Mudder Day...

Becoming a mom was one of the coolest things that ever happened to me. 

I was a mom to little humans....that grew up....

Mom to mules....

Mom to dogs....

[many dogs!]

The mom responsibilities have now been passed on to the moms of my grandkids and I hope they all have a wonderful and beautiful day.

We will enjoy some company today from Jason and his dogs along with some time outdoors.

Quiet and uneventful is a good thing.

To all you Mudders out there, have a good Mother's Day.

 

Visit to the East Dry Run

 

Finally, I got out of the house to 'blow the stink off' as my Father in Law used to say. It was an expression for getting out of being stuck in the house for a long time. I picked up some of their sayings and this one stuck...

along with ...

Worserthanawful [said as one word].

But today was not worse. It was beautiful, sunny, and in the 20's.

Charlie and I headed out across the ridge to the place where we would explore the long ravine [dry run] about a mile away.

There is a place that is a ravine ... or dry run as we call it on the eastern edge of the valley next 'door'. There is a tiny spring that trickles water along the boulders and rocks in this steep ravine.

In 2009 I happened to hike with my Jack Russell, Morris, to that area on a cold winter day. What I discovered was that the tiny little spring through the cold weather built an ice flow in the ravine which covered the boulders.

Here is Morris on the ice which looks blue in this shot.

Charlie on the ice yesterday. He could walk on it. I didn't dare because I didn't bring my YakTraks.

The slow movement of the spring water on cold days dribbles over the frozen surface and freezes giving the ice texture. Layers keep building and reaching downhill from the spring.

Morris on ice in 2009.

In the other three seasons, one has to carefully climb over boulders to get up to the spring.

What the area looks like without the ice....

Morris in March 2008.

Those rocks he was standing on are under ice right now. Imagine the volume of water and ice needed to do that!

Seriously, I cold have spent hours there if I'd had my YakTraks with me. As it was, I spent a very long time exploring as I could from the steep banks. 

When the ice builds, the seeping water followed this log and ... froze. Isn't Nature amazing?

There was water trickling off the little bits of ice in this photo below. But I didn't dare climb out on the ice without being ice cleats.

Here is a view of the bumpy ice as it forms going down hill. I bet I could slide on my butt up to the logs! If only I was a kid again!

The view from above. The ravine bottom is about 150 feet below me and I am not at the top of the 'ridge' yet.

This ravine/dry run is nearly 1/4 of a mile long from its top near the ridge to its bottom at the creek. 

My hike home was across the cropland. Charlie hunted down a vole in the hayfield and did his thing. He really does love cold weather hiking as long as it isn't super cold.

We timed everything just about right. The clouds moved in and the winds picked up. 

And the wind blew our 'stink off', we came home fresh and relaxed.

Dirty Gerti and other things

 Mystery solved. Gertrude aka Gerti was a pup that Olive got. Gerti was an accidental breeding between a mini poodle and a mixed blue heeler. It happened on an Amish farm and since the farmer was breeding for other 'doodles' and had a hard time getting 'rid' of these pups according to the sources...

He proceeded to begin to 'shoot' the pups. A lady stepped in and got the crossbred dogs and began to find homes for them. This lady also had connections with Olive through work.

Olive's hubby said no. Olive said maybe. And then like any strong willed woman would do, Olive brought Gerti home with her. Gerti adores Olive's little boy and is amazingly gentle and sweet. 

Gerti and Charlie hit it off right away. Charlie did the butt sniffing inspection and after that, they trotted off while we hiked. Gerti followed Charlie most of the time.

Hello Gerti!

She has a blue heeler - ish saddle markings mixed in with her Poodle coat. 

She is adorable.

Olive was trying to explain why she needed Gerti and I said 'I get it.' Indeed, Gerti was exactly what the doctor ordered. Woman to woman...we understood exactly why Gerti was needed.

Gerti had no issues at all with playing in the creek or getting full of mud and sand.

Rich dubbed her as: Dirty Gerti

Gerti won't shed thanks to the mini poodle part of her. Olive and Gerti make a great loving team. I'm looking forward to many adventures with our two dogs.

The 11th was also hubby's birthday. As an extra special treat, I washed his skid steer which was really quite dirty and dusty!
I treated him to a culinary delight of strawberry shortcake, the Bisquick kind, along with Steak and Tators.

I also did some cleaning and reorganizing in one of the closets and rooms upstairs in prep for Ariel to come for a visit. I found Morris's old toys in a bag. I hadn't had the heart to toss them. 

And at first I thought Charlie would like to inherit them. 
Charlie has always been a tough on toys. 

If it has a squeaker and it is stuffed, the toy is usually torn apart in minutes.

One toy fell out of the bag and Charlie picked it up.  

He didn't mutilate it. Maybe now that he is 5 years old, he won't tear things apart like he used to?

Did you know that April 11th was also dubbed #happypetday by social media?

These eyes of innocence melt my heart:

Morris and some of his toys in 2011:

And now?

I'm caught up. This morning, I am sitting on the porch with a cup of decafe watching the sunrise color the sky by the old oak tree to the east.

The good ol' days

Sunday night I spent time reading some other blogs of folks who own horses. I found their blogs from reading someone I follow. So I went back in time to when I rode nearly every single day and did some reminiscing. I found a photo that reminded me of the best relationship I ever had with an equine.

There is Badger the mule and Morris the JRT. Rich bought Morris for me at the last attempt I made to show Badger at a Show. 

I recall 'getting the gate' and walking out disappointed. A man walked up to me and asked me if I was okay. Yeah, I am. Then the man asked me if I'd rather trade halters with any of the other mules in the arena...for a moment I was confused.

Then I said, "Oh hell no. this mule is my soulmate." 

He nodded and then said, "So you have the best mule for you."

I quit showing, more because Rich had issues with traveling and face it, Badger would rather wander the woods with me than go in an arena. This mule got to be so bonded with me that he absolutely knew where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do. 

Once while riding on a road, a two men stopped to talk with me. One fella was aggressive and came right up to touch me. Badger pinned his ears and bared his teeth.

So nearly every day, I would ride out on Badger and do something, carrying my small pocket camera and we always had Morris along. 

I lost Badger in 2012. And for a long time I found it hard to ever give that sort of heart or trust to another animal.

So.

Done with the backwards. On to the forwards.

Sunshine is Badger's half sister out of our Jack and my mare. She is proving to be much like Badger in temperament. I don't ride as often now especially since the 4 wheelers like to invade the woods next door. But I still yearn to be in the saddle.

Sunshine was our first foal we raised. The rest were sold of course and did well with their lives. No one wanted this little red mule.

Funny.

Sunshine and Badger were the first two mules I trained. Or should I say ... they trained me?

I hope to get out a lot this spring and do some exploring during the times that the 4 wheelers are NOT around. They show up on the weekends and almost never before noon. 

Well, there it is. Reminiscing about the good ol' days.

I miss you Badger!

PS~ Please do not think I am not all for showing an equine! My experience with Badger showed me that to be a singular unit we had to appreciate each other's faults and strengths. 

Our curiosity was in the forest and not in the arena. Our trust was in each other. I've got that with Sunshine and Siera so I consider myself luckier than most equine owners.

Dixie crosses the bridge

Yesterday Dixie joined Morris. She crossed the Rainbow Bridge.  Charlie and I will miss the big lug something fierce.

I couldn't help myself yesterday other than to sit by her grave for a long time and watch the sun go down.

She was from champion blood lines for Raccoon Hunting and Bear Hunting. She never was a hunter. She was a lover. She'd fetch balls, hike, heel, sit, stay, and she behaved much like any gentle giant would. She never was growly or in a bad mood.

She was a great hiking pal who never tired and who was always by my side.

And she had the most amazing hound dog lips and ears.

Dixie. I am really going to miss you, but I hope you found Morris on the other side along with Badger and Cheyanne.
Wait for me.
Love...

me...

The Creek

There isn't much to say about ... the Creek. Except that I love the creek. I love going there and just wandering.

I like rainy and overcast days the best as the lighting seems more mystical. There have been times I've gone after a rain ... and the sun came out hot and brilliant which created a fog over the water.
Here is a shot from a few years ago...2011 to be exact. Mr. Morris was still a brown faced Jack Russell!

It was cool this time and the sky was overcast, but at times sunlight did drift down.

I went alone which meant I didn't have to watch over any dogs and could spend my time just observing and looking at rocks.

I walked from the western neighbor's side towards the east, going downstream.

I guess I don't have to explain the sense of awe I felt right in this spot. The lighting, the water, the greens, the brilliant rocks, and the moss all seemed to create the perfect scene.

And I did find the fog rising over the creek near where the trail had just been redone.

I didn't follow my usual route and instead of ducking under one end of a fallen tree, I went around to climb over near the stump end.

I normally just duck under the above tree and continue to walk...but I didn't... and...

I was presented with a beautiful site.

You will find something more in woods than in books. Trees and stones will teach you that which you can never learn from masters.
~~ Saint Bernard

Goodbye Morris.

Here is Charlie helping me, sort of. He is actually just playing in the yard and amusing himself while I dig out the hostas from around the pine trees in the yard.

Those hostas needed thinning a few years ago. Yesterday afternoon was when I decided to do it.
Well, there is a reason behind it.
Morris left us in February and I couldn't bury him. I know. It sounds disgusting and strange, but there you go. We froze him.

Morris always without fail ran to these two trees and peed on the hostas or the tree itself every single morning and night. It simply was his personal place.

I wanted to spruce up that section of yard anyway. I was tired of the same old thing year after year. The hostas look great in the spring and so tired and crummy by late summer. Perhaps a nice hosta and two colors of impatiens would look good.

There was several minutes of crushing heart ache as I placed Morris in the ground. I held his head and cried like a baby, wailing just loud enough to make Charlie cry. It is with the final act of kindness and deepest love that I placed him in his favorite spot.
I'll never quite get over Morris. I never have gotten over the other pet losses I've had over the years. Each dog has always take a special part of my heart with them.

Goodbye buddy, I hope to see you on the other side.

I hope you found Badger and the two of you are reunited.