which for me is easy since most of the time unless i make contact with the outside world, the outside world will not make contact with me.
headed with Blossom to Jodphur trail system in Kincaid. as you can see above, that is the trail on the usual loop i take. it generally does this in the spring. i know the spots so i turned back and took some different loops. always good to explore and vary it up.
while i was out there i heard a sandhill crane above me. never saw it, but it is a distinctive call and always a fun bird to spot out there. stopped by the Campbell Creek Estuary and had a look around. there were several cranes out there, pretty far off. was happy to listen to them....they are just so cool sounding. a pair flew past but i was still heading down to the look out area and had not good shot for photo's. oh well. win some and you lose some. there is always something out there for me to take pictures if i'm in the mood.
it will be Christmas all year on some trees around here. this one got a lot of new ornaments on it from last summer.
not sure why i stopped at this tree except it had all these holes in it and i love the bark on these.
cruised to Potters but no cranes there yet. the rest of my day was pretty lazy. laundry, pick up around the house and nap...
hopefully tomorrow i can get more motivated.
news is just depressing. Russia and North Korea seem ready to take on the world at any time. the middle east is it's usual mess...just seems the whole world will soon explode and any peace that exists will be over. i just get out each day and enjoy what is here and now...but i do worry about the future. you are never safe completely. i think we've been very lucky, at least i have been in my lifetime. we've been involved in combat but it's been far away and we have been fairly safe. i know that can't possibly be the case for my entire lifetime.
have seen this old car out there on the trails..soon it will be mostly lost in the growth. it was exposed today though so i stopped and took a few photo's of it. it's pretty beat up. can't tell what it once was. i thought volkswagon bug but i'm not sure. above is the gas tank. i liked all the lichens, which have slowly moved in on the car.
no idea what the cars story is, how long it's been there, how it got there. a few old wrecks are scattered around in Alaska as they are everywhere.
sometimes rust is cool.
i read in the paper today that there was a chase in Baxter Bog here by my house. my neighbors had mentioned the other day that several cars on our block had been broken in to and stuff taken. i had been at work the night they were talking about. i'm guessing the chase and these break ins may have been related. so hopefully, that takes care of that. the young males had stolen a car so probably it had escalated.
time to fill out next schedule. soon it will be first come, first serve. that could be a pain. we are machines now officially.
there are reports of ticks on dogs in Alaska i guess. we've been pretty protected from ticks and fleas up here so that is not good to hear. is it due to warming? is it just cases brought up from the lower 48 and the ticks won't thrive. ticks are gross. not really an issue in LA from what i remember but when i lived in South Dakota the ticks were bad in summers.
like the colour of these trees, these are out at the refuge.
walked a few hills today out there and i could feel all the squats i did last night cleaning up in the bathroom. i just used towels and a bucket for the most part so i was up and down a lot. time to get in summer hiking shape.
got my dividend from REI so i shopped on line. have wanted an easy bike rack. it's been a pain to load the bike inside the car. hopefully this one works out. looks easy enough, hopefully that will get me out riding more this summer.
blossom in the trail pond.
when i went to turn this one on facebook i turned it upside down. her reflection is clearer than her non-refection.
some budding noticed out there. always fun to watch all the changes. i love that about Alaska. things are always changing and it all happens quickly.
was reading again about the sherpas and Everest. they see the avalanche as a sign that the mountain doesn't wish to be climbed right now. 16 sherpa's are lost/dead. i can understand not wanting to go back to work as usual when you know you are walking over the still missing bodies of relatives and friends. seems cruel to make them. people pay tons of money to be taken up...yes they walk but they seem to be getting their hands held more and more. one used to have to be very prepared,mentally and physically, now if you have money you can do things that before you wouldn't have attempted.
often these "i got the money" type of adventurers should not be doing the things they do. their successes come at great risk to others. many in our world could care less about the risk they impose on others, they are selfish in their quests.
i fear that will become more of the norm with the Iditarod now that they were given not just GPS but also panic buttons. if you can afford to rent a dog team you can do the Iditarod and just bail out if it gets too challenging.
politicians are seeming to successfully change language in management plans across the state in order to increase development in area's previously protected. "shall be preserved without disturbance" is now written as "shall be preserved to the maximum extent possible". very sneaky....so irritating.
they are chipping away at the land that is still out there. it's sad to watch. sad to watch the moose and bears struggle to live here with each new tract taken out.
it was fun taking pics of this old car. just a change.
loving the little plants. time to start my little seed pods
talked to the kid next door about dog sitting when i'm in Ketchikan. not 100% sold on this option. i'll have to ponder it. i just have to feel they are safe, my usual dog watchers aren't going to be able to help out during that time. bummed. oh well. may just check on another person i've used in the past or just talk to his mom and sister and hope that between the 3 of them the animals will get taken care of. i'm pretty attached to my animals and it is distressing to leave them behind for trips.
a few patches of blue sky out there at the refuge when i was there. otherwise pretty grey out today.
bald eagle nest at the refuge..hadn't noticed it before. there was a baldie in there. probably can just see it's white head if you click on the picture to make it larger.
happy they were able to save this land for this..so hard to keep bits of land safe from developers. this was privately owned and donated or purchased for this purpose with private funds i think.
there were several birders out there today or semi birders like myself. not official birders but still enjoy getting out there and seeing them.
if you make this one larger you can see 3, maybe 4 sandhill cranes out there.
view from another look out.
stopped by Potters, not much new from yesterday though so i didn't stay long.
headed to bed...tired from my lazy day. haha! thankful for....1. health that allows me to get out and walk and take photo's to share 2. sweet and playful cats. i don't mention them too often, but they are sweet cats. Sapogi is my snuggle cat and Miss Breezy Chatterbug is always fun and playful. she's really Blossom's cat but i think she is liking me more and more...it's cute. 3. having had really great eyesight for many,many years. my vision is still very good, but slightly less than it was and it can be annoying, makes me realize what a great gift i've been given all these years. good night.
