Seward from June...

 about done with June pics and ready to start on July...so far behind i know.  i think Round Island is nearly done as well.  so that will leave Kennicott and July....well there are still loads of pics from a winter trip for the Iditarod still.  haha.  i will never catch up...

 mushrooms are starting to show up and you know I'm addicted to taking pics of mushrooms and fall and Alaska!  should just not leave my house for a month. perhaps then i could catch up on all the pics i take.  yes, i take a lot of pictures...but it's beautiful here.  all the time!! every day there is some new and amazing thing to take pictures of.  I'm barely out there too really it seems.  we all get out and we still all only just barely see all there is to see here.

 even if you go and see stuff once, it would be totally different the next week and the next week after that.  i travel many of the same trails over and over and there will still always be some new thing that amazes me.

 today i did head out to Hatchers Pass.  it was cloudy here but sunny when i returned home later.  been a good and productive day.

 we walked Gold Mint Trail today.  i was hoping to do the cross over that takes you to Willow but it was super foggy the further up the road.  could barely see Independence Mine.  it was a cool way to see a place I've been several times over again.

 they actually have a person manning the booth on the road as you head up Independence Mine area.  i guess they have had some incidences of people trashing the place so now they are monitoring it more.  not sure if this will just be on the weekends or every day in the summer.  the guy said though i had a sticker they are charging if there is more than one person in the car.  the dogs were free though i opted to leave them in the car.

 they had just done a lovely 4 mile walk..well, i walked 4miles so we can give them a few more than that at least.

 there was a sign at Gold Mint mentioning to be careful of traps.  apparently a dog recently got caught in one.  dang trappers.  wish the laws prevented them from being so close to trails. i guess it can be an issue on many trails in this area.  i picked up a pamphlet at fish and game and i leave it in my backpack...it has instructions for removing the various traps just in case. they are brutal traps and dogs get severely wounded or killed if they find one.   i did let dogs off leash.  mine are really pretty good at staying on trail. if they stray off trail at all i have taught them the command, "on trail" and they have been great at obeying this.

 i think having the chuck it and tennis ball is fast becoming a great draw for them. i use far less treats these days on the trails.  they still like some.  Blossom would do anything for the tennis ball to be thrown.  these guys are later getting to that point than Blossom was but she was a single puppy so i think that made it much easier.  these guys have each other to be distracted by.  i am hoping that eventually that will make them really well behaved.

 they actually did great today.  I'm quite happy with how they are coming along.  i think you get past a few hurtles.  not smooth sailing and I've been a slacker of late about leash walking.  will need to get myself back on track with that.  they do seem a bit better on leash as well, the times they are on it.  do plan on doing more proofing classes this winter.  perhaps get a few more rally courses in or even an agility course.  i think ivy will do better with those.

 she combines intelligence with a keen desire to please.  she is still a bit overly zealous but as i harness that in she could so loads.

 dandelions are actually really beautiful.  don't like them all over my yard but when they aren't in my yard i can see the beauty.

 the rest are in the SeaLife Center.  my first day seeing this little guy.  i think he was 1 month or less at this time.

 they had a run/walk for rescued animals.  they have it set up for a virtual run so i did that.  added a donation to my "fee".  they will do the virtual run through August i believe but the actual run/walk was today.

 knee is a bit sore tonight after walk but not bad during walk. iced it when i got home and will ice it again when i crash for the night.  ice really does help the most. the toe on the other foot still is sore but finally feel like it's starting to improve. the podiatrist did say it would take a super long time to heal and  we are probably closing in on the year mark fairly soon.  maybe 10 months.  that was a plantar plate injury.

 looks like quite a few walrus still chilling out at Round Islands First Beach still.

 a few friends flew to King Salmon and then took a flight from there to a place called Cape Greig.  another walrus haul out.  sounded like fun.  i was working during the stretch they were going.  perhaps I'll have to make that run next year along with a day or two of bear viewing like they did.  have wanted to get to Brooks and then head out to the area where loads of ash fell during a major volcano eruption years ago

 my brain just lapsed on the name of that area.  Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes...that is it. still on my list.  this year i got Kennicott checked off. I'd return there again.  fall would be cool.  one day.  so much new stuff to see.

 still so much to do and see...we all run out of time one day though. hope i have many healthy years left to play in this amazing place though.

 nugget checks out the wall of his area.  this was before they had filled it with water.  now it is full of water with a platform over half of it.

 super fun watching this guy swimming around.

 still very jealous of all these walrus volunteers.   looks like such fun.  he really has gotten lots bigger than these pictures. I'll have to do another day trip again so i can keep up with him. get more pictures.

 i wandered around and looked at the other critters.  this is their big sea lion.

 the rest are birds.  i totally got sucked into watching the puffins.  especially this guy.  he put on quite the show.

 guess it was bath time for him.  he was zipping all over then flipping over back wards.  very dramatic.

 kept me cracking up.  there is so much in our world and so little time to see it.  well time but also limited funds too. happy to see everything I've been blessed to see.  compared to many i have had a pretty good run of it up here.

 little day trips like this are really fun.  nice to be back home at night. that is today as well.  hoping tomorrow to head up towards Talkeetna.  if it's nice here i may hit Arctic Valley before i head up for a good dog walk.  then I'll have to look for some trails in that area.  i saw a few lakes that have short hikes to them on the way in to Talkeetna that maybe i could wear the dogs out a bit in.

 the wildflowers were pretty amazing up in Hatchers Pass today. after i left Independence mine i headed down ArchAngel Road and stopped and snapped pics from the car.  the jacobs ladder flowers were everywhere...

 flipping puffins.

 water birds.  pretty cool.  who doesn't love a puffin.

 i ended up sitting down for a bit at the mine as when i looked at some wildflowers there was a ground squirrel there so i sat down and he was watching me, then he'd pop in one hole and come up another.  got some pretty cute pictures of the little guy.  was really happy i had left the dogs in the car at this point.  they would have dragged me all over after all the squirrels that were out there.  I've seen marmots there as well before. none today.

 pups slept the whole way home so they were fine.

 above is a guillemot.  totally messed that spelling up.  my bird book isn't in here.  oh well.  I'm sure spell check will be baffled by this. sometimes i use spell check. mostly i forget

 really working up the water.

 such a proud and happy bird.

 how can you not look happy when you look like this guy.

 love their faces.

 here goes another flip

 and again...but with more dramatic flare!!

 above was a horned puffin, below, this guy is a tufted puffin.

 he was a bit more sedate than his other puffin friend. when i took the ferry from Kodiak to Dutch Harbor there were hundreds and hundreds of puffins. flocks.  it was amazing. the birds we saw on that ferry run...huge groups of them.

 not that i had the best zoom for the distance many of those flocks were, but it was cool just seeing them out there.  they call the ferry, the poor mans cruise.  although there are actually quite a few deals to be had on cruises these days i hear.

off to bed.  thankful for: A.  drives  B.  podcasts to entertain and inform  C.  restful nights.

round island 13...

will be more puffin pictures at the end. there was a rock near camp that if you were patient you were sure to get some lovely puffin action. these are horned puffins. i think they don't get those clown faces til they are older. the babies are probably less fancy for their protection, though i'm not sure what benefit these guys have besides being adorable for their colours? apparently, they get eaten by the fox as well, but happily i never witnessed a cute puffin in the mouths of the fox. that would have been tough.
these next several are taken by some of my island mates. i hope i can remember correctly to give credit where it is due. above is by val morris, we were getting ready to load up for our trek out. that is me.
this next one was taken by tanya. was happy she got a shot of our fish and game crew. stephanie and tesla. tesla was getting trained to take over for the latter part of the summer and take down. she would probably not have too many visitors to the island as we were the last scheduled ones.
another shot by val, she loved that there was someone from the B&B with my name on a card. we felt so important!! it was pouring when we first arrived in dillingham, of course, much of our stuff didn't arrive so this light moment was soon taken over by a bit of stress.
above could be any of either karen, tanya or val. will have to look back at the facebook photo's for better credit unless someone can help me out. sorry. it's in front of the fish and game cabin.
this one i know is tanya. we were last group on the island, waiting our turn. we are packed and ready to rumble or risk our lives in the bering sea as the case was.
back to my shots. i try to avoid other peoples shots in my blog unless they include me...i am a terrible self photographer most of the time. nice when others get a shot of you on occasion. above is a group shot minus sue. i had just washed my hair and sue was off to the creek to do a full bath. she was way braver than i was. my camera takes three shots and i think karen thought we were on the goofy third shot. anyway. i liked this one overall, and karen doesn't mind being goofy. :-) top is bob and val, bottom row is karen, scott, tanya and me.
this fox fell asleep by the cook tent. bob snuck up to get closer shots. the fox woke up, looked at him and then just curled up and went back to sleep.
bob took a few photo's of me doing my hair wash out there on the island at my request, with my camera. clean feels good after several days not being able to shower.
my little bucket came in handy. i did mix boiled water with the creek water so it wasn't too cold. no brain freeze, but no way to dry it, or anything else out there.
below is sleeping fox with mainland in the distance.
another trek up to the birds and a closer lookout right before the birds, but after the flat rock.
this is where you catch trail up to spine. no such luck for us this trip. the island was saturated and windy. i think it had rained the entire month before we arrived as well. well maybe for 3 weeks. someone commented on here that they went 3 weeks before us and sounds like they got the sun for the summer...no worries we all had fun anyway!
took a self portrait looking both directions at that last lookout before the bird rookery.
water container filled and waiting. bob did most of the hauling, i did a good chunk of the filtering. the water tasted fantastic, did i mention that!!
fox runs off with a gull.
random scenery shot.
our map.
there are actually enough trails and places to wander that one doesn't become bored out there. at least i don't.
fox near the cook tent again, always entertaining us.
they were checking out the outhouse in progress as well. i'm sure it is well marked by now.
each night everyone put together an appetizer for the evenings meals. the wine almost lasted our whole week.
today i met up with lena and tanya for a stretch out at campbell airstrip. it was raining again when i woke up. we got lucky and not too much rain fell on us. it kicked in again later, much to blossoms dismay. she likes to lay out on her back deck and sun or snow is fine, but rain doesn't seem to suit her.
another day of olympic action. tomorrow i head back to work so my olympic watching will be a bit curtailed. have enjoyed my lazy olympic watching week. life gets back to normal next week. our one guy got the bronze in all around mens gymnastics so a bit better. coverage kinda crappy as usual. i have not seen one guy on the rings except in the way background. i know it's tough to get everything in that everyone wants to see, but they spend so much time on commercials and these repeated athlete highlight stories. i'd rather hear the stories as i'm watching an event...or i can look that stuff up online.
read my latest book and then fell fast asleep for an afternoon nap. that took me out of my swimming for the evening. i'm bad.
just a bit more of the scenery.
now to puffins. they are just the cutest birds.
below are tufted puffins. more black on them.
these guys all nest out there, but they must have their babies tucked back into the rocks. bob was watching closely with his binocs but never saw the babies.
the rocks are cool too with the lichen.
more of me attempting to capture puffins in flight.
and yawning...or talking.
they spooked pretty easy if you just walked up to the rock area, but if you sat down and were quiet they all seemed to return to the rock. it was well worth the wait.
i'd be skittish with all those fox around as well.
believe it or not i am starting to wind down on the pictures. will have to make some sort of book for myself. want to make a few of those from the photo's i've put in here. we all have some need to be immortalized. phelps won't have to worry about that and neither will HeLa for her cells live on. me...i will quickly be forgotten when my time passes. millions of other humans have gone before me. living their lives out and being forgotten. there are worse things. some people are known for being terrible people. i'd rather be forgotten than live on with my name tarnished somehow by my bad behaviours and bad choices.
another flying puffin.
closer!
love when they come out clearly...so amazing.
thousands of photo's of puffins out there i'm sure, but these are mine. i may have to pick one and blow it up. don't think i have a fabulous puffin photo on my wall. may need a bigger house one day for all the pictures i want to blow up and frame.
will have to head down to seward and homer again before this summer ends. love to watch these guys swim, it's cool.
chums on a rock.
a few of the walrus on the spine. it got fairly crowded out there at times....then they'd all leave, only to return again.
there are recorded counts of almost 15,000 walrus on the island years ago. my last trek out we were at about 3000 a few days, this time more like 1000. still plenty to see, but i do worry about my big pink beasts. if anyone so desires the sealife center in seward, alaska is trying to raise 3 baby walrus and will no doubt need some extra financial assistance if you are up for donating to a good cause.

look at em all out there!
how could you resist this face!! off to read and sleep. good night all. may be a few days before i get back to the blog..i'll be working.