Lost Lake and a chat with the Capital...

 We had an absolutely beautiful day at Lost Lake. we lingered as long as we could and as long as we could stand the bugs out there.  the breeze was finally starting to pick up in the afternoon.  we ate lunch by the lake. it really was this pretty.  there was no need at all to enhance any of these pictures.  besides contrast and cropping i really don't do anything to my pictures. i'm too lazy to shoot in raw and i'd rather be outside than sitting at a computer...

 though with all this WARIS stuff i've been on the computer way more than i have ever been.  i should have been writing down the time i spent on WARIS stuff all along, but i have for sure started to now.

 took two vacation days this week and they have pretty much morphed into WARIS days. Hoping this all settles a bit once i have the basics done. tonight i've been working on the web page.  i took a break to write the blog as they have downtime at web.com so it seemed best to not fight it.  i'll have to try again in a bit.  trying to hook our new bank account up so people can donate.

 Katie met me at the bank and we opened an account.  WARIS has $10 in our account!!  go team.  my thanks to my childhood friend, Marcia, for the $10 donation. she sent it for my birthday.  seemed fitting to open it with her donation.  as a young kid she innocently asked me a lot of questions about all kinds of stuff, including the religion i was being raised in.  we had long conversations. she wasn't trying to sway me, just curious as she wasn't raised with any specific religion.  all that questioning helped me to see the world differently than the one way i had been taught.  eventually...well...here i am.

 Today i got a package in the mail from another friend from my days in Ketchikan.  another donation arrived along with a gift and a sweet note.  it's great to get encouragement for this thing i am taking on.  this week i have felt somewhat overwhelmed and anxious about what i embarking on and the kind and positive words are really helpful.

 people want to donate and they want to help.  it's time for me to set it up for them to do just that.  it's all set up i just need to get it on to my web page and then introduce the web page...to everyone.  it still needs a lot of work and i'm learning as i go. the page will hopefully improve over time.

 my neighbor did indeed come over in the wee hours of the morning and sprayed the wasp nest.  many dead wasps around it and i could see the nest is melting like and hopefully the larvea forms i see in there will die as well.  keeping dogs far away from the area so they don't get sick from the crap that kills the wasps. tried to just take them for a walk after i fed them but they didn't like that idea. Rio just wouldn't pee, Blossom kept sitting down.  they are creatures of habit.

 as long as they were in the side yard and i was out there with them i let them be in the yard.

 i made a dent in the chickweed situation.  day was nice out so i took to the garden with vigor!! at least it rips out easily.  the idea is to get to the bottom and then spray weed killer i think..more toxins for the dogs to avoid.  should just hire someone to re-do the entire yard. it's a lot of work.

 in between that i checked for email responses/wrote more emails and spoke to the legislative assistant to our senator Mark Begich.  he had called while i was out at Lost Lake and we had played some phone tag.  Bob King has been to Round Island and seems to be on board with not wanting the staff off the island.  i think he was getting ready to fly out...the phone cut off and that was that.  hopefully we will be in contact again.  i wrote a note through the senators website.  kinda cool though that one of my emails got noticed and responded to.

 chatted with my oldest brother, Ross, for a bit.  got to tell him about my call from the Capital...that is what comes up on the caller ID.  he's in New York on vacation.  sounds like fun.  guess everyone is headed to Texas again for Thanksgiving.  we'll have to see.  had fun last year, possible.

 also chatted with my friend, Carla, she finally has a smart phone. i was her first text and first phone call.  always fun to chat with her.  it was a quick call while i was waiting for Katie at the bank.

 funny...it was easier to get a bank account than a PO Box.

 Boddhi was enjoying some water time which is i guess unusual.

 couldn't stop taking pictures...it was just so beautiful.  takes your mind off of the bugs.

 Malaysian Air had another very bad and sad day.  a passenger jet with over 200 passengers was shot out of the air over Ukraine.  not sure who is responsible, so sad.  supposedly several of the passengers were Aids researchers who were on the way to a conference.  great loss for the world and my heart goes out to the families.

 who knows who is responsible and what if anything will happen.

 Israel has increased in their push into Gaza...it's full on war at this point.

 kept my wide angle lens on all day.

 Boddhi...he's such a handsome guy.

 Indy was more interested in swimming.

 my friends...everything is cooler in Black and White.

 Rio went to the vet for a check up. her tail is still slowly healing.  she still needs to have a bandage on her tail and the sutures are still in.

 we just walked around Kincaid today with the dogs.  it was looking like it could rain on my side of town but over there the sun was out and everyone was biking and enjoying the day. thinking tomorrow i may just hit the road with the dogs for a day excursion.  head north...not sure where yet. we shall see.

 lots of tarn action up there. love tarns. great word..kinda like taiga, another northern word.  further north there are pingo's.  gotta love Alaska!!

 after this i shall head back and hope i can get the web thing ready to at least get started and then...bed!!

 may try and organize all these papers and read more on my self learning books...how to start and run a non-profit.

 this is a tarn...not big enough to be a lake...too big to be a pond i think...also seems a thing that shows up in the higher elevations.  never heard the word tarn before i got here.

 Rio for sure gets more tired walking in the summers than the winters and more in general than in years past.

 baby tarn...or little pond?  i'm still gonna call it a tarn.

 this month is flying by fast!!  that is how summers go.  crazy!!  you feel totally wasteful on a day like today if you don't do some big thing,  but you still need to clean toilets, pull chickweed and wash dishes every so often.  my yard is a mess..this seems to happen every summer though.  i'm not one who wants to be bothered with yardwork...i'd rather be out enjoying this great place called Alaska!!

 soon winter will come and the yardwork will change to shoveling snow.  the chickweed will die off.  i really should just hire a lawn service..i say that every year.  i haven't gotten any projects done this year...i guess WARIS is my project this year.  next year i'll have to take on a home project. the fence no doubt...as i doubt it will last the winter.

 it's just so open,so vast out there.  this place is beyond beautiful...anytime of year really.

 cooked a turkey breast tonight.  i'd bought it the other day and looked at it yesterday and thought i had like a week to use it...today i realized that the date on there was really today and that i had to cook it today.  my brain wasn't getting that July was almost half way over.  nuts!!

 we took our time that afternoon returning to the cabin.  the wind had picked up, the bugs were a bit less and the dogs were pretty tired. Blossom and Boddhi kept wanting to break.  Indy seemed full of vigor but after we got back to the cabin he was the one that seemed the most sore.  i think he just didn't want to let on that he was beat...

 my desk is a mess...both of them. haha...really do need to sort that out a bit.

 yes...i never made it to the gym today...again!!  grr!! feel like i need to get this done though. then the next phase begins.

 Blossom and I

 the family...

 a few more of the lake before we headed  back to the cabin.

 Blossom gets nice and soaked...i should have brought her tennis ball out to the lake.  she is so funny...doesn't really get swimming without a ball to chase.

better get back to it and then head to bed... thankful fors: 1- being busy...it's good to feel productive and be engaged in something bigger than yourself. 2- to be healthy enough to  be able to get out and enjoy amazing places like Lost Lake 3-  cool friends who make me laugh

more july pics

 several from a day hike with friends to hidden lakes.  powerline pass.  always so pretty up there.  we had a great day.

 this guy was in the bog and below is from kincaid park, little campbell lake loop

 the fireweed is totally nuts right now.  i drove out to hatchers pass this evening.  was lazy most of the day.  but got off my arse about 6 i guess and headed out to hatchers and independence mine.  the fireweed was amazing.  may try to hit homer for an overnight tomorrow.  bishops beach.  i'll probably just see if they have one of those dog friendly rooms.  hit the beach, a few stores, the spit and then home.

 must call about kaktovik first and see if that is a go or not.  like i said, if the stars align then i'll go for it, if not, then it wasn't meant to be.  i also should arrange for my carpet to get a good cleaning and my windshield to get changed out.  it's cracked almost all the way across.  so i should actually do some business of life before hitting the road.

 spent a lot of time baking cookies this month it seems.  the kids loved it. i can relax for a few weeks. i'm sure i'll be back to baking when my nephews are here.  we have another camping trip to go.  byers lake.  it's always pretty nice out there.

 haven' had a pool party for awhile.  will have to plan one before the summer is completely over.  socializing is good for me.  forces me to clean the house too.  always a bonus.

 the rest are from powerline pass.  met tanya and her family and her friends from Sweden.   we had mixed weather, but mostly we got lucky. it drizzled a few times on us and then the sun would break through.  was fairly cool overall though, which is great considering how hot this summer has been.

 ernie, hakam, martin.  bob, tanya, maddie and pella in front with the dogs.

 i got to independence mine tonight at 8pm, they close the gate at 9 pm i guess so i didn't have much time there.  the dogs got to get out and walk around a bit which they enjoyed.

 i met a few marmots.  they apparently can scream pretty loudly.  the scream scared the crap out of me.  sounded like a small child was stuck in the mine ruins.  maybe a ghost.  nope, just a few marmots trying to warn me off.  was hoping to see some marmot babies.  figure they must have had some wee ones around for all that screaming they were doing to distract me.

 i did manage a trip to the dog park finally after 1 or 2pm.  chatted with my old high school buddy, marcia for quite a while so i wasn't totally lazy, just enjoying catching up with an old friend.  met her in 7th grade.

 maddie rests.

 rio sat this hike out.  she's had a tough enough time with just the regular hikes we have been taking this summer.  poor girl.  guess someone's dog must have had a bad tussle with one of the university lake beavers.  they marked up a beaver warning sign with a note in indelible ink that said something about the beaver coming out of the water and attacking her dog.  not sure the owner needed to deface a sign to get her point across.  those beavers are pretty bad from what i've heard. i try to be careful, but i do worry about blossom when she swims.  someone said the beaver comes from underneath the dogs and bites them in the gut so that would be a bad wound.  a few dogs have been killed.

 i really am pretty crazy about this dog and i'd be pretty devastated if i lost her.  i know one day that will  happen, but i'm hoping that day is still many years off.

 she chased her toy for a bit but it was pretty hot and after a bit she was fine just being on the leash for the rest of the walk.  this day on powerline i think i kept her on leash for the powerline part and then the dogs were free to romp.

 the bridge is usually a great place to let them relax and play in the water.  it's often my turnaround point.  it's about 2 miles to bridge.  still many hikes out there i haven't gotten to this summer.

 today, lazy...oh well.  happy i made the drive to hatchers. that is always worth the trip.

 flower action along the trail.

 may try to get to bed a bit earlier tonight so i can make the drive south if i decide to.  homer is always nice and for several years i've just gone in and out of it and haven't really stopped to enjoy the place.

 always driving too fast to stop and take pictures along the way. the fireweed should be great out that way as well.

 don't think i stimulated my brain much today.  some days that happens.  my brain meanders aimlessly.

 the to do list piles up and rolls over the top and still i seem to avoid all tasks.  eventually, stuff that has to get done does get done.  did some laundry.  the trash will get out to the curb.  hopefully we don't have a bear in the neighborhood.  they pick up trash so early most days that there is no way i'll wake up in time to get it out to the curb in the morning.  wish they'd wait to start picking up until after 9 am.  i could get home from work and put the trash out .

 blossom and i pose for a photo op.

 these rocks are always a good place to stop for pictures.

 blossom, of course always seems to want her own rock shot

 bet maddie is missing her buddies at the house.  they are back in Sweden now.

 we were all together until the patch of snow coming up to the right.  they all went to play on the snow.  i thought they'd take some side trail  back to where i was.  they took some other trail that took them up the valley rather than up to where i was.  took awhile for us all to get back together.  i think once i hit the higher elevation my phone was able to send/receive texts and we got back together.  it was a bit of a rougher trail for them though getting back up there, especially with the kids.

 blossom and i walked solo for a bit.

 here they all are playing out there on the snow.

 the kids had a mini snowball fight i think.

 i wasn't too worried about bears up that way.  i could see quite a distance and i had my spray on me.

 so off we went to the tarns.

 good bye friends...

 i had the cookies though, they had to find me.  haha.

 i was heading towards the blue skies too...always a bonus.

 in ketchikan we would call this a "sucker hole".  only a sucker would believe this meant the day would clear out.

 it did clear out for a bit though. blossom was pretty beat by the end of the day.

 kinda looks like a big sasquatch print....it's not.  we skirt around this snow on our way to the tarn

 a bit windy at times. today i got blossoms face trimmed a bit.  guess i wasn't completely useless today.  i was pretty useless though.  i guess we all need those days.  i think i seem to need more than the average person of lazy days.

 blossom looks like she is missing her friends.

 i sat down to eat and wait for the return of my comrades...the dogs showed up first.

 did they want my cookies?  maddie did.  she made a run for me and then took the cookies back to pella and martin.  they had all decided to stay back a bit and skip the tarn...their trek off trail had taken it's toll on them.

 bob, tanya, maddie and hakam made it to the tarn...

 hakam went on up to the second tarn.  i've never gone up there.  today would have been a good day.  i was actually feeling pretty good.

 may be able to see him up there on the trail heading into the upper tarn.

me, a bit windblown.  my hair is growing back out.  i had put layers in and now i'm over that so i will have to suffer through the grow out phase where it doesn't all stay in the braid.  bummer.  oh well.  off to bed.  hopefully i can get myself moving tomorrow and get out of town.