Sunny Sunday

I wanted to look for skunk cabbage as I've seen Leeks coming up in other areas so I chose a trail that has a couple of wetland areas to look for them. The North Hay Valley Trail is one of the more hilly trails on the Reserve. After climbing up two ridges, we went down into this little valley.

I let the dogs roam around with me looking for signs of plants with no luck. However I did jump back and forth across the stream and called Hannah. She complied and after about 4 jumps, I got a shot of her leaping in midair.

According to a puppy every leaf and stick deserves her full attention. It is hard to see here but she has a mouthful of oak leaves.

She is almost as tall as Charlie now and almost as long as his Dachshund body is. However she is built so daintily compared to his huge chest and muscular build.

The line attached to her is to step on or grab if she is getting into trouble. I'm also using it as a leash. It is parachute cord and very lightweight. 

I've used this method since the 1980's. 

Charlie jumps up on a log to avoid Hannah. However Hannah will probably develop some amazing jumping skills herself. 

We were going to turn around and hike back to the car from this point, but it would almost be equidistant to do the entire loop.

So we forged onward.

I did give Charlie a carry for a while to give him a rest as at one point he seemed almost too warm. He recovered well after getting a huge drink of water from me.

Hannah got a lift too for a while. She is still a pup and growing. She didn't want to get carried at all. Goofy girl.

This may be the only structure left in the Kickapoo Valley Reserve. I almost wish someone would clean all the debris off from it. This section of trail is pretty rough with down branches and deep ruts. I've been inside of it and admired the handywork of those who laid the stone building.

Towards the end of the trail, I came up on a perfect spot for some toy photography. Hannah nosed things down a couple of times before she learned that the toys were not food and she was supposed to 'leave it'.

Wall-E and Eve wish you a good Monday.

Distance: Just under 5 miles with lots of rest stops for the dogs.

Passing by the pond....

I thought I'd go past the pond for a while now at least each time I went to town and back. 

How adorable is this? Mom or Dad [I can't tell which] were feeding the chick!

I was able to sit in my Subaru and watch them without disturbing them. 

I've discovered other birds that are coming to this area also. Now I wonder.

We've had a few very dry years and that caused the fast flowing stream here to slow down and sort of bog up. When that happened, the trout fisherpersons that used to visit with frequency at these spots has literally dried up.

I have not seen a fisherman in this area for over two years. I think the fisherman have gone to the spots with easier access? I don't know. 

So...

does that mean the birds are coming back? Does that mean that the birds are finding fish that they eat?

On Thursday the girls and I spotted the Great White Egret and...and... a Blue Heron.

Both birds were at the edge of the stream bank and it appeared that they were fishing. If they are finding food, that means the fish are in the stream.

If the fish are abundant in the stream, that means the stream is in good health.

Now I am not posting these shots with any indication of where they were taken on Social Media. My purpose is to enjoy viewing these birds on my trips to town --- or when I take a notion to drive to this spot.

In my mind Social Media that tags an awesome location for something like wild life or certain landscapes [that would be ruined by crowds] shouldn't be shared. 

Since most people literally fly past this spot and never slow down to look, I think the birds will be safe from harrassement.

I'd hope to see all of these birds a few more times. 

The Quest continues...

I am pretty lucky to live in a very remote area with a large tract of wild woods that surround us. I thought I'd take advantage of the overcast skies to take a hike and try out some more things I learned from doing a bit more research about Lego photography.

Below is my backpack that is a Kurgo backpack made specifically to carry a small dog. My dog said no. I put a camera bag insert into the 'pet area' years ago and this became my go to backpack.

I can carry water bottles, snacks, and all sort of other goodies in the other section of the backpack.

Old plastic sandwich meat containers are perfect for carrying Lego minifigs or pieces.

 

When I got to the creek, I set my pack down. Did I mention that it is made to sit up straight and that it has a rubber bottom on it? Perfect for setting down in damp places.

I wanted to test out an idea I'd seen a Lego Photographer use when trying to photograph Lego's in a puddle or stream. If you have ever tried it, the boats sink or tip over, the kayaks and canoes don't really float. I've stacked rocks up against Legos in the stream to keep them in place only to back off and get the shot ready...

and the Lego minfig tips over and floats away.

One person suggested hot gluing a piece of metal to the bottom of a Lego minifig stand. I tried that method and it worked well for a while. After bumping around in my backpack and being repositioned several times, the metal washer came off. But it was a fantastic solution and an easy thing to do.

I also took a flat 6 X 6 plate and stood a horse on it. The stream still wanted to pull on the horse, so I put some rocks on the plate to hold it in place. It worked like a charm.

Anyone who has ever ridden horses [or mules] knows that sometimes horses don't like streams or even shy away from puddles.

I imagine that Princess Sara's faithful steed, Ice, wouldn't want to cross the stream. Princess Sara had a tough time convincing Ice that it was OK to go in the water. She even waded into the stream to show him.

Apparently he had none of it until Joan of Knight rode her workhorse into the stream to show Ice that it wouldn't hurt him.

At this point, I was not using a tripod, but was standing in about 8 inches of water in a little pool in the creek. I had to squat down and get the camera close to the water. I felt something cold on my rear end and realized I'd squatted right into the creek.

[Yeah for CrossFit squats!]

Phew!

Princess Sara and Joan got across safely and continued on their Quest. The frog had said that they just needed to go into the forest and the Quest would make itself known to them.

The camera settings were pretty basic. I use an f stop so I could get both figures in focus. But I also set them in the same focal plane.

Getting low was the key. Very low. My hands were resting on top of the water and since I was wearing knee high waterproof muck boots my feet didn't get wet. But my rear end did!

The sky was cloudy so I was able to shoot without worrying too much about highlights on the minifigs.

Processing the shots were fairly straightforward, I have presets that I've developed for certain kinds of looks.

Stay tuned. The Princess and the Knight continued their Quest.

I am just following along.

Drifting in the Driftless

 I thought it was cool to come up with that: Drifting in the Driftless.

Because that is exactly what we did together. I had a goal in mind, but I abandoned that goal and just decided to drift back and forth like the tiny stream that meandered through this narrow valley. 

The stream is not indicated on the map so it must come from various springs along the way. The valley is no more than 50 yards wide at its widest spot. The north facing hillside is steep with many 'dry' runs and rock shelters.
The south facing side is nothing but bluffs dotted with caves that I did not explore [this time].

Charlie and I followed the valley from the west end to the east end where it ended at the new highway that was built in the 1970's. 

Photo of the Kickapoo River
taken with the Infrared Camera.

The ice 'slide' in IR.

Rock Shelter with ice, IR.

I made a series of very short video clips and stuck them together to form a little view of what it was like. The video of course doesn't do it justice but perhaps one can get the sense of just how narrow and secluded this area was. 

I'm keeping the location to myself as I am pretty sure there are some rare plant species that thrive in this micro climate that is so unusual. 

So in the first part of the video you will see a familiar spot of the Kickapoo River. It was frozen over but the grinding noise was the ice moving and trying to make passage through the river. It unnerved Charlie enough so he started to whine.

The rest is with no sound because I don't think anyone would enjoy listening to the mic noises.

The video is 1:44 seconds. To see and understand just how narrow and wild looking this place was...I had to do it as clips.

Hope it is worth your time.

I was going to go back today but needed and eyeball rest. I'll be going back on Wednesday to visit the hogback above the caves. At least that is the plan.

Happy Drifting

Peregrinating

and Maundering about....

Finding Peace

It is a strange world out there and I imagine so many people are fatigued by the daily news which has overtaken every which way we turn.
Daily death counts.
Maps of infections.

Worries. Isolation Fatigue.
And I wonder how long social creatures like ourselves can stay un-social. I know my husband hasn't been bothered and I have found a work around sort of.

Yesterday early morning, I did some work in the pasture then some work in the little new garden.
By the time late lunch rolled around I was ready for something different.

I loaded up my back pack and headed the two miles down the gravel road to the DNR public land. Tainter Hollow or I as I call it, Tainter Land.

I was hoping to be able to find some of the more incredible spring emphemeral plants like the Trout Lily and the Virginia Bluebell.

At first I walked along the stream and noted the cow parsnip that was coming up in the areas that would be in full shade once the trees got their leaves. A reminder that come mid summer the best way to explore this place would be to stay on mowed paths due to the wild parsnip and cow parsnip.
However, spring is one of those times that a person can venture off path without much harm.

I found white anenome flowers spritzed in with the cow parsnip.

I didn't find Bluebells.
I didn't find Blood Root.
I didn't see Trout Lilies.

I turned and head downstream along the worn footpath. In some places it is worn from trout fisherman and in other spots, it is worn from the beavers.

I walked on towards the place where Bill and I had seen the Bluebells coming up earlier this week. I also vaguely reminded myself to keep an eye out for Charlie's camouflaged leash that I'd dropped somewhere.

I'd brought my mini tripod along and an ND filter. I thought I'd grabbed the proper polarized filter, but I hadn't.

I thought I'd experiment with the filter anyway and take some long exposures. I should have had my tall but very heavy tripod. But I didn't want to carry something that cumbersome while skipping along beaver and deer trails.

So here are some efforts just for fun.

These were okay, and sort of fun to do.

But nothing worth displaying as my best work at all. Just fun. In the last photo at least you can see the swirls in the streams current. I thought that was pretty neat. Come mid summer, the grasses and the weeds will be about 8 feet tall on the banks.
Perhaps it would be worth it to come back with tall boots and stand in the shallow parts of the stream. Heck, I wouldn't mind getting wet as hot as it gets in this steep valley.

Anyway...on I went.
I found the Virginia Bluebells! Some blossoms were just beginning to open up.

 

The stream slows down and widens out at the base of this cliff. I was fascinated by the almost pure reflections in the waters.

I came around the corner where the stream took on a new course and I spent a while exploring the new twists and turns.

The stream cuts back and forth in a zig zag pattern here. I had to climb through old log jams and piled up brush from previous flash floods to follow the bank.

I eventually got to where I really wanted to go. IF I'd been wearing high waterproof boots and had a walking stick, I'd have crossed the stream at this point.
Instead, I stayed on the bank and did what was sensible.

I've seen this spot more than once and just felt I needed to come and take a long exposure of the stream bouncing along these rocks.
I am pretty sure I can cross safely here and get another angle. However since this is a cell phone dead zone and a fairly remote area, I should wait until I have someone with me. Or next time I just will bring my stick...and cross.

Something about this spot. The angle of the twisted tree, the rocks, and the opposite shore makes this a spot begging to be 'shot'. Well, at least in my mind.

I spent a lot of time here just watching and listening to the water music.

I hiked back out to the gravel road and put everything away in my backpack and walked the short distance back to the parking area.

I swear! Someone tricked me!

Not 10 feet from my Subaru I found Trout Lilies hiding in the Anenomes!

Well now....

Seems I had to go the whole route around the stream to come back to where I started to...
find
what
I had been looking for!

As I pulled out of the parking area, I glanced towards the opposite side of the road and spotted Dutchman Breeches and Blood Roots.

I headed home anyway happy with my adventure and a longing to come back in a few days to explore again.

The land is so peaceful and comforting.

Shallow waters tumbling
over the rocks
Drown out today's news
and sorrows....

...and I didn't find the leash!

Meanwhile in our valley

March 7th and 8th were the Big Run Off days of snow melt. Charlie had his first exposure to a mini flash flood of foamy snow water mixed with sand and silt.

He was curious and as soon as the water and foam hit his chest he turned and leapt onto my lap. I was soaked! I hugged him and in a few minutes he was back watching the water but keeping clear of it.

I invited the neighbors to come and check it out on Sunday and they did.

And they enjoyed their time in the creek.

I went back down the next day to check out what things looked like after the wash out. What would happen to those Sow Bugs? How about the Caddisflies?

That is a dime on a rock next to two Caddisfly stone 'houses'.

Inside,... the larvae had changed.

So I sat very still and decided to just watch the water below my feet.
There were little trails across the rocks. Some were moving!

Indeed.
So tiny yet cool!

How ingenious! The Caddisfly moves with its house!

I hope to catch them in their next phase of growth.

And then I found the Scud Bugs. Again by accident in a way.
I stepped in a spot that I suspected was a new spring and the spoiled leaf detritus floated away with Amphiopod Scuds.

I watched them for a while then lifted another rotten leaf and more floated away I watched them as they eventually found themselves washed against more rocks and vegetation. They seemed to wiggle their way under the leaves.

Now I think I read that they often resemble their surroundings which may explain why some were light colored and some dark colored.

I sat back on a boulder and just admired the stream and it creatures. Overhead I heard the robins, cardinals, and other birds.
As Charlie and I walked home through the pasture we heard a Ring Necked Pheasant call out.

My day was complete. Mother Nature never stops with her surprises. It just takes patience and a keen eye for details.
All I know is that I am having a great time and I don't have to travel very far.

I can't wait to get back down to The Creek.

Tainter Hollow

After my haircut yesterday I decided to go to the Tainter Creek Public Hunting and Fishing area. There is a small parking area just past this sign.

For a while the area was trashed with remnants of little campfires and beer cans. After this sign was erected, I made sure to visit often and pick up trash.
Whoever was partying here has moved on and the parking area has been pretty clean for the past couple of years.

I call this area *Tainter Land*. There is a Tainter Hollow Road, a Tainter Hollow East, Tainter Hollow West, and a Tainter Road. These back country gravel roads all come in contact with Tainter Creek at some point.
Tainter Creek is fairly well known locally to trout fisher-people.

I like the area because it is so unique.
In the early spring the flowers near the parking area are amazing...

Last spring I found Trout Lilies along with the bluebells and other flowers.

Since it is early spring and the snow is gone, I decided to see how far along the creek I could walk.
There is a path that has been mowed, but it ends. I instead just made my own way along the creek.

The creek is clear and cold. Which I imagine makes it perfect for trout. In this shot you can see the tufts of debris still left on trees and brush from last September's floods.

I found a rather beat up soccer ball wedged in the roots of a toppled tree.

There was a beaver dam in this area last year, I don't know if the DNR removed it or the flood waters did.

I will let you enjoy some of the views I did.

 Oh yes...Val-Barbie shared the adventures!

I followed Tainter Creek until I came up on Tainter Hollow West at the bridge and then walked the road back to the parking area.

In the hours that I was there, I saw one vehicle. I think that must have been the mailman/woman.