bear sighting...

 

i had just finished my walk. the dogs, luckily, had jumped right into the back of the car. sometimes Ivy wanders off not wanting to get in.  i was putzing around changing out their water in their car bowl when suddenly a black bear with two cubs popped out of the woods. 

they were about 100 yards away.  i quickly closed the back hatch so i didn't have dogs and bears getting all mixed together.  my dogs really haven't seen bears.  sightings of late have been at a distance or from the car. i was locked out of the car, just a button push to fix that and at least i was on the opposite side of where the bears were. 

that white car pulled up, which distracted the bears. i drove around a bit once i was in the car and saw the bears cruising down the road later. 

these shots are from last summer. drive across Denali Highway and above is powerline

went to powerline the other day. yesterday i decided to brave the bear potential at North Bivouac. oh, well, see how that went. not many mushrooms spotted out there. 

debating a run to Valdez this weekend. i'm on a staycation. no plans made. i have felt pretty lazy since i've returned home. 

travel/family...whatever, it sapped me.  i'm a wimp clearly. 

need to stop by the tile store and see what the damage would be for the tile i want. 

was also doing some online research the other evening. the polygamy stuff and the church.  it does seem funny to me that so many church members flip out over trans folks when they have this crazy history of polygamy and even child brides taken. 

when i was in the church liked to whitewash the history of polygamy.  it seemed to all be put on young and the fact that it was started by smith and that he practiced polygamy was pretty understated. they also seemed to act like this was more of a revelation of need as the pioneers suffered so much during their travels that many men died and the men left over kindly took over the care of these families and widowed women. 

of course, if times were that difficult and you had to take on an extra wife or two...why the hell would you want to have sex with them and risk having more mouths to feed?  i can see kindly taking in a relative and her children but then adding them to your sex regime?  as i said in the last post.  taking in one or two women can maybe be made into some act of valiance but taking on 30+ wives...that is perversion. especially when many are kids.

of course, a look into the actual statistics of the time doesn't support these tales...one study was done by byu. the pioneer death rates were really not much higher than the death rates of the national average of the time. 3.5% of the 56,000 pioneers died. the average nationally was 2.5-2.9%

i also looked at male vs female. they indicate that there were many women in need of care. in truth women had a slightly larger mortality rate. 3.3 was male while 3.6% female. kids seemed to do better than i would have expected. under age of 20 was only a 1.75% rate of death. 

the largest losses came with those who traveled by handcarts. despite the big push to make this appear the more common form of travel only about 3000 of the pioneers of the over 56,000 pioneers traveled this way. they were poorer and less prepared at base. 

this tale of the wives being taken in as a need is further disproved by the fact that so many were single when they married into these multi situations. youngs wives....21 had never married, 17 were widowed (some were widows of smith actually). 6 of his wives were divorced from others and 6 actually still had living spouses...there were a few others who their status was unknown. about 7 of the wives were 18 years or less when they married him. smith had up to 40 wives. 

less females than males crossed over...

the handcart stuff in the modern church began after i left. i never participated in those. 

there were many things about the church that didn't interest me or that i questioned all those years ago. generally i don't do any research at this point.  there are these ces letters, which i haven't bothered with. i don't need any further facts. i'm quite happy with the decision i made all those years ago. haven't really had a regret about leaving. 

aside from the basic polygamy, gay rights, racism and misogyny, the finances and social issues in general were not appealing to me. 

i found being mormon very stressful and difficult on my sense of worth. there was this drive to be perfect or act perfect.  felt like a lot of comparisons that were never going to go my way.  there was a type and i never fit that type. 

i didn't like the money and power combination. it seemed to go hand in hand.  like if you had money it was clearly a sign of your goodness and worth and God was blessing you.  pay your tithing and you will be rewarded. 

i think in general i would rather live this life now than be so stressed about everything i do and how it will impact my eternal life. far too many waste their time on earth on their future in heaven or hell i guess. i read all the books.  Jesus had very simple messages. i really felt that we are not meant to all be theologians. we are just meant to try and be kind and decent people. love one another and do not judge. 

Christianity in general is having some major issues at this time.  they seem to have lost the message of Jesus.  this victimhood culture is pretty ridiculous especially in this nation where we have so much really. i recall one sibling was happy trump was elected as now they could practice their religion freely.  when i called them out on it, asking what exactly had changed in their practice during the 8 years Obama was in office...well they came up blank. 

it reminds me of those who bastardized islam and made it more of a terrorist enterprise than a religion. you watch as they all join together. the extremists will play nice with all the rest of these christians only to deem them not extreme enough in the end. most christians are not that keen on mormons at baseline so i suspect mormons will be one of the first to be deemed non christian enough. 

going to head out to hatchers pass with a friend for a walk.  perhaps i'll head off on a little drive after i drop my friend off. 

hoping no bear encounters out there today. i'm always good not seeing them.  from the car or a boat is fine. 

i also need to get a little clean up on the house and make some solid plans for fun stuff when my brother is here. 

i have lots of rocks for painting this winter.  summer is starting to feel like it's winding down.  

possible early winter.  this winter i really need to get on the computer and plan some vacation fun for next year. 

stop being such a lazy homebody. 

i ended up binge watching some of the Alone series. always fun to watch people figure out ways to survive in the woods. they are watched so not that much danger though lots of bears and you can push a button for help and be dead before help arrives. 

the one i was watching was in BC.  rain and wind and bears. 

the rain can be worse than the cold sometimes because it combines with the cold and makes you more chilled. 

i better wrap this up and head out of here.

this bunk was on the Denali Highway

these are in Talkeetna.  it was a nice little run. perhaps i'll try for that run again for the fall colors in a few weeks

fall is always amazing up here.

a walk in talkeetna.  need to get my boat loaded if i head to Valdez. could be fun

grateful for A. willingness to change B. adventurous spirits C. inspiration of those who go where others fear going

was Putin conned by Trump?

 

not intentionally...i mean Trump cons everyone.  he boasts about his finances, he boasts about what he has done or can do. he is a lying machine.  was Putin so orgasmic about getting a US POTUS on his side that he didn't realize that Trump was over promising and lying and just plain full of shit. (above is the quilt i had made...great to snuggle with the dogs with Tusker right there)

Putin, like so many others, wanted something and Trump made him believe he was going to gift him it all. so many otherwise intelligent people have been sucked into Don the cons orbit and turned into fools. he has them believing the most insane stuff...Putin is no different.  he is human and one that has been in a bit of a bubble, surrounded by yes men.  why would he expect to be bull shitted by anyone.  with his power anyone in his orbit that he caught trying to trick him would be destroyed, but trump had things he wanted and he had things, money, trump wanted. i'm sure trump was giddy as well with the relationship and willing to do or say anything to secure a relationship with his hero. 

we have always wondered what trump gave away in their private meeting, was it more what he promised putin he could do for him? putin has put years and a lot of money presumably into this fantasy of getting a us president on his side. trump tells people what they want to hear.  i don't think he controls this..i think he is a pathological liar and narcissist.  he wants to be the center of all attention and i'm guessing if he was promising destruction of nato and world dominance to putin he was more than happy to suck it all up. 

will the con be the downfall of putin in the end? what a happy surprise that would be...if something good came out of trumps bombastic/lying insanity. did trump ultimately give putin the confidence and arrogance to believe he could easily take over Ukraine. i mean it does appear he sent in many very young and inexperienced military...word is many of them were told they were going some place for training exercises. 

will putin figure out he was conned by the greatest con of our generation...i mean look at all the fools in America prostrating themselves over the alter of trump.  who have destroyed their reputations and careers for the fool that is trump. the few that wake up are pissed.  

will we see repurcussions? will the pee pee tape finally be released? will putin take his revenge more directly even as he falls? 

i just hope his revenge is directed at one in particular and not the whole. 

desperation combined with nuclear weapon access is not very comforting.  i live too close to Russia.  i'm sure Alaska would be a lovely target sadly.  not too high of a population.  i will try not to think about that though. i do hope it doesn't come to that.  i figured we had people in our government to prevent the worst trump had to offer and that was dicey proposition and hope at best...are there people in russia's government that would do the same and stand up to putin?

these are early days with Sunny. lots of memorials for Tusker. i'm sure there was some guilt about getting the puppy so soon and there still is.  it wasn't meant to erase Tusker at all, it was meant as a band aid because of the pain. 

looks like a lovely day out there right now.  stuff to do on the to do list. back to work tomorrow. i really do need to work.  i have flooring to pay for. 

i had hoped to see the sprint races yesterday but i think i had the wrong times and was too late.  

i ended up walking the dogs out at University Lake. Sunny found a few puppies to really get a good chase/run in.  he had a blast. 

i then left them at home and headed downtown to see the snow sculptures. 

there was a lot of meltage on many of them but still some cool ones. 

next week is the start of the Iditarod.  it is ironic that this will probably be one of the first things to feel normal since covid hit...which was ironically, the last thing to feel normal before we were fully engulfed in the covid mess. 

these are again from that last trek to Homer.  

we had no idea it would be Tuskers last.  in October was he already having issues with his gut that i just didn't notice? i'll never know. 

i still have never asked for the biopsy results. easier to imagine there was cancer. 

these are from the clam gultch stop.  the light in the fall is dropping fast and so being a late trek we were short on light. summer is fun because you just have hours and hours to explore and play

some cabin rentals are being planned.  thanks SH for doing it since i just haven't had the heart to plan much of late. 

me on the swing under the docks below

a little trail i found in Homer.  a nice break from the beach and mushroom hunting as well

sunny's first actual class tonight. his leash skills are not great as i haven't done too much of that yet. my bad. i think it's been tough at times to get excited about dog training when i had the mindset in December of several years of minimal training and just enjoying well trained pups.  so is life...suck it up girl and get this puppy trained.  he's super smart though and does pick up quickly on the stuff we do work on.

have been doing the leave it exercises...you put a treat in your hand and open it up in front of his nose then say leave it...he now steps back away from it and sits waiting for the treat from the other hand.  smart boy. 

he's doing very well off leash with the "off trail" commands and "here puppy" commands. 

he has mostly mastered his puppy push ups...where you do sit, stand, down in different orders. 

my heart does break for those in Ukraine who should not have to be dealing with this madness. oddly, putin has probably put them on a faster track to getting their nato status. he's getting them on a faster track to getting admitted into the EU.  he's even gotten nations like Sweden and Finland pondering joining Nato. he's screwed himself in so many ways....many of his own people are standing up to him than before. 

war is very different than in other times in some ways.  Elon Musk apparently moved his satellites over Ukraine so they will have continued internet access.  a group of hackers are actively working against putin and many nations have joined in on the many sanctions.  russian vodka removed from shelves, airlines dropping areoflot and nobody flying there. 

pride cometh before a fall seems to be very relevant and as i said...there is the possibility that the con man accidently raised that pride. what happens when two narcissists and misinformation guru's clash. i hope the worst for both of them. 

meeting my friend at 12:30 for a walk.  changed away from north bivouac on the off chance that there is a dead moose or awake bear.  always prefer to avoid that. 

lots of knots this past week, with the little nagging headaches. so annoying

i should take a drive down the arm today before class.  will see. it's a balance of having the puppy tired out enough to be able to focus on training and too tired so that he just wants to nap in class.  Tusker was easy to tusker out as i used to call it. Ivy could do 10 miles and still have tons of energy in class.  Sunny seems more on the Tusker end of things.  he is a puppy so he does have his zoomie moments but overall he mellows fairly easily

it may also be nice to stop before or after class at a store for some in store training. 

really like both these shots.

this one as well.  

i am getting more used to just not calling family much.  i think after the one brothers message and the lack of real support from the others i was finally able to just stop dreaming of something that wasn't to be...to finally see the limits of those relationships in that for the most part it was predominantly one sided.  there was pain in the lack of reciprocation that i just hadn't understood. i don't feel anger...just disappointment at the loss of the dream of a better relationship than the one that exists. you can't be mad at people who don't want the relationship you want.  you just have to accept it and pull back to a more realistic level. it's been freeing really. 

i think it helps to see these tiktoks of exmormons..so much pain out there.  so much division.  i have it pretty good really because i got out so early so i'm very grateful for that.  the longer you stay in the more devastating it can be leaving. 

better get with GCI and get the ball rolling on the streaming stuff.  the times they are a changing.  only a few of you will get that reference.  :-)

better start the element and hopefully i can get it in this week for it's oil change. clean it out a bit and get ready for spring break up dog treks to the mud.  that is the point of it anyway.  it is tougher in winter to keep two cars up and running.  

so sorry Putin...you were conned by the Don...haha.  you heard what you wanted to hear and that will hopefully be your undoing.  Don could not deliver on his promises and he no doubt lied about his assets to get money from you.  stand in line...there is a long list of others who have been conned.  you are no better than anyone else.  fools...all of you sadly. 

grateful for A. beautiful days in beautiful places B. adequate health to get out and enjoy the beauty of this earth C. peace