On The Spit...

 the spit needs no further explanation to those who live up here.  we all love it out there.

 it's really just a spit of land that stretches out in to Kachemak Bay, but it's full of fun and excitement. 

 of course, during the off season it's a quiet place for locals.  and I'm sure the winds can get whipping pretty powerfully there in the winter.

 it was evacuated after an earthquake recently in a tsunami watch. well, recent is less recent now.  we felt a quake and then our phones pinged and we were all chatting on the earthquake page after that. 

 we are a big state and yet we are a small state as well.  it's small in human numbers so you do tend to run into people or know people who know people.

 i miss living in a smaller town than Anchorage.  Anchorage is a great place to be though as far as getting everywhere else.  cheaper living than remote.  perhaps one day I'll get back more remote again

 today was about Ivy Rose.  she had her root canal done today.  he said when he got in there it was already pretty rotten in there so happy we did the procedure.

 woke up early and took her down to the vets.  of course, it was a bit confusing for the pups.  Tusker was not cool with being left behind so he came with and i left him in the car when i took her in.  those two are thick. 

 later i met up with friends for a walk out at Campbell Airstrip. they are going to be spraying the airstrip for weeds i guess...does that mean all my pretty tiny dandelion relatives will be killed off?  not sure.  we can't go there for a bit anyway. 

 figured we'd lay low tomorrow for the most part and let Ivy recover....though i suspect she will believe she is recovered by the morning.

 will need to feed her soft foods for 3 days and i think go easy on the tennis ball play as well.  they did give us pain meds to give her.  she was whimpering a bit tonight.

 i finally made a decision today.  i moved money over and will go pay for my new cabinets.  now i really need to get rid of the pool table so i have a place to put all those cabinets when they get delivered in 6-8 weeks.  the remodel is a major step closer. 

 the cabinets were 30% off at Home Depot.  the guy has been super helpful.  i will now have to tell the guy at the place the contractor had sent me to not to do an order for me.  sucks for him, i feel bad.  several appointments later and they get nothing.  i felt better knowing an actual price though.  the other place gives the contractor a discount and i just would pay the contractor, but i don't get in on the actual price. 

 so my cabinets won't be top quality but they will be good quality. they will look good and i think they will do fine. I'm pretty sure the cabinets that were put in originally back in the 80's weren't top quality and they are still hanging up there. wouldn't mind trying to figure out how to dismantle them and rehang them in the garage?  hmm.  can i do that?

 the cabinets are $1500 less than the contractors estimate and i get more of them.  I'll need the door handles and a sink and counters, lights, and the back splash.  the cabinets were the biggest item though.

 the remodel project really makes me feel the need to purge the extra crap in the house.  sell some stuff, give stuff away.  declutter.  it can be freeing.

 i think we hit 80 today...i know for most of you that seems like pleasant weather, up here that really feels hot as heck.  i don't know why but it's totally true.

 i did finish off the last stencils on the fence.  perhaps tomorrow I'll paint more flowers on the back fence...make it collaborative with MO.  our stuff blended on the little library.

 Home Depot also had appliances on sale so i purchased a new fridge as well.  where to put all this stuff!  ack!!

 this heat has given me a big ol zit...I'm always amazed...i mean really?  a zit?  still?  at my age?  i really believed that zits were for teens and that my zit days would end when i turned 20...they keep me looking young...too bad i didn't have this zit when i was in Valdez last week and the dude checking me out in line was asking if i wanted the Tuesday night special...which i guess meant the seniors discount!!  what?! do i really look that old? i guess i do. zits keep you looking young though, haha...at least i recall some girl telling me that in a bar years ago. 

 it was super low tides when i was in Homer last.  the beach went on for miles it seemed.

 I'm guessing Homer is packed this week...for the 4th. everywhere will be packed i guess for tomorrow.

 Ivy Rose must be feeling a bit better.  she is back in guard dog duty mode. 

 the skies are a beautiful pink right now...yes, it's after midnight and the sun has recently set.  sunsets go on and on and on up here. 

 4th of July fireworks are pretty lame up here really.  can't see the lights due to the light, but they are still shot off.  these guys haven't been too nuts with them over the years but they do get a bit antsy if i remember right.

 things you find at low tide...no sea stars. i guess they are still trying to recover from the last die off. 

 our birds are also suffering losses. fish counts down. how much is cyclic and how much is due to other factors, human factors.

 we are all over this planet.  there are  a lot of us.  seems silly to believe we don't have a pretty major impact on all around us.  we build, we tear down nature.  we don't live in harmony with it, we shred it.  I'm as guilty as the next.  i do try to be aware. try to do a few things to minimize my negative impact, but I'm here, like the rest of us. I'm living so that living comes at a cost to the world around me...unless i go off the grid and live as much off the earth as i can.  I'm not really built for that though.  i wish i was.  i envy those souls who are that hardy.  humans overall, at the least the ones in industrialized communities are pretty unskilled at survival. 

 I'm sure I'm better at those survival skills than others, but I'm still pretty wimpy.  there is a constant guilt  as we can never do enough, we are always failing it seems. certainly though, we can at least vote for those who will do what is right to lessen the negative impact on our earth. i think it would seem obvious that the more chemicals and garbage we throw at the earth the more damage it will incur.

 just finished a good book, "Before we were yours" by Lisa Wingate

 there was a true story behind the story but the story itself was fiction.  there was a place called the Tennessee Children's Home Society and the folks who ran it were pretty horrible.  abuse, death...kids were taken from poor families to sell off to wealthy families.  some emotional blackmail, threats to get more money from the wealthy.  these adoptions for profit did not become totally outlaw'd until the 1950's. 

 people unwittingly signed over babies born in hospitals or the kids were just stolen outright on the street.  their names changed, no records.  estimates of nearly 500 kids just vanishing in addition to thousands who's records were so altered they could never possibly be reunited with their families...

 so the writer follows one fictitious family of victims. 

 greed fuels a lot of awful behavior.  it's amazing how long things can be covered up.  no matter how defenseless the victims are.  currently, this iitoo and his administration are committing life altering acts on asylum seekers. telling them they can leave or leave and leave their kids but they can't seek asylum here.  this is the nation some want us to become so they are just doing it.  turning a welcoming nation into a nation that turns it's back on the most vulnerable.  what is worse is those that perpetrate this seem to believe they are doing it in the name of God. 

 will settle in and sleep soon. I'm in the middle of another novel as well. 

 shops on the spit...many just boarded up all winter long.  they all open Memorial Day Weekend.  tourists are coming earlier though each year...weather is usually good in May now.

 a few eagles out there.  the pups like to chase birds, all birds.  even birds that are way to big for chasing

 the salty dawg saloon is the happening place on the spit.  i did not enter, not this trip.

 cool old building, loaded with dollars attached to the wall from years and years and years of patrons.

 more from the shops

 and some cute flower filled boots...i better crash.  will have to stop by Home Depot tomorrow and lay down the money for the cabinets and make it official.

thankful for:  A.  that Ivy seems to be doing well post procedure B.  that i woke up in time and got myself out of bed.  (even got the litter changed!) C. hot summer days

back from Homer

 one less friend.  it seems to happen more these days.  that is how it goes with facebook some times.  i posted about the children being taken from their parents at the border.  he gave all the usual gop talking lines, posted memes in support of his views.  it was actually funny as i was on this road trip so i didn't check in much and suddenly there were all these comments.  other friends were having a discussion with him.  i chimed in from time to time. at one point there were 42 comments and then the other night it was down to 17.  he'd unfriended me. so 25 of those comments had all been him.  that seems a bit excessive. 

 the back of the car is totally set up for comfort for the dogs.  big beds, food/water..and yet, they still try to both sleep in the front seat next to me.  usually Ivy is sitting on Tusker as he lays down.  in this case Ivy had gained access to the front seat and so he just lay down on top of her.  siblings.

 these are iphone photo's.  the first shot is of the harbor...the lupine was in fine form while i was there.  love the lupine.  above Ivy enjoys a super low tide.  it was a -4. all of this beach from where we are below to those buildings in the background will be covered in the high tide. crazy wild tide swings.

 we took advantage of the low tides and the dogs ran and ran and ran.  Tusker was a wee bit sore on his front left.  tough to hold him back though.

 will see how he feels tomorrow.  we stopped at Deep Creek for a walk on the beach.  to the left i saw what i thought was lots of folks out clamming or something.  it ended up not being humans but instead hundreds of bald eagles.  there were more on the cliffs. they were everywhere. 

 Tusker loves to chase birds.  seagulls i don't really care about...but those baldies are big and they can totally do some damage with those talons.  those talons are dirty too.  i know they are the National Bird, but they eat some pretty disgusting stuff. 

 there were too many birds and i did end up giving up trying to keep the dogs under control.  the fishermen, as it turns out, leave their leftover fish guts on the beach at this end after a day of fishing. the birds were really more interested in that so the dogs were just annoying.  i suppose there was some federal law that i have broken...harassing wildlife perhaps.

 there are these old wooden boats on the spit, the lupine grow in nice around them, always makes for some cool photos.

 we got in Homer in time to play on the beach at a lower tide, then we woke and returned to Bishops beach, where we were staying.  then we hit the spit.  after lunch i figured we'd take a drive.

 i believe i made it down to the Russian Old Believer village at the end of the road. there really were no signs and the road went up and another down.  i had no idea where the heart of the village was.  that is probably by design.  i'll ask around and perhaps next time i will get all the way into that village.  anyone know?  sounds like there is beach access for the end of the bay as well, though i thought i read don't drive your car down as it's totally not a maintained road.

 it's always a lot of driving.  i will sleep good tonight i suspect.  i do have a cat that is quite affectionate this evening.

 we returned to Bishops beach in the evening for some play time before attempting sleep....gotta make sure the pups are beat before we sleep.  the noises around us weren't too bad or the dogs were beat as both nights they slept great without any barking.

 wandered over to check to see if there were any cranes in the wetlands near the beach.  there were some families.  last night there was a family fairly close with 2 babies.  the babies were tough to spot as they were hidden in the tall grass.  no idea if i got lucky with any of those pictures.

 the rest of these are from the last time i was down in Homer for a paddle.

 impromptu Birthday cake!

 goofing around at lunch.

 MO does her best walrus impression.

 not sure what impression SH was making here.  haha.

 then back in our kayaks.

 off to check out another island.  so many to explore.

 nice to escape the news and facebook for the most part.  i checked in on both but it's a bit secondary to life when you are out doing other stuff.

 posting 25 x seems a bit excessive.  i mean if everyone else is not of your thinking do you really believe you will change their views.  it's usually best to bow out.  dude seems to be believing all the lies being told him.  frankly, this is turning into a PR nightmare for the Republicans...follow an idiot you will eventually end up in disaster. ripping kids from parents just will not play well out there. 

 they are blaming the Dems even though this is their new method created by them to dissuade folks from attempting to cross borders.  this is mostly people looking for assylum who have already suffered and now their kids have been taken away.  they have already deported some of them back without returning their kids.  records of kids/parents seem to not have been handled well as there was no big plan for all this.  just the iitoo and his band of idiots winging running our nation.  huge fail...

 will see how the next few days go, but it's looking bad for them on this one, thankfully for them they have enough members of the cult of Don that will listen without questioning, will blame without proof...

 some try to compare this to people getting arrested here.  yes, they do not take their kids to prison with them. there is, however, a system set up. they will know where their kids are and can have communication with those kids.  their kids won't be lost and not found.  they do not risk being deported and never seeing their kids again.  they are also granted legal assistance if they can't afford it...these kids usually have none. their parents also have little aid in the legal department. it's just not comparable.  they are now taking in nearly 70 kids a day with no plan in place. no details...this is how these numnuts do everything.  they fly by the seat of their pants.  here's an idea, make it happen...oh that isn't working, it's the dems fault. 

 here is an idea, accept some personal responsibility.  for how often they say Dems are "elitist" these GOP sort seem to believe that their way is the only way.  that they have God on their side so there are no other right ways other than theirs.  after whining for years of feeling they are some how cast offs, the truth is revealed.  they aren't cast off's they are simply afraid.  afraid of change, afraid of people who are different than they are.  life is constant adaptation...there are always those who just find that more difficult. in this case of taking kids from their parents at the border. they are wrong, cruel, inhumane.  their party in power is doing more damage to our nation in the world standings than has ever been done. 

 in their quest to "Make America Great Again" they have managed to make America weak, unwelcoming, cruel and hateful.  the damage will be long lasting.  my Mom worked with a woman from Germany, she truly believed the Holocaust was all a lie.  she refused to believe that her nation could have ever done such a thing.  it can be easier to believe the lie than to hear the truth.

 love the water, the ripples.  looks so cool.

 more paddlers on the water. it was so pretty out and a weekend to boot.

 none of us seemed to be in any sort of hurry.  that is generally how most of us roll.  just enjoy being on the water. 

 it is nice having a cabin to return to.  traveling on kayak is fun to, but it is more complex.  loading and unloading the kayaks over and over.

 we stopped a few times coming home today but the dogs mostly slept.  after the eagles, both of them lay down...i knew i had hit the sweet spot for wearing them out. 

 it looked a bit rainy over in Seward, i had debating heading there before returning home. i think i was ready to be home though.

 a lone bald eagle on the island.

 looks all clean and regal.  the birds today were pretty dirty and they were in a feeding frenzy.  trying to beat out all the seagulls

 lots of flowers peaking out, more already.  amazing how rapidly they show up.  i hear Round Island is getting coated with flowers as well. 

 peaceful!

 i was about to split off and just head for the beach.  nothing wrong with chilling on the beach in the sunshine.

 turned out some friends were out there.  kept me entertained while my other friends were still out paddling.

 forgot my pill cache for this trip so i had to stop and buy some Ibuprofen.  tried to just take 1-2x/day. woke with a headache the first morning so i then needed to buy some Excedrin.  so trade off between them.  funny once you know a pain will be a bit of a chronic pain for awhile, mentally, you try to just switch gears and ignore it more.

 well, i better go check on laundry and crash for the night.  the dogs will love having a dog door, but i think they wish we lived in Seward or Homer.  they would have liked Ketchikan i guess.

thankful for: A.  another fun weekend trek B.  several cool wildlife sightings C.  new stuff, old stuff D. a father who took his role seriously.  we had all we needed.