Fall and some work

I'm hoping that I am done for the year with projects and clean ups.

Tuesday afternoon after doing a rather tough workout at the gym, I refenced the area that Patrick worked up.

The one area will be mowed and kept tidy. Once in a while, I'll rotate the mules in the groomed area to chomp things down. I was going to leave the fence down, but decided to replace it. 

I'll have to wait to see if the seeds take. [Hoping it does!]
 

Pounding 15 t-posts into hard ground was quite another workout. I really felt it the next morning when I woke up.

I'm happy with the work done and the fact that I'll have a section of yard back that we haven't had for 28 years.

I took the next day off and just did simple things. A few quiet walks with the dogs along with catching up on housekeeping and some reading.

See what happens when Hannah does a photo bomb? 

She no longer knocks the toys over when I set them up to photograph them.

We spent the evening on my 'fancy' porch. I still enjoy a little fire to sit by in the evenings to watch the sun go down and for twilight to arrive.

Halloween is tomorrow, so I will leave you with a couple of my 'scary' photos.

Happy Halloween if you celebrate it.

Stump Dawg

Monday I decided to do a Long Hike with Hannah. We'd hiked on Sunday with Charlie and I figured I'd give his little old legs a day off.

The dog is smart.

I usually make her stop at one particular stump with Charlie [on a particular trail] and they take turns sitting on the stump and getting a treat while I take their photo.

Here are some shots of Charlie on stumps over the years. 

[I have to lift him onto the stumps, he can't jump up on them.] 

He really could care less about sitting for a picture on a Stump.

Hannah and I started down the trail and once we got through the meadow and into the forest trail, Hannah started to jump on any stump next to the trail. 

She sat and stared at me.

Funny dog, she relates stumps to treats.

Smart.

She even thought a few logs would be worthy places to get a kibble.

What a charming goofball!

Most of the trees are leafless but in the understory there were some remarkable colors that we found. It was raining lightly and these red maple leaves seemed to glow.

By the time we hit 4 miles, the sun came out.

By the time we got back to the car the clouds had moved in again. 

Hannah and I had an incredibly fun long hike. I like to do those at least once a week. 

Charlie stayed home to rest up his legs after Sunday's hike.

I do know that dogs have to be in good physical condition to do long hikes. They cannot be couch potatoes and just like us, they have to work up to distances. I'm pretty sure Hannah does at least double the distance than I do as she likes to run forward and then run back to me.

Her motor is always supercharged. In case you are wondering, I do take special care with her by monitoring her condition, her feet, her attitude and physical well being.

With only her along, it is a fast paced hike except for logs and stumps. 

With Charlie involved also, it is a very laid back slow moving hike with many stops for examining everything around us.

This is the way....

Fall, so fleeting and beautiful.

For how many years did I wander slowly
through the forest. What wonder and
glory I would have missed had I ever been 
in a hurry!

~Mary Oliver

Leaves and Blossoms Along the Way

Mary Oliver does say it the best sometimes. In our forest, the dogs and I take our sweet time. I let the dogs lead while I look around it leads to interesting wandering.

Fall/Autumn flashes by so quickly. I wish I could slow it down. I know I can't. But that is the my wish.

I wish the trees would take more time and slowly change colors while hanging on to their leaves.

But nature is the boss and we are just the witnesses.

Some before and after views

The brown area used to be part of the yard but was used as a paddock 

for years for weanlings and getting the animals close to the house so hubby could watch them.

The trees behind the truck were the ones that needed trimming down.

Below is after Patrick worked up the areas and took down earthen mounds and uneven areas that made the areas impossible to mow. 

Even with his skid steer and brush hog, it was hard for him to mow this area. His suggestions and improvements make it safer for him to brush hog and possibly for me to mow with a regular mower. 😮
 

This is the Tree Trimmer's Bucket Truck and the trees before. The trees are in poor shape and full of root rot. One of the trees had a hole right through the trunk.

As a reminder.  

This is what things looked like in March.

The Trimmers took a break and now you can see the lower part of the trees. They asked if they could take the firewood and I said 'absolutely' as it would be a pain to pile up those large pieces of wood and then burn it.

The afterwards. They left two large trunks which won't harm anything, they hauled away all of the logs and piled all of the limbs in a brush pile. 

I refenced the mules' north lot while Patrick worked on the field south of the house.

Here Patrick is reshaping the old yard and leveling an area that was still a yard in 1997.

The views below are from the porch door. It shows where the yard will be reseeded and the pasture conditioned and reseeded.

Next year instead of unruly weeds, rocks, humps, little ditches, and uneven ground, I should be able to maintain those areas with alternating between the mower and rotating in the elderly mules. Patrick will still brush hog for me when needed.

The view from the porch however will not be one of burrs, weeds, and dirt mounds. In 1996 the pasture was a hay field. This section of the land is the only flat area we have on the property aside from the current yard.

5 years ago of the view from the porch:

After Patrick was done with the dozer. 

Patrick will be back with his skid steer and 'conditioner' attachment the prepare the ground for seeding. He will be doing the seeding work too. 

It is my opinion that this place will have more 'curb' appeal with a tidy looking field and yard in front of the house.

I see these improvements as in investment in the property. The cost was not as bad as one would think. 

I'll take photos after it has been seeded and of course follow up shots this spring when things green up again.

Before winter sets in, I'll be refencing the winter lot which can't be seen here.

I think I'm going to take the weekend off.

Nights out Lights out.

This is the house as seen from the old garage in the moonlight.

 There is something about being able to make a bed on the porch and read with a book light.

We enjoyed the unusually warm fall evening.

And bright and early, the tree trimmers showed up and started work.

Patrick from Midwest Excavation & Electric and his Dozer showed up.

Chainsaws and bulldozers. What more could a lady want?

At the end of these two projects, I am all done for at least a year. Time to enjoy things for a while and admire the work done.

What a whirlwind. 

Pics when they are all finished.

Now, to supervise.

Happenings.....

Hannah was not impressed with her 'outfit' for Halloween. I picked it up when I ordered a reflective vest for Charlie.

The look says it all. 

Hannah:
I'm not fond of this! I will be a statue and not move and give mom the LOOK.

However, Charlie didn't seem to mind his new reflective vest. It fits him so much better than the one I've had for him in the past. What a difference a few years makes in the availability of sizes.

I think they will wear these outfits while Trick or Treating with the grandkids at the end of the month. Not a bad idea to have a reflective little black dog!

I'll have to put the dress on Hannah a few more times so she can get over the statue thing. However, I've found that a t-shirt or snug stretchy dog shirt seems to calm her down quite a bit. I wonder if that is the same theory behind Thundershirts for dogs.

I've always thought 'clothes' for dogs were kind of dumb, but I have to admit, I am having fun with these two.

Drum roll please.

This is what it looks like from just above the house on the lane through the woods. There is a pretty green yard that now surrounds the concrete pad instead of piles of junk and weeds!

I cannot believe how beautiful the place looks now! The trees in the left side of the photo will be trimmed down so as not to be a hazard to the shed. 

From this shot you can see that our house sits in a hollow with a long drive that goes to the ridge. I do wish Rich had lived to see how beautiful it would look without the busted garage and stuff laying around.

Oh yes, we still have the outhouse. I was going to take it down, but maybe I'll clean it up inside and use it for rakes and shovels.

Yesterday in the late afternoon,

the tree dudes showed up and parked their bucket truck.

Charlie who is a my Security Chief

went out and made and inspection. Once he peed on all the tires, he pronounced the place secure.

He'll stay in the house when the crew comes back and starts up with the chainsaws. He really gets nervous over loud noises. Chainsaws, gunshots, and lightening all cause him to cower and shake.

Onward!

Today ought to be interesting. If the noises are too much for Charlie, I may have to take them somewhere for a while.

Hiking Wildcat

Sunday morning we went hiking at Wildcat State Park. 

The State Parks have a rule about leashed dogs which I follow strictly. When I stop to take photos, along a trail, I generally step on the leashes and tell them to sit. Hannah is learning what it is like to be a 'photography' assistant. 

It has taken all of my dogs at least a year to understand that they have to be near me when I stop for photos. Charlie is an expert now and I expect Hannah will be in another year [I hope!]

Anyway.

I was pretty unhappy to have to scramble when a gent with two angry Corgis and one angry mixed breed dog came charging at us growling off leash. 

To his credit, the owner tackled them and struggled to hang on to them while they were snarling and growling.

He grabbed them by their vests in the brush and it was all he could do to hold them. 

I passed without saying a word. But you bet I had a few things I wanted to say.

Hannah is trying out a reflective vest that Charlie has worn for a few years. It fits her perfectly. It never fit Charlie very well but I did find a new vest for him which should arrive some time on Monday.

This is a cool little footbridge over a ravine.

I knew that we'd meet other hikers as this is a well visited trail. When we saw other hikers coming, I'd take my dogs off the trail and work with Hannah on her sit and reactions to other people walking by.

She did pretty good when the other hikers ignored her, she came undone and bouncy when people started to coo to her. 

The Old Settler's Trail at Wildcat is a no hunting/no trapping zone in the park which is why I decided to go there. 

Pheasant season opened this weekend and the Reserve is usually packed with hunters and their pheasant dogs. The hunters I've met there have always been polite and mostly in complete control of their hounds.

Thankfully, we had hiked the coolest part of the trail along the sandstone/limestone/karst bluffs before the trail got busy with other hikers.

I got this beautiful abstract of lichen growing on the side of the sandstone.

Below that was some of my favorite mosses to find.

Snakeskin Liverwort

It grows in high moisture areas along bluffs and near springs. This was evidence of a fairly wet year for our area.

The hike was pleasant, out of the winds, and very unhurried.  We did come across more dogs on our hike and these dogs were so well behaved it made me blush.

Reminder to myself though, on a perfect fall weekend day, don't chose the most popular hiking trail in the area to explore.