Finding Unexpected Treasure

Juneauites were granted the gift of sunny and warm weather this entire weekend.  And this morning I decided that (rather than running off to some far corner of the city or borough), I would instead stay close to home.  It was time to slow down a bit, clean the house, and then try to find the small trail that someone had told me was located at the end of the road I lived on. 

While it was till warming up, and while I was storing some things down in the workshop under the main house, I took some pictures of the yard and outside of the cabin.

The picture above shows just how tall some of the pine trees in the area are, in relation to the house.

The brush in the woods behind the house is dense, and there are multiple blueberry bushes.  Great eating in a couple of months for both people and bears.

The homeowner told me that this small structure was built as a plant starter-box.

Many trees and plants are budding.  Regardless of the sleet and snow we have had over the past couple of weeks, spring really is just around the corner

This unique cabin sometimes makes me feel like I am in a ship - and sometimes makes me feel like I am in a tree house.  I love this place - the house itself, the yard, the quiet, the proximity to so many wonderful outdoor places that I am still discovering.

I found this bone in the back yard this morning.  I have never noticed it before, but have not really done a whole lot of exploring in back of the house.  I don't know what animal this was from, but the bone is about 6-8 inches long

Water and boat themed decorations are very common in this coastal region

I found the bone beside the little dog house (that is now used to store small plastic gas cans)

Yes........more pictures of my feet.  On top are my Xtratuffs that I paid $75 for a couple of weeks ago at Fred Meyers.  On the bottom are the boots I bought for $2 at the Salvation Army store in downtown Juneau this past week.

I have taken pictures of the road I live on a few times.  But on this particular Sunday morning the amazing spring-like sunshine brought new life to the area, and lightened not only the road but also my heart.

Heading down to the inlet that I know is at the bottom of the hill, a few minutes walk from my house.

When I was about half way down the hill I heard a noise above me and looked up to see an eagle with his wings wide open gliding on the winds.  Just a second later two more flew over me, also with their wings splayed open completely.  As I watched these birds I realized that all three eagles were chasing and playing with each other.  I watched them in amazement and in awe until they disappeared completely out of view a few minutes later.

I have seen many eagles since I arrived in Juneau - sometimes in flight, but more often than not, perched on light poles or high in tree branches.  This is the first time I have seen three of them playfully chasing each other.  I caught one of them on camera, in one corner of a picture as he flew by - but they were all gone before I could really capture them in a decent picture.

I had been told that the trail access looked like a private road, so when I got down to the bottom of the hill I wandered around for a while trying to find the trail (and sure enough walked onto people's private property).  After 10 minutes of this a car drove down the hill, and I flagged the driver down to ask him where the trail was.  He pointed me in the right direction, and I walked down a driveable road, that sure enough also (at least iniitially) had the appearance (and signage) of a private drive.  A few minutes later is became obvious that this road was open to traffic and I relaxed and enjoyed the quietness and beauty of the area. 

I had no idea what to expect when I made it to the end of the road (I thought perhaps a cove), but as I progressed I realized that I could see water through the trees on both sides of me.  OK..........not a cove.........maybe a peninsula??  

Within 10 minutes I arrived at a circular turn-around.  This entire trip was just a short walk, but is all driveable and accessible and within 5 minutes of the house by vehicle.

There were a number of small trails from the circle turn-around, and as I walked along one of these trails and down towards the water I could hear the waves crashing.  Where the heck WAS I??

Somebody's stuffed recliner - obviously used by a local for comfortably enjoying the views

And 3 weeks after I moved into my house, this is what I found at the end of my road.............

Waves crashing against the rocks.  Snow capped mountains.  Birds and shells and windy beach.  Hills and spongy moss-covered trail.  How could I live just up the hill and not know that this was here??  I was expecting a quiet flat-water cove.  I couldn't have been more wrong.  I was beside myself with excitement, and called my Mountain Boy wanting to share this with him.  I feel like I have found treasure.