt.  always nice when our potus and the gop fall lock step with Putin and ignore their own security and law forces.  but then, that is the world we live in.  I'm sure the iitoo is just counting on Puts support again in this next election...since they have done nothing to chastise him for his involvement in the 2016 election.  better to have putins help than risk losing.  so many conspiracy theories...many of which Putin put in their heads to begin with.  haha...it is actually pretty funny.  he's got a large chunk of our population trusting him and calling our CIA/FBI part of the deep state.  gotta give it up to him.  it wasn't that hard either.

 barr dodged the questions as best he could but i suspect even he knows he's screwed if he gets questioned by a professional.  he may well end up impeached for his behaviour.  it would please me.  so many of these fools have put the interest of their party over the interest of our nation.  some act like they are under some spell of trumps. we all make choices though.  it's biblical.  money and power really trash people, greed makes folks do things they never would have thought possible.  our nation is getting rocked, will it stay upright.  hard to say some days.

 Mueller had made many attempts to let Barr know that his letter of summary was misrepresenting the report.  he finally wrote a letter to put his objections on record.  apparently, Rosenstein may have been more of a trumpy than any of us knew.  he wrote a glowing resignation letter thanking trump for his leadership and for all the many great talks they had...which they aren't supposed to be having.  he ended it with America First.

pretty sad really.  i had really felt he was more stable and uncompromised than that. time will tell, will these folks have to testify publicly.  so far, most on the right feel they have heard all they need to hear from Barr and buy the line without reading a word of the actual report. well played GOP, when it comes to being crooked they are winners hands down. 

 no idea what will happen day to day with this administration.  this week they are trying to make it so that health care workers can deny care to patients based on their religious objections.  if you are against abortions don't work in an area of health care where you would have to deal with this aspect.  this is horrible precedent.  of course, the Christians that are fighting for these things based on their belief that they are somehow being treated unfairly, don't think about how this could impact them down the road.  many of or MD's here are from other places, who practice other religions. this could come down against them.  what about an Emergency where maybe your nurse is a Jehovah witness and refuses to give you blood....

 was laughing, after Barr testified and most news stations were discussing this...i popped over to Faux news...i do this all the time when news breaks...they were talking about crazy conspiracy theories as usual.  can't believe folks watch this crap. 

 one woman was speaking about how they lost her father for several years.  he'd gotten hooked on radio shock jocks for conservative views and then fox.  hours spent watching. he became angry and hateful just from the hours of negative reporting and conspiracy theories. 

 the right and the GOP can do anything.  they all look the other way.  they can support racism, they can make up lies and theories, they can break laws, they can forgo the most commonly held rules we have lived by for generations.  norms that have withstood administration after administration.  they are all being tossed aside.  it's all about getting their way.  they seem to believe that their way is the only correct way and so therefore it no longer matters what they do to get their agenda and their candidates installed. 

 they believe they have God on their side and that this is what is necessary to battle the evil Democrats.  they look the other way at all that the GOP has and is doing.  they scream about the Dems for even suggesting impeachment and yet, they impeached a man simply for having oral sex and lying about it. 

 they can slip in and out with Put to get elected, they can use money to influence other nations to get their way, they can be womanizers and even racist...none of it matters as long as their agenda ends up on top.  it's baffling to me.  they don't even want to know the truth.  so many have just abdicated any responsibility to watch this administration and be a check on them.  they look the other way.  they blankly say, all are corrupt so it doesn't matter what our side does...the other side had been doing it...that according to conspiracy theories fed to them so often that they now believe those events are historical rather than fantasy.

 Barr needs to release the full report to congress and the full summaries written by the team to the public.  "did not capture the context, nature and substance of this offices work and conclusions.  there is now public confusion about critical aspects of the results of our investigation. this threatens to undermine the a central purpose for which the Department appointed the Special Counsel: to assure full public confidence in the outcome of the investigations". 

 they are doing a great job creating a smokescreen.  repeating over and over again that there was no collusion and no obstruction.  ignoring that there was interference in our election process, which will happen again unless we take action.  also ignoring that there just wasn't enough direct evidence to prove criminality when it came to all the contacts with Russia...and there were a crap ton of contacts.  nefarious contacts.  non-reported contacts. 

 the report in no way absolves trump of obstruction...quite the opposite. it laid a path out for congress to study and take actions as they saw fit.  there were several obstruction elements.  they could not exonerate him on obstruction at all.  if you repeat lies often enough, people will believe it though.  they want to believe it.  they want to believe that this administration was not helped getting put in place by Russia.  they want to  believe that all their agenda dreams are coming true based on a fair and legal election.  don't you dare give a blow job when you are the potus, but no problem at all if you obstruct the entire justice system.

 they want to believe that this president isn't a racist and a womanizer and a lie and a cheat. never mind that he's had many cases of fraud brought against him.  that he's filed bankruptcy many times, that he has been accused of touching and groping women many times.  all of this is only bad if a member of the Democrats does it.  if it's a member of the GOP the excuses fly, the but Hillary, but Obama, but Bill....anything to deflect from the truth of this man that they voted into office. 

 they want to believe that hate crimes have not increased under this administration, but they have.  America is less safe...America is less kind...America is less respected. 

 Barr reported that there were no objections to his summary by Mueller and team despite knowing there were.  there had been phone calls and eventually the letter. he did lie, he did work around the truth....but that is cool as long as he's a member of the GOP and as long as their agenda gets carried out.

 trump has surpassed over 10,000 documented lies and misrepresentations.  they are ramping up...could it be he is getting more anxious. they are trying to get his finances and taxes and he is freaking out about it.  he needed worry, his supporters will tolerate anything. he was right when he said he could openly shoot someone on 5th avenue in New York and his followers would just cheer him on.  they would rave at his rallies like they do. anything he says, no matter how vile of offensive, they rave and cheer. 

 it's not normal.

 anti-Semitic assaults have tripled in 2018.  they claim to be huge supporters of Israel and yet they turn a blind eye to the attacks of Jews on our own soil. 

 this was our young eagle friend.

 watching you.

 saw the article about the moose poop.  it isn't illegal and he was allowed to travel with it.  he said it was something he collects and presents to politicians...a man was later seen handing out baggies of moose nuggets in Juneau, protesting our Governors proposed budget.  haha.

 Ivy and Tusker get some good swim time in. I'm getting hungry and these pups really should get a walk in. 

 I'm sure I'll be due for a nap after. 

 after a stop here to swim we headed to Portage Lake to check out the ice there.  it has decreased a lot from last i saw it.

 i really thought it would last much longer.

 the dogs enjoyed the sunshine for some more swim time with the big bergs.  don't think they actually noticed the bergs though.

 more fun photo ops though.

 well, i better get packing.  still working my way through the Mueller report.  last bit was about the meeting with Russians at Trump tower. encypted communications and refusals to testify hampered their investigation.  not much doubt trump knew about it.  suspect the Russians were surprised that trump Jr brought in others to the meeting.  in the end the Russians seemed as usual to be wanting to get promises about the Magnisky Act and other sanctions and Trump Jr was more interested in trash on Hillary.  as she joked the other day, China, if you are listening feel free to drop trumps tax returns if you have them, you will be rewarded...of course, if she'd done that they would be screaming impeach...rightly so...but it's their guy so it's all fine...there are fine Russians out there who just wanted to help get him elected because he's such a great guy.  haha. 

thankful for: A.  no fever so far.  hate fevers.  hopefully, this passes sooner than later B. rain.  we've had a bit...love a good rain.  the earth loves it too.  C.  patient pups...lets go.