Gloomy and Rainy

I'm homebound. Well, more homebound than usual, I guess. I have no pictures to post. We have been nowhere exciting. The past three days have been gloomy, or partly gloomy. It's amazing how used to the sun you can get in such a short time. We got rain onWednesday, managed to miss the rain yesterday, and it appears that we are getting more rain as I write. But, to be honest, we really needed the moisture. And I'm sure those with newly planted yards and gardens are very happy right about now. Right Susan? LOL.

Wednesday, before the rain started, we had a horrendous dust storm here. I literally have to go over everything. Washing and dusting as I go. It's bummer, but at least my house will be sparkling clean at the end of the day.

Summer is definitely coming though. We are forecasted 80's for the weekend. I don't know if that will actually happen, but it's a nice thought. A very nice thought. A little warmth will hopefully rid me of my wool socks. Yes, I have resorted back to wool socks to keep my tootsies warm, in the middle of the day. It's really pathetic.

We were invited on a camping/rafting trip with a group from Brent's work. However, since we have neither a raft or a tent, we declined. And well, we probably could have lined up what we needed but we just didn't have enough time, and seeing that I've never met most of these people before, two days in the woods communing with nature is not how I envisioned meeting my new friends for the first time. And besides, we really need to get things lined up for our fishing charter next weekend!! WOOT! I. AM. SO. EXCITED.

It's a crazy thought seeing that about 5 months ago I ate virtually no fish. None. Nada. And certainly not salmon or halibut. But we now eat salmon at least once and sometimes twice a week. Ooh, I cannot wait to bring home lots and lots of fish. They, once again I have no idea who they are, say that we will likely bring home about 100 pounds of fish. 100 pounds of fish. And I heard someone say that the figure is per person. Oy. I will be growing fins and swimming myself. Lots of fish tacos, and Brent's been dying for some salmon cakes.

Anyway, so we will be traveling to Ninilchik next weekend. It's about a 12 hour drive from Delta and since I've never been further than Paxson, about 75 miles from Delta, I'm uber excited!! I've heard that the drive is breathtaking. We are also planning to pop into Homer and see the sites, as we've heard it's close to Ninilchik. In addition to all of that we are hoping to see our friends, Adam and Jennifer, who live in Anchorage. So, it should be a fun-filled, sun-packed weekend!! Can you tell I'm excited?

When Brent booked the trip back in February it seemed like it would never happen, and here we are. I've been working out, pumping up my muscles in preparation for hoisting a monster halibut. There is a contest going on in the South and I believe the leader right now is at 170 pounds. 170 POUNDS. That's a human, not a fish. And I can guarantee that I wouldn't be able to get that beast onto the boat. Good thing I'm taking Brent with me. Ha!

So, I need to run. I have to call today and check all our plans just to make sure that everything is a go. Wouldn't want to arrive to find that something has gone awry and we are left sleeping in the back of the Envoy. That, my friends, would not be a good time. In my book anyway.

Have a happy, happy day!

Hey, Mr. Postman!

Today was a gorgeous day of about 75 degrees. I opened up the windows and let the sun shine in. We had a perfect breeze and Ches and I had a great day. We went for a walk, checked the mailbox, but Mr. Postman hadn't been here yet. After I had scoured the kitchen, and swept up all the funk on the floors that accumulated over the weekend, we went outside to wait for Brent to come home. When he came home he had the beloved yellow slips from the post office. That means, that not only did I get mail, I got big mail, packages!

The first was abirthday gift from my great, and greatly missed friend, Shannon. She sent me everything I need to scrapbook our wonderful (hellish) trip across Canada in January, until now. She's a scrapping officianado so I am well-stocked and ready to roll. Now I just have to order some pics! Thank you! :)


The next was a love package from Audrae, Brent's mom. She picks up goodies from the health food store to send us. We got dried cranberries, yogurt covered almonds, ground flax seed, vanilla granola that I love in my yogurt, oriental rice crackers, unsalted sunflower seeds, pepitas (pumpkin seeds), a lovely rice pilaf that I will be making tomorrow evening with fresh tuna on the grill, some soynuts and two packages of ramen noodles. They'll come in handy for ramen noodle salad, or lunch. LOL! Thank you, thank you, thank you. :)

Tonight I've been busy filling out applications and sending my resume around. Hopefully someone will bite. We'll see what happens.

Thanks again!! Have a happy day!

Memorial Day Weekend

Brent fishing on Saturday evening on a lake near Donnelly Dome
Ches chasing the ducks

Courting ducks

Donnelly Dome

The Granite Mountains on a Sunday afternoon drive

Wanna Ride?

Sunset at 11:30 on Sunday evening

Mama Squirrel

We had a great weekend. It was nice and relaxing, and really no reason to complain. I would have liked to have spent more time on the water, but since tourism season is here, we'll have to take advantage of the week nights, I think.

Friday evening we went to a friends home for dinner. There were 3 couples, we all brought dishes and it was a nice, relaxing evening. Though the temps have been in the upper 70's and even topped out at 80, the evenings are cool, and sometimes even the days can get cool. So we moved inside for dinner and dessert and just enjoyed the company of others.

Saturday morning we woke, went for a walk and then headed into town to run some errands. We spent the morning running and visiting, it was a great day! We decided to lay low in the afternoon and head out for some late afternoon fishing. We didn't catch a single fish, but we managed to watch a trio of courting male ducks. Boy, they are some aggressive little buggers, I'm not sure the hen was very impressed! :) When we were finished fishing we threw the stick to Ches so she could get some swimming in despite the icy water temps. Then we drove slowly home, and didn't see much of anything.

Sunday we headed for Fairbanks in the afternoon. The roadways and waterways were packed with travelers, explorers, boaters. It is absolutely amazing how many people they can cram into one boat landing. We did a little shopping, checked out the new Sports Authority in Fairbanks, and then hit up the Santa Claus house in North Pole. What a cute little place! Mom, it's way better than World of Christmas!! Way. Better. :) We stopped to see if friends of ours were home, but they were out partying so we headed home.

Monday morning we woke and decided to attend the Memorial Day service at the cemetary just down the road from us. There was a spattering of onlookers in the beginning, but it quickly filled up. I was impressed. They played music, read poems, and read off the roll call for 2009. It was hard to hear the mothers, wives, families mourn for their lost loved ones. It was very sobering and I'm happy that we attended. At the end of the poems being read, from out of the distance, somewhere near the back of the cemetary, a lone trumpet belted out the notes to Taps. I always get chills when Taps are played. When the ceremony was over an elderly man in the crowd requested permission to sing a hymn I had never heard. Some members of the crowd joined in, and then everyone dissipated. A very nice day.

For the rest of the day we just lazed around, played with Ches, and while I napped Brent grilled us a lovely dinner of fresh trout. It was a very relaxing weekend. He's working short days this week, which is nice.

Hoping that you all had lovely weekends! Happy Summer!

In Memoriam

In Memory of all the men and women who have died, served and are currently serving in all branches of the military. We salute you, we thank you, we remember you.

Image Came from here.

Things That Go BUMP In The Night

Last night was an interesting night. Ches usually sleeps harder than I do, but for some reason last night did not lend either of us much peace and comfort. She was plopped on her pillow in the living room, because that's where she chooses to sleep. I went to bed early, at 11:30 p.m., only to be jolted awake by her bark. This is highly unusual. I got up, checked out the windows, shushed her and made my place on the couch until she settled down. Soon I was jolted awake again. This continued for most of the night, and I ended up with about 1 hour of sleep. I have no idea what was out there, or what she thought was out there. At about 1 a.m. we both wandered outside to see what we could see, and nothing. Who knows?

It's been a pretty good week here so far. Brent (as you can see above) has been sneaking in a lot of fishing, but only having minimal luck. Last night he went out with a friend from work, and they caught just enough for a one man supper. So he sent them home with Joe.

Wednesday night I went out with him to his new favorite fishing hole, that you can see above. The view is pretty magnificent and I did a lot of hiking. I ventured up hills and down hills, took in the sights and sounds. Unfortunately we didn't see much wildlife, except for the hares. Hares are EVERYWHERE. Brent keeps promising (er, threatening) to bring one home for rabbit stew. We'll see. I make no promises. And yes, I'm sure it will be hugely mind over matter. But they're so darn cute! lol.

A hare in summer colors- see...they're cute.

Chessa and I wasted some time playing in the water. Ches LOVES the water, and loves to fish. She literally looks into the water, waiting for fish, like the ones that were in our pond last summer. She spent hours and hours out there, and I kind of miss it, for her. I won't miss that nasty skin infection that resulted in her hours in the water though. But we had a little fun and then I ran her on ground to dry her off before heading home. She kept searching for Brent, when she found him she would sit on his foot waiting for him to bring up a fish for her to lick, smell and in one instance, bite. I think we all had a great day!

These are some of the wildflowers that are everywhere up here right now. So I snapped some pics and thought Mom would get a thrill out of seeing them.

Today I'm busy cooking and cleaning, getting ready for the weekend ahead. I think we are doing a picnic by the lake tonight, a little fishing and a little playing with Ches and Willie. I am baking a lemon yogurt cake with fresh blueberry sauce. Marinating chicken as we speak, and I am also making a crunchy Asian noodle salad. Sounds like a good way to start the weekend. We'll throw in some beer, and perhaps a bottle of wine. Awww. Pure relaxation. Hopefully we'll catch some rainbows to throw on the grill too, but if not, chicken will suffice.

Have a happy, happy weekend!

Try and Try Again

I had a wonderful birthday. Thank you again everyone for your thoughtfulness. It was so nice to reach the mailbox each and every day, to find another letter, card or package. You made my day extra special.

11 p.m. Sky on May 15, 2009

This package arrived from my younger brother Kyle, and his girlfriend Jana. It's a great Independence Day wall hanging and tea towel. I look forward to using it soon! And the other item is a cute keychain from Hess. THANK YOU!

Friday evening Brent took me out for pizza. There's a great place in town that opened up just a few weeks ago, I believe. Since the dining establishments are, uh, limited in Delta, we hit up Birch Brothers pizza. It was very good. We ate our pizza while Ches waited in the car. Then we loaded up and headed over to a friends to chat and get me out of the house for a while. It was great. Relaxing, filling and perfect.

Unfortunately, Saturday did not fair as well for us.

We had reserved a cabin on Lisa Lake for the weekend. I wish I had a picture, it is breathtaking. We trudged, tromped and plodded through tundra, moss, swamp, mud, water, you name it, to get there. On foot. Carrying everything two people and a dog would need for a weekend in the woods. Much to our dismay, when we neared the end of the trail it was impossible to reach the cabin. I could have cried. And nearly did. We back tracked, forged ahead, repeating this process numerous times over the period of about one and half hours. All in the middle of nowhere. Ultimately, as I stood contemplating what items could easily be replaced and left in the woods, we decided to head for home.

We were both so disappointed. So. Disappointed. We were so close. How close? We could see everything, except that darn cabin. The boat, the water, the mountains. Us and nature. How divine does that sound?

Being hardheaded and determined not to let this minor (MAJOR) set back ruin our weekend, we headed home to regroup and find an alternate plan. Since it was so gorgeous we piled into the car and headed towards Donnelly campground south of Delta Jct. As our luck would have it, the cabin was taken. Since we don't have a tent, we officially scrapped the camping idea and decided to head home, once again, to try to find a plan. And we managed to find a nap in the process. LOL. It was a very trying morning. Very.

After a few moments rest, and a little stomping about we decided to pack up the grill, some fixings and head out to enjoy the mountains views and just hike, grill and relax before heading home for slumber.

We hiked and explored until we came to this resting spot. Here we sat, and listened as the wind rushed through the valleys and over the peaks. We listened to swans calling, ducks taking flight, and nature surrounded us.

Sunny snow-tipped Alaska Mountains

We just sat, and took in all the beauty and glory around us. We watched a bald eagle sit atop of the trees, swaying in the breeze. Here, if you look closely, you will see two caribou bucks grazing along the creek. They were happy to entertain us for the duration of our stay. We kept hoping for a moose, or perhaps a bear, but none were to be seen this day.

The view of the valley

After resting and relaxing in our own bed on Saturday evening, we headed out to this same spot on Sunday a.m. We did a short little hike, then plopped down in our new favorite spot to enjoy the view. This morning we saw a lone caribou make his way across the entire valley. He kept a wary eye on us.

When our souls were full we headed into town for brunch with Sid & MaryLou. They wanted to treat us, partly for my birthday, and partly for our care and help while Sid was on Shemya Island. We had great food and great company. After brunch we headed to their home, as MaryLou had a gift for me. She bought me a jade plant. I don't have much of a green thumb, so I'm a little worried about that. But a jade plant I have. It's said to bring luck to the household it graces. Bring on the luck!

Napping is our favorite weekend past time, as you may discover in this post alone. So Sunday was no different, we snuck some zzz's and then Brent and Sid headed out to hit the fishing holes. Success was had! Our freezer now holds rainbow trout and grayling. Ha! So we'll be grilling up some fish shortly.

Monday we made a very quick trip to Fairbanks. We had to go because I desperately needed a blow dryer, mine exploded on Friday. And Brent needed some items that we just couldn't find in town. So we made record time to and fro, and then dropped off the groceries and headed for the mountains. It was a glorious, albeit windy, day. We wandered the roads behind Donnelly Dome, and it is filled with dozens and dozens of lakes. We saw bison (with babies), moose, caribou, snow shoe hares galore, eagles, hawks and it was awesome! Why no pics? Hmph. I'm just learning to use my new camera, and operator error has caused me to lose some pics, or make them unuseable anyway. I'll see if I can rescue them in the coming days. If so, I'll post them.

And that brings us to today. I worked on unpacking and cleaning, since we did nothing the entire weekend that was household related. I cleaned windows and floors, and I'm STILL waiting for the phone to ring.

On another note, please think of my brother, Brent, who is recovering from his tangle with a chain saw over the weekend. I know it involves his foot, 4 hours in the E.R. and some stitches, hoping you heal soon! And to my sister-in-law Sara, who lost her beloved aunt to cancer yesterday afternoon.

Hoping you are enjoying spring as much as we are!! Happy day!

Thank You

Thank you so much for the wonderful birthday messages! It is so nice to be thought of and remembered. Now we're off to play in the woods for a few days, so parents, do not panic if you can't reach us. We'll be back home sometime Monday. It will be great. Hiking, fishing, reading, relaxing. Sounds perfect! Have a great weekend!!

Let There Be Light

I've been meaning to take the above photo for awhile. My Grandma Lusignan, who writes me the nicest letters, has been asking if I have neighbor's that live close to me. The answer is yes. Too close! So, this is where we live. The door on the left is ours. The door on the right are my neighbors, who are very nice people, but not very social. The space in the middle there is where my laundry area is. So, this is home. And also living on the property is another family, whom we've met once, and then the owners of the property.

What you don't see is that the main driveway runs right in front of our home. It's where I'm standing when I'm taking the picture. And, it's a working farm. A very busy, working farm. So we have little peace and quiet. And directly to the left of where the photo ends is a STOP sign, so, yeah, we have people stopping in our driveway quite often. Annoying. So, we're looking for a new home, with a few less neighbors. Hopefully. After all, I didn't move to Alaska to be surrounded by people. Sheesh!! But have no fear, I have no plans to go too remote. I'm really attached to my indoor plumbing and electricity. The neighbor (behind us- he's about 90) just got electricity last year. No thank you. Seriously.

Last night we headed out to the Clearwater River area. It's so peaceful out there, and I really like it out here. It's beautiful. Anyway, we went out to snap some pics with our new camera. I can tell that this is going to be the best purchase ever. I was playing around with the manual settings here and managed to snap a semi-decent photo, in my opinion. So, this was my favorite picture of the evening. Enjoy...awwwwwwwwwww... ha!

And this. This my friends, is a photo of the SUN at 10 p.m. We have had very cloudy skies the past few days, but last night the clouds broke up to give us the most lovely late night show. Honestly, I found it hard to sleep. I nearly took a walk at 10:15 last night, but decided that I wasn't quite that brave. Though I certainly could have.

Yesterday Ches and I walked a nice, long walk. It's nice out here during the day, when most others are at work. So we wander the roadside out front. Ches loves to sniff the ditches to see what she can find, and it's just refreshing for both of us. Then after our walk we came back and I raked up some dead grass and sticks around the back of the yard. Today I plan to hit the front portion, and then clean up the winter leftovers from the previous tenants dog.

Also, I wanted to thank those of you who have sent birthday greetings. Most people only get a birthday but somehow I managed to wrangle a birth week. Aren't I a lucky girl?! Anyway, so thank you Grandma Lusignan for the nice card and gift of money, also Darryl & Audrae, Mom & Dad, and Sandy & Wayne for the cards, gifts and letters. Thank you for thinking of me. It's truly appreciated!

So, welcome to spring! I hope Northern MN managed to miss out on the snow that was predicted there, and hopefully you'll be moving on to warmer temps and spring-like temperatures soon!

Have a happy day!

An Alaskan Spring Weekend

Greetings from Moose Country! It's been a busy past few days. Between allergy attacks (me) and spring colds (Brent) we've passed everything around here once or twice. I'm feeling much better thanks to some allergy medication, and Brent, well, I'm sure he'll feel better in a day or so. This weekend we got out and about to see the country side. The photo above and the next one below were taken on a Friday evening drive.

As you can tell, the first set wasn't nearly as photo savvy as this guy. He just went about his business, despite our presence, and knelt in the grass for his grub. This guy knows what he likes, and he wasn't going to leave it for us. It's fun to see them, and I'm hoping we get to see some babes soon.

Saturday morning we packed a picnic lunch, threw Ches in the Envoy and away we went. We were headed South of Delta to Paxson. We had driven part way there a few times, and since the roads were clear, we decided to go all the way. We came upon this munching trio about 20 miles outside of Delta. Nothing like a spring snack, roadside.

Paxson is about a 76 mile trip from Delta. So, we just enjoyed the day, stopping frequently to wander and expolore the little trails that shoot off the Richardson Hwy in every direction. This is a riverbed that we explored and we saw quite a bit of moose trace, in addition to the slow, lazily drifting bumble bees. They were huge and curious. Since it's higher elevation, there's still quite a bit of snow, but most of it is shallow in the areas we were exploring.

This is just another viewing point of the Alaska pipeline against the mountains. We actually stopped here because we saw a dead wolf here and Brent wanted to check it out a little more. So we stopped and wandered. I don't think Chessa's nose lifted off the ground all day. She was in heaven. I think this was her favorite day yet.

This is a photo of Summit Lake. As you can see it's entirely covered in ice and snow yet. There is a bit of melting near the shoreline, but for the most part it's just ice as far as you can see. I'm looking forward to going back this summer and seeing it. It's ginormous, and has to be at least 5 miles long. Set in the mountains, it's breathtaking.

This is a monument for the man that the Richardson highway was named after. I had all the info written down, and like a bum, I lost it. I guess you'll just have to come and check it out for yourself. :) lol.

This one I just had to throw in because it's so pretty. I cannot get over the scenery here. It just never gets old. Never.

Sunday we headed into Fairbanks for a quick trip. We picked up fishing poles, tackle, and a tackle box, amongst the other boring necessities. We did a little, very quick shopping and then headed home to roam and explore.

The days here have been cooler, in the 40's and 50's, and partly cloudy to rainy. We've gotten enough rain to last me a while, and I could really use some sun. As a matter of fact, we had some sun this morning, but it's ducked back under the clouds now.

In other news, my new camera came yesterday. I'm so excited, hopefully it will mean MUCH better pics on this blog. The two that we were using just really didn't do the landscape justice. So hopefully we'll get some good pics soon, and I'll be back...

Have a happy day!

Happy Mother's Day

Hey Mom- we haven't always seen eye to eye, andI'm pretty sure it's all your fault. It couldn't possibly be me. I mean, um, I don't have a stubborn bone in my body, and well, I'm practically an angel. Okay, so maybe that's a stretch, but I do want to wish you a happy, happy day. And thank you, for putting up with me. I love you!

Also, a very Happy Mother's Day to Audrae (Brent's mom) in Mankato, wishing you safe travels and a lovely, happy day!

To all the mother's in our lives. Sisters, friends, family, and bloggy friends too! Happy Mom's Day!

Crafty

Howdy Ya'll! Greetings from the North. Today was a beautiful day. It actually turned out a little warmer than I thought it was. It's sneaky here, the house doesn't get a lot of sun, so it always feels cooler inside. Today was no exception. We made it into the 50's which from what we here, are more typical temps for this time of year here.

I am feeling slightly better today. I had a surge of energy mid-morning and got quite a bit done. I even flipped the mattress and put on the new bedskirt, washed the sheets, and remade the bed. I also managed to do about 5 loads of laundry.

Late afternoon I hit my slump so I sat down on the couch and made myself some new tie backs for the kitchen and living room curtains. Okay, so it wasn't rocket science, but it was fun. I was having a hard time finding what I wanted, so I picked up some beads, waxed jewelry string and some lanyard hooks the last time I was in Fairbanks. I'm pretty happy with them, and now I'm thinking about doing some beading on the curtains themselves. We'll see how ambitious I get. But it sounds like a lot of fun, and now my creative juices are flowing.

Other than that things are pretty quiet around here. Brent starts his new shift tomorrow, so I'll have a slightly longer day at home alone. My goal is to find the hammer and get some things on the wall, and to get those tie backs up. Then we'll see how I'm feeling to tackle the weekend. I am still in need of some good hiking shoes, and we need to pick up some other things, so I'm sure we'll head into Fairbanks. And I think I'll pick up some allergy medication per Susan's suggestion and see if that's what it is. Uff da.

Well, I'm off to take some Nyquil and get some rest. Hopefully tomorrow will be better than today. Have a happy day!

p.s. Mom- the chicken is still alive. ;)

Chicken Stalk...or Stock?

Chicken anyone? Goodness. It's a 3 ring circus around here all the time. I am being stalked. By this bad boy. He's lean and mean, and apparently, he's a fighting machine. He's wanted on one farm, for killing a turkey. And he's made himself at home...at and under... my home. Little devil.

He belongs to my landlords, but he may be filling up a pot in my kitchen before too long.

Here he is making himself at home on my front porch, in my brand new chairs...

...and out back, lurking outside my bedroom window. I cannot escape him. I'm officially being stalked! lol.

In other news, I am developing a nasty spring cold. Of course it could be due to the frigid temps and the rainy weather. We actually had rain this afternoon. So I'm laying low and dosing myself with Nyquil and Zycam. Hopefully I'll be feeling like brand new before long. I'm hoping anyway...

Other than that, just applying for some more jobs, and waiting for the phone to ring. Have a happy day!

Happy Golden Birthday Savannah!

HAPPY

4TH

BIRTHDAY

TO THE

MOST

STYLISH

GIRL

I KNOW!

Oh Give Me A Home...

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous here. Friday started a wonderful weekend by settling in the upper 60's. Since it was such a nice day I decided to take advantage of the weather and run into Delta to do a little shopping. I needed to pick up some things to get in the mail, and maybe one or two things for myself, too.

When I got home we grilled some pizzas and then settled in to watch a movie and decompress from the week. However, I had to catch a snapshot of this lovely moon hanging out nice and early above the trees. This photo was taken at about 8:30 p.m.

Saturday morning we had planned to head out to Fairbanks. Somewhere between the alarm clock and my rising from bed, Brent decided he didn't want to go along. So I got him settled, and I headed for the city to get my shop on. I scoured last minute closing sales at Gottschalk's, and then just hit the old stand by's. My main goal was to find hiking shoes, but I managed to space that mission all together. It wasn't on the list! Grrr.

After dinner Saturday evening we all piled into the Envoy and took a drive to survey water levels in the Delta area. I have to say that I'm very surprised at how fast the water is dissipating. While gravel roadways, like our driveway, are still challenging and mucky, they continue to improve daily. Hopefully soon I won't need to wear my boots to get to the mailbox.

On our drive we came upon this herd of bison. Okay, it's not a wild herd, so we knew that they'd be there, but I thought the mountains made a picturesque backdrop for this kept herd just outside of Delta. This farm also has elk, but they were too far back for me to snap a picture of.

When we got tired of driving we drove down Tanana Loop Ext. to the Bluff Cabin trail. While it was very wet, and pulsing with mosquitoes, we braved it and walked about a mile dow the trail. Unfortunately the skeets got the best of us, and we decided to wait until the trail dried out a bit.

All was not lost, however, Ches got a little chase in. She spotted a hare before we could stop her and they were both off to the races. Fortunately, for the hare, he was small enough to navigate under neath the brush, and Ches soon had to give up her chase.

Sunday morning we woke to what promised to be another glorious day. While there was plenty to do we put on our walking shoes and walked right out on the dishes and vacuuming. There's plenty of time for that Monday. While we had a lovely stroll down our local road, the neighbors pig decided to pay us a visit and take inventory of everything we, and our next door neighbors, had to offer. Luckily the owners spotted her and got "Ham" put away before we returned.

In the afternoon we were still feeling antsy and couldn't bear being locked indoors on such a lovely day. So we packed up and headed out to the Gerstle River again. When we got there I was amazed at how low the river was. Not only was it shallow, but some of the fingers had disappeared completely. We wandered out across the damp sand where water had stood only days, maybe hours, before. We picked rocks, threw sticks and soaked up the sun.

As always there were a lot of perfect pictures just waiting there for the taking. We spotted hoof prints, likely caribou and some moose, along the way. There were fresh traces of birds, as well as their footprints in the sand. We found unique rocks, a nickel- shiny and new, and before we knew it we stumbled on a tent that all of us managed to ignore. We didn't see sign of people, but I'm sure they were off exploring.

Ches, our water dog, had a great day retrieving sticks, wading in icy water, and just exploring. She nibbled on dead trees, why I don't know, and ran circles around us. You would never know that she's nearly 10 years old. Well, except for her slow moving body in the morning after. We have been giving her joint relief supplements and that seems to help, but she just pushes herself to the max. She's so much fun to watch, she just loves exploring every place we take her.

I couldn't resist this shot. It's of the drying river bed where the water has rippled the sand as it passed on its way to a new home. There were little spots like these all over, and I thought they were very fun.

We have been enjoying the warmer weather. I honestly think the sun feels warmer here. I don't even know if that's possible, but it definitely feels true. The warmer weather has brought out the winged friends in herds. Mosquitoes, flies, song birds, robins, geese, swans, and this morning we saw the most beautiful crane. Much to my dismay he was flying much too high for me to even think about snapping his picture.

While we have had 60's and 70's this past week, for the coming week we are supposed to cool a bit into the 50's. While it's not as warm, I'm looking forward to an equally beautiful week.

I also have to note that it's nearly midnight and there's still a winking of light outside. Oh, isn't summer grand?

Have a happy day!