A Gardener's Cup

Although the Season officially starts tomorrow, the sunny mid-fifties weather whispered

"You must play in the dirt"

Making today the first "...soil beneath my fingernails and muddy knees..." day of Spring, with many many more to follow.

Turned over the borders, trimmed the leggy roses back to a well-leafed node. Brought the Boxwoods in line giving them all that first haircut and keeping them nicely globular. Pulled the few early weeds and loved the bright green patches of moss (already arrived). Stowed the winter decor and refilled the numerous clay pots with rich new soil from my compost box. Dug a straggling clump of what-will-be-yellow common field lilies and potted then for an early dot of green. Cleared some withered blades from my twin clumps of purple flag irises. Scraped and dug the winter leaves and debris to add to my compost box when it it emptied.

Spring Stuff.

Made a mental note to pick up another fingernail brush, clip them short, and to shelve my nail-polishes and such. I won't be needing them again until Winter.

Playing in the dirt makes painting and growing your nails an exercise in futility. 

And I DON'T garden in gloves.
Preferring to feel the cool, loamy soil in my hands.

The Compost Box worked its magic again and from vegetable peelings, apple cores,banana skins, coffee grounds, egg shells, shredded newspaper, cardboard and even cloth...I now have 30 gallons of rich, sweet smelling black top-soil.

"I make EARTH. What's YOUR Superpower? "

Tucker sat outside in the sunshine drawing on its healing powers while Shelby wandered onto the patio (not even the grass) and decided it was definitely

Too Much Like Nature

for her...lol!

Came inside to clean up...add a bit of "morning light" to my Alaskan Painting with touches here and there of lightly tinged pink snow before I go on with the waterfall and snowy firs this week.

Who doesn't love pink morning light on snow and ice?

May pan a bit more here in a few. And remove the copper nugget from my vial of gold. It is starting to bug me.  
OCD, anyone?

Have a chicken cut up and bubbling, boiling away to fix homemade egg noodles for dinner.

May even see the recently released Beauty and The Beast in a few hours.  Chris and Tina saw it last night at IMAX and gave it 4 thumbs way up!

So...riding that exhilarated high that always comes with the Season Change. 
See everyone tomorrow for Spring Proper.

Life is
Exceptional!

Carla, Tucker-Cat and The Lady- Miss Shelby

                                     "OMG...guys, wake up!!! It's SPRING!"

Tucker...The DIVA Miss Shelby...Gold...Movies and More

Tucker, is still not quite ready for his close-up- Mr. DeMille. His face still looks pretty rough. The abscess in his upper sinus and over his left eye. It looks a lot worse than it is, at this point. The critical stage appears to have passed. The abscess now draining. The antibiotics that most likely saved his life have played hell with his GI tract and made spending a lot of time crated with frequent bathroom breaks a must. Yeah...it is a face only a mother could love, right now. But, most of all, I am just thankful he is healing, and I didn't lose him. By Summer this might all seem like a bad dream.

Shelby, I've come to realize is the cat equivalent of a DIVA. Were she a male...she would definitely be the kitty version of Freddie Mercury.

Her most annoying quality might also be her most endearing. If she is sitting next to you (or trying to wake you up in the morning) she pokes.  Reaches out with one paw just like a person would with a finger and poke...poke...poke.
Endearing if I am curled on the sofa reading, and she feels she is lacking in attention. Less so in the early morning when she becomes a live version of "Simon's Cat" 

And I half expect to see her with the baseball bat.

Panned a little more of the paydirt this week and found this!

Check out the size of the nugget in the bottom left corner. Needless to say it was one of those really really exciting moments!  I think I actually "gasped"! Still have about a half of a bag of dirt left and going to pan a little more today.

Also worked a bit more on my Alaskan Painting this week. It is coming together.

Still a long way to go.

When I use my seal on it to sign it (when finished) I am definitely going to embed a tiny gold nugget or two from my panning in the wax!

I did finally manage to get the water looking cold. 

Two weeks left in Virtual Alaska.

I did have to take a break from fixing Cruise Ship (off the menu)
Food. By the time one gets back state-side it is amazing they don't have a liposuctionist on board to undo the effects of all that amazing food.

I re-read a couple of my childhood favorites this week

And enjoyed them as much, maybe more, than when I first discovered them all those years back. The latter set in the Alaskan Wilderness.

Also picked up

from my local library...only for her story "Persuasion" which I had not read.

Long. Boring.Verbose.

Did I mention boring?

I have come to realize Ms. Austen is NOT my cup of tea.

I also managed to see

The John Wick role is an exciting and bad-assed role for Keanu Reeves. In this second film he has lost his wife and is trying to escape the assassin life...but gets dragged back in.

Entertaining and the ending promises that there MUST be a sequel. 
 
Well worth a viewing.

And

Another version of The Big Monkey Movie made even more interesting by actors John Goodman and Samuel Jackson.

Sam spends an inordinate amount of the film with a rather large gun giving our oversized ape friend the stink-eye.

Predictable, but entertaining.

Great CGI.

Several stories within the story. The best being a pilot from WWII who has been stranded on the island since 1945. When they tie all the loose ends of his story up at the very end...you'll cry.

Well worth the time!

And, last, and maybe least...time to peek in on what The Donald is up to now.

This week cutting funding that goes toward Meals on Wheels and Feeding low-income school children.

Just in case you didn't think the Administration could possibly sink any lower...that's right...now we've learned they have a basement.

Of course Spicer, the mouthpiece du jour...has tried to put a positive spin on all of this. Saving us tax dollars. It isn't actually The Government Cutting Meals on Wheels...the Cuts are to the State Block Grants. Those States...

"...they could be broasting chickens for all we know. "

Spicer, just another Good German.

And the Orange Emperor-in-his-own-mind has been struck down again trying to pass The Muslim Ban (...give it up Orange Dude...it still is, and will always be, unconstitutional ) and kudos for the ACLU, States, and Everyone else who is keeping this Tiny Handed Tyrant in check.

                       Donnie's, Terrible, Horrible, Very Bad, No Good Day

And my only comment on the Trump-Merkel débâcle

Later!



An example of today's panning

Quarter cup of mined paydirt.

Sluiced off larger gravel and debris.

Down to what is referred to as black sand.

Close up of black sand.

If you look closely you can see some small gold flakes a this point.

By the end of the panning...one large flake...four smaller nuggets and also two small copper nuggets. I ended up keeping the larger of the two.

Added to vial...note the copper nugget in the upper left corner of the back.

Pan time...about 1/2 hour.

Huskies...Dogsleds and The Iditarod

The Iditarod is held in March...a race from Settler's Bay in Anchorage to Nome, Alaska ran by mushers and their dog sled teams. It takes between 8-15 days or more and is 975 miles long.

The yearly starting field is usually about 50 mushers and 1000 dogs.

The name Iditarod is derived from the Athabaskan word haiditarod meaning a far away or distant place...and is ran along the Trail of the same name.

There are 26 checkpoints during the race. These are used as drop points for additional supplies during the run.

Most of the dogs are Alaskan Malamutes and Siberian Huskies. Both bred for the grueling temperatures and terrain they endure during the sled race.

                                                           Malamute

                                                         Siberian Husky

and a first-person view so we can zoom along with one of the sleds.

https://youtu.be/dAHa-6VkUQY

Sled Dogs

https://youtu.be/6nVfFNbxX7s

The Beginning of the 2016 Race

https://youtu.be/jI3bliK7R94

and the Finish Line

https://youtu.be/BPsvNGSbU0Q

Denali National Park has Famous Sled Dog and Kennels...but perhaps the very best is in Summer when they have the Live Kennel Webcam:  Puppy Cam

http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2011/08/new-puppy-cam-features-sled-dog-pups-denali-national-park-and-preserve8616

 

This is the finish line at Nome. 

The lantern hanging on the right side is known as 

the "Widow's Lamp" 

and remains up and lit until all of the mushers are

back in off the trail and safe.

More anon...

Denali (Virtually)

Not far from Anchorage- (250 miles)

Today we explore Denali. Perfect timing as this year (Feb) the park is celebrating 100 YEARS of being a National Park!

And although Jim (...my favorite Adventure Dude...) actually leads expeditions up its ice and snow covered sides,

through Virtual Travel I can check the park and mountain out from the comfort of a 72 degree home. Without frostbite, crevasses, overnights in base camps at -75 degrees, or falling thousands of feet to my demise. Maybe with a pepperoni pizza and an ice cold Coke. So there's that.

And so can you.

Tour of the National Park

https://youtu.be/Qyb0Tqpec7c

Live Webcams located throughout the park

https://www.nps.gov/dena/learn/photosmultimedia/webcams.htm

The Upper Western Rib Route

https://youtu.be/ScfQ5XzR6T4

And Summit

https://youtu.be/Mw_1Ikx3IYE

And another Climbing and Summit

https://youtu.be/BhNU6i34Vw4

The view from The Top of North America.


Absolutely Breathtaking.

More Anon...

(Virtual) Anchorage

As of 2016 the population of Alaska was reported to be 729,828 scattered across 663,300 square miles. Around 1 person per square mile give or take. A hermit's paradise.

But in Alaska there are pockets of people...and thousands of square miles of wilderness...barrens...mountains...glaciers or tundra with no people at all.

Almost half of Alaska's total population (300,950) live in Anchorage. 

Equidistant from New York City, Tokyo, and Berlin...Anchorage is only a 9 and a half hour flight from the industrialized world.
It is also the home to a major FedEx hub.

It has an area of 1,961 square miles meaning this is the most densely packed city in Alaska. About 154 people per square mile.

A Tour of Anchorage

https://youtu.be/9oLM44yUHkI

Complete with a trip through the Whittier Tunnel

And even in the city one can still see a black bear or moose ambling down the road.

Weighing almost as much as your vehicle...moose always have the right-of-way.

It can also lead to comical situations like coming home to find this

How to you get a moose out of your kid's wading pool?

Very carefully, I imagine.

And imagine a moose fight in your driveway.

"Sorry Bob, I won't be in to work today...moose fight...yeah...rutting season and all that."

And may still be preferable to a bear in your front yard.

A few things to do in Anchorage

https://youtu.be/VwVxpe3AtG4

More anon...

This Week...A Drive By Bearing...Shelby...and a Saturday with Emma and Brenden

Tucker is doing somewhat better...back to eating and drinking and has rallied a bit. I am hopeful. 

AND

I have the best kids (and grands)  in the World...really.

James and Nicole have been monitoring the situation with Tucker since earlier in  the week. The other morning Chris stopped by with hugs and saw the rough shape he was in. I have had Tucker for 15 years now. Half of James life, and the better part of Chris and Lennon's. Yesterday James called asking me if I wanted "Deadpool" their black and white tuxedo cat. I declined. They found six toed kittens at the pet shop...but no...then they stopped by the local no kill shelter where Gypsy has resided since December of last year.

"She isn't meant as a replacement , Mom...think of her as an accompaniment"

She is my auxiliary back-up kitty. 
 Older, spayed, peaceful and well housebroken.

She and Tucker (even in his current condition) seem to get on okay. 

I understand the kids worries...if Tucker were to die before me...here I would be.
A crazy cat lady without a (my) cat. If I were honest (especially this week) the thought had hit me pretty hard, too.  I have literally had a kitten or cat every year of my life from birth to now.
A house just isn't home without a cat.

And the serendipity of THIS particular cat did not escape me, either.

In January or February I had actually seen this cat on the no kill shelter's website while perusing for a possible addition to my home. Her name (Gypsy) had caught my eye.

 I never said anything about it to any of the boys and soon forgot all about her. 

When James and Nicole showed up yesterday they were telling me about this perfect-for-me black and white older, spayed, housebroken female.  James said

"Guess what they call her..."

(More back-story...yesterday was my late husband, Bill's, birthday. He would have been 55. He always called me A Gypsy or Gypsy and was the originator of the back shot we come to call The Gypsy Shot since I never wanted my photo taken and he always wanted to take it. It was our compromise...) 

Her name is Gypsy.

OMG...it was, of course, the same cat I had looked up a couple of months ago.

They left with the adoption sheet and came back with this

                                               Emma and Shelby (aka Gyspy)


Since she seemed to come and be loving & equally happy no matter what you called her...I renamed her "Shelby"  (Yes, like the GT-500) because she looked a lot like the tiny kitten that Tess and I had tried to save (unsuccessfully) some years back. And maybe in part that she had already been someone else's Gypsy...now she was my Shelby.

Then the coincidence became even odder...

Two of my three grand-daughters showed up with an

"Early Birthday Gift, Grandma Rose"

 (Hannah and Jazzie) and it was a Drive-By Boyd's Bear-ing!

(...my very favorite might be the one in the summer hat and dress...) 

They could not believe it when they saw we had adopted her, because they had went out looking for a cat and almost chose her a few weeks while back.

Obviously, I was SUPPOSE to have this cat...lol!

It is fate.

My Early Birthday from James and Nicole with all the cat outfittings!

So yeah...I am now a Two Tuxedo Crazy Cat Lady. 

~laughing~

Certainly hoping Tucker recovers and this is just using up one of his nine lives...he has pulled it off before. 

They are a beautiful pair. 

Enjoyed a visit by Chris (and Tina earlier this week) who are planning to take me to The Cheesecake Factory for a birthday dinner and one of these in April.

 I am EXCITED!

Catching up with Lennon tomorrow. Our most recent conversation, Wednesday, centering on politics and the cluster-fuck that is Washington DC right now.

Even some of the staunchest Trump Supporters are beginning to exhibit buyer's remorse. 

Unfortunately a lot of us (who didn't and don't) are being dragged along for the ride, as well. 

Both of us aghast that the GOP now has a man so reprehensible that even George W. Bush Jr. has spoke out against him.  

Lennon summarized it best

"It just feels kind of wrong, agreeing with anything he [ Bush] says, I mean"

Yes, son...I know. a hot shower may be in order.

He says The Party is Still On (our inside joke) and I am STILL bringing the Pinata.

"Here, let me take a whack at 'em" 

Winding down after enjoying wonderful day with Emma and Brenden.

They cooked with me.

Brenden's PERFECT grilled cheese sandwich to go with Grandpa's Chili Recipe.

Observed

 "What TIME is it...???"

WHIPPED CREAM TIME, of course...

Emma and I discussing this year's birthday plans, and the fact that she still loves to paint with acrylics. I think a tabletop easel, canvas roll and brushes, tubes of paint and fresh canvases may be in her near future!

Brenden was an absolute Candyland Monster!

If you get the ice cream cone one more time I am removing the thing from the deck...I AM...seriously...

Aiden made everyone laugh when he looked at an old photo of James and pointed to it saying

"No. No. No.  That's ME." with all the earnestness a two year old can muster.

 No one could convince him any differently.

He is definitely James' mini-me.

So despite a rocky start...an outstanding ending to the week. I am so Grateful that Tucker seems to be doing better and love the newest addition to our household:  

Shelby: The Cat formerly known as Gypsy

Small Zen Retreat tomorrow and starting Virtual Anchorage on Monday!

More anon...love,

                   Carla, Tucker-Cat and Shelby