Miss Breezy Chatterbug enters "the Big Bang"

 these cracked me up. i really should watch Mondays show again because I missed lots laughing at this silly cat.  she was just sitting there. she's getting a bit wide i must say. i'm sure my vet will let me have it next check up.  only Rio is perfect...i think my vet loves Rio.

 woke to a strange and frustrating dream this morning.  when i recall dreams they are always freak shows.  this is my second keyboard/work related dream.

 somehow the keyboards at work had all  been turned into fungi gardens.  i seemed to be the only nurse having issues with it.  was having a hell of a time getting into the pyxis to get my patient his dopamine.  tried to call the charge nurse for help but the phone key pad was also all screwy. it was like a little game with all these little birds chirping and you had to hit on the right chirping birds to make it dial.

 so needless to say i awoke stressed out.  haha.

 in bed late as my friend, who had kindly let me know about the northern lights being out had locked herself out on her patio...it's 3 stories up so i'm happy she didn't attempt to climb out of that situations..i know, tough with crutches.  it was cold out...thankfully she had her big down coat on...so quick trip over to rescue her...this photography bug of hers is dangerous to her health!!  she did get lovely northern lights pictures which i quite enjoyed on facebook tonight.

 she knew she was going to end up in the blog for that little slip up...! haha.  welcome to the blog.  :-)

 these are from the little camera on the way up to hidden lakes.  before the vomit.  today i took a late drive out to hatchers.  just walked a bit of gold mint with both dogs.  if rio goes i only go that far.  it's actually been awhile since i've gone further back...really pretty back there.

 legs noted to feel heavy...so i'm back to the original thinking that my vein situation should be looked into.  of course, the paranoid nurse in me gives me cardiomyopathy or some other disease process.  i'm not a pessimist but i can be paranoid at times, when it comes to my own health.

 Blossom enjoyed our relaxing time up there with all the rocks and lichen.

 pleasant email exchange with a walrus biologist that K and K met out at the lecture.  a suggestion, a email with the boys at fish and game and another wall hit...so i will continue on my other paths

 my package was received by BBNA.  not much said...when she wrote me back she called us walrus advocates of qassasiq.(round island) i totally screwed up that spelling but the natives have their own word for round island and i'm thinking they would prefer our group represent that...may just have to send her a bumper sticker and suggest that next time i make them i make some with the native name for round island on it just for them.  i think we could do that...

 also sat down for a bit and started a rewrite of the commentary piece i'd like to write.  want it to be different than the ones previously written...

 asked this new contact for his thoughts on biologists and the studies that go on out there.

 so some work today.  not sure if i can get the discount at post office yet or not.  kinda want to check that out before i zip over there with 200 envelopes.

 the fireweed is at various levels of fall colors

 a view of Anchorage...apparently we will be the place to be with all the global warming in the future...at least that was the latest report.

 a little sunset rainbow action from the house.

 love when the clouds get all lit up

 miss breezy with her pup...a much happier kitty

 headed to portage/girdwood

 drives around here are always pretty

 as if hiking with bears and moose in rut wasn't scary enough..haha.

 should at least get these bumper stickers mailed out tomorrow.  that should be easy enough, then i can ask about the other stuff.  depends on who you get and what mood they are in.

 heard a fired UPS guy shot two of his ex-coworkers and then himself.  always sad when people lose it and then feel the need to take others with them.

 another beheading by ISIS. a French tourist. he'd just arrived in the area and was taken quickly.  poor guy, did absolutely nothing to these people, just in the wrong place at the wrong time.  was listening to part of a talk yesterday on NPR regarding the middle east...the gist i got was that there really isn't any solutions.  very sad for the next generations in the entire middle east.  the people in charge now are nuts.   female children will be in far worse shapes than their mothers were even a generation before.  strict restrictions, minimal to no education....

 on the plus side it sounds like some young Muslims in other nations are going to social media to pronounce that this isn't their religion.  their religion is being taken from them and corrupted.

 pretty day out there at the ski resort, today at hatchers there was nary a cloud.

 had been thinking of getting a new point and shoot.  my first digital had been one of those upgraded powershots and i'd been thinking of replacing it.  i'd given that one away this summer. the new ones are lighter and have more features.  it arrived today.  it was like christmas as they sent all sorts of goodies along with the camera.  sweet! i'd priced them at other places and had debated on the nikon similar..but i'm happy i stuck with canon as the rechargable battery is the same as my littler powershot elph's so that will be nice.  not only did it come with one battery, they sent a spare...

 they also sent a memory card, cleaner stuff, a little tripod...there was the box with all the usual stuff and then all these other treats...all for cheaper than the prices i'd found at the local stores....thank you amazon!

 elk with another rainbow

 it was like Miss Breezy was acting out the scenes...a little rocky horror copy cat.

 out at campbell airstrip.

 the Barrow community has taken their second bowhead whale of the season.  picture of the kids using the whale as a slide.  that meat gets passed around the community, i really don't think anything gets wasted.  was reading that the folks in the old folks home in the native villages are included as well.  they are happy to be able to eat the food they were raised on rather than the usual hospital fare.

 an old mobile home park was leveled years ago and still awaits transformation. it had approval by the city council to be turned back into a green space but our idiot mayor vetoed it.  the only green he wants is in his pockets and in the pockets of his friends. lots of stores in that area...a green space would be good to break it up.

 i'm sure when all the people move north from the lower 48 due to the issues of global warming all of our green spaces will  be chopped down.  i'm not certain the human population will make the changes needed to reverse the effects...will enjoy them while we can and fight for the land and the animals that inhabit the lands.

 was reading about parking day...next year we should get a spot for WARIS and set it up. the idea is to take a parking spot and turn it into a green space.  the event is fun but it was also to point out the need and the benefits of park space and open spaces in cities.

 DVL was again getting blasted in another commentary in the paper this week. this time it was about predator control methods.  i'm not opposed to hunting as long as good ethics are involved and the meat is utilized.  the animals deserve a fair chance.  that is why they call it hunting and not just shooting.  he really seems to show up in the local papers a fair amount.  why would anyone want these jobs?  not sure what all this pressure will do in the end...

 hope my friend returns quickly and safely from her trip to Turkey.  i would think anyone who doesn't need to be in that entire area should just stay clear.  what a mess.

 these are in hatchers pass area.

 the colors looks so pretty with the river there.

 i think the dogs had a nice walk.  Rio is snoring away peacefully.

 Blossom got some tennis ball and swimming time in so she was happy. i'll have to do some checks on the lights situation outside.  not that you can expect any fabulous norther lights pics from me.  mostly i enjoy watching them.  occasionally i'll attempt a shot, but it's really not my talent...night photography...i do enjoy others pictures of them though.

 liked the 90 degree angle of this tree limb...wonder what makes a tree do that?

 and Rio after stopping for a drink.

well, i think i shall retire soon...thankful fors today... A.  that the dye seems to be leaving my hand faster rather than slower B.  for a new walrus contact...never a bad thing C.  that despite the hell that seems to be going on in many parts of the globe, i live in peace and get to enjoy walks in nature and the lights from the aurora instead of bombings.

it's too hot!!

 a few last shots from holgate.  headed off to nome next week.  can't believe it's almost solstice...nooo!!! i always get a bit sad at summer solstice knowing that it means the light is at it's peak and will start to drop off shortly.

 maddie plays with the bubbles.  bob and tanya had her birthday party today.  great day out there.  sunny and warm!  it's suspected it may get into the 80s even.  not to complain, but it's pretty hot out there.  party was fun!  tanya got me to make the cake.  i have mediocre cake decorating skills but thankfully 10 year old kids aren't all that particular.  the thing tasted good anyway.

 it was so sweet...apparently maddie got a card and then also a gift package from the new friends we met on the beach out in holgate.  so sweet of them!!  there are some rotten eggs out there in our world but overall, there are far more lovely and kind people!!  to take that time and effort for a kid you just met that one time was so sweet and that maddie was so excited that her new friends were a part of her birthday this year!! thanks holgate 7!!  i think her gift from you guys was her favorite...she squealed and jumped in joy!!

 lots to do this stretch off.  want to arrange some work on the yard.  may get my phone changed back to gci so i'll have coverage.  they are the only ones that get you coverage all over alaska.  so i may just upgrade to that iphone 5 and make the switch.  should pack and work on dogs sleepover bins.

 the summer seems to be flying by fast.  i totally think we had 2 aprils and skipped may altogether...so when june hit it was nuts.  we are having lots of great sunshine this month though.  hoping the rest of the summer is awesome as well.  increased fire hazard right now though...we could use a bit of rain.  i'd be totally thrilled if it would rain a bit each night and then be sunny all day.  not sure mother nature will arrange that for me.  not like santa clause and all you have to do is be a "good girl".

 things are growing faster than i ever remember them growing.  totally catching up from the loss of may.  flowers have popped up all over town.

 some guy, rowe, peaked all the mountains in the "tooth" group.  that being mooses tooth, bear tooth, eye tooth, sugar tooth and broken tooth.  these are the mountains that the local restaurant have chosen to name their businesses after.  they are extremely popular here in anchorage.

 there are plenty of mountains up here for climbing.

 had a strange phone call the other morning.  this person doing casting calls in anchorage for a new show got my name from the producer of "legends of alaska" which i appeared in with the dogs.  she was looking for people who were believers of zombies or preparing for a zombie apocylpse.  i am neither.  i'll take sasquatch over zombies any day.  so many strange things have happened from that one silly photo i took.  cracks me up.

 a few from my walk out powerline pass.  loved this cute little yellow bird.

 great to see the tundra flowers kicking into gear as well.

 you can see the bridge out there.  didn't quite make it there.  had rio and there were lots of snow patches the further in i got.

 rio was happy to cut back early and lounge on the deck.

 work was busy and not to bad...depending on the night.  last week i was up working the dialysis machine and made this fishing scene with the bendables.  i was hindered in my creativity by being tethered to the machine.  i was also hindered by the limitations of medical tapes.  the batmen kept falling down.  it was a cute idea though i think.

 monkey was the bait.

 was trying to make this batman a scuba diver...there just wasn't tape strong enough to be up to the task.

 so last night i started anew.  added a damsel in distress as what scenario is complete without one.

 thought it came out kinda cute.  i think i'm about the only one who messes with the bendable adventurerers anymore, but it's what i do.  it lets them know i was there.  haha.

 felt bad for my one patient as he was from another country and the light was throwing him off.  was it day or night?  very funny.  i had super nice parents to the kids i was caring for.

 the one night it got totally busy.  i was pulled from the dialysis machine to be a helper for all the other nurses. really i mostly helped locate things.  worked with nurses in the adult unit and eventually we had everyone all hooked up to the proper monitors and what not.  i helped them with their issue and they helped me with mine.
the next night my dialysis machine ran without any issues..yeah!

 mandatory meeting.  i am thankful to have a boss now that though she has to go through all the steps that are handed down from above she also lets you know she understands the big picture.  i always hate when upper management tries to pretend that things are being put in place for the "benefit of the patients" in these elaborate speeches.  just tell me, it's coming from above, we have to go through the hoops or else, sorry, sign here.
the thing they are trying to implement creats a situation where people ultimately will just have to make up shit to fill in all the boxes thus making said implement useless anyway.  we all already know that what we are being required to do is useless, but still we will be required to go through the motions.  some of those people in the cubicles really need to spend a few nights in my shoes and see how silly these ideas of theirs are.

 fresh growth in campbell airstrip.

 another funny thing from that morning.  i started working at providence in 2001, which means i'm in my 12-13th year there.  you get a pin at every 5 year mark.  at my 10 year mark i got an email that directed me to a site to purchase a thank you gift from providence.  i got no pin.  i just figured they had switched over from the pins to this gift giving site.  then the other morning my new manager brings me the pin i was supposed to be givin a few years ago...it had been lost in one of the offices of my old managers.  i laughed and shook my head. the plus side was that it gave my new boss an inkling of what we deal with in the other unit...she had to do my evaluation as it hadn't been done for i don't know how long.  i got a note a month or so after i changed positions, but i figured my skipped eval wasn't a bad reflection on me so i just deleted it.

 rio ponders life in the creek.

 off to kincaid for warning signs of both bears and moose.  a woman was stomped on out there on mize loop last week i think.  another moose was actually shot in denali national park.  charged someone with a gun.  new laws have made it legal to carry a firearm in the national park.  this is the first animal shot since the rule changes took place.

 the big colour run is tomorrow.  supposed to be tons of people going.  the paper said 15,000 signed up.  crazy.  downtown will be shut down.  part of me is tempted to head over and take pictures and look for friends, part of me is more tempted to just avoid the crowds and look online at the pictures other people will take.

 the green has totally filled in now but these are of the new growth coming on.

 those fresh greens are just so spectacular!

 we started out doing the big loop of summer, but hit the trail pond.  it's probably dried up by now i'd guess.

 we turned back and headed over to the dunes. rio was chill with that anyway.

 the dunes look cool with all that greenery too so fun to check it out.

 gotta go sign up for the road lottery in denali national park.  it happens at the end of the season.  it's been a few years since i even attempted to sign up.  they let like 400 cars/day drive the road on those days.

 blossom just got frisbee time today in the yard.  they were a bit hosed today...poor dogs, but i'll have to get them out and about tomorrow.  who knows where.  think, think, think...

 thought this turned out cool on the dunes.

 nice except for that crooked horizon...you know i hate a crooked horizon.

 with all this warm weather lots of toddlers have been falling out of windows.  it was in the news..i think mostly to remind people to be mindful and make sure their screens are secured on windows.  can be devastating.  all this sunshine does have a downside.  everyone is out and about and that means many of them will get themselves in trouble and end up in the hospital.  be careful out there!!

 love this bark...it's so cool

 a few from my trek with lena out at spencer loop.  i should head up the hills as it will be cooler up there than in downtown.  it's the weekend...of course, tomorrow everyone will be at the colour run.

 blossom always remembers right where the mud bath is...nice.

 we were not alone out there.  bear tracks in the mud.

 quite the buns of steel work out.  sadly, my buns were not immediately made into buns of steel.  wish it worked that way.

 manny looks happy on the trails.

 young moose on it's own in the woods.

 probably his mama with her new calf.  i guess this is how older siblings must feel.

 so far the flowers i planted are still alive...though just barely.  it's been hot.  if this keeps up while i'm in nome they won't survive.  i'll have to ask the kid next door to try and get some watering done in addition to all the other stuff i have him do...cats, paper.

 it is nice to have my deck covered with flowers again.

 that poor family that was randomly attacked by that maniac have suffered yet another loss.  the elderly great grandmother who had dementia and was in the house during the attack has also passed away.  they suspect she may have been sexually assaulted as well in addition to witnessing the sexual assault of her daughter and great granddaughter and the murder of her daughter and son in law.  just horrible.  that poor family....

 this part of the garden is all in.  blossom and rio helped out and kept me company

off to bed.  i'm tired.  good night.