this one was across from potters marsh though. i drove past before heading home. i really think it was kinda warmer at the coastal refuge than at my end of town. went swimming and the sign at the police dept said -17...so we've warmed a bit tonight. the news did say my end of town may hit -25.
the pool was fabulous and warm again. love it when that happens. got my 25 laps in again.
i did change up my day at the coastal refuge as after i did my usual walk i took a side trail out a ways. took it til the trail dried up...meaning the person who had snowshoed it before me had stopped and turned around. i opted to turn around as well over postholing.
liked the bird house out there in the middle of nowhere, also that little thing in this picture looks like a cool animal sighting, but it's really just a tree remnant i think.
slept in again today, which wasn't a bad thing. it gets me to the trails in time for sunset. the sun is setting later and later though.
i really should cut back on the number of photo's i take. it's so much fun though. i love to share the amazing place i live with random strangers across the globe. just passed 20,000 views to my blog. kinda cool. thanks to all who stop by. i just think it's totally awesome that via these computers we can connect with people across the world and share what our day to day existence is. though there are variables, we all pretty much do the same stuff. friends, family, work, pets, pretty places...
laugh with my friends about the whole professional photography thing. anyone in alaska can sell pictures as it's so amazing here that anyone can get a decent photo if they just get out there. many of my pictures are just taken with my little canon powershot, others with my canon rebel.
i have thought in the past i should join a photo group. i find all those groups are just so dang competitive. everyone has to show how much better they take photo's or that they have better gear. i'm so totally over competition. people, in our nation at least, can't do anything anymore just because they enjoy doing it. they need a ribbon or a t-shirt and they have to have the best gear to do it with. i enjoy walking, i enjoy taking photo's and i enjoy writing and blogging. it's as simple as that.
just seems that everything in life became one big competition and that is probably when i just stepped off it all. now i just live my simple existence.
not much wildlife out there today, but there were a few ravens who were cruising around. i can't remember ever taking pics of ravens before so here are a few.
watching some big bang while i blog. watched round one, now i'm doing the repeat. they are even funnier the second time around. love sheldon!
too cold to take rio again. she got frostbite a few years back in this cold weather on her paw pads. i'm trying to be more careful. she really just doesn't like it out there in this extreme cold. blossom, however, loves it. maybe she has more fur around her pads, or just moves faster.
she does seem quite tired after another day of frisbee chasing.
thought it was cool that there was a steam rising off the water in the arm way out there beyond the ice. the chunks in the middle are ice floes. i only went out so far but there were big ice chunks beneath the snow where i walked.
beyond the ice and the arm is redoubt, a local volcano.
nice skies despite the cold weather.
though i enjoyed my day i must admit that i accomplished very little. did get the cat litter changed. life can be so stressful. haven't even gotten my sunday paper read. should work on that.
these next few were also taken across from the potters marsh.
love the tracks, almost cruised over to take train pictures but it was time enough away from rio. i feel bad leaving her behind. she's very good about it and i tend to get some couch snuggle time with her when i'm rewarming upon return. oddly, she seems just as happy and restful as blossom does and she did nothing.
more tracks
blossom after a day at the coast.
this is my favorite shot of the day. loved the light on all the little snow bumps.
trying for some art shots.
the light is so amazing on days like today. the more you go to a place the more you notice about it. you can go all the time and still discover new stuff.
guess the russian tanker is in the nome area. as close as a ship can get to the shore this time of year. they are planning to hook up and offload the fuel. spendy, but still cheaper than flying it all in. kinda cool that a russian tanker was granted permission and the coast gaurd worked with them to break the ice and get to nome.
this is a cool picture too. i'm easily pleased. the sun looks so close you could touch it.
love this of blossom. she is so fun to take pictures of.
i think i have avoided people this week. i get in those modes. it's not that i don't like people i'm just a natural loner. that was one of the reasons i started the monday walks. it's good for me to put myself out there and socialize. it's just so easy to do stuff by myself. i'm part hermit. not sure where that comes from. grew up in a large family, wanted to be forgotten some days. of course, secretly i really wanted attention.
was happy to see the city is making an inquiry into the big baptist temple's tax exemptions. they own tons of property and don't have to pay any taxes on any of them. seems like these big churches get a few too many perks. is it a corporation or a church. seems like the lines get more and more blurry these days. doubt they will be fined or cited, but it is nice that they are at least looking into it and causing prevo grief. so much is done in the name of religion. i do hope if there is a god, he's watching. think there will be some surprised people at those pearly gates.
i'm feeling sore. back to swimming and all my forays into the woods at subzero temperatures. feels good.
feeling like i want to do something to my hair, feeling very frumpy of late. not a good thing. haven't even had my hair cut for almost 3 years. it's overdue. not sure i want to use the old hairdresser though. he now is part owner and i think that distracts him. how to pick someone else though and what to do with the hair...not sure. it is just hair and mine tends to grow back pretty quickly.
keep getting interrupted watching big bang. so funny!
i really have to get the 5th season. not sure if it's out officially yet.
should turn off big bang and get the guitar out...or go to bed. it is 1am. i'm on a stay up late, sleep in late run.
there is one of those crows again.
multitasking. reading the paper, watching big bang, blogging...
tomorrow should just be walking. a perk to being with actual humans. i take far fewer photo's and most of them turn out pretty crappy anyway. it's a holiday and it's cold out. not sure how many will be there. could be fun. we'll do a shorter one though. due to cold and the children will probably join us. i know maddie is coming. she's already complained that she has been tricked into taking longer walks than expected.
love how bleak it is out there. so cool.
not sure who blazed this trail, but they sure walked crooked! one must wonder what was going on there.
blossom takes in the scenery.
exercise is good for the brain. who knew? reading the parade magazine. i think we always fear alzheimers. have friends who have had parents with this and it's just so stressful for all involved. haven't had this in my family, we have other stuff. my dad had parkinsons and my mom had diabetes. gramps had strokes. longevity isn't huge in the family. these things can be altered i hope. i'd like a good long healthy life here. i really like my earth time. my parents were both in thier 70's when they passed away. my mom always predicted she'd go in her 60's. not sure why.
blossom makes her way down the crooked path.
love when sheldon tries to be human. hehe.
this place is off limits in the summers. impossible and wet. i sure enjoy it in the winters.
perhaps i'll forget my cameras tomorrow. nah...can't do that! what if something cool shows up and i don't have it. okay, i'm a bit obsessed.
but i have finished season one of the big bang so i really should wrap up for the night.
ok,not season one, just the first disc of season one. that sounds much better. feeling a bit dehydrated. the cold really does take it out of ya. my to do list grows. would have thought that with temps this far below zero i would have gotten more done in the house. will skip swim tomorrow night since i've swam the last two nights. ready for a day off. want to get back to 3 swims/week. good for my body, my mind and my hair. whether i cut it all off, or just some of it.
sleep is so wonderful and i'm very good at it. so good night all. thanks for joining and for putting up with my over picture days. i know way too many photo's but it's so pretty and i can't resist.
i think a few of these loaded oddly, but then i was taking them left handed and upside down. another beautiful day out there, but cold as hell. or what one might assume the temperature of hell would be, though generally hell is seen as a hot climate. i'd agree that being overly hot would be worse than being overly cold, unless you had access to a refreshing and clean body of water. 
today i was joined by amy, lena and karen for a stroll out at rovers run. karen and i veered off onto a side trail that connects from the rovers loop out to the homestead trail. i think we all manged the cold quite well. amy went shopping before hand for some new layers that i think made a difference in her comfort level in these bitter cold temps. dressing for these subzero temperatures is a trial and error thing. takes some time and experience to really find your right layering. 
i wasn't cold until i was going from my car back into my house after stopping by subway. i was juggling my gear and the sandwich and a coke and my keys without any gloves. i got all twisted, dropped my caffienated beverage and was quite chilly. the ice cubes are still sitting on my deck and will be visible until the next snow covers them over. 
the side trail has some nice views. 
i carried my big camera's but never got them out. i was determined not to go nuts taking photo's. took hardly any on the monday walk this week. 
came home, snuggled with rio and then crawled under the heated throw blanket and after reading a bit fell into a lovely nap state.
got my guitar out last night for a bit. even did crappy video's of me singing a few of the songs i've written. actually posted one of facebook. a big step considering i am not one to perform my music publicly very often. years ago when i'd play, my friends would sneak a listen from outside the door. i think that was at my gramps beach house in laguna. 
have performed some of my music publicly over the years though. in south dakota i played occasionally at an open mike in a small cafe. in ketchikan i played the "monthly grind" on a few occasions. the monthly grind is a variety show that the community puts on once a month through the winters. they called me and asked me to perform once so they must have liked my little act. of course, when i mentioned this to one of the docs who had lived there forever and had performed at the monthly grind he was a bit put off. apparently, he had never been asked to perform in all the years, he always had to call and volunteer to perform. who knew? 
there are frosty bits on stuff out there, but it's intermittent. the fog was hit and miss in town. the trees in my backyard aren't frosted on the lower branches, but the upper part of the tree is all pretty and frosty. 
i really love it when it gets totally frosty, and then frosty on top of the frost.
it's always pretty.
blossom was happy with the split walk today. the second half she was the only dog and got to chase her frisbee. she is pretty wiped out tonight. 
chatted with my sister in california. apparently it was 20 degrees. for us that would be a huge warming trend, for them that is very cold. she laughed that i had even bought a coke and suggested that after hiking in below 20 one should probably drink some hot cocoa. she did have a point so i made some tea. warm is good. to warm up further i watched the video to "somewhere over the rainbow" my that hawaiian, iz? just went blank. that rendition is just so beautiful, how could your heart feel chill with that music in it. 
karen demonstrates human frosting tendancies in subzero temperatures. i don't frost as cool. 
blossom with her mute crew...malamute that is!
we are relatively warm here though. some of the interior temps are down to -40F. breathing can get pretty tough at those temperatures. there have been times i've thought of moving to fairbanks. really not sure i could tolerate temperatures that low. we all have our limits. in south dakota the wind chills would bring it down to -40. those wind chills can get brutal. anchorage has little wind in general. even when temperatures are low like this week you can still get out and hike and enjoy the great outdoors. 
amy looks good in her new winter weather gear. all she needs is ice bug boots...those are the best i've found. i think karen and tanya have both liked thiers as well.
was excited that our permits arrived in the mail today for round island. planning the summer is a wonderful way to spend winter!
we had a fun crew out for the monday walk this week as well. maddie wasn't as thrilled to join as the rest, but it was a federal holiday and she is tanya's child...so walking was the plan of the day.
she wasn't thrilled with the cold, but we did do a shorter walk. i also brought a leftover solid chocolate santa for her to enjoy at the kaladi's. now that we know that eating all the chocolate won't actually make her sick as her parents told her. i told them that would backfire when she didn't actually get sick eating all of the huge hersheys kiss. 
because of the holiday we were joined by gail, larry and bob and maddie. 
since i knew the walk would be shorter, i encouraged rio to join us. you can't force a 120 pound dog to do stuff they don't want to. she stayed home today. it really is too cold for the big girl. 
blossom only had a few dogs to contend with yesterday. boddhi and indy joined us and teva, that was it for dogs. so 5 dogs, 8 human types. 
we did the gasline to powerline to tank. 
the climbs at the front end got us all toasty. then we had nice views of denali at the top of the climb, which is always nice.
the creek up there seems to never freeze so it's always a cool place for frost sightings.
coming up the hill...gail in the lead, well behind me i guess!
