catch up from last summer still...haha

 most of these are from Hallo Bay with a few left over from Holgate as well.  what can i say summers are busy picture wise.  these are scenery mostly as this evening walk was not bear filled.  we did have a great opportunity to listen to the call of the wolves which was pretty amazing.  what a sound!

 light rain right now.  i'll don rain gear soon enough and head out with the puppies.  makes for a lazy start of a day when it's raining i find. once i'm out there, i quite enjoy it. yesterday started out like that as well but soon the sun came out and in the end it was pretty sweet out there.

 ran a few errands and did some touch ups on the little free library.  hopefully i can get that base built soon and get it out there.

 met with friends to hit the bear tooth and the movie, "zookeepers wife".  wildly depressing but still well done...except the last bit where it's a year later and the baby they had suddenly looked about 4 years old. that was kind of odd.  could have done without seeing all the animals blown up at the zoo and shot.  it's based on a true story though.  these things do happen.

 it's rarely a mention though with all the human bloodshed.  the animal losses are morphed by the human losses.  the animal losses are always there though.  i'm sure many of the Jews killed had pets that were left to their own devices or killed outright.  Zoo's that fall in to war zones are rarely left untouched. even if they are the animals are often left to starve to death.  keepers are forced away and food is scarce.

 had debated an outing this stretch off.  so far that hasn't happened.  lots to do around the house to though.  this break up/spring time is a great time to get some of that stuff done.

 the mosquito's are coming out.  especially in the evening. after the movie i went moose spotting, only saw one, but there were quite a few mosquito's.

 we did a loop around Little Campbell Lake yesterday.  no moose spotted there.

 these lenticular clouds were the ones that kept the plane from coming to pick us up for a few days.  the plane lands on a beach with an up slope so a cross wind could be very problematic.

 iitoo is out of the country.  snippets from his speech to the males of the middle east (it was a vast sea of males in the audience as is common in modern middle east), he seemed to stay on the message given to him.  thank God.  he does not do well with ad lib.  so the speech was not bad really.  sadly, i don't really think his actions match the speeches he tends to make.  but a nice speech can keep some peace for another day.  fear was he'd piss people off.  i'm sure he loved his greeting in Saudi.  he was treated like a king, which is exactly how he believes he should be treated...oh that he wasn't born in America and he could have risen to the level of king.  so they wisely stroked his ego to get what they wanted.  more arms and in return they have made a donation apparently to Ivanka's non-profit i believe.

 it is amazing that everything that he does that is totally like the crap they screamed about that HRC did is suddenly just fine.  as long as it's their person, all the corruption is totally fine.

 the GOP still wants to gut medicare and social security.  still want to make it easier to drill in monuments and national parks, still want to take away insurance...their core values or lack of values still remain.  we, the people, matter very little to those in office at this moment.  sadly, so many who still are on team Drumpf still don't seem to see that he is not fighting for them as much as they believed he would.

 they that watch faux news get the usual crap...if it's negative about iitoo it must be fake, or but obama or but hillary still, yes still.  they seem to push the victim role.  poor conservatives they have no power, they have no media, they have no influence.  once a martyr always a martyr it seems.  we all take on roles in our lives and it can be tough to reverse course.  truth is they have gained all of those things but still act like they are the victims.  being a victim does make success more difficult and fleeting so i'm ok with that. just think it's become so self destructive.

 this attitude seems to have also lost the conservatives their moral/ethical high ground.  since they have sunk to even lower depths than those that they call their enemies they no longer have any moral stand.  this administration is a source of constant lies.  they blame everyone else for all of their errors and take absolutely no responsibility.  the secrecy is extremely detrimental.  they blame leaks and leakers, but the leaks are only really a sign of how dire things have become in the administration.  he demands loyalty but, when those around him see mayhem and live in fear, their only recourse is to leak and hope that some how this mess will be discovered and dealt with.

 they like to think the leaks are from Obama holdovers but i suspect the bulk of them are just those in the know who are scared of what is happening.  the GOP knows it but they have an agenda that they would desperately like to push through before the crap storm takes away all power and respect.  before their base figures out that faux news has fed them a line of crap for years.

 below our guide is calling back to the wolves...they responded.  we had some fun out there.

 walking along a remote beach like this is always a treat.  it's amazing what you might find out there.

 we were a fairly early group as the bears were just collecting waiting for the big salmon rush.

 looks like a pretty big bear to me.

 i wear a size 6.5-7 for some perspective.

 remnants of the Japan Tsunami.

 these pups are overall pretty chill. they are currently just laying around waiting for me to finish doing this so we can head out walking.  they are never demanding.  not for walks or food.  they don't rush me for meals and often i just fill the bowls and set them down without dog presence.  Tusker still tends to pick up the bowls and move them to a preferred eating spot.  usually scattered across the main room floor.

 love beautiful big clouds and big skies.

 below you can see a wolf.  a nice sighting

 checking out the crossings.

 we chilled and waiting on the sides.  i think he was just curious how deep it was out there for potential crossings with later groups.

 they will move camp. in the old days they had an established camp but the rules changed and now they have to switch locations every few weeks i think.  more of a pain but the powers that be feel it's better for the land.

 family of some sort of bird.

 and of course, eagles.  can't be around salmon without eagles.

 this one is a juvenile bald eagle.

 coming in for a landing.

 adult

 fox prints

 bears down the beach as we head back to base camp for night.

 it was the mom and three cubs

 love these little cotton flowers.  the purple is monks hood.

 the rest are scenery from Holgate.  that is actually Peterson glacier i think. these are from the ride back to Seward.

 all seemed pretty calm out there, but it did become a more exciting ride as we turned into the bigger water.  had reminders of my trek out in Bristol Bay.  not excited to repeat that, but i just rode it out at the front of the boat.  we weren't really in any danger and we arrived back safely, but it was a bit sketchy in a few spots

 tough to take pictures once the slop began, but for this section it was flat and calm.  on the way out we had big sways.  those were fun. it's when the sways come from all different directions that it gets more dicey out there.

 i guess i have wasted enough time for the morning...now afternoon.

 ice from the glaciers can be seen pretty far out depending on the tides.

 off we go...below is more whale action though seeing them and taking pictures in the slop proved pretty tough at times.  we still stopped and attempted to watch. our best views of whales had been on the way in.

grateful for:  A.  folded chips. man those are good..it's the little things B. snuggle time with puppies. i'm sure they don't enjoy it as much as i do, but they oblige.  C.  the company of my pets. it would surely be a lonely home without them.

more bears from the past...and the usual walks

lots of signs of plant life begining to prepare to erupt but not too much green out there yet. thought i'd toss in a few more pictures from old cd's. like to get them loaded into the computer for transfer to picasso or shutterfly sites. these are still more pictures from my week out at mcneil river. it was mostly cloudy and rainy so below is a rare shot with any blue skies. above is bear tracks at low tide. still pretty in a rain. it rained a small amount today. i slept well after my shift. i was super tired though. wednesday i took the car in early for it's 60,000 mile check, oil change, tire changeover. they are super busy there as it's tire changeover time. obviously, i wasn't the only person who was late getting the tires changed over. probably a good time though as if they weren't busy i suspect they would have been finding things wrong with the car and it would have been more expensive. is good to know the car is up and ready for some summer road trips!for sure woke on the wrong side of the bed that day. i'm generally not a cranky girl, but that day i was ready to trounce on anyone who crossed me. i did maintain despite my desire to go ballistic. i t took almost 2 hours for me to get home from the car place. the "courtesy" van took forever. i was the first one on the list and almost the last dropped off. i would have been the last except i spoke up when i realized the guy wasn't getting that my place was closer than the other persons. they lived all the way on the south side of town. my plan was drop off car, get a lift home and fall right into bed. when i got home i'd discovered i forgot to take the trash out and the dogs had gotten into it. poor beasts, i had a thing or two to say. i'm not a person who yells like ever so they dogs were all like, what up?!? hard to sleep that day so started my two nights tired. my concern was that the dogs would get sick from what they ate in the trash. when i returned from work yesterday...there was poop and pee all over the office. such a lovely way to end a 12 hour shift.....clean up! no yelling, it was almost expected after the crap they ate. just hoping there are no further dog health issues than that. we bogged it the next day. they seemed okay. it's part of being a dog owner. there are just going to be those days. more bear tracks.my two nights kept me steady, but nothing to insane. one sick baby. looking better. all those syringe pumps were making me crazy. one of the pumps seemed to be fussing with me at any given time. peds keeps me on my toes. no matter how long i work there, i am always a bit paranoid. guess that is true in the adult icu as well. it's a high risk career, you can screw up and there are some pretty serious repurcussions to a screw up in my job. lives are at stake. i think if you reach a point of feeling too chill in the icu's you probably should change jobs. i always laugh at people with other jobs that really just don't seem that stressful to me and yet they act like they are so over the top with stress. my humble abode for a week. all season northface tent will get some use again this summer. i'm not a gear person in general, but living and camping in alaska means having alot of gear. all season tent, backpacking tent, car camping tent. also a few different sleeping bags. various packs. worked with good and helpful crews at work which always helps. know we had a few giggle sessions in there as well. night shift always gets customer complaints as we can get noisy or seem noisy when you are trying to sleep. we have to stay awake and alert and we also have stressful jobs so it's helpful mentally for us to joke around and keep it light. so...lighten up. nobody sleeps in the intensive care unit and it's not a hotel so get over it!! if your kid or family member is critically ill, i don't really care if you can sleep...it's just not my priority. i was lucky as my family members all went home for the nights. one morning we saw these wolf tracks out on the beach. so wolf and bear tracks. kinda cool!juvenile bald eagle feather.mother grizz with her two older kids, probably thier last summer with mom. another roll of black and white film. used to be that i would plan for 6-7 rolls of film/day for these trips. the old camera's had the benefit of the ability to change out batteries. the new camera's allow you to take thousands of photo's and just weed through them later. with film you have to think a bit more before you push down that button to take the photo. also i remember my old film camera having no issues when it got damp. the professional photographer's fancy digital actually just stopped working at one point and she had to let it dry out in the cook cabin for a bit before it began to work again. got some fun shots of these bears though. always great to have such fabulous models! bear viewing trips are a bit pricey up here, but most people just toss the money at it and just enjoy the journey. at least with this the $500 float plane trip got me a weeks worth of viewing. plenty of people toss down at least that for a day trip of viewing.will be interesting to see what crap ends up on the beaches. they are saying kayak island, monteque island and parts of prince of wales will be almost a disaster zone from all the flotsam from the japan tsunami. crews are out doing research and clean up already i heard. i was talking to a friend about kayak island and how it probably would be a great year for finding glass floats out there, she said the place was crawling with researchers already.will have to get lots of black and white out at round island this summer. love black and white. hit the dog park today. i think blossom was happy to get some swimming in. the ice is almost gone at this point. i slept in til 3 and it was hell getting myself motivated. when i woke up i opened the back door for blossom. she took a few steps out there, discovered it was raining, looked annoyed and came right back in. as always, i find that this same rain is not bothersome at all when we leave via the front door with leashes in hand. dogs are funny.the seals come up mcneil river with the incoming tides.we saw several out there.picked up a cheap ukelele in order to attempt to learn it. will have to get the little cd out. the chords are different than the guitar so more difficult than i expected. my brain is in guitar mode. thought it may be easy to take camping and such. it's cute and small. not sure i'll master it. i've known some people who can pretty much pick up any instrument and within a few hours it seems they are happily playing it. i'm not quite that musical. mediocre at best, but happily mediocre. i am always super impressed by those who are just gifted like that musically. i don't play often enough, but it is nice to take the guitar on a road trip or camp out. was trying to remember a salsa recipe at the grocery store. that never works. need to make some sort of appetizer for a party tomorrow night. figured i'd just bring chips and homemade salsa...thanks quinton....his salsa is the best. not sure there is any place to heat food at this place and i'm kinda thinking i'm gonna be hungry. appetizers just aren't a meal, but i'm not sure if there will be anything but appetizers. lots of dinners out this stretch off, maybe hit a movie or two. we shall see. really need to get down and get hotels finalized for dillingham. see what cool stuff i can come up with out there. my birthday is later this month. i'll turn 48. yikes! felt my joints with this chill and rain today. so maybe i can predict the weather. will just have to be in tune with my joint activity. may try and hit jodphur loop tomorrow. it's been awhile. i fear it will now be mini lakes all over the trails. we shall see. the rest of anchorage has melted quite nicely this year. above is baxter bog and below is remnants of snow in my back yard. there is still a pile by the cat run area. need to get that fixed. the cats do enjoy thier little outdoor space, but can't let them out til it's repaired.one day we walked up patterson and over to cheney lake. always a nice neighborhood-park to park walk. it's great to live on this end of town and have several nice parks within walking distance.this lake is also melting pretty fast. a few from university lake today. nice that it stopped raining while we were out there.loved above picture. simple, yet so pretty!was wearing my new glasses for an hour tonight, just to check em out. not bad. won't have to wear them all the time, but they will be great for road trips. tourists are starting to show up in alaska. heard the cruise ships have began to arrive in southeast alaska. guess i will grab my book and hit the sack.