in my 60's now....crazy

 

seems like my entries are more on the monthly basis. i think that is a reflection of a calmer brain. much less craziness. growth, maturity. who knows. some days i keep fairly busy and other days i get less done. i try to just allow my brain/body to guide me. 

this month i did get to Denali National Park and back down to Homer for my Birthday week. both trips went well  and i had great views and the dogs and i were all exhausted after.  Denali, the big mountain made a showing. in Homer, i found a new spot on the spit to explore during a nice low tide. 

i'd heard that there were sand dollars there.  i had nice -5.2 low tides. i spent the first morning at Bishops Beach and the second morning at the new spot behind the pier one theater on the spit. not disappointed either day.  there were thousands of sand dollars, especially once you got into the more sandy section below the tide zone. picked up a few shells as well. i have bleached those and put the nicest ones in the coffee table.

other finds, a nudibranch, stars, cucumber. always fun. weather was supposed to rain the whole time but really it was great.

my only complaint was that the hotel in Homer had tv set again to revert to faux news. i mentioned it again and they seem to be attempted to fix this. it used to revert to music. i like to leave the tv on when i fall asleep. the noise muffles any sounds outside the room which may make Sunny or Ivy bark. i tend to leave it on a station that plays friends or big bang or some other inane tv program. wake up to faux though, ick. they do actually seem concerned and baffled why it is doing this. 

my hotel in Healy called on my full day there and asked if  i was  staying, saying that when they went to clean the room was empty. odd as i was in the room taking a rest between drives into Denali and all my stuff was there. happy i was there when i got that call or i may have been very anxious about it. 

there are stars at the end of the spit but less than previous years and you really need a good low tide to see them.  

did not see any big animals in Denali, at least not close up.  there were loads of ptarmigan that the dogs wanted to chase. maybe the fact that they were still changing colors they were easy to spot. the road was open to mile 30 for all. 

that is always a fun time to go and you never know what you will see. still pretty and the big mountain was out. the drive out and back is long but we had a good time.  i always make lots of stops. 

now i have an overnight with friends at Dolly Varden cabin for June and also just booked that cute cabin at the KOA for June. no great low tides the rest of the summer anywhere it seems. was looking at Yakutat. maybe just find a low tide in general. it's been on the explore this place list for awhile. 

the painting on the shed is nearly done.  i painted it non-mellow yellow with brown trim.  still have a little trim to complete. painted some birds and birdhouses on there. 

got the railing on the back deck repaired and he will come back and put some sort of awning up over the back door and repair that wall where water and dogs damaged it. i also want to get sand and pavers in the area next to the shed and perhaps a planter on the other side. 

this keyboard is sticky, kind of annoying.

i have planted some flowers, which always perks up the place. 

look at the pretty sun star!

i also had a company come out to look at replacing upstairs windows. way too spendy for me. he mentioned a 40 year warranty. laughed as at 60, a 40 year warranty feels like overkill. i'll be dead. it's not that you are planning your death but you do realize that some things are really not going to matter. 

i think dropping eternity from your constant thoughts also makes some things matter less. 

i always thought the idea of my dead relatives or God watching my every move was strange. i mean how would they know when to look away or do they view every odd human thing i do. taking a shit, having sex....so many things in life we really don't want any other humans to see let alone those in the afterlife. 

my Birthday is always an awkward thing. i mean i want and crave the attention and acknowledgement while also being very uncomfortable with any attention. in the end this year, i had a few lovely meals out with friends and took a beautiful drive back from Homer after a perfect day in the tide pools. i hung out with my dogs that day. 

a friend called while i was on a stop to stretch with the dogs. of course, i dropped the chuck it out there i suspect. it was gone.  i walked back but never ran across it. tried to find a new short chuck it in town and then ordered one online. hopefully it's the right one. 

it is funny that Ivy loses tennis balls constantly, hundreds really. i lose one chuck it though and that is a disaster for us. 

in between trips i've mostly walked at the dog park or Campbell airstrip. 

the dogs are happy with this. i have walked Sunny on leash at the airstrip since the bears area out and the moose are popping out babies all over the place. he actually does great on leash and it's just me that needs to adjust to having a dog on leash. will meet friends in a bit for a walk today. 

this guy is real pretty too

i'm a fan of big clouds and sunsets

i return to work tomorrow night. i took this week off to enjoy my Birthday.  i have always tried to avoid my Birthday being at work. i do recall one Birthday at work. had to call a code strong as my patient flipped out. i was dropping a foley cath when my coworkers stood at the doorway singing happy birthday. nurses and medical folks in general develop a very twisted sense of humor. love my co-workers.

the trees are all green again. i love that fresh and beautiful pop of green.

now the flowers are coming out. this place is just a constant barrage of change.

love all the drama. i don't like drama in day-to-day life but i love it in nature

beautiful sunset in Homer at Bishops Beach. there are horses in the horse paddocks now. tours being given. 

i should have asked if they had any tours for low tide, because the next day the horses were in the paddock while we were on the beach. that night a woman was on a horse and Sunny kept barking.  he seems better with just the horses. not the horses with riders.

these boots were added to the mix of planters as you can see the big cracks. i do wear these a lot up here in the summers. guess Ketchikan has had loads of rain this past month. over 20+ inches in May alone. 

more of the greens

our nation remains a mess. love that a reporter called the idiot out. apparently, he's being called taco over these tariffs. he's so thin skinned, as are his followers so this has really upset them so of course, it's going wild. so many great memes. taco stands for trump always chickens out. perfect. so that has become his new name...among so many others. 

they have to crash and burn on their own. we have to mostly just sit back and allow the final meltdown of these idiots.  sadly, this is going to cause suffering in many. i just hope that once their extinction burst is over things can be made better for everyone. all the things they have fought against will be codified as rights. healthcare situation will improve as will workers' rights, gay rights, women's rights, education, racial inequalities...there is much wrong with this place. believe me no God will fix any of it. 

praying hasn't shown to work to fix actual issues in any society. that requires laws. 

this is the new spot for tide pooling

a little double rainbow action. I'm seeing some sunshine out there right now. hopefully a good walk 

i have a few things on my to do list. a few appointments to make. i tend to group those and tackle those at one time. i'm starting to think my anxiety is also wrapped up in some adhd. wasn't something we were aware of when i was younger. just ordered a book to do more research. claims to help you get your life more organized and productive, which would be helpful.

should eat something before i head out. just snacks

Sunny may be on leash for the walk. my knee has been a wee bit sore. suspect all that slipping around in the low tide zone. i did one slow backwards fall.  caught myself and was just in a bridge position. 

there was still some ice on lakes when i headed north last month. sure, that is all gone

love those trails in Talkeetna for a break in driving 

may add a night in Tok after Valdez, take a drive to Chicken?  it's been a while since i've done that drive.

grateful for A. another year on this beautiful planet B. pretty good health for my age C. the people and pets that make my life more full.  

dogs are washed...

 

my goals most days are pretty simplistic.  today was wash dogs, walk dogs, get a new cat tree...i guess when you keep your goals low you tend to meet them.  so yeah me!!

these are some caribou i spotted..pretty easily...in Denali National Park last spring.  i often make the drive north in the spring before they open it for tourism. this year was strange i guess, but it was nice to do the road trip north and see what is out there. it's 5 hours each way but with long days i do it all in one day.  many stops along the way up..then cruise to the 30+ mile mark where the road is closed. i never made it back up this summer, which is unfortunate as i think you could get permits to drive that far all summer.  that never happens and may never happen again. 

my trek this day was fun and as always interesting.  

there were a few bears out in the distance.

there is one below, zoomed in on. 

i was blessed to see the big mountain.

the animals were no doubt enjoying the return of warmer weather

this evening i also made some manicotti with large shells and for dessert a batch of cinnamon rolls made with puff pastry.  i try out a puff pastry recipe on occasion.  so far i haven't really found any big winners.  it's an interesting pastry though and you can buy it ready made at the grocery so i do at times. 

would like to play with filo pastry as well.  need to just brave some savory recipes and see what i can come up with.  

i have my standard bakes/cooking but it is nice to add a few things to the list.  it gets boring eating the same stuff over and over and it is fun to try new recipes. i have always enjoyed looking for and trying recipes. i do have to alter them for my toddler like taste buds though.

i am a fairly picky eater.  only one of those cinnamon rolls really turned out right but it was kind of nummy.   the recipe was found on pinterest....love that site.  great for craft and recipe ideas.

today i got to walk with LS.  it's been a few weeks.  always a pleasure.  we did the big loop in N. Biv.  loads of bikers out there. 

Denali from the road

these are all from back in May.

the cat tree is super tall.  i spared no expense. Covi deserves the best.  the one on the stairs is now in here, the office. he's gotten kind of big for it.  so the new one has 3 different open places for him to sleep...or Miss Breezy if she ventures that far down the stairs. 

of course at the moment he is in here with me playing on the old tree.  i dragged the new one inside and then went back outside to grab a few other items from shopping trek to PetSmart...when i returned he was already climbing the new tree in the front entry way. 

so clearly he approves. 

the dogs were not all that thrilled to get baths today.  no swimming but we did hit the Monster wash.  it's a car wash but they have two rooms for dog washing. 

moose above, below are beluga whales in the arm

rarely can capture any shots of these whales but it seems like this day i got fairly lucky

there was supposed to be a million maga march in DC today...it ended up being more of a few thousand maga march.  the few who believe the lies and feel the election was rigged. his surrogates don't actually need a million people because all they have to do is lie and say there were a million and his followers will believe.  they seem to believe anything and everything they are told...the bigger the lie the better i guess.

trump seems to be emerging from his lair a bit more.  still believes he has won. his surrogates are humoring him because a man over 70 can't just be told he lost, he needs to be gently let down apparently.  perhaps they can hold a fake inauguration for him in front of that landscaping business. give him a participation trophy and take him directly to a mental institution. 

seems he never learned how to adult. 

adulting means loss, losing and accepting of that.  he has people to deal with his losses so he just moves on and convinces himself he is always successful.  his lawyers and staff are left to try and pick up the pieces.  he's had plenty of losses though.  plenty of failures.  Putin may abandon him at some point...once Biden is in...Putin will have to deal with an adult again who he can't manipulate as easily...trump was a 4 year gift for putin anyway though. we may never know what gifts he received.  what was spoken of during that several hour meeting between the two and the many phone calls. 

i'm sure before they leave they try to purge the place of all their international dealings.  

all day i thought today was Sunday but now it is.  my tasks for today include cat litter cleaning, trash and recycling to the curb.  dog poop pick up...

i really need to do some major cleaning of this place.  rip out some flooring somewhere...gotta start planning for new flooring. it's overdue really. 

our hospital has a new outdoor morgue.  we actually have a small indoor morgue so not too shocking with this that we will need more morgue space. i'm not sure how it goes moving bodies to mortuaries these days with covid.  

i'm sure as the weeks go by i will become more and more familiar with all things covid. 

we all will.  our positive cases for the day were well over 700, close to 800.  over 110 hospitalized and reported a total of 11 vents in the state of AK.  still the deniers out there, though the ER hasn't had as much of the riff raff.  so my guess is more people are avoiding the ER now that the numbers are climbing.  less stupid stuff.

i'm guessing this pair was in Potters Marsh

signs of the times headed down to Homer in May

dogs are oblivious to all things covid. 

home and the pets are my safe spaces.  outdoors feels quite safe as well.  

so some things covid can't change as much as others.

the US stats are fairly staggering.  over 10.9 million have been infected so far, over 245,000 have died and over 67,000 currently hospitalized. nothing will happen during the lame duck with covid.  trump is only focused on himself and his loss and trying to find a way to stay in power despite the actual loss.  

Biden and his staff have still not been given access to the needed transition preparation tools.  trump refuses to concede and the GOP members are seemingly in no hurry to push him to hurry.  

i really wish we could be done with trump but his stain will remain in the white house and our government for some time.  he was left with a very detailed transition and he will leave behind a total mess for Biden.  at least Biden is not expecting of any of the usual niceties that usually come with transitions. 

sadly so many on the right have lost their way as far as kindness, tradition, honor....they are only capable of hatred and anger and rage. 

i do hope they wake up...i know so many who have just allowed these things to infect them.  being so focused on right wing media twists peoples brains....all that negativeness and nasty energy repeated day in and day out.  many have for years only watched fox and/or listened to right wing conspiracy crack by the likes of alex jones and Rush. they have spent more of their hours each day on qanon/8 chan and now there is a newish "social" site that many have migrated to from facebook.  parler or something.  

they are all full of lies and hatred and spur them to act on their anger and hatred. as these things always go the fools at the bottom do the grunt work for those at the top who keep their hands clean and pretend they have no responsibility for the actions of others.

these are in Homer....my go to spot this summer

there were a lot of sea stars again this spring. 

we can all choose to be hateful or to be kind. we can also choose to walk away from hateful.

i've kept hoping that his followers would wake up and see the light, but so far that seems a pipe dream.  no clue how things ever get back to any kind of normal. 

the sea star above clings on to the pole...eventually losing it's grip and dropping to the sand below.  i like the sea star below because it looks to be expressing power...we will persevere. 

life will go on.  the sun rises, the sun sets

well i guess i shall get ready to head to bed.  still coughing...the cold weather. no other symptoms.  

thankful for A.  the positive things in life  B. the beauty that exists no matter what mayhem befalls us.  C.  the animals that share my life and give me a reason to get out and about.