Joe finds...

 We are back with Joe. Do you recall Joe?

I started telling his story earlier this year: Joe

~~~~~~~

He heard about some metal relics in a ditch so he thought he'd go check that out. He may find some useful shelter. The ditch did indeed have a relic. So perhaps the fables and legends about Humans were true after all?

Joe climbs onto the relic and begins to look around when something taps his leg.

It then sits quietly and stares up at Joe.

What the?

Joe reaches down and feels an instant connection. Something in his body suddenly feels quite warm. He isn't sure what it is.

He starts to walk back towards the forest and....

well....

Hmmm.

He feels more warmth in his body. It seems to spread as the little...um, dog seems to be following him.
Maybe this world won't be so bad after all? This warmth under his coat isn't just from his coat.
He isn't sure what it is, however it feels pretty good.

Joe and Dog wake up to the world turning white and snow falling down. Joe grabs his pack and thinks perhaps he and Dog need some better shelter.

Dog walks up and drops a stick.

Joe stares at it.

Dog hops up and down.

Joe picks up the stick. He heads to the woods.

He sighs as Dog brings him more and more sticks.

Dog seems to make his lonely life more bearable. Dog seems to know what he wants without him having to say a word.

Is this what caused the  warmth under his skin? This odd feeling he has never had before?

~~~~~~~ 
I was going to work more on this but have kept putting it off with the snowstorms and extreme cold weather.

I had an inkling that Joe and Dog were on the track to become great friends. I bet they've holed up right now and are keeping warm someplace....

More Joe and Dog adventures coming along soon enough....

Should I?

Keep track or not?

So far this year I've gone on a walk/hike every single day with the exception of two days with the dangerous wind chills. On some days I remember to take my cell phone and activate a free app called MapMyWalk. 

I don't always remember to activate the app while taking my daily hike/walk. 

When the temps got up to 11 degrees I thought Charlie and I should go check out the old ridge road on the neighbor's land. Part of that old ridge road is used as a snowmobile route in the winter.

I thought the footing would be nicely packed and I wouldn't have to break trail.

I activated the app and thought it would be fun to see exactly how far it is to the creek and back using the road and the old snowmobile road.

The footing was not great. Charlie decided about a mile in that he wanted to be carried and we trudged all the way to the creek. AND I mean trudged. The trudging was downhill and as I trudged I thought, this is going to be very difficult going back up.
Normally with good footing, this is an fairly nice hike, yes it is uphill but it is not difficult. It is a good cardio workout.

We did stop at the creek where I wanted to look for some beautiful frosty formations along the water. The snow was over my knees when I climbed down to look for ice and frost.

I got a few shots to prove to myself that I was there and decided to head back up the hill.

With the drought, the creek has really been diminished. It flows, but the grasses and weeds that grow along its bank have taken over.

Still, I like to just go down into the valley and listen to the water. The sounds it makes are so pleasing and relaxing.

Here is Charlie standing guard on the trail while I climbed down next to the water to try and get a shot of the frosted grasses.

Frosted grasses and multi flora rose growing into the creek:

Returning UP the HILL was

demanding. And exhausting.

I figured it would be with the slightly churned up trail. IF I'd worn snow shoes I may have had a better grip. 

I decided I wasn't in a race and took my time.

Of course, I've never mapped out this walk and checked the details carefully. From where the mile numbers are in the map ---> 1 and 2, to the creek is a descent of 300 feet in a half of a mile. One section is very steep.
In 2/10 of a mile the ascent from the creek is 100 feet.

Huh.
No wonder I was struggling! Did I mention that I was carrying Charlie too?

When I got to this point I heard a snowmobile coming so I scooped up Charlie and stepped off to the side of the trail.

What a nice surprise. The fellow that was traveling, stopped and asked if I was okay. Did I need a ride somewhere?

[OMG...did I look that bad???]

I replied that we were fine, just out hiking and I lived about a mile away. 

When he continued on I looked up and saw a Sun Halo!

Cell phone shot....

Well indeed! That alone made the whole trip worth it.

When I got home Charlie and I stretched out on the couch and snuggled. 

So in the end. I wonder if it would be fun to track my daily mileage -- when I remember to activate the app. 

My second wondering...

Snowmobiler to friends: So out in the middle of NOWHERE, was a lady with a tiny dog and a backpack walking out of the valley on the trail! Was SHE nuts or what?

So far with my 'tracking' this month, I've had 16 miles of hiking just around home. I missed those subzero days for obvious reasons.

It should have been

 ...a good day to stay inside and do...

Well. Read, nap, lounge, make chili ..or maybe even go through things and purge more crap out of drawers and the basement.

But by mid afternoon I was climbing the walls. I took Charlie out for a walk with me and he made it about 40 steps before his feet froze. I carried him back to the house and let him in. 

I thought I'd go finish breaking a trail up through the summer meadow and grab the trail camera down in the woods. With the subzero temps, I figured the batteries would be dead.

The wind chills were still in the - Below Zero Range, so I covered up. Since I live in a hilly and forested area, I can walk into the woods and avoid the winds. But covering my face and eyes is by far the most important thing for me to do.

I got down into the woods and retrieved the trail cam. Of course there was this shot of me walking during the snowstorm. 

And here is a shot of me coming to get the camera. In both of these photos I am using snowshoes. The more often I break trail, the better it is to walk on. During the storm, I was  up to my knees even with snowshoes on.

It was pleasant in the woods, but my feet did start to get cold since I'd neglected to put on my snow boots. 

The walk was beautiful. I'm not going to kid you. I did not march with great speed up and down the hills. It is very hard work with snow shoes and deep snow. I walked, I rested, I looked around and admired the scenery.

I do love shadows on the snow from the trees. Out in the meadow there were oak leaves sticking in the snow like this. I always find it amusing as to how they ended up that way.

I have to give a nod to Aurora  at equine expressions and her beautiful winter photos that are always inspiring! Where there are oaks and snow, there will be those oak leaves doing their cool winter things!

The sunshine is so welcome to see after what feels like months of dreary skies.

Even the mules enjoyed it.

The photos are soft because I took this shot through the window and screen.

Today's menu includes chicken veggie soup with rice. I have to go tomorrow to town and get some groceries as the cupboards are getting a bit thinned out.

Charlie and I finally got a nice long walk in this morning. I walked along our plowed road and out to the ridge and back. I figured Charlie would get cold feet, but he didn't. He trucked right along and chased as many smells as he could.

We noticed that the deer had been out in the soybean field digging up snow like crazy. I imagine the food is harder for them to get now that they have to contend with deep snow.

Stay warm and enjoy the sunlight if you have it!

Cold. Blizzardy. Neighbors. Good Place.

 Ok. It is officially Brrrr Out.

-11F is the outside temperature and on the ridge the 14mph winds are causing it to feel like -30 according to the weather app.

However! It sure was an adventurous time here on the ridge. 

Our first snowfall on Tuesday was 10 inches. Our second snowfall from Thursday night to late Friday night was 13 inches. 

My neighbor texted me early to ask if I knew of anyone who could pull his truck out of the ditch up by Riley Road and the Gilbertson Cattle Gate. I texted him back with names of other farm neighbors who had large tractors and front end loaders. One of them is also our township plow guy.

My neighbor was coming home Friday night and hit a huge drift and it sucked his large truck into the ditch. He walked home in the blizzard, got his 4 wheeler and was able to get his family's groceries and his work computer out of this truck and bring it home.

The end of the story is fascinating too. Saturday while he was out there digging out his truck, another fellow with a huge front end loader stopped by and helped him out. People helping people in a rural community with no expectations of money in exchange for assistance.

Here is a photo of our driveway before it got plowed. 

The driveway is in there and it is windblown. Frank came just before noon and deftly made quick work of it while I was on the ridge with Olive trying to make a sledding path.

Even with snow shoes on and dragging a sled with a child in it was an exercise in futility. The snow was soft and fluffy and we sank. The photo below is the trail of us just trying to get to a sledding spot.

Much to Aiden's disappointment, we gave up and decided to go to her house for a cup of decafe coffee.

There she is crossing the ridge below me heading for her house in the far distance. I was at the top of the hill on the ridge gathering my snowshoes and sled.

All this wide open space creates places for snow drifts when the winds blow. In places I walked even with snow shoes, I found myself nearly hip deep in snow. 

We had coffee and conversation and then I walked on the road to home. It was plowed and I was not in the mood to break trail through the woods.

I was going to save that for another day.

When I got home, I discovered that Frank had used his plow to make a path for me around part of the house. He obviously saw where I had been shoveling. He pushed the biggest piles of snow out of my way.

Again. 

How grateful can I be for good people? Indeed, a stranger helped my new neighbor, Frank and his magic plow looked after us, and all of us on this dead end road texted each other to make sure we are all okay.

I still like winter. If it warms up to closer to zero, I will probably go out and go for a walk. Dressed appropriately of course.

What about those mules?

So many folks want to know how my mules fair in weather like this. These animals have lived since birth on the farm and have always lived outdoors. If you understand the way my land lays, you will know that we have nooks and crannies where the winds don't blow. The mules have figured that out long ago and they are free to go seek shelter or stand in the winds.

With that said, here are the girls digging and browsing in the summer pasture after the first snowfall. 

I thought it would be nice for them to have something to do rather than stand around and look bored in the winter pasture. So I opened the gates to one of the summer pastures.

Their heated water is down by the house along with their hay feeders.

Feeding in the winter pasture [this is in front of the house]:

When they are done there, they head to the woods to browse on items they don't eat in the summer. Apparently multiflora rose leaves are tasty in the winter as well as other dried out weeds.

They are bit more exposed to the weather in this area as it is nearly on the ridge. But it is their choice. The browse, they constantly move and graze just like their wild ancestors.

This is a shot from this past summer in the are where they can browse right now. 

And...

when they feel like moving, they move into the woods and stand together in their own little herd.

At 8AM and at 4PM they show up in the paddock at the front of the house and stare at the house until I appear with loads of hay.

I check them more than once a day in cold weather. I stick my hand under their snow-covered coats to feel their body heat. And it is there!

Well, time to get going. So many adventures from yesterday and more for this weekend. I just got texts from my new neighbor asking if I knew of anyone that could help get his truck out of the ditch up on the ridge.

I gave him names of those who could probably help him and one is a neighbor farmer who is also runs a township plow.

Last night all plows were pulled off the roads due to poor visibility and dangerous conditions.

It looks like we will see the sunlight today for a bit while Mother Nature does her thing to remind us about what winter is like.

Snow! Snow!

 ...and more snow???

These shots are from Monday before we got snow...
Charlie and I went looking for some cool tree roots. 

This is a cottonwood tree in the creek bottom...
this tree is ancient and its roots extend 40 feet
or more along the creek.

I think this is an oak tree. It lives in the

dry run where I found the cars.
Charlie is investigating the area
under the roots.

Another grand cottonwood that
is ancient.
This one sits on the fence line
between my neighbor to the 
west and I.
The drop down to the creek here 
is about 20 feet.

This is one of my favorite spots to go to.

Next stop was further west where Charlie and I sat to watch the trout swimming back and 

forth.

It is the black dot on the terrain map is where we stopped to

watch the trout.

The elevation change between my house and the creek is

about 150 feet.

The distance is about 1/4 of a mile. I'm often asked if the creek

would ever flood our property. No it won't.

I should compile photos of this spot

over the years.

It is another 'spot' that I almost frequent every day.

The changes over the past 20 years are amazing.

Hmmm, sounds like a cool project for a subzero day!

Another curiosity. This was a
deer stand built in the meadow
in 2003. The cattle left the land
in 2005 and the forest
has reclaimed the area.

This is in the meadow east of our land.

I find it a shame that people just left their crap laying there.

This is what we woke up to on Tuesday morning.

The mules are currently eating hay out of the feeders and also browsing and digging for grass in the summer pasture. They seem to love searching in the deep snow for delightful tidbits under the snow.

The next shot is off our driveway. It is much cleaner looking this year than it was last year. Driveway maintenance is really important when your driveway is a long hill.

The hill rises 200 feet to the ridge where our mailbox is located.

We were plowed out by yesterday late morning. I'm really happy that the same guy who did the work on the driveway will also plow it for us. He knows this driveway better than anyone else.

Hubby did it for years and so did one of the former neighbors before he moved away.

When I was working odd shifts, I'd park on the ridge during a snowstorm so I could get to work. Sometimes I'd stay in town with my MIL overnight so I could be close to a plowed highway.

Everyone deals with winter in different ways. 

Charlie and I love it.

44 second video of Charlie enjoying snow and mousing!

Today, Thursday I head to town for a meeting with our Financial Advisor and an Estate Attorney to go over a few things. It is never too early to keep your ducks in a row.

We have a Winter Storm Warning just issued for tonight through Saturday. I've polished up my snow shoes and pulled my x-country skis out. We'll be ready for action.

This weekend we are expecting blowing snow and much colder temps. I am bringing out my skunk hat and my goggles. Looks like winter has finally arrived and will be making a Big Statement.

Joe

 

Meet Joe. He is a Worm Hole traveler. He and others have found their way from other places to ... well, to somewhere.

The story will stay vague. Maybe that is because I really never follow a story line. I let the character find his/her way.

He isn't a hero. Maybe he is more  of an anti-hero. He is Homeless and Alone. But he doesn't exactly seem to be unhappy in any way. He just is Joe.

He seems to be okay with whatever is happening to him and where he ends up.

He sits in a tree and watches this new place happen while he calmly smokes his pipe.

One of the Minibots told him about the Worm Holes or Rips in the Fabric of time and space....that are in the woods. Apparently the Minibots were experts at finding them and bringing others through to this world and others.

Joe was wondering about the holes. Did the Minibot know where they were? Oh sure he knew, they were all over this land in the least likely of places.

Donder the Luggan and one of the other Minibots were watching one of the most active worm holes in the valley. It seemed to be a rubber tire from ages gone past! Maybe even pre-historic! The type of item that the fabled humans used to use.

Joe thinks that maybe he should do a bit more wandering and look for some of those 'least likely' of places. Who knows what he could find that would be useful?

He lifts a finger and points....

That way...

Joe has no idea how much his life is going to change.