the sea, the sea, it always calls to me.

 like this of blossom.  she seems to be pondering her existence.  i'm pretty happy she exists.

 i'm not flipping very well this week . i usually flip over to sleeping from 1-2 am-10 am.

 the mountains looked pretty awesome out there as there were these low lying clouds that the light was shining on.  i could see them as i drove to the trailhead.  often, like today, i find myself debating in my head where i will end up walking.  in the end i headed to jodphur trailhead in kincaid park.  the dunes are always pretty and you get great views of the mountains from there.

 plenty of space for blossom to chase her frisbee as well.

 i find that dogs are pretty much oblivious to great scenery.

 you can see those low lying clouds in these.  i debated heading down to the beach,  but i'll save that for another day.

 after i walked around the dunes for awhile i headed over to the campbell estuary. i'd never been there in the winter so i have been wanting to head over there.  i for sure wanted views of the water/mountains and sun today.

 got a swim in this evening as well.  always good.  starting to ponder goals for the new year.  not that i'm a huge new years resolution person i guess, but it is always a good time to ponder what has or hasn't been accomplished and what may be accomplished in the coming year.

 those things are going through my head anyway so may as well put them down in words this time of year.  you know, make it all official.

 things i'm continuing to pursue...1.the book 2. going over photo cards and making some of my favorites full size 3. swimming 4.  add more weight training 5. going with those is toning up this body and dropping a few pounds (preferably in my arms and arse).  6. actually sign up for ccrn exam.  (fear i'm not smart enough to pass, but i'll never know til i try) 7. plan some kick arse fun for summer

 guess that is a good enough start for the moment.  if i can work on the book i can delay the goal i've been using at work of going back to school to make my adn  a bsn.  the idea of returning to school is just so distasteful.  figure starting with the ccrn course may inspire me.  haha!!

 a change in career to writing sounds so much more appealing at this point.

 just a lovely day today..amazing scenery.  did i say how much i love living in Alaska?  there is just so much to love about it.  still hoping to see a few things like a wolverine, a lynx  and humpbacks bubble net feeding.  would also like to see polar bears in this state.  so i have some photography goals there as well.  just for fun though.

 the refuge is off limits to dogs. i suspect that really only matters in the non winter seasons, but blossom waited in the car anyway.  the only birds i saw were magpies, crows/ravens and these woodpeckers.  actually there was a male and a female.  didn't get the best shots as they move pretty fast beating their heads against the trees.  may have to look up why they do this.  seems a strange habit..of course, i suppose there are plenty of humans out there banging their heads against walls.

 anyway, most of the pics i took were fairly blurry.

 the frozen creek looks pretty cool with all that ice.

 not a bad sunset either.

 rio is on walk break again.  ask her every day.   she seems pretty happy at home though.

 we shall see what happens tomorrow. it's the day the hospital in california is supposed to be removed from the ventilator.  people seemed to like that post of my ramblings.  good to show people i have deeper thoughts from time to time.

 not many deep thoughts today.

 this was at the end of patterson off of tudor as i headed out for the trailhead.  this is probably about 1 pm.  the sun never gets very high.  we are starting to lengthen our days...well not much each day but soon it will be about 5 minutes increase per day.

 lots of planning to do for this summer.  should plan for a few winter treks too.  i've never been to fairbanks in the winter and i'd like to rent one of those hatchers pass huts for a night or two.  maybe even one of the byers lake cabins too.

 this is probably a better picture of blossom.  she's just so dang cute..i'm quite partial to her curly locks.

 the dunes covered in snow and ice.

 no moose sightings today.  seems strange to go a few days without a sighting

 views from the bluff trails.

 this is clearly supposed to say world peace...people who draw on objects illegally may want to look up the spelling first.  no spell check on concrete i guess.

 circled around the other side of the dunes, well the other side of the motorcycle area.

 looked like there may be a bluff trail on that other side, may have to explore that next summer. it was deep snow though today.

 looking back at the dunes...i never see it from this vantage point.

 old container near the motocross park.

 another cool light shot i thought.  this is back at the refuge.

 so, i guess i'm happy with the places i chose to walk today.  though i suspect anyplace i went today would have been beautiful.  tomorrow is Monday walk.  not sure which loop we'll do tomorrow. maybe we'll do the gasline-powerline and then take off on those side trails.

 this was the last one i took before i dropped my little canon powershot into the snow. ooops..this is why one should wrap the strap around ones wrist.

think i'll go look at a few pictures on a card....then i will have done everything on the list, well not everything but it's a start. worked on the book a bit. the character is kind of exhausting and you have to write as that personality. probably not much different than me.  flight of ideas is an exhausting thing.

no fever so i attempted a foray outdoors

 the weather didn't really cooperate either.  above was my favorite shot of the day.  the snow fall happened just at the right time.  there are these cliffs right by the highway.  every year icicles form along this section.  it's very pretty. last year it also proved to be nearly deadly when a random large block of ice broke off at just the wrong time for a woman driving below.  so random...people stopped and were able to extricate her from her car.  life is to be lived and enjoyed, one never knows when some random event will change the way you live it forever.
the cliffs do look pretty and often along some of the ice falls people are ice climbing.  today it was snowing and visibility got worse as i drove down turnigan arm.  i had hoped to be feeling good and headed down to the kenai or up to hatchers pass.  in a way good weekend to be sick as it would suck to not be sick in this or  to be sick and have perfect weather but not feel up to the drive.

 still tired, now coughing and have a sore throat, but no fevers...yeah!!  saw this pair as i walked in kincaid today. i went to the jodphur trailhead and started up along the ridge past the dunes. i slipped and fell a few times on the ice that was hidden from view by the fresh snow.  i decided perhaps i wasn't as well and alert as i usually am so perhaps not a good day to walk along the edge on a trail.  so i backtracked and took some side bike trails.
just as i was thinking it would sure be nice to see a few moose at a safe distance...poof...there they were!

 upon my return down the same path the moose had moved more onto the trail.  mama below gave me this look so i figured it was better to take my time and let them do their thing.  there is no need to be in a hurry when moose are concerned.  better late than stomped! eventually, they had moved to a little different spot and i could safely pass by.

 always good to keep a lot of brush between you and a moose.  they move pretty dang fast though.  never underestimate their speed.
the dogs were happy to be out and about.  haven't seen rio do zoomies lately.  fresh snow can bring it on, or did in the old days.  she's a bit more mature now....maybe too old for zoomies.   that's too bad, she cracks me up when she goes all crazy.

 this eagles nest is near the entrance to kincaid park.  didn't get any good pictures today.  with the snow on the sides of the road, i didn't find a good spot to stop and take a quick shot. could have taken a few and walked around.  no matter really.  today the eagle was just sitting there by the nest.

 more of the moose.

 didn't sleep very well last night.  took me awhile to fall asleep.  too much sleep during the day no doubt.  it's nice to at least get a few things done.  have a few packages almost ready to mail.  got my massage tomorrow and i need to get the taxes done for the year.  i'm a bit behind on that one.  thinking there won't be much back this year.

 she looks much less agitated in these.  still aware of me though.

 had to roll my eyes a few minutes ago.  conversation on facebook. i just had to interject.  it's my way.  wedding thank you notes. someone was just getting to them at her nearly 1 year anniversary.  her friend responded that thank you notes were overrated and that you had thanked everyone enough at the wedding.  not to read too much into it, but really?  what an ungrateful bunch we are all turning into.  can't be bothered to sit down and write out notes when you basically send out invites that obligate people to send you gifts.  she probably never got that memo about it being better to give than receive.  .
was just thinking of a nephew who just had a baby, now i'm obligated to send a baby gift and this when a wedding gift was never acknowledged.  not just no thank you note sent...no acknowledgement that the gift ever arrived.  at what point does this end?
i remember one of my favorite "sex and the city" episodes.  bradshaw attends yet another baby shower with yet another gift and she is made to remove her spendy shoes.  the shoes go missing and she's shamed for wearing such expensive shoes rather than the hostess showing any remorse for this loss.  she totals up all the money she has spent celebrating this friends life events.  she isn't married and she has no kids so it's all money out.  she gets annoyed and ends up sending the friend a wedding invite.  she's marrying herself and is registered at the shoe store.  clever i say.

 i can't tell you how many packages i mail out that i have never even gotten acknowledgement of it being received.  it's not an isolated event.  it gets frustrating.  something so small as a thank you note goes a long way.  it's always appreciated.  got the nicest note from one of the calendar recipients this year.  she won my contest and i put her calender in her box at work.  the next time i worked there was this very sweet note in my box.  she is in her 20's i believe so being grateful hasn't stopped with a certain generation.

 being grateful is never overrated.  it is a kindness for a kindness. our world needs all the kindness it can muster up.

 it's just sad that so many out there are selfish and feel the world owes them.  yes, we all love to get gifts, but would it kill you to show some appreciation?

 rio is snoring loudly behind me.  it started as a gentle snore, but it growing more powerful.  how do i sleep through this?  forget that her farts suck the oxygen out of a room.  am i being harmed physically in my sleep from the methane?

 love the big trees out there.

 a few more icicles from today.

 even though it's a grey day, i love the textures

 this was out at potters.  as i was driving back i spotted a bald eagle sitting out there near the boardwalks so i pulled in.

 as i walked onto the boardwalk i saw the eagle take off so no pictures of that one today. still it was peaceful out there.  soon the place will melt and thousands of migrating birds will be stopping by and the silence will give way to all the various calls of the birds.

 many empty bird houses await them and the looking glasses sit idle as well.

 it was a bit slippery out there.

 these are at the dunes.

 loved the waffle pattern on the tree.

 watched the second ice age movie last night.  i think i liked it better than the first one. tonight perhaps i'll pop in the third in the series.  when you don't feel great it's kinda nice to just watch light, funny shows.

 sand and snow mixed in these shots .

 above is looking out towards the water.  it's a white out

 blossom has new frisbee's got them online at amazon.  gotta love that place.  they have everything.

 always love how this ridge of sand leads you to the trees above.  beautiful in every season.

 just more sand mixed in with the snow.  kinda cool

 these trees are still on the dunes.  hard to tell with the snow cover.

 love the bark on these.

 hopefully, i've solved my monstrous spam issue.  i changed it so when you leave a comment you have to write the word/number combo.  sorry.  i was getting 5-10 spams/day. i'm no prude but it gets tiring weeding through all those penis and sex spams.

last shot of potters marsh.  i better try and get some rest.  i think i'll set up the humidyfier and see if that helps my throat tonight.  the jello i made feels good on my throat but i'm really not sure my body is keen on jello.  it's not really a part of my normal diet.