Last week of July 2020 in the north-

Sunday, July 26 was lovely. You could tell people were visiting the inlet by the trash I picked up. I didn't pick up as much as I could have, but I picked up a bag full. 

 I enjoy seeing the fun shapes in driftwood and stuff tossed up on shore. I found a log that looked quite a bit like a pug, but none of the photos I took showed what I saw!

 It was so incredibly warm, littles were playing in the water. That doesn't happen all that often on the inlet. Especially during fishing season. The man on shore was seeking halibut and I saw quite a few salmon splashing around and being caught on the nets set out.

 I'm not sure, but it looks almost like there is more snow than there was a few weeks ago. I'm not entirely surprised. We've had a lot of rain on this side of the inlet, so I can imagine it wasn't just rain over there!

 This is the moose that swam the lake. When I saw it, I wondered what the neighbor's dog was doing. Then, I realised it wasn't a dog and just a moose in neck deep water. It was moose paddling super fast, so my 2 photos were terribly blurred.

 This lovely Green Comma Butterfly landed on me for a second as I left the house on Monday. It overwinters as an adult and is considered uncommon, probably cuz it is hard to see and fast. It has green spots on it, somewhere...

 Our fireweed is blooming fast, it is more than halfway to the top this week.

The hilarious squirrel I watched. After it extracted all the seeds it could from this feeder, it opted for a mushroom entree. I'm anticipating it had a nap when it finished it's meal! 

 I didn't take many photos of the chickadees who visited me. They weren't fond of the shutter movements. I really wanted to try to take one of the bird on my shoulder (and yes, I hummed Zippity do dah!!). The lady grosbeak wasn't near me long enough, but she'd not have stuck around for a picture, anyway!

 I love how friendly the birds are here. Today it has been raining, or I'd go out and see who I could attract. The neighbors' are also shooting and there isn't much nearby! The little wings on the golden eye are  much too tiny still, but they can still run across the water when necessary! They scampered from the middle of the lake to the weeds on this side, lickety split!

A Squirrel Subdivision in the ATTIC!

Mum has been feeding rodents of all kinds since first moving to North Kenai. The mice and shrews have hung out in the shop and the squirrels were outside. Or, so we assumed. Their antics have always kept us amused, but when Jon got to the attic of the garage... Amusement vanished. 

Welcome to the Egbert Squirrel Subdivision. An entire expanse dedicated to the thriving lives of bushy tails living on the Pipeline road. Jonathan found this lovely partially finished dollhouse flipped by industrious fuzzy creatures. They fully insulated the first floor, leaving the upper one bare as a viewing platform. 

Steve and Jon hauled away several truckloads of debris. Thankfully, most of it was empty boxes. Or what used to be empty boxes. The squirrely scallywags even filled in the fish box from a cannery we'd worked at, Cook Inlet Processing! 

Mom saved every box from every appliance she owned. This lovely food saver box was recycled by the squirrels to store food in!!!! The little guys were definitely educated. They probably used some of her teaching materials, too. 

 Even the Karaoke machine box was not quite filled with treats for a proper party house.

 Mum saved this mayor sign, so perhaps we had a few political nuts in the attic.

A front and back outside view of the dollhouse. Janet worked very hard on this,. Oddly, the sealed box with dolls and furniture wasn't touched at all! It was even clean. 

 It seems they appropriated my old Habit Trail set, too. Or at least the box! Perhaps it was a playground for the kits.

Steve and Jon used gloves and masks while working up there. Then, Steve decided to fix the entry and exit holes the creatures had chewed in the back wall. A great deal of brush needed moved out of the way. Also trees and bushes and the dish cables. 

 Boards on the ground.

 New board up, but not painted. Which is ok, most of the garage needs paint anyway!

It is now Wednesday, about a week after this chronicle was photographed.  The squirrels are annoyed they can't get in the attic, the internet is working, Steve and Jon are in Oregon, and the days are getting shorter after solstice. It is midnight and the sky is pink with the twilight. 

(this picture was taken just at sunset around 1130 on Tuesday, Arness Dock) 

Walking on the beach-

Thursday was a relief from the clouds and rain we have had enfolding us here on the Kenai. I was able to get mom to bring Obie to Arness Dock for a short visit. She enjoyed it more than her dog! We got to watch tugs dock and head back out in the Inlet, picked up rocks, and relished being in the sunshine. 

 I even dipped the toes of one foot in the water. It wasn't cold, but my tender tootsie didn't like the rounded stones underneath.

 This is one of my favorite views. Someday, I am going to walk down there. Yeah, I've never done it! Crazy, huh?

Sticks and Stones and a Sunset

The breeze was fairly strong, yet the sun was at such an angle, I reckon you'll have to imagine the Big Dipper on the state flag! It was flying over the second fire dept out north. 

 Once back home, after a spot of the Olympics, I contemplated what I should do next on the drive. I truly need something with a winch as this wench is not as strong as she thinks!

 Removing debris is work. I'm always intrigued by the results of what starts out as a minor excavation. Pieces of trees like this need taken out of the soil. This was already starting to decay. Once the wood decays, it can leave a sinkhole where it once rested. Bad stuff, sinkholes.

 Our neighbor mentioned I should trim off the broken trees and they would most likely grow back. I think he would be surprised to discover many of the broken trunks were the bottoms of the trees! I looked at this and laughed. In Scouting, we were taught to plant trees with the root DOWN. Although, this poor thing hadn't a root left. Very sad.

 Nor did this one.

 Hoooray! I was digging up another trunk and discovered this one could be propped upright. I'm not sure it will survive as the trunk is severely cracked about in the middle. It was exciting, though, to see an evergreen standing all by itself.

 Then, I found a very sad bush. OK, it isn't a bush now, it WAS a bush. At the moment, it is a dirty stick with a few twigs and tattered leaves. If we get some more wet weather, it very well might snap out of the muck and take off again. Maybe.

 So, a little bit more work with a hoe (I am NOT removing all the rocks. I think most of them will be enough), I'll put the pole (from the high jump or vault, seen previously) on the edge of the true drive..or maybe spray paint!! Then, in a day or two, we'll sprinkle seeds over the mostly bare soil. Mum  has a bag of wiildflower seeds. They may take off and turn those empty ugly not for parking spaces into something the moose will love!

 I took a break before bed and went to Arness Dock again. I love how tall I appear in Alaska!!

 Fishing was open again, I'll share those photos on a different day. It was rather warm out for being 930 at night on an otherwise not entirely sunny day. The breeze had dropped, I had added a sweatshirt to my shorts, and after I collected a bag of white rocks (yup, not done yet!), I sat down and called Steve. Talking to Eastern Oregon with the sound of Inlet waves in my ear was Wonderland like. :o)

I'm glad it was such a peaceful evening. The next day, when I woke, I felt quite a bit like a creaky old car full of grass and weeds. Even the mice have vacated the residence! Old age is a ridiculous thing!