class tomorrow so i've got to wake early

 the worst part of waking early is attempting to go to bed early.  that is not all that easy for a night shifter.  can't say that hospitals have ever really understood or accommodated the night shift hours.  they like to pretend the whole place is closed at night and we don't exist and quite frankly, we are generally pretty happy that the office sorts forget we exist. it's why we love night shifts.

 so these are along the Turnigan and then swimming pups

 trying to think where they were swimming at this moment.

 boarders riding the bore tide.  always fun to watch.  the bore tide is fun to chase from pull out to pull out.

 i tend to run in to it by luck.

 need to make another Seward run.  Aku, the baby walrus is over 200 pounds now . doing well.  i suspect he won't be here all that much longer so best to visit while i can still.

 did all my shifts this week in RCU.

 being a float pool nurse you get used to not having to deal with the same folks 3 nights in a row.  had to work hard a few times to be patient with one patient.  patience is not always my best thing.  i do try though.

 some adults whine.  it's annoying.  most of the time the crap they seem to think you are forcing upon them could have been avoided if they had healthier lifestyles.  sad to see so many who make terrible choices with their health and end up so debilitated. obesity really impacts every aspect of your life. i am overweight but i am functioning.  you have to make sure you keep that in check or it will take over your life.

 ate out with friends tonight...which was fun.  was on rainbow watch. i guess the full double rainbow finally did show up but i was sitting in the restaurant when it did.  heard it was quite the site.  we do get more than our fair share of double rainbows.  love them!

 slept in a bit and then met a friend for a walk in Kincaid.  one lady was sitting on the ground on the side of the trail.  she was right after a curve so no way for me to see her.  of course pups got curious and she decided to inform me of the leash law in Anchorage.  i always just walk on.  yes, there is a leash law. there is also a means for off leash training.

 i just always think in my head when people inform me like this that they too have no doubt chosen a few laws that they break.  we are not all above the law.  some speed or roll stops.  if she hadn't been on the ground around a corner i would have been able to prepare for meeting her.  my dogs have gotten pretty good..later they were in sit/stays as people walked or biked by...they got many compliments for being well trained. that is how it is.  more often now we get the compliments on their good behavior, but we do get the folks who think they are terrible and untrained.  just happy it's more on the good dog side now.  that is a sure sign of hope.

 eventually all the hard work of training does pay off.  some days it's one step forward and two steps back. some days the dogs just are better at listening than others.

 much of it still is determined by me.  if i am tired i tend to be a poor dog leader.

 i think this was a day where i went to Reflections Lake first then headed to Whittier to walk up Portage Pass...therefore they were swimming in Reflections Lake above.

 this is a great little trail.  such amazing views from up top.

 this is first tarn after you hit the top.  the pups swam a lot in here before we roamed on to other views.

 feeling pretty happy with themselves.

 trash and recycling out.  saw my neighbor putting her recycling in my bin. i  had told her that i rarely completely fill it for the every other week pick up and invited her to add her recycling in...so happy to see her taking advantage of that.  i have seen the guy across the street put his regular trash in his neighbors bin.  he had never had a trash bin so i now suspect he looks for trash bins to add his garbage to each week rather than pay.

 he seems to have changed jobs a few times since he moved in...if everyone just is nice to each other we all get by.  as long as nothing illegal goes in there...right.  could put a sign. "feel free to top off my trash but no drugs or dead bodies please.  haha.

 fall hikes are always great.  won't be able to get too much in the next two days but i will have to try and zip home and grab pups for an evening stroll.  still have light out til after 8pm and the class gets out at 5...so i do have time if i can keep from being too lazy.  the pups will be wild when i return home no doubt.  should have texted Lena to see if she is around and wants some dogs to join her on a walk.

 thinking the Monday walks will officially start this year Sept 25th. of course, perhaps we can do a few walks in different locations and take advantage of the weather if it's nice out.

 no more lupine.  a few flowers still bloom late though.

 more tarns.

 attempt at a selfie.

 views of Portage Glacier!! not a long hike, some steady uphill but you do get great views for your efforts

 getting closer

 a few more from Round Island.  seems ages ago to me.  fun little get away.  too short but such beautiful days out there.

 the cameras are down for the year.  bummer.

 still looking for some project for sale this year.  still have the grocery bags, which i love and will find another thing to get out there.

 flat rock...popular that last day.

 handsome walrus lounging about..kept me entertained for sure.

 still coughing...i think it's 5-6 weeks at this time.  generally lasts at least 6-8 weeks so i should finally be winding down.

 checking out the rock for potential resting spot.

 many kept doing swim by's, stopping, looking and then moving on.  some would work their way up the rock and then decide it was too much hassle...a few stayed and took a rest.

 time for me to turn in.  just a short update.  storms are still brewing in Florida. not sure how much damage Florida or Georgia will get.  the Carribean got some bad damage though.  at least it was something i could actually speak to my one brother with...weather is generally a safe topic.  the Hemingway polydactyl cats made it through no problem.

grateful for:  A.  walks with friends B. meals with friends  C.  conversations about weather and other safe topics.

i'm back at Round Island...kinda

 having fun watching the walrus.  you can collect new walrus pictures by going to the page...so much fun and you can even write on them.  i'm learning more about computers and walrus so a win-win.  first week of walrus watching has been a blast.  one or two dead walrus have shown up i guess.  looked pretty sad watching the waves crash on one dead one. really don't think that happens all that often.  perhaps after the long swim down here from the north the weaker walrus will not survive.  this one below worried everyone and i do not know it's fate.  it was moving and breathing and  late last night before darkness fell he made his way further up the beach.  he did seem to be favoring that right arm/flipper.  we will never know. animals do die from time to time in life...we all do.  it's just the truth. can't hide that on a web cam.  the rangers did explain that they can't remove the bodies from the beach and that the tide and nature will just have to take care of it.  does give folks an idea of the remoteness of this place.

 i try to chat and sign  as WARIS.  we've gotten some new likes on our facebook page and even our first donation related to the cams.  i'm sure not everyone will love the cams.  my old marine bio professor put a link on his marine bio site and some one commented, "sad and disturbing" ...have no idea what is sad and disturbing about a web cam filled with walrus activities in the wild.  another person on the page was upset apparently as she wrote the word penis and must have been asked to keep it clean.

 this pair had just come ashore and settled in and then they suddenly jumped up turned and booked back to the water. i couldn't hear any boat or plane sounds so not sure what spooked them  Walrus do spook easily and can stampede and injuries can happen. fox have been spotted on the web cam site as well.  they have volunteer camera operators who operate these remote cameras from their home computers.  seems like a sweet volunteer gig.  :-)

 this funny walrus was enjoying the wave action and kept rolling and playing.  couldn't quite catch the 4 flipper in the air shot...this one was still funny.  so i can now bring more pics to the world of walrus. how happy am i?  of course, they won't be of the same quality as if i were on the island.  perhaps one day i will return to the land of walrus.

 having fun putting captions to a few shots.  the beach filled up today and so there was constant action and pokes as new walrus tried to find their comfy spot.  not sure how any of these guys ever actually sleep.

 have already gotten my 10,000 steps in for the day so any more are just bonus steps that will increase my week average!!  met with GT and her dog and we did a loop out at Jodphur trails.  good to be out walking..i am out of shape so these hikes will hopefully help reverse my current state of out of shapeness.

 we got lucky because  we got back to the trailhead and then a bike came in and he'd just run into a mama black bear with her 3 nearly adult cubs.  then we heard some yelling and knew that someone else was meeting the bear.  the girl came out of the woods a bit stressed.  turns out i had met her at rehab.  it was her first real bike ride after her knee surgery.  she'd gone over the handlebar and then ran into the bears and then her friends dog was gone...chasing the bears probably.  so not her best first ride.

 i drove around on the other side looking to see if i could see a dog or the bears.  saw neither so in the end i left.

 walrus flipper.

 then i did a short loop at the campbell creek estuary...no sandhill cranes noted.   rented a dog room at the driftwood inn for next weekend for a few nights so perhaps i'll see some sandhill cranes next week when i'm in Homer.  actually heard them later and looked up to see a few cranes flying around far far above me.  love the sound of those birds.

 when my niece was here we hiked at Windy and then went looking for the bore tide.  it was supposed to be decent that day. in the end i think they had a great time chasing the bore tide down the arm.  there were folks paddle boarding it. so we jumped from pull out to pull out.

 it can be a long ride for the paddle boarders.it was fun watching them and seeing if they made it to the next pull out.

 HJ watches the bore tide and her husband was down on those rocks. i was surprised how fast he got down there.

 riding the wave.

 hit the pool this evening as well.  got in 50 lengths.  always feels good.  have been able to do the breast stroke these past few weeks.

 such a pretty day out there that day.  today it was raining a bit but we got lucky while we were walking.

 still got to get the cat litter cleaned and get the trash and recycling out to the curb.  got most of the bills paid so today was productive and i didn't just languish on the walrus cam all day.

 a teenager was arrested for whacking some poor biker across the face with a stick a few weeks back.  idiot. what is wrong with these people?  who does this totally unprovoked?

 makes no sense.

 the paddler boarders who have lost the wave come to shore at one of the pull outs.

 i'd think a kayak would be fun to do it in.  paddle boards are the in thing now though i guess.

 this sport really doesn't look all that cool to me but i've never tried it...don't knock it til you try it right?

 we waited to see if any beluga whales would show up.  i think they had a great time relaxing out there and watching the tide change...it's so drastic that it's always impressive. sometimes it's just nice to sit and take it in.  so often when people get up here they are in such a hurry to check all the boxes on all the stuff you must see.  sometimes you just have to stop and enjoy just the one day, a more regular day.

 i've lived here since 1995 and i still haven't seen it all...and never will.  you can't expect to see it all in a week or two. hopefully, you see enough though to make memories to last a lifetime if you never return.

 some letters to the editors about vengeful cyclists who are upset that the teenager who got drunk and ran over a biker and then left the scene..leaving him for death only got a 1 year sentence. really?  i don't think they are being vengeful, i think they are seeking justice and fairness.  this guy is dead because of her.  she is certainly old enough to know you shouldn't drink and drive and that if you hit someone...or something for that matter, you should stop and check on it's condition and call for assistance if needed.

 chilling in the arm...that Blossom is such a cutie!! Rio is a doll too...i've got some great pups. Rio opted to stay home today.  i think the rain out there and yesterdays long walk helped her come to that decision. she is snoring like she walked several miles though.

 life in the mud

 California is dealing with a large oil leak, many animals impacted.  always very sad when spills happen. they have better response practices than in years past but still damage is done to the ecosystems.

 baby moose are apparently popping up all over the place. i haven't had a tiny baby sighting yet.  they are so cute!!  we didn't see any moose out there today...but then again there were 4 black bears out there so i guess that isn't too surprising.  moose tend to try and avoid bears, especially when they have small babies.

 Blossom must be kept on the leash as she has no concept of danger involving large moving bodies of water.  silly pup.

 thought this came out super silly of her.

thankful for: A. not running into those bears on the trail  B.  healing up and feeling better...now it's time to get back in shape!!  :-)  C.  walrus cam...so much fun!!  night