More fall photos

This is our normal weekend walking route on summer weekends. Our ski trail system behind the house is swampy in summer, but this route goes along the power line rights of way to a nicely gravelled trail. DL along the powerline trail:


The ladies:


This stinky pond:


Pretty colors:


My fuzzy crew!


Black spruce stand:


Homeward!


The road that goes by our house:


I picked these cranberries (actually lingonberries) in such low underbrush that they were dusty and cobwebby, so I decided to wash them before freezing. They are tough enough you can swirl them round and round:


Then you scoop them from the water, since they float!


Then I let them dry before apportioning them and freezing them!


Do you think I caught them plotting something?


Another marker of fall! First pot of rice made on the wood stove!


A nice salad:


A nice pizza:


Salmon enchiladas:

Fall has begun in earnest

Last weekend, the woods had just begun turning on their fall colors:


Over the week, the trees had burst into full color! I will take more photos for y'all, my 8 loyal readers!

Mushrooms! We have so many, and so many different kinds. Mushroom foraging is apparently quite the hobby around Fairbanks. I do not care for mushrooms anyway, but even if I did, I don't think the risk to reward ratio is to my liking! Still, I enjoy photographing them!


Look at the colors!


Last weekend, we had two frost days, and there was ice in the puddles in the mornings:


Ladies walkin' down the trail:


And DL:


*insert appropriate lines of poetry here*


First frost means it's time to pick cranberries! I left work early on Friday to pick the ones along our nearest neighborhood trail. The dogs were insanely happy. A walk directly after work is not common!


Cranberry selfie!


Roo in the berries!


Cricket in the berries!


Cranberries are the color of garnets, which are the color of wine, which is my favorite color:

Model cabin!

Niece made a model of our cabin. It's amazing!


It even has a bag of dog food I had not yet put away when my mom took the video!


And a blue doggy bed!


And couch dogs!


Here is mamamoose being so kind as to trim our lawn:


Mmmmm, lawn!

Fall at last

Fall trees and fall light:


Fall commute:


First fire of the season:


Ceremonial moment:


Salmon, couscous, and broccoli:

Nicer Visits Today!

Starbuck-A-Roo had a much nicer time visiting her Friends at the Denali Center today than we did last time. The funny thing about seeing someone suffer from dementia is, it enables you to *really* embrace not taking their behavior personally. The daughter of one of the dementia patients told me that one time her mother got angry with her and shouted, "Go away! I never want to see you again!" She left the room, then turned around and came back, and her mother smiled and said, "Oh hello! It is so nice to see you!"

I'm really grateful I have started this gig. It has taught me so many good life lessons. Dealing with dementia patients' sometimes cruel words requires us to ignore those words and realize that they aren't actually directed at us, at our hearts. So it is with many other people's cruel words, dementia or no! When a person is trapped in a cage of their own cruelty, or their own meanness, or their own pettiness, that is no less a cage than dementia is, right? So surely we can face them both with compassion and without accepting their cruelty upon ourselves?

Earlier this week, I attended a training session on hospice care, and many of the tips are easy to remember if you just pretend you are a dog: Be patient, be kind, don't judge them, don't tell them what to do or contradict decisions they have made for their own care. Don't expect to save them, to solve their problems, or to do miracles for them; just provide them what comfort you can by your presence. Don't tell them trite aphorisms. Speak only when you can be both kind and sincere.



Rrooooooo...

Good eats

Common wisdom says that no one wants to see your unprofessional food photos, but my mother and sister inform me that my niece loves my food photos! Hah!

We picked up our annual share of 20 pounds of salmon from the Alaska Marine Conservation Council:


They are reds, from Bristol Bay:


They seem smaller this year, but that means more fillets!


Huevos rancheros, our favorite Saturday breakfast of late:


Partially homemade pizza (using Boboli crust), with Minestra di Zucchine con Cacio Uove and salad:


A beautiful stand at the Farmer's Market:


Last weekend, our research director decided that what we all needed to do before starting classes for the fall is have an interdepartmental wiffle ball tournament and a pig roast. Here is the roaster:


Mmm, mmm, roast piggie!


Piggie came from a local meat processor. We have no concentrated feed lots in Alaska, so the piggies, cows, and goats are all free-range, and in this case organic, to boot!


MC Bill makes the first slices:


Fixin's for Singapore noodles:


Said Singapore noodles:


A beautiful fractal broccoli:

How long is the coast of Britain?

Best. Enchiladas. Ever. Made with leftover roast pork:


Served with fractal broccoli, corn, and fresh local tomatoes: