Dr. Dolittle and more....

That's how life seems to be here at Mile 14, like I'm living a Walt Disney movie. Just as I was concerned for the health of our resident moose a group of caribou arrived to show me they're doing just fine. I was doing my e-mail the other morning and gazing out at one of the 2 hour snow storms that cruise through here frequently when I spotted these animals. And unlike our moose these guys are healthy and happy. They tend to stay on top of the snow better which I suppose is an energy saver and according to my live-in naturalist they graze on different feed...the secret of their success I'd bet.

MP says that these lowland caribou are ground and lichen feeders so they don't compete with the moose for browse, makes sense. Also this was a group of 4 to 6 (we're not sure) and they stayed around for several days and they seem to support and maybe even warm each other when they bed . In any case they've come through the winter of 2012 in sooooo much better shape than the moose and for that we're happy. Pretty cool when you can step out the door of your house and take pics like this.

The next pic is of me entertaining the folks in Mazatlan. Its funny, that my friends there all know me as the music guy and a lot of my friends here in Alaska don't even know I play. I guess it because that as hard as I work at it I kind of save it for special occasions and of course part of it has to do with familiarity, that can be awkward....Because when you play the music you show some of yourself....you open the window into yourself and everyone gets a view. And I guess in the small town of Soldotna and the Kenai River community I've kind of felt like people know enough about me....know what I mean?

I think  people that play are a little different, and I've met plenty of them. For me this time of year its the practice and almost a meditation kind of deal as I play. Many musicians will tell you that as they play their mind wanders, kind of like having a dream while your awake. Then I do a visioning thing, like I used to do in athletics. I frame a picture of me , I'm sitting on a bar stool, theres 50 friends of mine listening, chatting and waiting for a good chuckle. I've already played my favorite love song and Hobo Jim's Iditarod song.....my friend Phil Horak wants Cheaper to Keep Her , Kevin Fowlers  song that always brings a good belly laugh. I have a sip of Pacifico to clear my throat and.....

So for all my Alaska friends, that's  me last night taking a trip to Mazatlan. My camera is an old 3.2 megapixel that I elected to use so it would load fast. The audio is kind of poor but you get the idea eh? Make sure you listen to it all, the end is pretty chuckly.  I know I was putting myself out there a bit by publishing the singing...but not quite as much as publishing a pic of myself in a speedo...  It's  kind of nice to have arrived at a place in life where you can let it all go, be yourself,  I think I'm just about there. Like my old friend Bill Forrest used to say " if you don't like the gate, don't swing on it ".