Outside Exploring

Yes, I did get out for a bit even though it was cloudy with a mix of drizzle and rain. I walked along the creek bottom to see what I could find. I like to observe how things change and what is going on in the woods.

There is a pool that is about knee deep or so next to a rock wall. During the summer it was nearly dry, but with some of the rain and moisture we've had, it appears to have more water in it!

I was so happy to see the little trout swimming around.

I love to just sit and watch them. If they notice you, they flee to a darker shaded area of the little water hole. So I waited a few minutes and then they came back out and began to swim around. 15 second video.

I found the partially fresh carcass of a deer. It was mostly bones but there was enough color in the bones to indicate that it had only been there a couple of days. 

The birds were happily cleaning what they could off the bones.

I climbed out of the creek bottom and made my way along an old deer trail when I spotted a old birch log in the wet snow. I recall reading somewhere that one could start a fire in the woods even with wet birch.

I had some time so I decided to try that theory out. 
I picked birch bark off the log and made it into strips than piled it in the snow on another log.

I had a lighter in my bag, so I thought I'd try making a tiny fire.

Imagine my surprise when it worked! I watched the little fire catch and burn and then stomped on it. There was no danger of it spreading anywhere. However, now I knew if I could find birch [which is common in this area], I could always build a fire if I needed to.

This was my New Year's Eve day adventure. I had about an hour or so to use up and so I hiked through our woods and enjoyed fresh air.

I hope to start out the New Year once more Exploring. After all, I love that the best. 

We all Fall Down

Sometimes I wonder about the careless blasé attitude I have towards certain things. Yesterday's hike was great. I left the snowshoes at home and elected to not wear my YakTraks. 

The temperatures were climbing and the snowshoes would have gobbed up with ice and compacted snow after crossing the creek. I headed down the steep trail towards the creek and realized that snowshoes would have been a good choice.

The fresh snow that covered the trail was full of hard lumps and bumps from previous walks and they were hard uneven and still frozen under the fresh snow.

No matter, I slipped and slid and carefully negotiated the nasty footwork. 

I marveled at my own balance and footwork. I was careful and steady. I did not have one misstep at all in a two-ish mile hike through the valley and back up the steep slopes towards home.

I spooked up a huge herd of deer and watched them leap effortlessly through the underbrush. I lost count after 15 deer. 

They had good trails that were easy to follow up and down the hillside. Great for deer and coyote, but a bit bumpy and lumpy for the human foot.

My walks often take to on changes of elevation of nearly 200 ft from ridge to valley. 

On a terrain map it looks like this:

I made the whole trip with a few stops to admire the creek, listen for birds, and track coyotes.

I ended up gathering the mail on the ridge and headed home without any incident.

Perfect right?

At chore time I was in a hurry and pulled the deep sled full of hay out after filling it. I spread it out in different feeders and spots so there was no arguing over piles.

I decided to be really well prepared and got all the hay set up for in the morning. I bent down to pick up a feed bucket in the shed and hurried around the front of the Subaru to put it away.

My foot caught on the rope from the hay sled.

Trying to hang on to a bucket and is stupid mistake. I think. Well. There I went. 

In order to stop a face plant on the shed floor I shot out my left arm. It immediately felt like I'd been stabbed in the shoulder. 

The fall doesn't hurt as much as the sudden stop.

However, I did a fantastic roll....
I would have won an Olympic medal for form.

I spit dirt and stopped moving. Was I alive?

Yes.

Breathing?

Yes.

Dirty?

OH yes.

Could I move?

Slowly. My left arm hurt like the dickens, so I rolled to a sit, then to a kneel and rose. 

All I could think was 

oh damn, what pickle this was.

Actually I think my first thoughts were all curse words.

I made it to the house and made Rich come out and get the dirt and snow brushed off my coveralls. 

He immediately wanted me to go to the ED. I made supper and did some icing and resting in a neutral position instead. I said if I was immobile come Monday, I'd go in.

Sunday morning was a surprise. The shoulder still aches but I'm beginning to feel what I did. I have incredibly sore triceps, and a tender bicep, and shoulder blade pain. 

I have good range of motion, but very slow.

Lifting something heavy is not an option.

Ice is nice.

We'll see how the next few days pan out.

Lesson learned. 

Do

not 

be in

a 

friggin' 

rush!

And stop marveling at my great balance and footwork. Seems it failed me!

Winter Wonderland

Outside Monday:

The mules went to play in the fresh snow. Apparently snow baths are very refreshing.

As is snow sleeping:

We had inches of snow. Beautiful wet heavy snow.

During evening chores I did my usual while the mules were eating. As the temps dropped the top layer of their winter coats had some ice on it.

I pulled back the hair and dug in deep to the skin.
It was nice and fluffy and dry.
Sunshine ignored me as I did this. I check everyone each day as I owe it to these creatures who have taken me safely on rides for nearly 20 years.

The next morning the sun appeared over the trees and dropped into our hollow. The mules ate and sunbathed.

The roads were pretty awful as I made my way to town and to CrossFit. But I decided that I'd take a slow hike after I got back and explore the valley. Just a short walk of course!
The landscape had been turned into a Winter Wonderland.

My short walk became a longer walk as I took extra time to stop and enjoy the skies and the 'icing' on all of the branches above me.

The breeze would blow above us and snow would gently fall down on Charlie and I.
In the shot below you should be able to see the snow cascading down in the right side of the photo. It really added a bit of glitter to the outdoor scene!

I will be curious tomorrow after another subzero night as to how the creek will refreeze.
Yesterday was wet and sloppy. This morning anywhere the sun doesn't hit is iced!

Rich isn't feeling well again so I'll be spending most of my time indoors. I thought it would be fun to work on some Still Life shots of the little houses I created out of sticks and rocks.
I even spent some time watching some YouTube videos on how to make some more miniature plants. I have some more fun ideas to try.

A Wee Break

Charlie and I did end up going for an afternoon hike. A very long one. I left my cell phone at home and packed some snacks for the two of us.
Dog treats and granola bars along with water of course.

The auction for my MIL's collectables and apartment 'stuff' was going to be held on Saturday and I'd promised a friend I'd go with her.

I really enjoyed the time just wandering without looking at a clock. The sunlight came through the thinning leaves of gold on the trail that lead to the back valley.
I didn't feel compelled to try to photograph the scene as I knew I'd never capture the smells and the golden light properly. I just wanted to wander with Charlie and enjoy our time away from phones, doctors, emails, and appointment reminders.

I didn't get to do my CrossFit intramural workout scheduled and I felt badly about that, so I decided to put that out of my mind also.

When Charlie and I got into the back valley, we spent a lot of time watching small trout swim in a rocky pool. I got out the infrared camera and took some photos.

Both of us decided not to follow the creek downstream as the water was too deep in spots for me to cross without getting soaked. I would need my knee high boots for that.
Charlie wasn't really thrilled about swimming across either.
We headed back up to the ridge and found that the sky was amazing. The clouds were amazing.

There is tiny Charlie looking up at the 'world'. To be so small yet so brave. He is a wonder.

So our ridge walk around the corn field did not disappoint us at all.

Funny thing happened on the way up the trail. I stopped and gave Charlie a treat and then had a granola bar while I re-arranged my back pack. I glanced to my right and stared into a low slung trail camera. I took off my hat and waved before shouldering the back pack and heading up to the ridge. That was the second camera I'd seen. This is my absent neighbor's land and he does come once a year to hunt on it. I've got permission to wander to my heart's delight on the land, but won't step foot on it during the 9 day deer/gun season. That is when the land is overrun by insanity.

Most of the year, I have the 'land' to myself and the critters. In the spring the 4 wheeler guys are around every weekend making a racket, but I just enjoy the place during the week days when they aren't around.

Someone had mowed around the fields and set up cameras. I just wave if I see one and continue on my hikes. The cameras will disappear by the weekend after Thanksgiving.

I had a notion of dressing up in a Halloween Costume and dancing near the cameras.

We made our way back home slowly. I was in no hurry. I longed for those days that I could stay out on the ridge until the sun set.

I knew I should not have gone off and hiked when I had so much to still do in the shed, but I figured I needed a break from that too.

Saturday promised rain all day. Sunday was supposed to be nice, the rest of the week? Cold and rain.
All good days to work in the big shed.

Jumping Rocks and other fine things

Good morning!

That is how the other members of the 6am CrossFit class greet me. The 5am class is finishing up and they all say Good Morning and actually mean it!

My husband doesn't quite get the allure of CrossFit. He calls it "Workout".

I started doing this in mid October. So what changes have I noticed?

I have something to look forward to each day and can have good social interaction and the workout relieves stress.

One of the measurable changes I've noticed is my blood pressure has changed dramatically.
I take it in the morning and the afternoon...not because I am ordered to, but because Rich is supposed to monitor his.
Earlier this summer my blood pressure readings were a bit on the high side. 
130ish/80ish.

On days I don't work out it hovers at 115ish to 120 over the 70's.
After working out? 106/68.

Hmmm. It makes one think about blood pressure and exercise. It is easy to take a pill and hope for the best...but...
I'm thinking this workout deal is much much better.
[Ok, off my soap box now!]

What else?
I used to struggle with peeling hay off a round bale and tossing it over the electric fence. I opted to shove it under the fence instead.
Over the weekend, I discovered I can easily toss fork-loads of hay with no effort.

Balance.
I used to be so surefooted. But the past year I found myself ...well, maybe not as surefooted as I used to be?
CrossFit works well with balance exercises. Most of the warm ups and many workouts promote balance.
While walking in the creek yesterday I came to a spot that I had to climb down a steep rocky bank to get to a place that I wanted to photograph.

Once I got down, I had a choice, get my feet soaked 1/2 mile from home, or jump to where I wanted to be. I used a skill learned from Box Jumping to launch to a rock clump in the middle of the creek.

And I stood there with the water flowing around me, grinning like an idiot. My balance was better!

See? Better!
Yes!
My creek jump...the banks are about 4 feet high...

And this is all worth it. Even after hiking to the end of the valley and back, I still felt energetic.

Anyway, the reason I jumped was for this shot:

And further towards home, I straddled some logs and got some very cool Ice Fingers...

I am happy that Gun Season for Deer is over. I can wander about again.

Tonight I am going to the LaCrosse Camera Club meeting and we are going to review 'night' shooting and tour the Rotary Lights by the river.

Color me happy.

Teddy Bear ~ Percy

"It's hot and muggy," my husband said. "It's awful out there."
I nodded and shrugged on my backpack.

Indeed it was. Hot and terribly muggy. Too hot to take a dog with me, so I stuffed a second water bottle into the side of the pack.

I really didn't need to go out hiking. I was sure the fences were okay. I'd done quick check during morning chores while it was raining and everything was working as it should have been.

We'd had about 3 1/2 inches of more rain overnight and somewhere around 3AM, I'd awakened to lightening, thunder, and the sound of heavy rain pouring down outside.

My only thought was that of Percy, the Teddy Bear, the Creek Bear. Was he high enough? I left him out of flood range, but...the sounds of the pounding rain on the steel roof left me full of doubt. Stupid me and my fun ideas of having toys sit and watch over the creek.

But really, I just couldn't help myself. I like the forest, I like the woods. I like wandering with a sense of freedom. If I don't get to wander for a few days, I begin to feel like a trapped animal and get snippy and snarky. The walls of the house are nice to keep out the weather, but dang, don't let it keep me in!

Besides, I wanted to try something I'd read about. Instead of using an ND filter to 'shoot' scenes of water, I'd try a different method. No filters. So I took my Olympus camera with the broken lens thread. I couldn't add a filter if I wanted to.

And off I went into the heat "to check on fences" of course. And...to check on Percy of course. If you haven't guessed it by now, I have an affection for toys and photographing them in nature.

I found Percy safe and sound sitting high up on the bank. I plucked him off the blue plastic chair by his ear and took him along. He was wet, soggy, and still rather muddy. I was beginning to like this Teddy Bear. He had character.

I stopped in the shade to set up a shot of the 'beach'. The new flash floods had changed the creek flow and washed away a lot of sand and silt. I noted the new face lift and liked it. Mother Nature had re-arranged the bulldozing work to her satisfaction and mine.

 3 bracketed shots merged

I took the shots and then moved on. Water dripped down my face and into my glasses. I stopped to put on a sweatband. I picked my way upstream to the middle dry run and stopped.

Water was still flowing from the ridge top above and emptying into the creek.
I set Percy down in the water flow and watched curiously as the mud from his backside rinsed off and clouded the creek.

f22 @ 1 second

The sun had disappeared under a cloud bank and I shot this without bracketing.

No matter, Percy was now wetter and heavier, but I picked him up and continued upstream. I considered setting him down and just grabbing him on the way back.
I even tried it but picked him up again.
I don't know why.

By the time I picked my way over the slippery rocks and got to the where the fence-line is supposed to be. The sun was out strong and hot. I had finished one water bottle.
I sat down on a mossy rock and decided to just sit for a bit. Water dripped off my chin and dropped onto my lap.

Oh wait. Wasn't I supposed to be checking fencing?

I pulled off my boots and socks and put my feet in the creek. I tried to sit Percy up next to me, he kept slipping sideways. Maybe he just didn't want to sit there.

I thought about checking the time on my cell phone in the backpack, but I let it be.

I decided to try the merge method of shooting the little pond and the tiny waterfalls over the rocks.

I packed up and headed back. I started in on the other water bottle and carefully picked my way back to the trail with Percy in tow.

I kept trying different spots to photograph the Teddy Bear, but none seemed to fit.
Until I got back to the rock where I'd set him a few days ago.

More rain was predicted for the overnight hours and I wasn't going to loose any sleep over a Teddy Bear, so I took Percy with me.

"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."
John Muir

Perseverance

I keep going back and it isn't because of the beauty of the creek.

It isn't always beautiful.

Just over a week ago it was rather dull looking and choked with weeds. Yet I still came.
I still sat by the trickle of water and just opened my mind.

I often go by myself with no dogs. No other people. I sometimes prefer it that way. The creek becomes something else when I invite others to explore it. I do enjoy it, but I enjoy keeping the creek secrets to myself also.

Sometimes I just stand there and do nothing.

I simply admire those familiar rocks and trees. These places that bring me great comfort and at times sadness too.

Yesterday was one of those days that the creek felt like a secret place.

The air was heavy, warm, and humid.
The creek was cold and refreshed from the latest 2" of rain.

A fog hovered above the creek.
It was dark and the trees were silent and still.

I had a gambit of emotions run through my head as I carefully picked my way along the rocks.

When I stand still and let the forest and creek surround me, I feel small and invisible, yet large and powerful, and meek and humble at the same time.

I simply stand and am amazed.

I reached the spot where the trail heads back home and glanced up to see the lonely Teddy Bear that I'd found after the flash flood.

He simply looked so lonely.

I posed him on a rock and took this shot in the heavy fog.

Suddenly my Creek walk took on another feeling.
The feeling of sadness and loss.
The Brown Teddy Bear looked and embodied so much loss and emotion in this single photo that I was stunned.

He had been swept away with another Teddy Bear in a huge flood and had been found.
He'd survived mud, rocks, rushing waters...

He was Hope
He was Love
He was Lost
He was Sadness
and
He was Perseverance...

Let it snow and storm

Charlie had to get out and play in the snow yesterday. Dixie walked or trotted and Charlie had to leap and hop to keep up with her. 

Some people think I should just let Charlie be a house baby, but I say let him be a dog. After all, he is a dog and enjoys fresh air and lots of exercise just like any canine.

See that black spot? That is Charlie very early taking a potty pass. I had to put boots on and make a trail for him. After that, he was not fazed by the snow for his bathroom breaks. He uses the path.

When he and Dixie where playing though, it was a different story, he plowed through the snow and had to stop and rest often. He did get cold after a bit and asked for a lift.

After lunch I decided to take a hike. I normally hike every day and have been tied up with MIL issues. Rich settled in for an afternoon nap and I gathered my things and set off to explore the freak snow storm.

It was going to be a 'no dog' hike.

The flash flooding, heavy rains, and sleet increased the flow of the creek again. I was happy to see the water level back up.

I stood quietly above the creek and watched a coyote walk through the bottom, he/she seemed as if they hadn't a care in the world. I was pleased that it had snowed or I would have missed the coyote otherwise because it is so well camouflaged.

I got into the creek bottom and away from the frigid winds. One of the first surprises I encountered was the reformation of ice along side one sandstone wall.

It made perfect sense, but not for April. The excess water was still dripping off from the hillsides into the creek but since it was so cold, it was freezing.
When I got up close to grab a shot of the old maiden hair fern frozen inside of the icicles a gust of wind blew through...

I noticed another thing that made this snow trip so unusual.

Birds.
Everywhere there were little birds.
I actually got about two half way decent shots of them.

Someone said this may be a Brown Creeper. I'm going to call it a Little Pretty Delicate Bird. I'm not sure as the photo is not that great and the little bird blends in so well.

I caught this bird in flight! I have no idea what it was either, but birds where everywhere.

The robins seemed to be the least shy of them all.

I learned that 'birding' is sort of fun.

I walked the creek upstream to follow the coyote. It was interesting to see who else had been along the creek after the storm.

I enhanced the details here so the evidence of a coyote and a small deer can be seen in the snow. Both sets of tracks wandered up the deer trail and into the woods.

I spent a long time watching the snow fall and listening to the water run over the rocks. Winter would be a long time coming again.

I liked the white mounds of boulders with the creek wandering through them. And the trees above were reflected beautifully in the waters.

The creek was a winter wonderland for me.

Part of the reason I do so love winter and snow.

After the snow melts I will miss it. But I will also welcome the change of seasons.

I am looking forward to leeks, bloodroot, morel mushrooms, and all of the woodland wildflowers that will start to appear like madness in the next few weeks.

Hide n Go Seek?

When is the last time you played hide 'n go seek?
Well I will be 62 this year and it has been a while. When we were kids we played many versions of hide 'n go seek on my Aunt and Uncles' places. The woods were our playground in the summer.

One cousin would be it and the others would hide. One time we used the pony to ride through the woods and seek our hidden cousins.
As we were older we'd ride horses together and end up having to 'hide' from people. It was just a game.
I can recall once being with a cousin in his car and he said he had to hide from the local constable. We took dirt farm roads.

I shouldered my back pack and put on my .22 pistol which I always carry. I grabbed my camo jacket [Camo is the best color, when you get it dirty or muddy it isn't so obvious. Mud stains look natural on them.]

Dixie whined. I had taken Charlie in the morning to get hay from our farmer friend and he's spent an hour playing with the farmer's kids. He was one tuckered puppy.
Dixie came along. Big lumbering, gallumphing Dixie. She whined and ran ahead and then back to me to check on my well being.
I wanted to go to the far end of the valley in PeeWee's to see if the skunk cabbage was poking up yet.

We got to the east end of the valley and I was mildly surprised not to see any skunk cabbage poking up anywhere.
I was also slightly surprised to see all of the 4 Wheeler tracks. Thirteen years ago on Good Friday the man who owned this land died in a 4 wheeler accident. It wasn't actually a 4 wheeler but I think a 5 wheel utility type vehicle.
Anyway, aside from the influx of hunters each deer season, there hasn't been any human generated traffic other than myself for the last 13 years.

The land has grown up in berry briers, multi flora rose, and parsnip. I follow the creek and some of the old cattle trails that are now mostly deer trails.
I'd thought I'd heard 4 wheeler vehicles on the last few Saturdays, now I saw that indeed they had been driving around.
I patted Dixie on the head and told her that we had easier trails now.

We searched for Skunk Cabbage and didn't see any. In a few days I expect they will pop up. Hopefully the people with the 4 wheelers won't crush them on their next foray through.

Skunk Cabbage

We made it to the end of the valley and I paused long enough to take some shots of Awesome Creek running over the rocks.

As I started to walk up the creek with my camera in one hand, I heard the revving of engines somewhere on the ridge above me. 

I felt pretty irritated even though this is not my land [I have the owner's permission to wander wherever I want and whenever I want on this acreage...].

I felt a bit as if I'd been intruded upon. Someone had gotten permission to run their 4 wheelers here. I immediately put away my camera gear and 'tsked' to Dixie. We set off for trails where we wouldn't run into the new comers.

We crossed out of the valley and ducked onto a deer trail that led up the south hillside above the valley. From that vantage point I could see through the trees and a good portion of the valley floor.

Dixie ducked under some multi flora rose bushes. It was a thorny tunnel, I got down low and made it through. Some thorns grabbed my hat and pulled it off. We sat next to a huge old oak and relaxed while peering down the valley.

Two of the guys on 4 wheelers wore helmets. Somehow that made them seem more sinister.

I could hear their shouts as they stopped their machines in the swampy portion of the valley. They revved their engines and held them in the muck while their wheels dug holes and black sticky mud sprayed high into the sky. With shouts, they spun and made donuts and then took off to challenge the stream bed.

I heard one guy shout he'd gotten 'air' and the others followed him.

Soon they took off again, so Dixie and I headed down another trail alongside the valley towards home. I thought they'd gone up the snow mobile trail and towards the cropland.

Imagine my surprise when I heard the machines growling in front of us somewhere. Back into the brush I went, ducking thorns and briers. Dixie trotted behind me. I heard a loud shout and then the engines quit.

I stopped and sat down on a log, pulling Dixie next to me. I commanded her to sit and wrapped my arm around her. 

Just below us the guys were discussing something. Apparently one of them had broken his 4 wheeler. 'Good' I thought. And then I reminded myself that this was NOT my land.

They had a long discussion about tools, shocks, mud, trails, spare parts, damage to their machines...

I decided to move quietly up the hill to the ridge and cross over to my land. I let go of Dixie and started winding my way through the narrow trails. I have to admit it, I was enjoying myself. I felt like a kid in one of my childhood games of Hide 'n Go Seek. Where we would hunt each other as kids in my Uncle's woods. 

Dixie heard the voices below her and I don't know if she found a hot scent or what, but she started trotting down through the brush. I called her quietly, she didn't listen. I couldn't whistle or shout.

I went "tsk tsk tsk cha cha" loudly and started to pat the log next to me. I have no idea why it works, but Dixie turned around and came at her rambling trot to me.

I loved her up and we wound our way up to the wild berry patch.

I know this land like it is my yard. I've wandered on it for 22 years. I passed the patch and headed under the giant oak, through the fence and on to our land.

We made it home without incident.

I heard the 4 wheelers fire up in the valley and about an hour later I could see hear the diesel engine of the truck coming on the road above our house. I glanced up from my yard work and watched through the bare trees as the shape of a truck with 4 4 wheelers turned the corner and headed out.

Hide 'n Go Seek.

It still was a good game.