It's been a few days

I decided to divide my time between with some more fun with the Medieval Village.  After all, I have to do something while waiting for paint to dry.

Below. The Elfin Twins enjoy a morning chat with Charlie who happens to adore their herd of goats. Charlie wants the goats to come out to play. The Twins say, "Not today!"

Yet, this happens. Below Charlie explains to the Blacksmith that he thought he'd just take the goat herd for a walk. He assures everyone that he has everything under control.

Sometimes my brain does these things. It seems the chain of events just pops into my head and I have to set it up. 

Many Lego Photographers usually highlight just one character in a scene. I admit, that is much easier to do.

But I like to create a scene that shows more.

Lego 'portrait' scenes look like this:

I try to make the scenes epic. Well, at least so the viewer thinks it looks like something out of an epic movie.

I had a brilliant idea. Well, I thought it was brilliant. I took a Lego Building in a tote through the woods [not far from the house] to try a scene I thought of in my head.

I wanted it to look like it came out of the movie The Hobbit. I had everything set up and the sound of shots from a mile away echoed through the woods.

Charlie who was with me, jumped through the wizard's cart and knocked things around. I spent the next 20 minutes digging through leaves to recover minifigures. Charlie kept trying to get in my lap and shaking. 

So, my epic shot never happened. I packed everything up and walked back to the house. However..........

IF I go back to this spot after the hunting season is over, I will rake all the leaves away and prepare the sight for the next day that I can try this again. It will take quite a few tries to get what I imagined. I'd like to do this once more on a very foggy day and see what happens.

Note to self. Do not take Charlie.

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Well, that was earlier this week and now I can make a quick comment the chair I am doing. I've gone with some blues for the main part of the chair with a 'shimmering Rose Pink' color for the very top. It looks red, but is a rose pink.

Gold and silver nobbies and hues of blues for the rest so far. I'll finish off the top and seal coat it before the weekend so the chair can be used if my youngest son and his crew come to visit.

My Lego build is going well. 

Here is a hint at what I am making:

Each day I think about getting out for a walk and just as I think I can go, I hear gun shots. Yesterday morning someone very close shot. Close enough for us to feel the concussion. The mules actually had a bit of a freak out while looking west at my neighbor's farm.

The next morning I got to see what the ruckus was all about.

My theory from the mess in the snow was that the deer that was shot at came through my winter fence and knocked down  a section by getting tangled in the hot wire. 

My mules took the opportunity to go looking for greener pastures last night.

They were fine and not too far off. They were in a section on a knoll which is not where I want them when hunters are out shooting.

They had gathered quite a bit of burdock in their tails and short manes.

They enjoyed their time out overnight and were happy to find a huge pile of hay with some grain in it when I walked them back to the winter pasture. They are good girls, I just came up and asked them to follow me back and they did.

Today is Thanksgiving Day. Normally we don't do anything after it became too difficult to haul both hubby and his mom to his daughter's house. I couldn't do it with wheel chairs, oxygen, and medications. So in the end Rich and I would have Lasagna, pie, and build Legos together.

I had an invite to go to a friend's house [actually a few friends from the gym invited me --isn't that incredible of them?--]. 

We've had a good friendship with Kristi and her family for nearly 10 years. Her husband was my husband's Hospice Nurse.

I'm pleased to decide to go. There was a point in which I thought I'd turn down invites so I could stay home and relish some time to feel sad and sorry for myself.

How nice. I'm not going to!

Tomorrow will be a busy day, IF my youngest decides to fight the snowstorm and come on Saturday, then I need to get some things on Friday. This means I will break my rule of NEVER shopping on Black Friday. 

But this year has been full of changes and adjustments for me.

Huh

Well from the lack of noise today, it seems either the deer are not moving or everyone got what they wanted yesterday.

The sounds of shots in the forest where I walk rang out early yesterday from predawn to about 8am. Then.

Silence.

I played loud music so Charlie couldn't hear the distant shooting waaay off. We can feel the concussion of shots that are within half/quarter of a mile. But that pretty much dropped off by midday.
Sunday on that land is usually pretty quiet as the hunters are mostly hung over and tired from the first day out.

I actually LOVED a day in PJ's [I wear coveralls for chores]. Charlie and I hung out together and had a lazy day of building, 

Figured it out yet?? 😋

Practicing indoor photography, 

Reading,

and listening to music. 

I got the stare from Charlie when some happy and lovely music came on when I broke into a jig and sang along. I'm sure my singing was horrid as was my jig. But I thought. Why not? 

I moved about from one thing to another doing exactly what I felt like doing at any given moment.

Oddly enough, that felt incredibly wonderful. I'd walk into the kitchen to get a drink of water and pause at the Medieval Village and think of a brilliant idea.

It seems that the Ivar and his Barbarians were simply looking for some rooms!

Sadie, who runs the Inn with her husband Mack get busy in the kitchen. Feeding Barbarians can be quite the chore.

Late in the day, just before dusk, a stranger rides into town.

[I don't know about you, but I am sensing a Clint Eastwood sort of theme going on here. 

I keep hearing the theme song to The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

And it feels pretty fun. I love it when the toys dictate the story.

Opening day blues or Let's build Legos!

Time for indoor projects.

That will include a deep cleaning of the house this coming week with washing windows and pulling off a couple of screens so I can photograph birds in the pine tree near the house when the mood strikes me.

The new Lego project was started last night. I'd purchased it last spring when I had Lego Insider Points which made it cheaper from Lego than from any other retailer.

We always started a Lego build on the eve on Deer Gun Season. It seemed to help hubby to relax and take his mind off from not being a hunter anymore.

So this is the start. I'll take progression shots as I build but I won't say what the set is. 😉

Below is my Medieval Village. This was last year's Gun Season Project along with some addition to the Christmas Village scenes.

I was excited to pull it out of the storage bin and set it up on my arts and crafts cabinet. I'm only going to have it up for a week right now. It provides some comic relief and indoor photo fun.

I took advantage of the nice weather and sanded down this chair to be my next art victim. I'm leaning towards a dark blue theme with wild colors. 

Too bad I can't practice like I did 40 years ago and add the face of a roaring lion or an elephant busting through the brush.

I had chairs like this I'd done eons ago. They were fun projects also. The kids had a huge old trunk that I repainted. The lid had my drawings of a volcano erupting [if I recall correctly and a hint of dinosaurs]. [This was in the 1980's. I also took one of their beat up dressers and dressed it up with paint was it even popular then?]

No matter, fun memories!

Pine cones are nature's gift for decorations. I'm starting to replace some of the old ones I did 20 years ago. A bit of paint and a bit of glitter glue and there you are, a basket of pretty pine cones. 

I pick them up out of the yard, let them dry and then enjoy adding colors. I need to go grab a few milkweed pods to add to a winter bouquet along with some grasses and golden rod tops.

My grandmother always gathered nature's dried gifts for her winter bouquets.

So. 

I did have to play some last night to divert my attention and enjoy some creative thinking.

King Ivar marches into town with his entourage of Barbarian warriors. You would be surprised to learn that half of his fierce warriors are female.

The Villagers watch from the Inn. 

A Bard on the street sings a song of bravery and of course, women.

 

Imagine my surprise this morning when I found that a wizard had moved from the craft cabinet to where I lit the morning candles.

Huh.

Toys can be a bit magical. I wonder what they are up too when I am sleeping.

Poor Charlie. Already he is a puppy puddle that is quivering with the first gunshots of the season. 

Music is helpful. So he is listening to music while I go out to do chores and take care of business.

Update on the chair

Here is the chair I started with. This is actually a favorite chair of mine as it sits me at the correct height for doing things at the table.

It is sturdy, strong, and cost me all of $5 at a barn sale. Rich said I'd ruin it by painting it. But I like color and this chair was begging to be prettier. I started by sanding it as much as possible and then just got going.

I rarely plan colors. I just start and go with the flow of what feels right. Blues and greens seemed to be what the chair wanted. Somehow the purple snuck in, but I really liked it.

You may not be able to see it but there are 7 shades of blue-green and green on this chair.

So the seat is covered with Chalk Paint, that old color green that is found on really old chairs under a brown paint like my Christmas Chair [it is patiently waiting for its turn with the paints]. 

Anything turquoise-ish is sort of my favorite color to paint. 

I like greens also. I like anything that is colorful and bold.

The chalk paint is pricey but really spreads nice on the larger parts of the chair.

Those little bottles of acrylic paint for crafts really go a long way. I was surprised at how much coverage I can get with a tiny 2 fl oz bottle of paint. 

The purple just happened. I don't know why but I thought it would just be appropriate for the middle of the back of the chair.

I was stumped by what to do with the bottom half of the chair. I added another chalky blue-green paint I used for the first chair I did for the rungs underneath. That gave this chair 8 shades of greenish colors. 

I tried a few different things for the front legs. I thought I'd use two tones for it and then decided to go with purple again.

I couldn't decide if I wanted the metallic purple or the flat purple. I liked the darker color with the shiny surface.

It will take a few coats to get it to look even.

When I am finished with the painting, I go back to touching areas up. Then I will do a little bit of stressing and sanding to give anyone looking at the chair [mostly me] a way to see beneath the paint in areas to remind me what was underneath.

The chair will be finished off with a Satin Sealer and after a couple of coats, it will then reside in its honorable spot around the table. I've done this before and the painted chairs stand up quite well to everyday use.

Don't get me wrong. I appreciate the beauty of wood and the wood grains. But I also crave color and cheer. My old unmatched chairs that sit around the pretty table all want to be works of art as well as chairs.

And there it is, vibrant and ready to take its place around the table.

Just Ride ~~ A long look back...a repost

Shhhh. What can you hear? The creak of leather, the soft footfalls of a mule in the forest. The panting of a Jack Russell and the soft swoosh of a tail flicking.

There really isn't any conversation going on. I ride along quietly listening, and watching. When a small disturbance off the trail to our left makes Badger go rigid.
I feel him stiffen and look to where his ears are pointing...and we wait.

A hen turkey sprints out of the tall grass with three of her semi grown chicks...they begin to flap their wings and fly low over the Queen Anne's Lace.
I look down and Morris is trying to stand on his hind legs to see what the 'fuss' is about. I smile and pat Badger on the neck and murmur:

*Good boy.*
With a small squeeze of my leg we set off again across the ridgetop following an ATV trail, so Morris won't have to struggle to get through the tall grasses.

We eventually get off the ridge and drop into the woods which are dark even on bright days. We make our way down an old logging trail to the back valley [also called the Lost Valley by the owners]. I get Badger to do some tricky maneuvers... and we finally stop for a rest next to the creek.

The first thing Morris does is get in the water to cool off. Badger drops his head to eat. Poor starving mule...you'd think he's never seen a lick of hay nor ever had a bite of grass.

We cool our heels by the creek listening to the water tumble over the rocks and the cicadas singing overhead.
The deerflies start to annoy us all spoiling the moment of 'togetherness'...okay, I know wierd, but the dog, the mule, and I...we are a special trio.

We head back out to the sunny ridgetop to check out the apple trees. These are wild apple trees not an apple orchard that is tended to.

We spot the trees with their branches literally drooping like weeping willow trees because they are so full of apples.
I sit on Badger and pick one ... they are small, but very tasty. I grin and start to pick apples ... how many will fit in my cargo pants pockets I wonder?

Mr. Mule decides he should just go ahead and help himself.

I drop an apple core to Morris.

We are all munching on apples in the late afternoon sun.

We head home, Morris panting, my pockets full of tasty little apples, my mule drooling applesauce...

When I get home my hubby says...
*So how was your ride?*

I answer, *Oh fine, it was just a ride.*

Tonight my dog is sound asleep at my feet. Mr. Mule is munching on his hay bale, and I am thinking of what kind of container I can take back with the mule to gather enough apples for apple jelly.

Life...
Just Ride

Just thought this would be fun to look back on. This was an original post in August of 2008 when Badger, Morris, and I still rode nearly every single day together. We were an awesome Trio.

Wyalusing trails: Old Immigration Trails and Old Wagon Trail

We arrived just as a snow squall/sleet settled in for the first 20 minutes or so of our hike. I figured it was perfect weather for us to tackle the steep trails.

So we did.

I'd forgotten Charlie's orange canvas safety jacket last week when we hiked at KVR, but we never saw or hear another human.

This was the case here too. We started before 10 am and finished at 12:30pm. Again, we were not in a hurry, we were browsing the Park instead of working for pace. 

Charlie picked the pace once more, so there were stops for sniffs and stops for photos. A few times I just stopped and watched a Kingfisher, Juncos, and Redtail Hawks down by the Wisconsin River. There was no hurry to get anywhere.

I'm still trying to get used to that feeling. I followed the Sentinel Trail past the connection to the trail I wanted so I could check a lookout. 

This is where it can get confusing. Sentinel Trail has a branch to Old Immigrant Trail. I wish they still handed out paper maps of the trails.

Don't try to read this map, I'm sure it is too little. However before I went I circled the areas on a pdf file that interested me for this time out and had it on my cellphone.

I returned to the Old Immigration Trail which went down to the confluence of the two rivers and headed along the backwaters of the Wisconsin River to join up the the Old Wagon Trail. Going up or down the bluff is a real workout.

I ascended 821 feet and descended 824 feet. Yeah. The ascending was a bit of a puffer.

There was so much to see and admire with the leaves gone. Tumbled boulders, cliffs, bluffs, birds, and backwaters.
I'd recommend the trail by the river and backwater  NOT be hiked during mosquito season. I found evidence of a lot of spring wildflowers along the river too. 

So this trail is definitely worth the walk in early spring since I found Hepatica, Anenome, and Ginger leaves along the trail. Imagine nearly 3 miles of wild flowers next to the river! 

Imagine a spring hike along this trail!

Below is a map of the hike I did. I really enjoyed it so much. One would think there was nothing to see this time of year. But I found so much to look at.

Here is the V in the trail behind Charlie. This is one of the areas where the hiker drops below some very incredible bluffs.

I understand that some of them develop ice sheets in the winter and there are climbers who climb the ice formations.

[That is JUST nuts!]

In places, there were stairs made out of stones and railroad ties. Lots of stairs to prevent erosions from foot traffic and keep the trail from being slippery.

If a person had bad knees, this would not be a happy trail for them. 

From the look out points, the scenery was pretty amazing  even with the grey skies. I was so taken by the reflections in the backwaters of the Wisconsin River.

When I got down next to the backwaters, the scenes were pretty breathtaking too. The first shot is taken looking west towards the railroad.

The second was taken looking north in the same area I'd looked down on from the lookouts.

It is stark and brown, but I found it beautiful in its own way. I think this could be a good area to watch for birds in the spring.

Our hike was 5.41 miles according to the Garmin Smart Watch I was using that tracked my route and steps. 

The route was not super difficult but there is a lot of ascents and descents that would tax most hikers.

The views and scenery is beautiful and well worth it.

Charlie and I made it back to our vehicle and we sat in the parking lot and had our packed lunch.

By noon thirty people started showing up. I counted 2 other vehicles.

I rather liked hiking on a Monday with some snow and sleet and cold weather. We had a great time.

Charlie was tired and actually slept in his new to us doggy car seat.

I have only a few days before hiking stops for a while. 

I may have to break out my Lego set to do while I what for the hunters to leave the state parks, private lands, and state natural areas.

SNA is

State Natural Areas. They are protected areas of WI native landscape that well, are very unique and protected from development.

My first ever visits to SNAs were Parfey's Glen and Pewitt's Nest. They are very well known ones near Devils Lake State Park.

This weekend I was treated to view two more known but...unknown places along the Mississippi River called Sugar Creek and Rush Creek. 

This widened areas I'd like to explore. 

I also joined a group that does weekend hikes. I plan my first hike with them in the LaCrosse area December 13th. There are gobs [I don't know what else to call them of trails in and around LaCrosse area. The group is called Blufflands Hiking Group.

Why not? Hiking in groups and discovering cool trails I've never even heard of sounds like a fun thing. I can always discover places and trial heads and then go back on my own. 

So Jason came Friday afternoon and we headed out early Saturday morning. He wanted to take a couple of rather easy hikes because  his dog Felix who isn't able to do very long hikes any more. He drove and I got to be the passenger.

We were headed to the Mississippi River.

Here are his dogs. Piper is in orange and Felix is behind her. He loves to refer to them as Tumble and Weed.

We visited Sugar Creek and Rush Creek SNA's above the bluffs of the great river.

The first view is from Sugar Creek.

To the south, an incredible intoxicating view.

Below. Looking the other direction. Highway 35 runs along the river and is also referred to as The Great River Road.

And from these views, indeed it is.

Next stop was Rush Creek.

I'd never gone to explore this area as it is 45 minutes from our house and basically I had no idea how to find trails.

Jason knew of a place we could drive to and park and take a very short walk out to the bluff.

He has climbed the bluff in the first shot below and encountered rattlesnakes in the areas in the grassy west facing hillside.

No thanks. I will go and hike the upper part and avoid the snake-y areas. And I will avoid the times of year that snakes are active.

Looking across the river from the same viewpoint.

A much closer look at Lansing Iowa across the river. The white part in the middle is the last of the metal bridges. It is now closed to traffic as they work on a new bridge.

This old bridge had a metal deck and was fondly called the Singing Bridge.

It also was the main throughfare for those in Iowa or Wisconsin to get back and forth to work. There is a ferry currently running, but I imagine when things freeze up those who have to travel an extra 40 miles one way to cross the river will not be happy. 

We then drove out to Bell Center [Kickapoo River Wildlife Area]. We took a short walk to check it out. I will probably go back after hunting season or in the spring. The area consists of open prairie and hills. It is stocked with Pheasants from a volunteer group.

This looks like it could be another neat place to explore.

I'm thinking it could be fun to snowshoe. It would be an easy place to get out of winter winds while hiking/snowshoeing/cross country skiing. Of course I would have to break my own trail.

The forest and open prairie look quite inviting.

It looks like my feet shall remain busy. 

This is a good thing.

OH!!! One last thing. While we were standing on the last bluff the wind really picked up quite a bit. Something very odd happened. Oak leaves starting drifting upwards from the valley below.

So the saying of the day was--->

The Leaves are Falling UP!