Did I Mention How Beautiful Juneau Is?

I got to sleep in and didnʻt get up til 9am. Then I worked on some posts and since the sun was shining again, went for a run.

It turned out that in the Channel it was foggy again.

 

Since I met that geologist while I was taking a picture 

like this, there will be no stopping me.

On the way back the creek was generating its own fog.

And when I got home, the crocus had opened.  I guess this is included in the rent.  The stigmaʻs bright orange reminded me that crocus stigmas are the source of saffron.  But it turns out not just any crocus.  From Local Harvest:

The expensive saffron spice that you buy in the store is the dried female portion (stigma) of the Saffron Crocus. Why not grow your own? Saffron is the world's most expensive spice. Fortunately the home gardener only needs a couple dozen Saffron Crocus to produce enough saffron for some occasional dishes throughout the year. The corms will multiply each year, and to prevent overcrowding, corms are divided every 4 to 5 years. Saffron is grown mostly as a culinary and medicinal herb, having been cultivated for at least 4,000 years. Historically saffron has also been used as a natural dye for hair and natural fabrics, and for use in perfumes. Medicinal: Traditional use for its spasmolytic and sedative effects. Ornamental: Saffron blooms in mid-fall, producing exquisite brightly colored, lilac-purple blooms, each with three vibrant red stigmas. Even if you never harvest Saffron Crocus for food use, it deserves its own special place in the flower garden.

 Unfortunately,  the site also says it grows in zones 6-9.  That would work in Juneau I suspect, but not in Anchorage.  

So then I went down to the capitol and sat in on the full Finance Committee hearing on the medicaid budget which was interesting, but they didnʻt talk about the mental health budget or Bring the Kids Home.  But Iʻd gotten a call from Rep. Jouleʻs staff to pick up the spread she they were working off of at the subcommittee meeting so Iʻll try to make the corrections this weekend. 

And when I was back home, K and P knocked on the window and invited me to walk back up Perseverance Trail.  P picked up a friend's dog - Apollo - and off we went.  Except an almost full moon was coming up as the sun was setting and I kept pulling out my camera.

From the street outside our gate.

Looking back as we walk up Basin Road past the houses.

Looking up ahead.  

 

Walking back.