This morning was filled with low-key activities that included yard-saling, laundry, eating and taking a walk with my Mountain Boy and my dog along the salmon and bear viewing area at Mendenhall Glacier.
Bears and salmon are on the minds of everyone in Juneau at the end of June. Salmon because we are in the middle of spawning season, and bears because they are now everywhere and sightings are becoming common.
I have seen five bears in the past five weeks - a young bear eating grass by the side of the highway, one two year old running across the highway from one yard to another, and three young bears crossing the highway near an overlook.
All were young bears (between one and two years old), and all were seen off Glacier Highway between my house Out the Road and Auke Bay.
Bear sightings are common now. Just in the past week I have heard stories of bear sightings right in the center of town, of a bear sleeping in a downtown park, and of a colleague seeing a momma and three very small cubs out near the Glacier while walking her dogs the other evening.
Hand in hand with bears that Juneauites share this space with, are icons of these creatures, that are also common throughout Juneau.
These two pictures were taken in the Valley while we were cruising for yard sales this morning. Both bear statues were in people's yards..........
I took this picture while walking downtown the other day. The vehicle was on a side street, packed with luggage both inside and on top, and displayed the now-familiar sticker in the window of someone who had just gotten off the ferry.
These travellers' stuffed bear was obviously running lookout, and was cute enough that I had to take a picture of it.
A picture in the Juneau Empire newspaper yesterday of the same sow and three youngsters my colleague crossed paths with - crossing the road just outside of the park at Mendenhall Glacier....
Treasures bought at yard sales........
A triagle now hanging in the kitchen.........
I bought the pottery piece on the bottom shelf (second from the right) this morning, but these are all yard sale buys (from both Tennessee and Juneau). All amateur pottery, all worth.....not much, all things I enjoy.
And the fishing basket that we bought last week. It's going to find a new life as a magazine rack in our house...
Even though they were calling for rain, it surprisingly turned into a really sunny and very warm evening yesterday, and after work my Mountain Boy, my dog and I spent some time at Lena Beach after work.
We walked for a while and then I sat in the sun and watched LC while he skipped rocks across the water in the cove.
He did it for a long time, and I watched him for a long time.
For people like him and for people like me, skipping rocks is never just about skipping rocks......
On the way to work yesterday I made a stop at the Skaters Cabin to check over everything that was there.
I rented this cabin a month or so ago, and tonight we are having an employee
bar-b-q there.
This cabin was constructed in 1936 by the Civilian Conservation Corps.
It is a beautiful natural stone structure located on the shore of Mendenhall Lake across from both the Mendenhall Glacier and the Mendenhall Visitors Center.
It is also close to the West Glacier Trail and accesses Mt Mcginnis trail, both of which I have hiked over the past couple of months.
The last time I was at this place was July 4 weekend, when I kayaked from the shore near the cabin across the lake to the glacier.
It was very cold that day (the coldest July 4 weekend I have ever spent), but it was also the first time I had kayaked since leaving Tennessee, I was dressed and geared out for the cold, and I had a great time.
Groups rent the cabin almost every weekend for birthday parties, graduation parties, even wedding parties.
But aside from those occasions it is empty and open and accessible to the public.
It is a beautiful cabin that overlooks a very beautiful and quiet area.
One more picture of my introspective Mountain Boy at Lena Beach.
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