Here We Go

Still crazy busy at work I did not even realize that the cloudy early morning had given way to a beautiful sunny day until someone called me mid-morning and commented on the weather.  I looked out the window for the first time since I had arrived at my office and was surprised to see that he was right - it WAS a beautiful day.

With sad resignation I realized that I was caught up in work and did not anticipate any free time during the day to get outside for even a short while to enjoy it.

Such a waste in the context of life in Juneau, but work right now just is what it is.  And it will slow down.  Eventually.

Days like this make me even more committed to being outside whenever I can, and to also forgetting completely about work when I can. 

By 6:30pm I was done and on the way home, and decided that I would try to make the most of whatever time and energy I had left to be outside for a while. 

To let sanity be regained.  To try and "settle" - a word I have used internally many many times during races when the stress was heavy and so was my heart rate.  Settle.......

My first stop on the way home was Auke Lake.  I pulled into the crowded and too small parking area, parking my car in the last almost-parking-spot left in a corner of the dirt lot.  A tight sqeeze but I made it.

I walked leisurely along the gravel trail, then stopped at the bridge spanning the lake that connects two sections of the trail.  And I spent a while watching two jet skis on the lake making lots of noise and spraying lots of water.

It was fun to watch them - guys just enjoying the very warm day on the water.

I have taken so many pictures since I arrived in Juneau a little over 4 months ago, that many times now I view scenes from the perspective of what would look good in a picture.  This log by the shore is one of those types of pictures.  Nothing special - just a random log - but I liked the artistic photogenic look of it.

This muddy boggy area in the sun and along the side of the trail is perfect for growing skunk cabbage.  This strange delicate plant that I had never seen or heard of before I moved to Alaska, and which began as a small yellow flower grows into a huge leafy plant. 

The leaves of these particular examples were well over 3 feet in length, and I watch this plant that is so common here with great interest, truly curious as to just how big these things actually get.  I will continue to post progress reports as the spring and summer progresses.

I drive by this lake every day going to and from work and I have taken pictures of this place first thing in the morning.  There are many many mornings when the lake is completely calm and the mountains reflect absolutely perfectly in the lake. 

Driving further Out the road I had planned on heading straight home - until I came to one of the overlooks that I have stopped at (and pictured) many times.  But I stopped today because there were snow capped mountains off in the far distance that I had never seen before.

I was amazed.  I have stopped here so many times I thought that I had seen everything there was to see here.  But (depending on how cloudy or foggy or clear the weather is) the mountains look different every single time I look at them.

As I was standing at the overlook a bright yellow crotch rocket, driven by a guy in black leather and a bright yellow helmet went whizzing by.  A few minutes later he came whizzing by in the other direction.

I am reminded of my Mountain Boys' old patrol area known as the Dragons' Tail - a very winding piece of highway on the border between Tennessee and North Carolina.  It is a popular piece of real estate by bikers - those who like to open up and ride too fast. 

I have seen some riders since the weather turned nice with similar death wishes up here.....

Some pictures of things that are growing in my yard.  This beast of a plant known as Devils Club is just an ugly brown, bare, thorny plant through the winter.  Also a new plant to me.

This is what this plant looks like as it comes back to life in the spring.

The side of my house taken while walking up the stone walkway.  I spent a few evenings over this past week weed eating.  I borrowed a weed eater from a colleague because my yard was turning into some kind of overgrown jungle and I thought that I had better do something with it before it got totally out of control.  It turned out to be a BIG job.

There are wild and untamed woods all around me but I managed to cut some of it back so that I still have an actual yard.

More plants and yard around the house.  I love living in this house.  I love that I don't need curtains on the windows and that when I look out the windows all I can see are pine trees.

My Mountain Boy has both of the trucks serviced, loaded with belongings and he is ready to go.  A bunch of furniture got sold, donated and given away recently, but both trucks are still loaded down. 

I believe that he will "break free from the vortex" tomorrow and head to Minnesotta with his brother driving the second truck.  Plan is to visit with family and rest up for a few days over Memorial Day weekend before continuing on to Bellingham.  Here we go.......