The cusp between summer and fall

Late summer is my favorite part of summer. The dragonflies have come out, the mosquitoes have thinned down, the mud has dried up. Time for berry picking! Blueberries first. My friend SM has adopted Cricket's sister, Bedbug (they were an entire litter named after bugs). Bedbug, like Thistle, was a star leader, and she has embraced retirement with gusto. She sleeps in and takes gentle walks. She looks a lot like Cricket, only with pointy ears instead of flippy-flappy ears. She's also a good berry picking companion:

Also, like Cricket, she is a qualified and very loving therapy dog. We met at the Denali Center a couple of times. Aren't they cute?

At one point I took a break to have a PBJ, and dropped it. Well, I'm not a picky eater nor germaphobe, but this time I picked it up and found it had landed perfectly onto a moose turd! So I had to tear off that part.

A good berry year! We are grateful.

I also took Raven on my favorite hike for the first time. We missed out on a lot last year because it was so hot and so smokey. But this was my first hike ever in Alaska!

Pretty and tough bluebells, growing in the mountains:

Even Cricket needs some shade on a hot day:

Look at this view though!

This is Wickershame Dome, a hike for another day. That trails has low, muddy spots. I think we will wait until fall after several hard frosts, and it will be frozen.

The trail continues onward, but it was our turnaround time.

A trip up the Elliott Highway always means pie! But I'm still being covid-careful, so I'm not lingering in truck stops. Pie to go!

Do you think Cricket enjoys her life with us? I sure hope she enjoys her life with us.

What about Raven? Do you think she is comfy? I sure hope she is comfy.

Look, the hillside on campus where I park has in just a few weeks gone from pink fireweed to fireweed fluff:

Fall is already becoming apparent in other ways:

This is a favorite trail of ours. Part of the Equinox Marathon route.

A pause where you'd pause on the marathon. Right after this steep drop. There is an aid station right here. And you'd pause and say, "Phew! The worst part is over!"

Such a pretty trail!

Look! Cranberries are almost ready! But they don't get truly sweet until after the first frost, so we wait until those hushed first days of Fall come.

I got a plant ID app, and it says this is called "marsh felwort":

And while the blueberries are ripe, so are the raspberries. These are right in our yard, and I have to beat Raven to them!