Sole Searching

Gotcha!

But I couldn't help think that when I found this sole from an old boot in the creek today.

We had flash flooding again this past week and I went down today to look around and well, ... just get a bit lost in nature after the hectic week I've had.

This 'sole' is familiar, I've seen it further up the creek in years past. So I thought it quite funny to find that it had moved with the flash flood to another area of the creek.  I think in all it has moved about 250 feet with this summer's floods.

Some things move great distances. Not this rubber sole.

I really went searching for cool fungi. Of course if you search for something, sometimes you cannot find it. So I quit looking and decided to just climb rocks in the big wash and enjoy the peace of the woods.

The little creek itself was pretty amazing. The water was so clear.

I'd seriously think about this as a wading spot to cool off if it gets hot again.

It just seems so inviting.

No, I did not bring Morris along on this little walk. We've had a pair of wolves sited near by. I'm not in fear for Morris, but if I am super distracted I don't keep track of him and ... well... I was afraid that I'd be distracted quite a bit on this little hike.

I guess I didn't want to worry about him. I'd been personally a bit stressed over a few things and wanted to do the 'chill out' thing.

That is exactly what I ended up doing. I followed the deer trail to the end of the property then decided to take the 'dry run' back down to the creek.
I took my time and didn't consult my watch.

Imagine my delight when I saw "NO Service" on my cell phone. I was happy then.

The coyotes are pretty active right now and I found quite a few of their tracks. I admire their stealth and cunning. Some farmers around here have had a lot of trouble with coyotes.
Our Dexter cattle don't seem to be intimidated by them. Especially the horned moms.
They will chase down a strange dog in their pasture and try to gore them.

[They are used to Morris...no worries there..] They are small but they are tough!

Valerie has some awesome horns, and she is not shy about using them.  That is a plus and a minus. But I'd rather her be aggressive with dogs than let them attack.

Anyway...

I went rock walking. Not really climbing, just rock walking.

The flash flooding cleaned out this section of the dry run very nicely. I spent quite a bit of time here just enjoying the sounds of the forest above me and the noise of the water still trickling down through the rocks from the ridge above me.

...Same rocks just a different camera angle.

I really liked it here and I think I spent a lot of time just sitting and daydreaming.

I eventually decided to climb the rest of the way down and head towards home.

Imagine my surprise when I found out that I'd been wandering...daydreaming...for over 3 hours.

I however did find a lot of slugs. And I found some orange colored lichen. I thought this was my prettiest find of the day.
It wasn't fungi. It was the Slug Fest.