cute ground squirrel at Independence Mine

 just sat down this particular day and enjoyed his antics.  they are so funny.  he was chirping away at me. I'd left the dogs in the car or this would never have happened.

 they are doing great with moose encounters i will say though.  yesterday they were off leash when we ran across a moose with 2 calves.  they didn't bark or chase and returned to me when called. i put them on leashes yesterday and we tried to wait out this moose family but they were not going to leave the trail.  in the end our walk was made quite a bit longer on a rainy day as we had to backtrack and take a different set of trails back.

 the puppies didn't mind at all having a longer walk.

 i got out late since i had slept like a rock after working my 3 shifts.

 coughing for 12 hours has a way of wearing you out. haha.  I'm still coughing.  they put me on steroids and a zpack.  not sure any of it really makes any difference.  no matter what i tend to cough for 6-8 weeks. reminds me i need to hit the inhalers before i crash.

 rain is the forecast all week.  lots of rain this month. we get out anyway.  yesterday the dogs and i did the airstrip.  it's an easy rainy day walk. the dogs don't care where we go, they just want to play.  took mushroom shots and the moose...but it was pretty wet out so i just used the iphone for pics.

 today, i was headed to Kincaid.  it looked like there may be a break in the weather and when i checked the tides i decided it would be a good day to hit the beach there.  the pups always love that.

 got lucky as it just sprinkled a bit on the way down to the beach and for much of the time we were on the beach.  it rained pretty solid on the way back up.

 heading down there was one moose.  it was a male.  we were able to walk right past that young bull.  it was kind of odd though as the trail dropped off where the moose was so his head was at the level of my feet.  I'm sure he could have popped up on the trail pretty fast though.  he was within 10 feet as we passed.

 also saw a female with a calf on the way back. she looked less concerned about us than the moose yesterday with older calves.  she was less than 50 feet of the trail.

 not sure the pups even saw her though.

 we had the trail mostly to ourselves. i left the pups off leash except when we passed the male coming down and i did put them back on leash a few times on the way back up.

 got lucky with an impromptu shot at my favorite tree.  I'd taken a pic of the pups when they were super young at this tree so i was able to get a repeat shot today.  they have grown a lot.

 this guy is so adorable.

 liked the fog behind these flowers.

 after we were at the Independence Mine we drove Arch Angel road looking at all the flowers, which were amazing.  it was wet but so beautiful.

 those are below these of the ground squirrel.

 work was busy.  no time to do any of the required education stuff i have coming up over the next few months.  i will have 2, 2 day courses and my pals is due and there is a time card class i think.  plus all the usual required education stuff.  always kind of annoying.  it's paid i guess and i have a kitchen to remodel so i should just put on my big girl pants and get to it.

 i was actually on call the first night for the first few hours.  watched a movie and then was getting out of bed to put on my pj's and try to sleep...ring.  that was that. i got 2 patients in the ICU within an hour of each other.  the one was super sick and the other one pretty wild.  don't think i stopped the next 3 nights.  that place is crazy

 was happy today as i stopped by Cabella's after my beach walk and i was able to take both dogs in to the store together.  they are getting so much better on leash.  all my hours of training are starting to pay off.  so amazing to have dogs that are so well behaved!!  i was always proud of Blossom and Rio Catalina.  time invested in those first years owning a dog do pay off.  they do like to jump on the counter there but that is adorable and seems to entertain everyone.

 dinner with friends tonight at South.  it's  a fairly new place which is great.  we all had fun i think.  i hope the Birthday girl enjoyed herself.  late in the evening i thanked her for sitting a certain way....there was this lady in direct line of vision otherwise that had huge breasts that she had somehow gotten pushed up together and left with a gaping 6 inch gap open...so that is all you saw...boobs. after i said it my friends daughter that was sitting next to me had clearly been trying to avoid looking at the open breast scene as well.  you try to not look but there they were...

 the flowers went on and on....it was pretty amazing.

 we managed walks between shifts...

 one day we did a loop in the bog by my place, Baxter Bog.  they did really good here as well on leash. it's been awhile. I'm not always in the bog as much in the summers. the bugs can get thick and Blossom was forever trying to get in all the water, which is super stinky water.

 there was a huge bull moose in this one big pond. since it was raining, i snapped an iphone picture and was trying to get the bigger camera out of the pack when 4 geese started flying and they were screaming as geese tend to do.  they flew right over that bull moose and he was not having it.  he booked out of the bog in a rush.  that is the Alaska picture everyone wants...bull moose in the bog and those dang geese took that shot from me...haha.

 the next day we headed over to the Dog Park at University Lake.  always a favorite.  a sure way to wear out the pups between shifts.

 Blossom and Rio were always the girls, i guess these two are always going to be the pups.

 the cat in the house is finally starting to gain back a wee bit more freedom.  she is currently on my chair here in the office.  the pups were interested but backed off.  she has also been able to move more slowly between the bed and the bathroom where her food and litter box are.  before she had to make a mad dash...the bed was the only safe zone.

 stopped by Petsmart after dinner tonight.  the Halloween costumes are out for dogs.  i have loads of costumes here but i admit that did not stop me from buying a few more!! you have to buy early for costumes big enough for my dogs...they really don't stock many. i can make them both pumpkins this year as i have a new pumpkin and Blossoms old one.  there was also a dinosaur one big enough for Tusker and a little devil one....Ivy of course.  hehe.

 i could see Denali today on the walk despite the rain...the total eclipse of the sun was not going to be viewed here anyway.  i think we may have gotten a partial..but the rain would have prevented either.

 lots of fun pictures posted of the eclipse and it was clearly a pretty cool experience for all those lucky enough to see it.  we will apparently have another complete eclipse in 7 years.

 maybe I'll plan a trip south during that time to try and experience it.

 aren't these flowers amazing!! more amazing live though.

guess that is the same for the eclipse...the pictures are amazing but it would have been better live.

guess lots of animals were confused as well.

the page started doing something odd and i thought i lost all that i just wrote.

it is almost time for bed.

I'm sure you are all happy that i have not talked politics..i know you all prefer me not to, but i appreciate that you allow me to vent on occasion.

i did restock my wines.  i was almost out.  not much alcohol in the house.  haven't had enough parties of late...people bring alcohol and then leave it.  i really don't drink often or much but it is nice when you need it.  i do enjoy a glass of wine or a cooler.  had what they called a toucan Sam tonight.  of course, i only drank about 1/4 of the drink. it was tasty though.  that is hard stuff so that i really go easy on.

the most I've had to drink in the past few decades i admit was on the night of the election.  seemed the best way to deal with it at the time.  haha.

back to work tomorrow night. then i have Hunter Cabin on the 27/28th next week so I'll need to pack for that.  trips early in summer and late in summer this year.  a new cabin.  i think this one is close to parking.  may not even need the wagon i think.

I'll have to read up what it is I'll need.

plenty of room if anyone is interested in joining me out there...give me a shout.

thankful for:  A.  well behaved dogs  B.  friends to laugh with  C.  the berries are in

another day, another moose...

 this guy is scattered throughout these.  we saw him out in kincaid. passed very closely to him and he really didn't seem to mind us.  was happy they all got to see one so close that was so chill.  you never know with moose and you really have to keep an eye on them.

 loved my brother joel falling asleep in the chair while my nephew played with the cars i got them at his feet.

 today's moose sighting happened in the bog.  we went just to walk dogs and kill some time before their plane took off.  grayson wasn't happy with this walk idea and he was letting us know.  well, that moose had no appreciation for the added noise and started coming after us.  always best to not agitate the local moose population.  they have little tolerance for tantrums.  a lesson grayson learned very quickly. we were all safe and there was no more crying on the walk .

 elijah checks out the mud as the tide goes out...soon he discovered that the mud of alaska is also not very tolerant.  he got himself sucked in pretty good.  uncle joel came to the rescue.  he was a brave kid about it though i must say.  i think his folks were more worried than he was...they had probably read the books about the mud around anchorage.

 it's good to have a nice uncle to help you out from time to time.

 was really happy that joel was able to come up for a few days and join in the visit.  we were a bit packed,  but it was fun to all be together.  got to spend some car time with joel and visit which was great.  it's been a long time since we were able to have that kind of time together.

 tom and grayson.

 we spotted a few bald eagles that day as well out at the beach.  it was a bit harder to get chat time with tom or darla.  the kids kept them pretty busy...as the days went on though we were able to get more of that time in, which was great.  i think the cabin just slowed everything down.  the kids didn't have access to any computers which i always think is great for kids.  it's gotta be a tough one for parents.  trying to pry those games out of their kids hands.  a place like byers lake takes that battle away.  they just don't work there and if they do they don't work for long.  most parents i know around here just have a no games rule for the outdoors.

 it is amazing how quickly kids learn to be kids and use their imaginations to come up with stuff to do when they don't have access.

 elijah in hatchers pass.

 i'm not used to the energy level of healthy, non sedated children and they don't let you sedate random kids that stay at your house.  it was an adjustment for this old girl, but we all survived the week.  the kids had fun and i did my best to keep them entertained and to work that excess energy out of them.  not that people like to have their kids compared to dogs, but when blossom had extra energy i just took her for a walk or played with the toys or did some training. kids and dogs seem similar to me in that you have to drain off that energy and give them rules, boundaries and limitations.

 truth me told the kids were more successful at wearing me out than i was at wearing them out.  haha.  they did seem to pass out each night, exhausted.  each day was a new day though.

 they are at the airport, i hear the kids are once again tired and crashed out so hopefully they have a pleasant flight home to texas.  the house is quiet except for the laundry and rio snoring.  miss breezy chatterbug has been in hiding most of the week, only coming out when the boys are not in the house.  she didn't even seem to risk it when they were sleeping.  pogi adapted and let himself be seen and petted.  i guess they all met the mayor of talkeetna today, who is an orange tabby.  tom found it quite amusing that the mayor of talkeetna is a cat.

 they have been very impressed with how friendly everyone in alaska has been.  even waiting in line at road construction was made more pleasant by the flaggers and other people in cars popping out to chat while they waited.

 a selfie in hatchers pass.

 i'm grateful for my friends who always give me good advice and keep me grounded.

 i made a roast like mama used to make for dinner tonight.  i figured they'd be tired after driving back from denali today and it was their anniversary.  i knew they'd want to be getting packed and ready to go so having dinner ready for them seemed the best plan. i think they appreciated it...at least tom and darla.

 these are from the drive back from hatchers pass. the sun is setting closer to 11pm now...maybe even 10:30. it changes all the time.  soon it will be dark most of the time.  the fall colours are starting to show up and the mushrooms and popping out.  loads of berries this summer it looks like so everyone is happy with that.  i've got raspberries in my backyard.

 i was pretty lazy most of today.  slept in, caught up on the newspapers.  the bog walk tonight was the first of the day.  it rained this morning.  i did go out in the rain and pick up dog poop and mow the lawn.

 my sink in the kitchen appears to be leaking so  i'll have to call someone out for that.  maybe they can put in a garbage disposal or get this one to work. it hasn't worked for a few years i think now.  it's not like i've really missed it, but i may as well have one in that works i guess.  took me a few hours to click in to put a bucket under the leak in the sink. i'm a bit slow i guess.  i had put a towel under there.  a bucket does make more sense.  proof of how unhandy i am.

 this moose was super cool...loved his rack

 they didn't waste any time getting this drunk driver charged, which i'm happy about.  two teenagers were run over on the sidewalk as they walked home from school shopping.  both were killed. the drunk driver that killed them was 31 years old.  we have way too many drunk driving incidents in this state.  when will people learn and be responsible?  so sad, such a waste.

 some signs of fall emerge

 this moose was showing us his rack.  i think tom got a picture of todays bog moose.   i was holding tight to the dogs.

 while they went to church i walked the pups.  a few mushroom shots from my stroll in the woods.  it was pretty wet out that day.

 stretch!

 this was my favorite shot of my moose friend that day.  his ears are back but he was being pretty chill. i went by with the dogs first and everyone strolled past after me.

 we hit the museum one day. they did have a cool plane exhibit, it was the last day. they will change over now.  i liked these old ski's and floats.  always amazed at how people come up with these ideas and then are brave enough to try them out...at great possible risk to themselves.  it's how things change though.  fear doesn't make progress.

 this was an early snowmachine.

 the kids lit up at the imaginarium...i think the adults had some fun there too. i think i figured every big city has a place just like this, but i think there were some different things here that made it fun.  kids and adults all had a great time.  was a way to beat the rain i guess.

 part of why i slept in was that i woke with a headache.  i think all that wagon pulling made for some knots that gave me that headache.  took excedrin and whacked my knots with the bonger. love that thing.  feeling pretty good now.  no more headache.

 joel had a good time making bubbles.  it looks like he's in this one,but actually another adult was also having fun making bubbles and was pretty good at it.  i think the guys been there a few times.

 joel also worked the tsunami maker.  some kid came along to show him how to really make a wave.

 a few more from independance mine.  this guy is a ground squirrel. i did see that marmot again, but he was too quick and i never really got a shot off.

 can't recall the name of this mountain. it's pretty prominent in the valley though.

 liked how the light hit this old building out there.

 still some pretty flowers scattered about.  soon the will die off and drop their seeds for next summers bounty.

 grayson spotted this frog out at north bivouac.  we don't have any snakes or lizards here, but we do have these cool frogs that freeze up for the winter and reanimate in the summers. very cool!!

 tom tries to record the frog capture before it got released.

 i took them a different route than i'd taken with just the dogs the day before.

 didn't see any bear signs on the trails i went on these days.  here is tom and grayson coming down the tank trail.

 thought this turned out cute of elijah and blossom.  gotta love dogs.  they were great with kids all week.

guess i am off to bed.  will post more over the next few days.  i am a bit sleepy though and ready for some big bang episodes before i drift off for the night i think.  sweet dreams all.