Hannah/lost and found and more

Sunday morning I checked the weather and it looked perfect for another campout. I took the dogs with me to set up the tent, they saw my backpack and ran next to the car and sat.

I had to laugh and imagine me explaining that No, they were going to help me set up camp.

I usually struggle a little bit in putting up the tent, in the end, I get it done. Instead of using the rain cover, I tossed a blanket over the top vent to keep our body heat in overnight.

I turned around and there was only Charlie sitting on the old camp cot I have. No Hannah. So I called, whistled and hollered. I tried her 'beeper' collar. She always come running to that as it means she gets a treat or a pat on the head.

Nothing.

I grabbed Charlie and took him home on the 4 wheeler and put him in the house so I could run down through our woods and call for Hannah.

I spent 45 minutes calling and then realized that since we are surrounded by 600+ acres on the east and 200+ acres on the west, and hundreds of acres of fields and forest to the south and north -- she could have gone anywhere.

I stopped running around. Hannah knew the lay of the land. She'd either come to camp or go home eventually. When Rich and I would lose a hound while hunting, we'd take our coats off and lay them down at the last place we'd been with our hound. By morning, the hound would have made a bed of our coats and we'd pick him/her up.

I got back to the house to grab my chore flannel off the porch and check on Charlie. He was happy to see me and then he ran to the porch door. I asked if he had to go out when I heard a very quiet 'woof'. It wasn't Charlie.

Hannah was laying on my insulated flannel in the sunshine on the porch. I wanted to yell at her and tell her she was bad bad bad and wished she could tell me what happened. 

I didn't. She was so overjoyed at seeing me. She launched into wiggles and smiles. Yup, she draws up her lips while wiggling and shows her teeth in an awkward smile.

I hugged her and gave her a treat for being so smart as to come home and lay on the porch.

We eventually got back to the campsite and got set for an October camp. It was going to be a chilly night with temps dipping into the low 40's. I figured if we got cold, we could just walk home and go in the house.

We left at 5pm and spent quite a bit of time sitting on the old junk cot watching the fire and listening to the forest around us.

At sunset, I walked out into the meadow and took this shot looking east with the pretty pink clouds and the neighbor's meadow. The line of fog is actually smoke from my fire lingering in the woods far off.

Once it got dark, the temperature started to drop. That is when the first group of coyotes started to sing their hunting songs. Not too far off an owl started to call. It was a different call than the 'Who Cooks For You' but it was a Barred Owl --> I think.

The fire had burned low so I banked the coals and we retired inside the tent. It was only 7:30, I cracked open a book and started to read. My cohorts made a bed on my jacket and some blankets and seemed to be interested in what I was reading.

Around 8:30 I decided to check on things outside before calling it a night. I walked out with the dogs and had them do their thing while I looked at the stars.

I couldn't believe my lucky eyes. The Milky Way had not quite set yet. I kept the dogs collar lights on and grabbed my camera out of the backpack.

I thought that time had run out on seeing the Milky Way, however, it hadn't quite set yet.

I was so tickled and happy, I did a little jig and Hannah did one too. Charlie huffed and went into the tent to make his bed. Apparently he was not impressed.

I could see my breath in my headlamp so I know the temperature had dropped again. I thought I'd take a couple of night camp shots so I could remember our 'night out'.

So the night sounds we heard were really quite beautiful. We heard raccoons chirping in the forest. Yes, they do make chirping sounds! A buck not too far off was grunting which sounds hilarious. I am guessing he was chasing a doe who he thought was in heat.

We heard from the coyotes a few more times but they didn't come our way.

The coolest sounds we heard were from the Barred Owls or perhaps they were Great Horned Owls. The songs were odd but definitely an owl of some kind. It sounded as if a Barred Owl couldn't quite get it right and was trying to sound like an adult.

They kept at it every once in a while until nearly dawn. 

I enjoyed the night noises so much especially the owl 'talk'. It was one of the highlights of my night!

By the time 6am arrived, the dogs and I were buried under layers of blankets together. I got dressed and had to convince the dogs to leave their warm blankets and walk home with me in the predawn. 

We walked through our meadow towards home and listened to the group of Robins that were chattering. They were migrating through and gave us more 'songs' to enjoy on our camping adventure.

The outside temperature at the house was 38 degrees F. Hmmm. We survived!

And, I got a pretty good night's sleep!

[I also want to say that Hannah is a huge scent driven dog. She can track me if I hide from her, a playful trick I used to do to all of our hounds. Charlie doesn't have that sort of scent drive, but he has also learned to stay close over the past 8 yrs.]

I get by with a little help...

 my friends....

Wednesday was multiple errands day. Jason the Geologist showed up Tuesday afternoon with his fluff balls Piper and Felix. While Rich napped, I took the fluff balls, Charlie, and Jason for a walk down to the creek.

Jason immediately started to look for cool rocks and started giving me a lesson on geology and held up different rocks that he named. 

He has a Masters in Geology . He did teach for a while until politics of Governor Walker introduced Act 10 which removed significant rights for state and local government employees in 2011 by removing their ability for collective bargaining. Jason is an activist and protested at the capitol. 

He seriously believes in people's rights and has gone to bat for veteran's rights and other rights. 

Jason was chatting on and on when I walked up to him and told him to be quiet. He blinked, he looked at me and then I said:

Shut UP!

Stop Talking

 Shut your eyes...

Hear the Quiet!

.....and

he did just that...

I watched my friend who 

suffers from anxiety

suddenly sigh with his eyes closed.

We stood for a bit and then just before we turned back to go up the hill, we were serenaded by Barred Owls calling in the valley. Their calls echoed through the hillsides.

You'd think with 3 dogs in the house it would be chaos. However, it wasn't. 

Jason cooked supper [a vegetarian supper] and cleaned it up too. Rich chose to eat pizza. We chatted a bit and it was time for bed.

I was able to run several errands on Wednesday without worrying about Rich being alone. He didn't have to transfer to the bed from his wheelchair without someone close by. His abilities are better than the first few days home from the hospital. 

Jason's photo of my foot, Charlie, and Piper who was snuggling me on the couch.

 Wednesday afternoon while Rich napped we took another walk with the dogs to burn off their energies.

We had mud puppy tumbleweed dogs who were thoroughly happy. Felix and Piper both wore jackets so we could see them clearly in the areas that were colored just like them.

The weather was beautiful and we spent another quiet afternoon with Rich. Chatting until he needed another nap. 

I had a second meal of Kale chips [yum] and a vegetarian bratwurst. I can say without harming anyone's feelings, that I'd go for the real deal from the grill any day. Something about that juicy and slightly burnt brat makes my mouth water a bit more.

Thursday was the Home Health Aide visit. Rich enjoyed seeing Allie. She really knows how to make an old fart smile as she gives him a bath in his wheel chair.

I finally received the updated reports through MyChart on Rich's ER visit and his stay in the hospital along with his blood tests.

I'll probably update that on The Long Road later.  I can say this. Hospice was really the only choice and the best choice.

Jason's photo of Felix on the porch,
Charlie on Jason's lap, 
and Piper in out there blending
in with the brown grass.

I can't say enough about my good friends and neighbors. 

I got cold!

I totally misjudged the temperatures last night! 

When I left home it was 60 degrees. I was warm and toasty. When I arrived at the Reserve, it was 50. I'd only brought a light sweatshirt and a windbreaker. 

Note to self. Next time, add some jackets to a bag and leave it in the back of the Subaru. I thought I was getting good at figuring the weather out. Obviously, I forgot it was October.

I did get there just before sundown and enjoyed watching the sky and listening to Red Wing Blackbirds as they settled into the branches around me on their migration route. I didn't get any photos of them, but I could identify them by their song and the songs of Robins too.

Just as the sun dropped another flock of Canada Geese went overhead to the east. I think I was enjoying the sounds and songs of the birds more than anything else. 

To stay warm, I hiked around the pond trails and finally settled on a spot to watch the moon come up. I had 20 minutes to wait for moonrise and at least another 10 minutes before it would appear over the bluff to the east.

As the light faded, I watched some beavers -- or muskrats -- swimming in the east side pond. I think it would have been beavers because when they swam closer to where I was standing, they alarmed by slapping their tails against the water.

Oh, the sounds of nature when you can be right in it!

When I got to Bridge 18 I stopped to glance at the moon on the river. It was so beautiful. It seemed to glow orange.

I wanted to stay longer but my hands were freezing.

And as I put away my camera I heard a Hoot Owl calling out. I smiled, I love the sound of those owls.

Then I heard a blood curdling screech. I actually stopped a moment because it did actually sound like a scream.

It raised the hair on the back of my neck until I recognized the call of a Barn Owl. Yes, they do screech and it sounds pretty awful at first.

Another terrifying night sound is a fox screaming. But I haven't heard that in a long time. I did hear the coyotes calling out to each other when I reached the car.

It seems that all the creatures were enjoying the beautiful moonlight with me.

Enough about my night time wanderings.

Looks like the weather will change for the cooler and perhaps I'll be smarter about what I wear!

The Subaru said it was 39 degrees when I left for home.