fall, get back up...

 that is how it can be in life.  decided to head back to prospect heights the other day on the off chance that the top of my walking stick had been left some place and i could retrieve it.  it wasn't...not sure what anyone else would want with it,unless they too had lost the top of their own walking stick.  oh well...
forgot to wear my cleated ice bugs though.  there is very little snow in them thar hills but there is ice.  i was cruising along the trail and then suddenly i was going down.  it was so not graceful and i landed with my newly repaired knee in an off position.
the fear got me more than the actual pain, though there was some discomfort.  i sat there on the trail assessing myself, had i damaged my knee, could i get up, would i be able to walk out on my own?
then i just decided to brush myself off and get up.  it ached a few steps but then i continued on my way.  iced it when i got home.  the knee is still sore at times, but it is healing.
mostly, it's my brain that needs to heal.  you can't let your nerves get to you in these situations. it's so easy to be overprotective after surgery...and necessary, but eventually you just have to move past that.

 seems that way with all this WARIS stuff as well.  so many ups and downs.  i'm learning to accept the low points and really enjoy the highs.  an email and a follow up phone call.  a bit disheartening news but i don't feel the urge to let it take me down just yet.  it's ain't over til it's over.

 the good thing was that i finally have some insight  into how things are seen in the communities near Round Island.  well, not completely, but at least there was a conversation.  don't want all these feelings and opinions to negatively impact the walrus of Round Island.  some of the opinions are decades old, going back to before Alaska was a state amazingly enough.  we do want the same things in general...getting there, well that is where i guess i come in.  it all just makes being a friends/advocate group for this beloved place a bit more complicated. it's good to have all the pieces of a puzzle laid out on the table though.  no way i can make all the people happy, in the end i just want the place to be right and the animals to be safe.  for them to carry on for decades to come.  humans have destroyed so much and we will no doubt continue to destroy much...i want it to stop, if just on this little piece of the earth.

 shadow selfie.  had PT today. i still have not been allowed to graduate...odd how a thing like that kind of weighs on you.  Rio got bloods and urine taken from her at the vet so hopefully tomorrow we will know a bit more about her current symptoms.  work...2 nights.  i ended up on call the middle night.  never got called in, always odd.  otherwise, i worked in PCU which i rarely do and then ER last night. in PCU i worked with this pleasant nurse but she was tedious...just loud and would not stop talking.  people like that exhaust me.  then i had a patient who was also super chatty and insisted on keeping his door open and kept pulling me in to talk....so there was no quiet place for me all night.  i need quiet from time to time.

 walks this week were mostly bog walks, i think i did rovers run one of the days as well.

 so not many photo's...may rain this weekend.  boo hoo.  i need to get my stuff together for our board planning meeting tomorrow.  see if anyone has any ideas...what next?

 my feeling is that many in the area resent that the state of Alaska has total control out at Round Island, they (the state)  of course, don't want to pay a dime but they still want to control it.  not much to say there...but then i have also been to several villages and litter is abundant...it doesn't exactly give me confidence.  i remember paying $50+ to do the "tour" up in Deadhorse.  if you wanted to see the ocean after driving all that way you had to go through the Native corporation.  first you sat through a film telling you how great the oil industry was and then you boarded a bus out to this beach.  they take all the tourists to this same beach, year after year, and yet there are old barrels and scrapes of metal laying about...
couldn't they clear this one beach of garbage...made it hard to believe all the talk that when the oil companies were done with the land it would be returned to it's natural state.  money changes people and ideals.  i understand oil has made life better for many in those northernmost areas of Alaska but walking around Deadhorse all i saw was industry scarring the land and though we took our arctic photo's...it was sad. i'm not saying there is oil at Round Island or that it will become a garbage dump, but some combination of the human element may work best as a check and balance for all.

grateful for:  A...no damage done from my fall this week.  B.  a night off, sometimes i really enjoy a mental health day C.  this silly snoring dog behind me.  hoping all is well with her and grateful that she's been happy here with Blossom and I.

spring, spring, go away, don't come back til may!!

 did feel cooler today.  clear skies tonight.  i think we are hitting the 20's at night again.  what we need is a good dump of snow though and there doesn't appear to be any in the forecast.  for now we are a mess of ice.

 rio has a great appetite and i think overall she feels better having that lump off.  i think it may have been making her feel worse than i knew.  she's much more perky.  yesterday she showed no interest in joining us for the walk so i left her on the couch with her peanut butter filled bone and hoped for the best.  she was fine.

 i took blossom to north bivouac for some loops and then a run to the market.  didn't want to leave rio home alone too long though.  her incision is holding together so far.  whew!!

 the big pond area wasn't to be trusted. in general i'm more apt to be less trusting of these frozen bodies of water than the average. more so when you walk alone.  that would be pretty brainless to do otherwise in my opinion.  i tend to live my life thinking how would this article read in the paper the next day...stupid woman crosses barely frozen ice during warm weather, falls through and dies.  see not good.  i kept blossom on a leash while near this as well.  she doesn't ever see the world through the eyes of what an article may make her out to be in the post analysis.

 so we stayed safe due to my overly cautious nature.  i wore cleats even to take out the trash.

 this monkey doesn't want to bump her head on the ice foolishly.

 the days have been pretty.  i've accomplished little.  did get through some memory cards and saved a few photo's. put a few more on the nat geo my shot site.  always fun to get global feed back, what a cool world it is now that we can interact with people from nearly every nation!! fun to look at all the other photo's from people in places i'd never be able to visit.  especially nice to see it through the eyes of regular folks like me, just out living their lives and sharing it through photography.

 of course, it's often funny.  pictures i really like,  don't get as much attention as i would expect and ones that i think are so so get more attention that i expect.  go figure.

 did't see any moose today despite my wandering around for a few walks.

 my friend checked on rio...i texted her that rio had been hungry and wanted to walk.  she texted back, "eating and walking, if only our lives could be so simple" or something like that.  then i realized mine pretty much is, at least these past few days.  i've pretty much just eaten, slept and walked.

 did listen to NPR for a bit today...while i ate, haha.  they were talking about Anchorage making a bid for being a host to the winter olympics. i think it wouldn't happen until 2026, but who knew there was so much involved.  i did live in Los Angeles when they had the summer olympics there.  i was early 20's  i think, do wish i would have tried to hit some more of the venues.  went on a date to volleyball, can't recall who the date was with, he clearly made an impression on me.  anyway, i really didn't even notice them.   much more spread out there though. would be cool i think in general though.

 2026 seems like it's totally far away, but now that i think about it, it really isn't.  yikes!

 today i headed to prospect heights.  there was a lot of earth showing.  the trails themselves were all ice though.  i went super slow for rio.  feared she'd fall on the ice and then have her incision open up.

 thankfully, no such thing happened.  did feel badly as it wasn't a very easy first walk for her.

 when i could i directed her off the trail onto the dry stuff, but usually this wasn't an option.

 later i headed downtown for a second walk with just blossom.  have been wanting to check out a few places i've never been in town.  ship creek portion of the multi-use trail is one place i've never been.

 this was just the inside of a fallen tree.  thought it looked kinda cool.

 blossom enjoys the sunshine today!

 some poor guy in sitka got bit in the arse by a sea lion.  apparently he was sitting on the rail of a boat with his arse hanging over towards the sea (pants were on) anyway, the sea lion jumped up and nipped his arse.  he's okay..

 some of the smaller avalanches on the road to valdez have been cleared.  a young couple were found attempting to climb out over the avalanche area.  work had to be stopped and they were arrested.  word today is that they were trying to get their cat out to the vet in valdez.  "ninja" had a plugged urinary tract.  this can be deadly for a cat.  the couple were arrested, but they and their cat were taken to valdez and the cat did receive the medical care he needed.  that will be an expensive trek to the vet...perhaps some fund will be set up to help them pay for it all.  there are a lot of animal lovers out there!!

 there was an article about anchorage trails and trail etiquette.  obnoxious dogs always get slammed, but it would have been nice if they added that those who are going faster, like bikers and skiers would help themselves by making noise.  if i know they are coming in time i can make more of an attempt to get myself and my dogs off the trail.  if i have no warning, it's really hard for me to clear the trail, leashed or not.

 i would also add that the vast majority of loose dogs are with bikers and skiers.  so the bikers and skiers that get annoyed with a walker with an off leash dog should really direct their anger at their comrades on bikes and ski's that don't control their dogs at all.  several times loose dogs that are with bikers have chased a moose which is then headed right for me.  my off leash dog is under my voice control and in my view at all times, i can't say that for the bikers and skiers i see with off leash dogs.  they also mention poop...i can assure you the bikers and skiers with dogs off leash probably aren't stopping to pick up dog poop.

 in general it's mostly peaceful on the trails.  there are always those that are pissed off idiots at life anyway and they are just waiting for any opportunity to go off on people.

 ship creek trail, all ice.

 every winter does have it's own rhythm.  some winters we have a lot of fog, others, snow, still others the temperatures are low for an extended time, this winter the temperatures have been high for an extended time.  you just have to be prepared to have fun in all sorts of weather.  some years you may use cleats more, some you may ice skate more, others you sled or ski more and others you snowshoe more.  i think the bikers are actually having fun right now...though apparently that is pissing off the skiers too as they, like us, put ruts in the trails...or in my case footprints and pawprints.

 could have hit the hockey game tonight.  still chilling with rio.  she still whines if i get too far away from her...that may just be her now. i do suspect she's lost what little vision she did have.  makes her more dependent.

 several bridges along this route. i didn't go terribly far.  just to this big looping bridge. as it was ice with some slope i decided that was probably good, besides it was getting close to sunset time and i figured i'd be back to the car for that.

 looking down from that bridge above.

 the ski for women is scheduled for this sunday.  haven't been to kincaid to see how bad the trails are there.  they can make snow there i think.  i'm working the night before.  they will walk if skiing isn't possible.

 more views from the top of the trail.  nice views really.

 ship creek and the railroad tracks.

 my yard is a mess. i'm generally good at keeping the poop up, but this meltdown has left a poop mess out there.  i want my frozen poops back!!

 enjoyed a lazy evening of looking at memory cards and watching American Idol. so far i am liking the judges this season.  they work well together and i like that they aren't giving as much time on the show to the freaks who show up to audition.  as harry connick said, they disrespect the process.

 not sure what this old industrial building is. looked kinda cool though and i like a reflection.

 ship creek is a very popular fishing place in the summers in anchorage.  i think i was reading once that not too many big cities can boast of a world class salmon fishing run downtown.

 the Alaska Railroad is located down here.  i wandered a bit before heading back to my car.  not the most spectacular sunset, but i'll take any sunset.  made for a few nice train shots i think.

 who doesn't like trains, right?

 chatted with my sis yesterday and with my brother, tom today.  always nice to catch up with family.

well, i've wasted another day doing hardly nothing...what a great life i have!!  peace out...as they say!

off into the sunset...

 another hodge podge of photos.  above was the sunset as i drove home from the fair last week.  so pretty.

 more mushrooms from my various hikes and rambles.

 3 nights of work completed. no blog post last night as i as out late at a party.  a wedding party.  turned out to be less wedding and more party...loved it!! leave it to amy to do the unusual.  fabulous!!  she also looked fabulous as well.  hope she posts pictures.  i'm lousy at indoor photography.  the flash is always so annoying and i hate bugging people.

 i have no issues bugging mushrooms and fungi though. haha.

 the party was out at alyeska in girdwood.  i finally got up that tram.  i worked the night before and i think my brain stopped just when i was feeling like i was moving at warp speed.  so i was totally late for the first part.  my thanks to tiffany for just telling me to get a tram pass and come up.  i think amy was happy to see me up there.  the tram wasn't too bad for me as far as heights.  i could feel my stomach doing some flips from time to time but over all i was a brave girl.  there is one section that gets a good sway going up and a sway and a drop going down.  yikes.  i was warned.  on the way down there were some co-workers on board who kindly distracted me.

 lots of dancing at the party which i always love.  these kind of parties it's also fun because there is no expectation of you having to have a dance partner to be on the dance floor.  you can dance with everyone.  we had a few alaska tables with the peds crew so that was fun.

 they also had a photo booth which was a fun idea.

 work was steady as usual.  i worked the cardiac care unit then the adult icu then the peds icu.  a nice week.  you just never know.  a little rainbow action from my back deck.

 have been on so many trails..not sure exactly where all these are.  i move around every day and hit a different trail.

 today i was totally slow getting moving.  this below is from campbell airstrip i remember..the back mushing trails.

 anyway, today i headed to potter to mchugh with the dogs when i finally got going.  it was raining a bit, wet and all those roots were giving rio fits.  there was also a pair of guys out there that had me a wee bit nervous. i'm always bear aware, but really it's the humans that i worry about most.  these two had a gang banger look about them, didn't seem like hikers.  they didn't seem to have a planned route, just sort of there and meandering.   i like a look of purpose.

 just took the dogs to the view point and then turned around.  soon after we turned around the dogs got all alert, rio had nose up.  then i saw a totally fresh bear scat.  back to worrying about the bears.  that thing had to have  been close.  i never saw it though.  i got back to the car and we left.  as i drove out those two suspicious guys were still wandering around.  hmm...

 had bear spray so ready for bears and strange men.

 i'd enjoyed girdwood yesterday so i headed back that way.  the winner creek trail that starts on the crow mine road is nice and wide open for rio.  took the dogs down there to the hand tram and then used that as my turn around.

 that trail is also a good mushroom trail.  lots of the shrooms had been knocked over by others but there were still plenty to keep me occupied.  so much fun!!

 on the way out there the water was a bit choppy in the arm, but i did see some beluga whales out there.  i stopped a few times to watch and attempt to take a few photo's.  nothing spectacular.  it's never easy getting good beluga pictures out there, but always fun to see them.

 debating making a run to talkeetna tomorrow or perhaps hatchers pass.  hmm...we shall see.  maybe it will depend on if i get any takers to join me.

 syria is still out there. i'm really not keen on attacking.  i'd really love to see the arab nations police themselves and the other nations around them.  they have chosen no action as usual.  seems the arab nations could care less how many people die over there or in what manner.  we like to get all humanitarian on the situation, yet we are quite selective about which humans are worthy of our effort to protect.  we certainly looked the other way as the rwandans were slaughtered.

 chemical weapons, weapons of mass destruction.  i'd really rather have more clear proof this time around.  turned out to be no proof in iraq.  seems no matter what we do to "save" the people of the middle east we are hated, our flags are burned.  we have to ask if any of them really want us there or want us to help or intervene.  instead the president has decided to make his plea and let congress banter about what we should do.  wise choice on his part i think.  let those knuckleheads duke it out.  that should delay any action for some time.

 i'm not good at small talk.  my friends boyfriend often surprises me.  i think he picks up on stuff way more than i would think.  he has that external persona that doesn't  always jive with who he is.  after a few minutes of small talk, which i'm always a bit sluggish at, he asked me about syria.  once i have a real subject to discuss i am immediately more comfortable in a conversation. not everyone sees that sort of thing.

 bear bread.  some sort of fungi...this stuff comes in all shapes and sizes as well.

 this is campbell airstrip trails.

 a couple horses crossing over the bridge.

 drive out to fair. we have giant cabbages up here but we also have  giant pumpkins.  we were to early for the pumpkin contest.  the winner was 1,182 pounds.  another larger pumpkin was dq'd.  it weighed 1,289 pounds.  these giant veggie growers are totally serious.  it's a pretty  big deal.

 england is not up for a syrian attack either.  france seems to be the only ones wanting to support us if we go for it.  i'd just prefer we not.  there are other ways to try and force a corrupt government out of power or aid rebels or whatever.

 took so long to actually get to the fair i took some pictures from the car as i slowly made my way to attempt to park.  it took for ever to get there.  really not worth the bother in the big picture, but it was a pretty day and we all enjoyed our time there once we got there.  next time i go i will for sure not go on a weekend day.  they charge 2 extra bucks too.  bother!

 the temperatures are dropping down at night.  my place feels colder.  i have kept the cat door closed and should probably just pack it and close it down for the winter.

 a few from the king tut exhibit at the fair and the reptile house that i walked through with maddie.

 not sure where they came across all this gold out there in those days.  of course, these are only replica's.  gold paint is pretty easy to find.

 the chariot.  cool to see one more life sized.

 bob and maddie.

 snakes.  happy there aren't any loose snakes up here in alaska.  reptiles really don't like cold climates.  just our one or two frogs i think.  i think there is just the one frog up here and maybe more in southeast alaska.  not sure.  no lizards or gecko's for sure.

 two headed cow..stuffed.

 iguana and they also have a variety of turtles, neither lives here in alaska either.

 there is one of those champion cabbage heads.

 we had to check out the critters as well.  always fun.  a bit stinky though.

 miniature goats

 and a super friendly caribou...though domesticated caribou are called reindeer.

 i will have to try and get myself moving a bit quicker tomorrow.  it's already midnight and i'm hungry.  don't want to go to bed too hungry so i'll have to look for some kind of snack to get me through.

 the rest are from the day after the fair when i joined bob, tanya and maddie for a hike out prospect heights.  denali was out.

 need to re-do my pals.  it's not due til november but that class is full and the october class is a two day class and then there is this month and december.   for some idiotic reason they have this rule of can't be overdue. it's really quite silly.  they should have a grace period.  they say you can't work with it expired. of course, now that i'm in the float pool i can work with it expired, just not in peds.  the funny thing is that when peds was totally busy they invited other adult icu nurses to cross train up there.  i know one who got 4 hours orientation and then worked the last 8 hours on her own.  she hadn't taken pals for years or worked in peds for years.  odd how i have to be so current when i've taken that class repeatedly and have worked in the peds icu for years, yet people who work in other units and haven't worked in peds for years or taken the pals class for years are somehow exempt.

 bob and maddie had fun shaking the fireweed seeds all over.

 they are a bit like dandilions in that they are a seed with fluff that gets blown in the wind.  below you can see all the fluff being blown about.

 it is fun...i caught on quickly.  not sure why i'd never done this before.

 tanya above.

 missed her birthday...i'm way behind on birthday gifts and such.  i live behind though i guess. it's a miracle i get the laundry and dishes done really.

 i had maddie take some of me shaking the fluff from the fireweed.

anyway.  i guess i will hit the sack. i should put pictures on cd's first.  i still gotta get them onto shutterfly as well.  so behind...see this is the story of betsy.  month late and hundreds of dollars short.....inflation!!