Sunday morning coming down....

I checked the weather when I got up and stepped outside in the predawn. It was cool, but humid. A low fog drifted across the south pasture where Siera and Sundance were snoozing in the sandy area.

I checked my to do list for Sunday and decided to take my canine hiking as soon as chores and breakfast was done. 

We'd beat the midday heat and have the trails to ourselves if we went early.

It was August 30th. A year exactly to the date when Nurse Tim told me that Rich was going on the Actively Dying List.

We headed out and when we got to the trail head at the Visitor's Center, we were the only vehicle. I parked, attached the lines to the dogs [they don't need to be leashed but I keep lines on them in case I need to grab them].

We were going Fungi Hunting.

The recent rain and humidity was prime for mushrooms to start popping along the bluffs of the river.

Even though we'd had a dry week, the nights and mornings had been wet with heavy dew and fog.

A perfect climate for mushroom hunting.

We were not disappointed. We found huge mushrooms! 

We found such an amazing variety of mushrooms that I was just blown away.

I also found a flowering plant that I'd never seen before:

Great Plains Ladies' Tresses aka the scientific name: 

Spiranthes magnicamporum

I included a link because I felt they were so special and I've never run across them before. It is  MN wildflower link. I'm going to add it to my 'discovered' wildflowers!

I headed down the Wintergreen Trail because in years' past, I've found a single Indigo Ink Cap mushroom. Back then, someone had kicked it over instead of walking around it. 

Each August-September I retrace my steps to look for this beautiful mushroom.

This year I hit the motherlode.

I found at least a dozen or more of them. Below is a photo of Charlie standing in a spot where I counted 6 of them!

Ever see a 70 yr old lady doing the happy dance on a bluff in the forest? Yep, I was doing a jig and trying to avoid stepping on the pretty blue fungi.

So, just to let you know why my dogs wear beeper collars. I get so engrossed in looking at the little things that I ignore the puppers. They stay close, but I can push a button and call them in close.

Dogs here can be off leash. But I don't want to lose them in the 8,900 acres of forest that surrounds the Reserve.

I did some Toy Photography [of course!]

We'd gone so early that no one else would be around on this particular trail.

First shot with Hannah in the background.

Patience. Hannah moved on ...

...and then we hit the area where a little bit of water flows from the ice caves in the winter and some little dog had a total brain explosion of happiness with muddy zoomies... 6 seconds of unbridled puppy joy.

This is the ice caves in the winter. I can't wait to take Hannah here this winter!

I have so many items that we found. A two mile walk took us over 2 hours because I stopped and sat on the ground to explore and look at the mushrooms, fungi, and slime molds that presented themselves along the trail.

I'm that weird person who gets excited by the unusual slime mold, plants, or mushrooms. I stop, I look, and I explore.

My cohorts and I spent time sitting quietly at the end of the Wintergreen Trail. They had treats, I had a protein bar. 

Eventually we headed back. We could hear the traffic increase on Highway 131. The motorcycles were headed to LaFarge for the Chicken Q dinners at Rockton Bar.

It was time to evacuate the area and return home.

More fungi will come in the next posts. But I might be out exploring in the mornings this week. It is supposed to be unseasonably hot and humid. Perfect for fungi/mushroom hunting.

The dogs were silent on the way home and took long afternoon naps. I think they are ready for bed too.

It was a good Sunday morning. 

Big Night Out

The August Sturgeon Moon was the big event of the week. I was excited to be able to watch the partial eclipse.

I raced up to the ridge and caught the full moon rising over the cropland. 

As darkness settled in the moon lit up the night sky with a brilliant orange. 

At home, I prepared two cameras so I could shoot two different scenes at once. One camera with the long lens set up for just shooting the moon.

My other much older camera set up to shoot [hopefully] stars.

I'd never tried shooting star trails during a full moon. The dogs joined me in the yard and trotted around with their collar lights. They were not too interested in what I was doing even though I explained in great detail about the camera settings and how everything worked.

At least when I talk out loud, I can say that I'm talking to the pups and not to myself.

As I started photographing the eclipse, my cohorts asked to go in and sleep on their blankets. Kids!

I had one camera in the driveway and the other one at the edge of the pasture pointed at the house.

Imagine my surprise when I actually was able to 'do' a star trail with the bright moon shining! [plus satellite and plane trails].

I was ecstatic. I had always thought that one couldn't shoot star trails unless one had perfectly dark skies.

Well.

I guess that is a fallacy. 

The moon slowly started to enter earth's shadow. 

I set a timer for every 20 minutes to take a shot of the changing moon.

I walked back and forth between the two places I had cameras set up. I drank decaf coffee to keep awake [and yes, it helped].

As the moon got darker and darker I fiddled around and finally got a decent set up for the next star trail looking north from the other side of the house.

The dogs asked to come out for another inspection. I think if they could have talked they'd have demanded that I come in and go to bed.

I watched the moon became a sliver. 

And then I noticed something very unusual.

I could see the Milky Way. I could SEE the Milky Way on a Full Moon night.

So I took this shot. Not great, but one can see the light of the partial moon and the Milky Way.

I was breathless. The shot didn't turn out very well, but still...it was something you never can see during a full moon. 

I was done in by this time and the heavy dew was getting my cameras wet, so I called it a night.

Of course I couldn't just go to bed, I was too wired up. I decided to review my photos right then.

The final composite of the moon

 shots put together in one frame. 

It will be a night I won't forget. 

I didn't go to bed until about 2AM. [up at 5:30!]

How lucky was I that I could stand in my driveway and watch this event take place.

The last time I'd photographed a lunar eclipse was May 26, 2021. I caught part of the eclipse while hiking to the top of a bluff in the dark and getting a shot as the moon was heading west and the sun was rising.

It was called the Super Blood Moon/Flower Moon.👇

 

Tent part III

 Well, sorta.

I have to say that I that with great regret, I took our campsite apart on Tuesday.

However, I 'tented' from Friday through Tuesday morning in our tent. It was Amazing. The quiet, the solitude, and the peace was extraordinary.

😞😞😞

I needed to rotate the mules to that pasture for a few days. Plus, it was supposed to rain and be quite windy on Tuesday night.

I surprised myself by being able to take it down and put it in its tiny carrier bag without any cussing and refolding this time!

This is a shot of it partly taken down. The folding and rolling is the tricky part. [Almost as tricky as putting it up but I am getting better at it.]

Tah Dah! Everything fits into a tidy carrying bag.

I can drive the 4 wheeler back there, I could drive the car, but most of the time we walk. That is, unless I am carrying everything in one trip.

One day I may have this all figured out and take a 'real' camping trip somewhere. But I am enjoying this for a few reasons. 

Minimal gas cost.

No camping fee.

I can walk home to cook.

I can walk home to make coffee.

If things aren't going to plan, I can

go home.

I could put a fence around the tent and little site to keep the mules from exploring the tent and taking it apart or...trying out the hammock. 

My next camp out is going to be with me taking the Subaru and setting up a bed in the back end. 

IF the gas prices ever come down or I can afford to take an Adventure Vacation I wouldn't mind camping from the car for simplicity. There is even a pop up tent addition 'thingy' for the back of vehicles like this 👇

These are all wish list items to do things on my 'wish' list.

Those wishes include.

Hiking the Ice Age Trails in Wisconsin.
Exploring the State Parks along Lake Superior.
Exploring State Parks in both WI and Iowa.

Just these goals/wishes could keep me busy for a few years.

Things I need to learn before embarking on a trip like that.
Camp cooking.

Uffdah.

How about freeze dried camp meals? Do they even taste good?

I have been so lucky to find so many scenic things to see not more than a 10 minute walk from my own back door.

I want to thank my son and daughter in law for giving me one of their tents. It has opened up such a new and incredible world for me.
The joy of being immersed outdoors all night is fantastic.

One small step at a time.

For the moment, I am content to hike locally and camp here at my place. 

Very soon though, I am going to book a campsite at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve. That was the one thing I wanted to accomplish this year.

That's it for now!

Forgive me while I try to catch up to anyone else's post. 

Have a day.

I'm going to get ready for Thursday night's partial lunar eclipse.

Tent life [part II]

I've always wanted to stay out in the forest overnight. 

My parents did car camping when I was a kid. 

I recall sleeping in the front seat [the steering wheel was never in the way]. I think my sister may have slept with mom and dad in the back of the station wagon but I don't recall. Maybe I was in the back seat and parents and sister were in the back.

My brother slept on the roof I think. I believe it may have been our only camp out, but I can't be sure. I'm not even quite sure of the year we did it. 

However, I woke up thinking that this was the coolest thing ever.

Here is a shot that my dad took. I think we were at Arches National Park. [It was NOT crowded]

I don't recall if we parked and slept there or near there. All I know was the experience was amazing and I fell in love with rocks.

For reference, the station wagon was a 1965 Dodge. Mom is at the picnic table, my brother is running next to the car and I think my sister is sitting on a rock above the car in the bottom left partially hidden by a tree.

I think that this was my first camping experience and I fell in love with it 61 years ago. 

Rich and I would camp/sleep in the back of his truck and later in a gooseneck horse trailer [not fancy]. But the thrill of it has always stuck with me.

This year was my first time at camping with a tent.

[Last night, I took out the camp cot, it was too uncomfortable.]

Here is what it looks like with a 'dog pile' on a nice cushy camp mattress [3 inches thick!] and piles of blankets.

The dogs love it. I do too, they can sleep on the thin mat next to me or scoot in to keep warm.

I read until I was sleepy, then last night out we hit the sack.

The part that feels so free to me is the fact that I never checked what the time was. It was dark and the moon had not yet arrived.

Monday night we didn't have a fire because the smoke would have blown right into the tent. 

We heard much of the same serenades as we fell asleep. I woke up with a start as Hannah growled. 
I listened.
And then I laughed. There was a turkey not far off trying to roost in a tree and making clucking noises. A bit later I was awakened when I heard a mule softly snort not far off.

I thought, oh how nice, the mules are here.

Then I became fully awake. The mules couldn't get back by us!

The moon was out casting silver light. I peeked out the window and there was the shape of a deer standing not far off. I guess it didn't expect us to be there.

I got back to sleep rather quickly and the dogs crept under the blankets with me.

The dogs love pre-dawn. Hannah is the first to get up and annoy Charlie into getting up. In turn, they both annoy me to get up.

I open the tent flap and out they go for their morning duties. Both dogs leave the camp area to do their business. I like that.

In the predawn dark, we walked back home. I feed them and make coffee for me then head back out. I can have some quiet time with a thermos of coffee and watch for deer.

And....

 I'm successful. These two does come out every morning like clockwork when the sun just peeks over the neighbor's trees to the east.

I have my coffee and sit watching the meadows. One would think that this is the time of day where I think deep and poetic thoughts. The world dissolves into just breathing and being.

My mind is quiet.

I watch the day come alive and that is good enough for me. 
I watch. 

I see the fog, the morning light, and listen to the sounds.

I still pinch myself wondering exactly how lucky I am to witness this in the mornings.

When the coffee is gone, I walk back home and start my day.

And...

I know I can't wait to do this again.

Tent life [part one]

We decided to have a night out. You know, a wild Saturday night!

First came the tent building. For me, it is the most difficult thing to do.

I am a novice. I still struggle.

I'd found an old beat up metal camp cot in the shed. I cleaned it and repaired it for my supervisors. 

I added some blankets and 

they were content to watch while I worked.

Well. 

That was until it seemed like I needed help. Then Hannah came to assist.

I asked her for some advice. She promptly laid down on the tent and wagged furiously.

I thought I set up the trail cam with a photo every 3 minutes, but flubbed it.

I got things sorted out, and my buddies spent the evening watching the meadow while I doodled and wrote in my Pretty Painful Grief Book. 

A note. It is a book with some helpful pages. It also has many pages where the author asks you to write answers to questions about what you are going through.

Sometimes, I just draw circles or write whatever comes to mind 

We spotted a buck following a doe and her fawn. Hannah and Charlie sprang to chase. I used the vibrate mode on their collars and they stayed in camp.

Good dogs.

Maybe TV is more interesting, but I don't think so. I observed how the setting sun filtered light through the Hickory leaves highlighting the leaf edges.

Some of the Hickory trees are starting to turn colors. The box elders are yellowing quite quickly also.
Fall is lurking just around the corner.

The wind sighed through the branches above, an owl asked 'Who cooks for you?'

On the ridge to the south (about a half mile away), I could hear Olive's dogs barking. Further out Linda's cattle were calling out.

In the dusk, I listened to Robins chirping telling me all about the long journey they had started. A doe whistled not far away just outside of camp. We heard her (?) moving away through the brush.

No. The forest is not boring, something is always going on.

Here Charlie and I have a deep conversation about....... 

Well, about ear rubs and all the important things in a dog's life.

Getting dark. 

The daylengths in August shorten 70 minutes from the length of the days in July. 

Maybe that is why I feel such an urgency to spend more and more time outside in August...so I don't miss a thing.

As darkness fell, it became 'deer' time. The deer often cross this meadow right around sunset and right around sunrise or immediately thereafter.

I didn't have my 'long' lens ready but took this with my 200mm zoom lens. This is one of the reasons I picked this spot, it has a great view of our meadow and ....

Soon, the moon appeared...

[Waxing Gibbous Phase

August 22nd]

And we turned in. 

At first Hannah decided to take my cot.

She ended up snuggling in the blankets next to the cot.

Charlie snuggled right up against me on the cot. He is a great foot warmer. He sleeps under the blanket in his cave.
 

My intent was to get up at 1am and photograph some stars.  We did get up. I was not prepared for how chilly it felt so I tip toed back to the tent and climbed into the warm blankets. Hannah came up on the narrow cot too and lay against my side.

I was warm, but could barely move. The next few hours were restless.

But the morning was pretty darned glorious too.

Stay tuned...