in my 60's now....crazy

 

seems like my entries are more on the monthly basis. i think that is a reflection of a calmer brain. much less craziness. growth, maturity. who knows. some days i keep fairly busy and other days i get less done. i try to just allow my brain/body to guide me. 

this month i did get to Denali National Park and back down to Homer for my Birthday week. both trips went well  and i had great views and the dogs and i were all exhausted after.  Denali, the big mountain made a showing. in Homer, i found a new spot on the spit to explore during a nice low tide. 

i'd heard that there were sand dollars there.  i had nice -5.2 low tides. i spent the first morning at Bishops Beach and the second morning at the new spot behind the pier one theater on the spit. not disappointed either day.  there were thousands of sand dollars, especially once you got into the more sandy section below the tide zone. picked up a few shells as well. i have bleached those and put the nicest ones in the coffee table.

other finds, a nudibranch, stars, cucumber. always fun. weather was supposed to rain the whole time but really it was great.

my only complaint was that the hotel in Homer had tv set again to revert to faux news. i mentioned it again and they seem to be attempted to fix this. it used to revert to music. i like to leave the tv on when i fall asleep. the noise muffles any sounds outside the room which may make Sunny or Ivy bark. i tend to leave it on a station that plays friends or big bang or some other inane tv program. wake up to faux though, ick. they do actually seem concerned and baffled why it is doing this. 

my hotel in Healy called on my full day there and asked if  i was  staying, saying that when they went to clean the room was empty. odd as i was in the room taking a rest between drives into Denali and all my stuff was there. happy i was there when i got that call or i may have been very anxious about it. 

there are stars at the end of the spit but less than previous years and you really need a good low tide to see them.  

did not see any big animals in Denali, at least not close up.  there were loads of ptarmigan that the dogs wanted to chase. maybe the fact that they were still changing colors they were easy to spot. the road was open to mile 30 for all. 

that is always a fun time to go and you never know what you will see. still pretty and the big mountain was out. the drive out and back is long but we had a good time.  i always make lots of stops. 

now i have an overnight with friends at Dolly Varden cabin for June and also just booked that cute cabin at the KOA for June. no great low tides the rest of the summer anywhere it seems. was looking at Yakutat. maybe just find a low tide in general. it's been on the explore this place list for awhile. 

the painting on the shed is nearly done.  i painted it non-mellow yellow with brown trim.  still have a little trim to complete. painted some birds and birdhouses on there. 

got the railing on the back deck repaired and he will come back and put some sort of awning up over the back door and repair that wall where water and dogs damaged it. i also want to get sand and pavers in the area next to the shed and perhaps a planter on the other side. 

this keyboard is sticky, kind of annoying.

i have planted some flowers, which always perks up the place. 

look at the pretty sun star!

i also had a company come out to look at replacing upstairs windows. way too spendy for me. he mentioned a 40 year warranty. laughed as at 60, a 40 year warranty feels like overkill. i'll be dead. it's not that you are planning your death but you do realize that some things are really not going to matter. 

i think dropping eternity from your constant thoughts also makes some things matter less. 

i always thought the idea of my dead relatives or God watching my every move was strange. i mean how would they know when to look away or do they view every odd human thing i do. taking a shit, having sex....so many things in life we really don't want any other humans to see let alone those in the afterlife. 

my Birthday is always an awkward thing. i mean i want and crave the attention and acknowledgement while also being very uncomfortable with any attention. in the end this year, i had a few lovely meals out with friends and took a beautiful drive back from Homer after a perfect day in the tide pools. i hung out with my dogs that day. 

a friend called while i was on a stop to stretch with the dogs. of course, i dropped the chuck it out there i suspect. it was gone.  i walked back but never ran across it. tried to find a new short chuck it in town and then ordered one online. hopefully it's the right one. 

it is funny that Ivy loses tennis balls constantly, hundreds really. i lose one chuck it though and that is a disaster for us. 

in between trips i've mostly walked at the dog park or Campbell airstrip. 

the dogs are happy with this. i have walked Sunny on leash at the airstrip since the bears area out and the moose are popping out babies all over the place. he actually does great on leash and it's just me that needs to adjust to having a dog on leash. will meet friends in a bit for a walk today. 

this guy is real pretty too

i'm a fan of big clouds and sunsets

i return to work tomorrow night. i took this week off to enjoy my Birthday.  i have always tried to avoid my Birthday being at work. i do recall one Birthday at work. had to call a code strong as my patient flipped out. i was dropping a foley cath when my coworkers stood at the doorway singing happy birthday. nurses and medical folks in general develop a very twisted sense of humor. love my co-workers.

the trees are all green again. i love that fresh and beautiful pop of green.

now the flowers are coming out. this place is just a constant barrage of change.

love all the drama. i don't like drama in day-to-day life but i love it in nature

beautiful sunset in Homer at Bishops Beach. there are horses in the horse paddocks now. tours being given. 

i should have asked if they had any tours for low tide, because the next day the horses were in the paddock while we were on the beach. that night a woman was on a horse and Sunny kept barking.  he seems better with just the horses. not the horses with riders.

these boots were added to the mix of planters as you can see the big cracks. i do wear these a lot up here in the summers. guess Ketchikan has had loads of rain this past month. over 20+ inches in May alone. 

more of the greens

our nation remains a mess. love that a reporter called the idiot out. apparently, he's being called taco over these tariffs. he's so thin skinned, as are his followers so this has really upset them so of course, it's going wild. so many great memes. taco stands for trump always chickens out. perfect. so that has become his new name...among so many others. 

they have to crash and burn on their own. we have to mostly just sit back and allow the final meltdown of these idiots.  sadly, this is going to cause suffering in many. i just hope that once their extinction burst is over things can be made better for everyone. all the things they have fought against will be codified as rights. healthcare situation will improve as will workers' rights, gay rights, women's rights, education, racial inequalities...there is much wrong with this place. believe me no God will fix any of it. 

praying hasn't shown to work to fix actual issues in any society. that requires laws. 

this is the new spot for tide pooling

a little double rainbow action. I'm seeing some sunshine out there right now. hopefully a good walk 

i have a few things on my to do list. a few appointments to make. i tend to group those and tackle those at one time. i'm starting to think my anxiety is also wrapped up in some adhd. wasn't something we were aware of when i was younger. just ordered a book to do more research. claims to help you get your life more organized and productive, which would be helpful.

should eat something before i head out. just snacks

Sunny may be on leash for the walk. my knee has been a wee bit sore. suspect all that slipping around in the low tide zone. i did one slow backwards fall.  caught myself and was just in a bridge position. 

there was still some ice on lakes when i headed north last month. sure, that is all gone

love those trails in Talkeetna for a break in driving 

may add a night in Tok after Valdez, take a drive to Chicken?  it's been a while since i've done that drive.

grateful for A. another year on this beautiful planet B. pretty good health for my age C. the people and pets that make my life more full.  

bear, moose and a few unlucky rabbits

 that is life in the big city.  haven't seen the black bear for a few days.  probably headed out and about. weather too nice to stay in that den too long. 

 this gal was just eating on the trees by the road one day. 

 today i took the dogs for a 5 mile trek out Powerline Pass.  they did some pretty major running.  were pretty tired when we got back to car. 

 overall they were well behaved with all the bikes/ski's and humans out there.  got lots of compliments on how well trained and well behaved my dogs are...of course, there are also those other more rare moments of misbehavior.  several steps forward, the occasional leap up. they even stayed a few times when there were off leash dogs going past which is really a leap forward.  if they don't i don't get upset, i mean that is a hell of a lot of temptation for any dog.

 may try to head to Byron tomorrow.  we shall see.

 kept myself busy today, sweeping outside, smashing up ice, sanding the wood on the front of the house. will try to salvage that for a bit with some fresh stain. 

 it was a great day to just find excuses to be outside.

 later i was working on a little beading. i am a total novice beader, but i was thinking i may make some bracelets for WARIS, little letters, sadly, a bought this bag of letters and it only had one A.  really!!  ONE!  got lots of X's, like i need those!

 figure I'll do a little tie dying as well.  fresh shirts for this weeks lecture.  Ryan is back off the island and on the road system so hopefully, we will see him on Tuesday.  if not, i guess i will have to speak....hopefully that doesn't happen.  well I'll have to speak anyway as far as running it of course.

 last year i took my photo album from my trip.  upgraded to a usb card and one of those electronic frames.

 also have to take my Walrus mask for the drawing.  people we enjoying that for selfies as well.  Speedy will make her now famous walrus cupcakes.  pretty much the two of us running it.  hoping to do a live feed of the event as well for facebook. 

 i also have our annual skills fair at work so I'll try to do that on Wednesday.  so a busy week kind of. 

 need to throw the goodie bags together for Tuesday as well, that is easy though. 

 pretty sad day in the world today.  a bus carrying a Hockey team of teenagers was hit by a semi i think it was...nearly the entire team died.  so devastating. 

 there was also what appears to possibly be another chemical attack in Syria.  horrific if that is true again.  i think we all know how possible it is.  those people have been through so much.  what was once a beautiful place, it seems to be rubble now.  the Kurds have fought along side the US and done admirably, now there is talk of just pulling out and leaving them to fend for themselves in a place where Put has joined with those who wish them destroyed...seems like we will just come out looking like crap again.  create more enemies that were once friends.

 for decades we have screwed up that region, all in the name of greed, and oil dependence.  now we are screwing up our own nation as well in the name of greed and oil.  i still drive a car though.  i am part of the problem. 

 we could all do a bit more to help out our planet.  i think many are trying.  recycling, planning your errands to use less gas, bundling up rather than turning up the heat.  drives me crazy at work since we have so much waste generated.  hospitals are terrible at wasting.

 bear paparazzi, always entertaining.  the bear seems to pay little notice to those with camera's. 

 looks pretty chill resting near the tree

 speaking of recycling...a ultra runner lost a few toes to frostbite during a long ultra in Canada so he's donating those toes to the local bar in the Yukon Territory.   there is a thing where you pay for a drink, they plop an old toe in the glass and you take a drink from it to get your name in the big toe drink book. the rule though is you are not to swallow the toe!! that really is extreme recycling though.

 this administration is costing tax payers major bucks. his cabinet members keep getting caught spending crazy amounts of money for travel perks, extra security, expensive furniture...not to mention his frequent and super expensive treks to Florida.  his wall is not getting built, but he's claiming it is...it would cost billions to build the wall he sold his base on...instead all the budget gave him was money for repairs. now he's sending the National Guard to the border because Fox News is running our country. 

 he's convinced there are caravans of people, which really amounts to hundreds of people who are making their way to the border in an attempt to seek asylum.  numbers of people crossing the border have decreased for years...visa over stays, people that actually fly here legally, are probably the bulk of our illegals.

 regardless, it seems like overkill, other POTUS have sent troops..it didn't work then either.  they are using homeland security to keep tabs on media and bloggers and such...they could be watching me.  if they take over in a big flourish, they will have me marked.  how convenient. 

 he's allowing elephant ivory in on a "case by case basis".  he is opening up the waters off almost all our land to oil drilling.  taking back protected lands for his friends in the oil, mining and coal industries.  just reversed a bill that would protect women in the work place.  it's all the little things.  the destruction of the EPA, the weakening of our State Department, the damage of constantly going after the media, the FBI, the Dept of Justice.  it's the scary fact that he tweets what he watches in real time from fox and friends and listens to Hannity...Fox is running our nation.

 not to mention what a tool he is.  putting us in a trade war with China.  so much for your little tax break, we will all pay more for goods and services.  the farmers will really take a hit though...apparently, he exempted his daughter.  nepotism runs high in this administration. 

 sun wasn't on my side for these bear pictures, but they still came out fun.  not that particular.  just having fun.

 there is the bear all chill in the tree.

 those are some pretty big paws though.

 at his den door.

 Puerto Rico is still not back up to normal and hurricane season is on the way again.  will have to see what happens this year...this iitoo was not a friend to them though. 

 hit the dunes yesterday so these next few are from there.

 a bit cloudy out there, at least it looks like it may have been wet on the Kenai.

 pups always enjoy the dunes..really they enjoy being outside anywhere.

 the rest are from today.

 a few spots kind of punchy...i went off trail to pick up dog poop and dropped down to my knee's...i know that is dedication.  got snow in my boots so luckily it was a warm day. 

 tiny buds starting to appear.

 biking with his ski's and dog...off to play somewhere up the trail.

 snow drifting looked like waves.

 you can see the mostly submerged bridge off in the distance.

 we turned around at the bridge cut off.  the trail was a more punchy as the afternoon warmed.  we got over 5 miles in anyway.

 lots of folks out there.   people really appreciate great weather.  hope it's not great weather on Tuesday so we get a good turn out.

 tree's look submerged as well.

 Ivy was even laying down as we returned a few times.

 i could hear Ptarmigan all over, stopped often to just listen and look...as you can see they do blend in.  i did finally see these guys and then the dogs flushed one out as well.  i suspect they will remember the sound these make as they were pretty excited.

 lots of tennis ball chasing..of course, the pups dropped the ball when we were nearly back.  no idea where that went...another gift to the next dog on the trail i guess. 

 saw bits of rabbit out there as well. this not so lucky rabbit foot in a tree. not sure how it got there.  another time there was just the back end of the rabbit ...that was near where we lost the tennis ball.  it was there as we walked out but not on the return.  some birds must have nabbed it.  ravens were about.  the dogs were sniffing around the area.  probably dropped the toy then. 

grateful for:  A.  sunny days and outdoor time  B. time to listen to birds and enjoy the weather C.  health to be able to walk and walk for hours.