Moving Ahead

It has been a long time since I blogged and allot has happened here in blog land.
The demise of spaces was an inconvenience for me, but I am moving along.
This fall has been amazing here in Alaska, one of the nicest I have seen in the 35 years I have been here.
Fall is a time of gathering of the herds, and I have been actively photographing the giant beasts we call moose.
Here is one I call At The Thrown of the Mountain King

When I started the approach to this big guy I was behind him to camera right.
I would have liked to have had more distance but there were 4 other bulls within 50 yards, and one was active at 15 yards and I didn’t want to press him, so I hugged the little patch of spruce that I had circled. This guy was aware of me long before I popped out in the open and showed no sign of stress. Though everything was calm, it was exciting for me to get into position literally kneeling before him, and I was happy to retreat after a few photos.

Hope you all are well, happy Halloween!

A Dream Come True

Riding the 150 miles in two days for charity really was a dream come true.

Just 5 short years ago my life hung in a balance with Heart Disease threatening to end it all,

and now being not only a Mended Heart, but exceeding all expectations…

Here are some highlights

 

 

Hope Alaska, waiting for the start, I was looking at the chaser bikes and admiring how comfortable their seats look.

We had Lot’s of support vehicles and were never far from help, though I didn’t see anyone who required it.

There was allot of interaction and comradery, but also long hours of being alone,

sometimes wondering if I could manage to make it.

As I was driving home and saw riders up to an hour away from the finish, I saw the determination and pain on their faces, and I was deeply moved and appreciative. The MS Hope to Cure 150 mile bike ride through the Chugach Mountains in Alaska, a personal best for me and a top 10 all time outdoor adventure. Much grattitude te to my sponsors, supporters and all those of you who use positive energy to make things better!

This past week I have been busy with work and life, coming down off of that high, recovering and planning the next adventure.

Meanwhile nature never ceases to amaze me, and this is the season of the sun here so…

 

Sometimes dreams really do come true, stay positive out there!

Ready To Roll

Bike is ready for the next 2 days and the 150 miles we will ride together.
It has enough bag capacity to carry the essentials on my check list, tire irons, patch kit, air pump, rain jacket, water bottle, camera, wallet, meds, supps and vits, cell phone, first aid, bike number.

Now I will pack my bag for Saturday Night in Seward to be shuttled by Fed Ex.
And burn off a little more nervous energy before grabbing a few hours sleep and a 3am get up.
I decided to stay here tonight and get up early. It’s just like the old days before a big climb, I love it.

Also thank you all for the encouragement, support and well wishes!

It’s been a busy time for me with work, training and sorting out personal life,

nary time for much photography, but I have seen a few sunsets, here is one from last night,

a 2 frame panorama.

Positive energy going out from me to all of you!

Enlightened

I did a blog the end of last year about the Four Horsemen.

The biblical four horsemen are of course Conquest, War, Famine, Death.

 

My prediction for me was Sun, Moon, Interaction, Enlightenment.

Be careful what you wish for right?

Well I am getting fruits of my seeds it seems.

I was injured running in late May as some of you know.

My recovery has been rigorous, and I still am not running yet.

 

I have however used my old sport of bicycling as a means of rehabilitation, and a strange and wonderful thing has happened.

My training has paid off, and I am now preparing for a special event September 11-12 (yes it starts on 911)

It is a two day 150 mile bicycle event here in Alaska. Today I did a 50 mile ride, and I am feeling good about this.

I is called the Hope to Cure ride, from Hope Alaska, through the Chugach Mountains, to Seward Alaska.

 

It is put on by the MS Society, and I am raising funds for the cause.

You can contribute by making a donation to MS, become one of my sponsors, and find out a bit more about me and my motivation by going to this link: SPONSOR STEVE

And oh yes I take photos still when I have time between work and training.

This one is from the other night, the title, My Fourth Horseman

Be well my friends, sending positive energy to you!

The Killing at Bartell Creek

This is the short version of this story, rated PG for general audiences.

The long version is seared into my memory, it is a much longer version, full of split seconds and details.

Too much to share here, some of wich is not rated PG at all, I will probably just keep it with me, it is mine to carry.

It has taken me a long time to get around to this one, maybe for the best, time numbs the wounds…

It was 1987 and I was house sitting on the Tok Cutoff while on a construction project that I had designed. One night a black bear came round, not a little one, but  bigger than me, a 280 pounder. It was clear from the get go he wanted food and smelled it in the house and he was willing to come through me to get it. Three days of cat and mouse ensued. He even got inside while I was at work and I searched room to room with my 44 cocked and finger on the trigger, heart pounding, but he got away. That third day he was coming in again but I had my 45-70 Marlin on the kitchen table with bear loads in it. More cat and mouse, but finally he was out in the open and I pulled down on him with the big gun, now he was the mouse and I could see he knew it. I put him down with a single shot but to my amazement he got back up and and charged. More cat and mouse, but he ended up in the woods, so I went in after him, the adrenaline running high, to find him expired. So that’s the Killing at Bartell Creek, I killed the bear before he killed me.

A song comes to mind now after all this time.

Perhaps this bear was like Poncho, and me like Lefty, after all I only did what I had to do…

>>>Poncho and Lefty

The Mystic’s Dream

Sometimes my words cannot describe the feeling,

so I lean on works of others to draw inspiration.

Photo by me,

Lyrics by Loreena McKennitt,

Music by Lee Holdridge (warning, it’s a long one).

 

 

 

A clouded dream on an earthly night
Hangs upon the crescent moon
A voiceless in an ageless light
Sings at the coming dawn
Birds in flight are calling there
Where the heart moves the stones
It’s there that my heart is longing for
All for the love of you

A painting hangs on an ivy wall
Nestled in the emerald moss
The eyes declare a truce of trust
And then it draws me far away
Where deep in the desert twilight
Sand melts in pools of the sky
When darkness lays her crimson cloak
Your lamps will call, call me home

And so it’s there my homage’s due
Clutched by the still of the night
And now I feel, feel you move
And every breath, breath is full
So it’s there my homage’s due
Clutched by the still of the night
Even the distance feels so near
All for the love of you.

The open in a new window feature doesn’t seem to work for me so hitting this link may take you away

Music>> Mystic’s Dream

here is the address if you would like to copy and paste to a new web page:

http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/s/Mystic+s+Dream/mvv72

Forget Me Not

These tiny flowers show up in my yard every year about this time.
They are among my favorites, but they are a reminder that the season will change in only a handful of weeks.

They will soon leave us to carry on through the long winter.

 

They saw my remorse and spoke to me, and this is what they said…

 

Forget Me Not when I am away
I have to soon leave but not to stay
The seasons change and we must too
In the dead of winter remember the gold and blue
Our short time together is to be cherished, but not more sought
I will someday return and smile with you as long as you Forget Me Not

 

 

 

Blessings and Positive Energy to all from Alaska!

 

Won’t Back Down

Every year at this time I look for the new blooms of July.

One of my favorites are the Bluebells of Scotland, a tiny plant with a relatively big statement of a flower.

I have a favorite place I go to look, not too far from here, along the inlet.

I get there and I look up at the rock crags, and decide which one I want to photograph.

Then I move up the rock, gingerly balance myself, and go to work.

These little flowers grow on the cliffs in a seemingly inhospitable world by our standards,

but they are there year after year.

They don’t compromise, they don’t bend to our will, they don’t back down and they never will.

On the eve of our nation’s anniversary of freedom, this is profound to me.

To the little plant with uncompromising drive in life, and to our country…from me in Alaska.

Won’t Back Down

Rainy Day Crossroad Blues

With summer comes some rain, and I catch up on a few projects waiting for a clearing.

Summer here is about new growth and visitors.

If you follow my photos on flickr you know I am crazy about our Arctic Tern visitors.

I finally posted a photo which is a composite of 5 frames I took back in June of 2008.

Of course summer wouldn’t be summer without the new wild flowers.

One of my favorite shots from last week is this Starflower, of the Primrose family,

the flower is only about an inch wide.

The name of the blog is taken from a song by the Doobie Brothers on their Stampede album.

When I got that album I lived in Petersburg Alaska, where it rains allot, that was back in 1975.

That was my first year in Alaska, some nice memories from long ago.

Rainy days are for visiting memories sometimes.

The rain becomes a soothing noise at night after you get used to it.

After I left Petersburg I had a hard time going to sleep without hearing the rain at night. not so much so anymore.

I still like the song as much as I did then though!

I can’t seem to get the link to open in a new window like I like to do, so if you hit it you may be wisked away

>>>  Rainy Day Crossroad Blues

For Jana and David

Jana and her husband David are up in Alaska on vacation, so we got together to meet and have coffee.

Jana has been my friend on MSN Spaces for awhile.

 

Jana and David

Me and Jana

I was telling them about a moose encounter I had the other evening, that turned into a photo shoot with this bull,

so for Jana and David, here he is! This is his serious side.

In this one he is posing as a flower child in the wild roses.

Isn’t he pretty? He will be a handsome fellow come fall.

Hey Jana and David, hope you have a great time up north and it was great to meet you!