Out of the Blue and then there were Two!

The sky was a brilliant blue, the sun was shining, and I wanted to visit Arness Dock again. I mentioned it to mum and she opted to go, too. The clouds were incredible billows of cotton--I had talked to my friend, Kel, and it was hard to believe Soldotna had rain! 

 I set the camera down and took a surfside shot of a view from a rock. The Inlet is dark, but the scenery is stunning (as  usual).

 Mum picked up rocks and Obi? He barked at the waves.

 They appeared to not be too scary, he wagged his tail as he barked!

 A nearby bit of log driftwood provided a resting spot for mum--and she found more rocks to bring home. :o)

 When we got back to the house, we noticed moose tracks across the driveway. I was annoyed. I had come across tracks twice today with no moose sightings. As we organised the rocks, though, a cow came around the edge of the garage! We quickly locked Obi in the shop and watched her take a wide turn to a mowable part of mum's yard.

 It appeared she had a calf! They stayed put for quite a while.

 Here she is listening to Obi's distant bark from inside the shop. Eventually, mum put Obi on a leash and he was rushed into the house. I'm pretty sure he didn't notice the moose. He was barking in the shop because he was locked up. I kept close to mum's vehicle and made sure I had an escape if she objected to my photography. (I really wasn't as close as the camera suggests)

 Here, she is looking at me.

 We hoped this was a parting shot, but alas. It wasn't the end of their sojourn in the immediate vicinity.

 The rain Kel mentioned a couple of hours earlier, descended upon man, duck, and moose. So, the young one hunkered down for a nap under the watchful eyes of mom.

 Then, after about half the Mariners game, I looked outside to see if they were still around. Yup, the cow had settled down, too!!!

I didn't see them after the game and mum took Obi out on a leash. Everything appears calm for the moment.

Last Week of 'Summer'

Leaves have been changing and falling fast this last week before the official start of fall. I've wandered around the Pipeline Road and other places out north reveling in the amazing world of a very short Alaskan Autumn. 

OK, this is just a fun photo of a truck in the Safeway parking lot--Not bad for a Chevy!

 Back to fall--A bed of ferns fading under the trees.

 A peek of the shore near Traxinger's lake-

 Egbert/Cress lake (not an official name, I left that paperwork in Oregon this summer).

Two of my tree friends. The tall one is Clint (remember Clint Eastwood singing 'I talk to the trees' in 'Paint Your Wagon'??) and the tiny one in the lower right of the photo is Stumpy. If you look close, you can see faces on each of them. I will go out after this windstorm and see how Clint fared. He's pretty tilted...

 I love this mountain almost as much as Redoubt!

 A scattering of birch leaves give mum's car a hint of gild in the wind and rain.

 The really funky pair of mushrooms has now morphed into a golden Audrey!! As I snapped the photo, I heard it cry 'Feed Me!' I did peek inside, but kept my fingers out!

 Mum and Obi, on the last day of summer, walking on the beach near Arness Dock.

 Obi insisted on barking at the roiling surf. Mom looked for rocks.

 The black shape inside the star is a youngster enthusiastically rolling down the hill of rocks exposed by a very low tide. Once at the bottom, the child raced by to the top and rolled down again!

 The surf was loud. It isn't often you can hear the sound of the waves pounding on the shore. It was beautiful with scattered rays of sunshine amidst the raindrops. A perfect afternoon on the last day of summer.

Almost unrelated, but always interesting!

I went back to the Sr Center and got a better photo of the plaque in front of the flags. 

 Afternoon sunshine is always a plus. This might have been closer to 8pm, but it was still pretty nice!

We don't often get red leaves up here. The states, leaves come in all colors during the fall. We tend to gravitate toward golds. So, when you find red leaves, it is rather exciting!

 Hungry downy woodpecker!

 Mum working on a quilt for the Senior Center Auction in October. She is still working on another one that has bears (this one is monkeys).

 Red skies at night...pink clouds in the lake...Perfect!

 Mittens, deigning to visit the person who sleeps in the basement.

 Mamma and young one on a road less traveled-I didn't go down, just took the photo from the one I was standing in and walked away.

 Lichen is so incredibly fun to photograph. If only I had an eye like Celia or Kurt or Michelle!!! No matter, I like mine, too!

This poor car! When it went off the traveled road onto a less traveled dead end, it stopped. Never to go again. 

 When I was in college, I'd ride my bike to the clam cannery. This particular stretch of Lamplight was super fun when it went downhill. Uphill was more work.

I hope you enjoyed these random images from out north--I love this place. :o)

Dedication

The Nikiski Senior Center Flagpole Dedication, on September 9, 2016, had some fun visitors. The Nikiski Fire Dept brought one of their ladder trucks, Mike Chenault spoke, there were members from the police department, the VFW, and Mrs. Bostic's class showed off historical flags and sang God Bless America. 

 When the color guard gave the order to shoot, it surprised some of the youngsters. I don't think they were warned!

 I blocked out the faces on the kids because I didn't have permission to use them in a photo. The red haired girl and the ones on the end sat with me at lunch. One of the other ones was the young lady who asked if I had any 'veterinarians in my family.' They did a fine job at following directions and keeping quiet during the ceremony. I didn't know the tree flag on the very end was one of the USA's first flags.

 Oh Beautiful, for spacious skies......Yup. My Land is the Great Land.

 Three poles, three flags, one country.

 Two of the State Troopers in attendance. It appears mom taught one of the three who were at the Center today.

I wasn't able to get a good photo of the plaque as it was revealed and I forgot to get one later. It stands in front of the three poles and it is gorgeous! 

At the end of the ceremony a HUGE flock of Sandhill Cranes did a flyover in the pristine blue skies above.

 One of the craziest things happened today. I admired a pair of earrings worn by a Senior guest. She proceeded to remove them from her ears and then she GAVE them to me!!!! I was stunned. She told me she made jewelry and giving me a pair was something she wanted to do. (I'm still stunned!) She also gave me her name and number for me to call if I need help with anything. To me, this is what America is. People giving the earrings off their ears to strangers and then extending a hand when it might be needed.

 From the mountains

 To the prairies,

To the oceans, white with foam--

God bless America, my home sweet home-