Went for a drive

 Oh that sounds so darned silly doesn't it? 

I went for a drive because. Well. Just because. I had a destination in mind and thought I'd take some back roads on the way just for something different to do.

My two trouble makers came along for the ride. My destination was a small State Park called Mill Bluff. Now I could have used my GPS in the vehicle to do the route but I decided to 'wing it'. 

Charlie is not a great dog to travel with. He is nervous all the time and loves to whine and whine and whine. He even gets a bit hysterical when I stop for a stop sign or he hears the turn signal going. Hannah on the other hand is mostly silent and listens if I tell her to be quiet.

When Charlie has a meltdown, she hops out of her car seat and tries to get in his. If she is not tethered she will actually get in with him. That makes for one very crowded spot. 

Charlie has been this way for 8 years. I have at times put a vibration collar on him and sometimes that helps keep him quieter. I think he actually calms down faster with Hannah as company. We are still working on that issue.

Any....way...

I got way off track while driving, but I got to see quite a bit of scenery on the narrow back roads. There were plenty of times I wanted to pull over and just take in the sights. But I was on twisted narrow roads so I just kept going.

We eventually made it to the park. 

I had intended on taking the dogs to the far side of the 'beach' for a dip, but it was crammed with people so we went straight to the Bluff Trail. [no dogs allowed anyway]

This trail of a stone stairway is steep and long. I don't know how many steps one has to take to get to the top of the bluff but it is not for the faint of heart.
One can rest along the way.

Charlie didn't find it that hard going up and we did stop a couple of times. I wanted to get some shots of the stone stairs. I stopped and tied the dogs to the railing so they wouldn't run up or down the stairs. I had to think about what might happen on that terrain if they got excited by seeing another hiker. 

We climbed 120 feet up to the top of the Bluff.

When I first read this sign I thought we were standing on the Long Bluff. What you can't tell is that the sign has been there for quite a few years. I'm supposed to be looking across the way at Long Bluff. It had been so many years since this sign was posted that the trees on this bluff have grown up hiding the view.

The sign says:
Long Bluff which is named for its shape, is one of the many bluffs found in this area. It is approximately 199 feet tall. You are standing on Mill Bluff which is approximately 120 feet tall.

A portion of land visible is an abandoned cranberry marsh. Cranberry farming is an important industry in the Warrens area.

The rest of the sign disappears into old age and water damage.

The state put up a chain link fence around the top of the bluff. I'm guessing to keep fools from trying to climb up or down its steep sides. However, you can see where those fools have gone over. 

I found the fence convenient to tie the dogs to while I took a few shots. We did meet another hiker who was from Pennsylvania. The dogs went nuts as he was a dog lover and cooed over the both of them. 

The second time we saw him, I was able to make both dogs sit in front of me while I used the magic of 'treats' to hold their attention.

At the south end of the bluff we found another old sign.

Sign: 
Volk Field Air Strip
The air filed lying east of Mill Bluff is part of the Volk Field National Guard Training Site located adjacent to the Village of Camp Douglas. 

The airplane runway you see is oriented due east to west.
It is 9000 feet long and 150 feet wide with a 1000 feet overrun on each end. It is capable of receiving and sized air craft presently made.

The farm field in the foreground has been partially drained and is used as pasture land. Most of the land in this immediate area is either very dry or wet and has marginal use for agriculture.

Once again. There is no view here but there it is. Trees grow even on the sides of bluffs.

We decided to go to the other end. 

There was a view! 

You can see for quite the distance from this spot. It is obvious that people have climbed over the viewing area fence to go out to the tip. Mill Bluff sits between WI Hwy 12 and interstate 90-94. As a kid we traveled Hwy 12 and then later the interstate to go to spend the whole summer where our grandparents lived.

We'd stopped at Castle Rock Wayside to have a lunch and a break from travelling. It isn't far from where Mill Bluff.

At the overlook there is a bench and ... this!!!

A selfie stand?

Of course, why not!

After the 'selfie', I set down the dogs on the bench so I could grab a shot at the sign behind me....but....

but...

an older lady was coming up to the overlook and she was tottering along with two walking sticks. She gave me a 'look' when I grabbed my dogs' leashes. They bounced up and down and of course wanted to go see her.

I didn't let them, but made sure we gave the woman space to enjoy what we had been looking at. I'm disappointed that I didn't get a photo of what the sign said.

However, we took the stairs down which were actually harder than going up. I used the handrail for one hand and the leashes in the other. My balance is pretty darned good, but it was a slight challenge. Charlie had a harder time going down than up. I even stepped on his tail one time.

When I got to the car I thought about the lady I'd met at top and wondered how she'd negotiate the stairs coming down.

I considered doing the interpretive trail around the bluff, but the skeeters convinced me to come back after a hard frost.

I grabbed a map/brochure and realized that the park was much bigger than I thought and had another whole section to explore. 

The Ice Age Reserve National Scientific Reserve. There is a trail that goes around 3 more formations.

Cleopatra's Needle
Devils Monument
Camels Bluff

It appears that we will have to go back this fall to check it out.

Rocks and bluffs fascinate me so I'll put this down for a return trip.

Perhaps I'll actually take a shorter way next time. The trip home was much much shorter. I let Google Maps help me.

My intentions this year were to explore more and check out many of our State Parks as day trips before I ever started any overnight trips.

Moving right along...

It was a 'week'. Charlie is feeling 100% better. He seems more chipper and brighter since his surgery. I am now thinking that the teeth had been bothering him for a while and he just didn't know how to tell me.

He wants to go on walks and he is more attentive and playful. I'm so happy! I keep reminding him that he is on light duty. 

Sunday evening I went riding with Kristi. She rode her daughter's mare, Willow.  Willow is Haflinger and pony cross. I absolutely adore Willow as does Sunshine. Sorry, I didn't get a shot of Willow.

Willow looks much like a small horse I had called Lily. 

Lily was Halflinger and Arab which meant she was small, tough, and had a go get 'em attitude. Rich rode her in team penning and I rode her trail riding and she never missed a step and had so much stamina!

Willow is Halflinger and pony cross and is the same size as Sunshine. Willow and my old horse Lily were caramel colored with flaxen flowing manes and tails. If I was to keep a horse from this point forward, I would definitely want one just like Willow.

Here is Sunshine after our ride. Yeah, I took scissors to her bridle path and did a crap job of it. I'll need to roach her mane again. 

Monday was saddle cleaning morning for me. I am pretty convinced that these saddles hold no huge value as they are not even made anymore. They weren't top of the line when I purchased them. 

The one in back is one of my favorites. It has a name on it 'El Dorado' and is a 13" seat. I've had it for 36 years. I've kept it clean and oiled. 

The one in front is a Circle Y with a 14" seat. 

I used it mainly for trail riding. I took it to the Amish for a good oiling and they really screwed up by getting oil on the suede seat. Honestly it wasn't a top notch saddle but it is 31 years old and Rich bought one to match for our wedding. I still have both saddles.

Who has wedding saddles???? 

I'm keeping Siera off from the pastures with clover and she has stopped gimping along. She and Sundance are browsing on some of the weeds and are getting hay on the side. They are not happy about being confined to this area, but it seems to be helping Siera. 

Mr. Pony is doing yard work for me. Every few weeks I graze him on this hillside next to the shed, he picks out all the delicious stuff first and then goes back and works on the grasses leaving the weeds for me to mow.

Once he finishes this section, I move him to the next. You can't see his water pan, but he has water available which is refreshed twice a day. 

If I recall right, this guy has been doing yard work for us for nearly 30 years. He eats, fertilizes, and provides us with constant laughs.

Here is Little Richard and Mr. Morris 19 years ago hanging out together. Little Richard loves the gravel driveway, he can lay down and itch his back and so many times he'll sleep on it.

He also serves as a guard pony. 

You cannot pass ... unless you pet me! Photo taken in 2009.

Catching up.

So a lot of this is 'news' that isn't worth news to some folks. 

Sunshine is doing well at Kristi's place. In April she will be 29 years old. She is showing her age in her face but not her attitude and willingness to go riding.

Kristi has given her a new pasture mate named Willow. Another mare and Sunshine is really quite happy with that.

Her gelding Cash, seems to be losing weight so she has moved him into an area where she can grain him and help him maintain a healthy condition.

We have finally figured out what is going on with Siera. Her weight and the great pasture I had was not kind to her.

I did some more researching about pastures and removed them from the back meadow. It is lush and has quite a bit of white clover in it. The high sugar content is not good for her. In years past, that back meadow has been grazed to the ground with 4 or 5 mules so it wasn't so lush and dangerous.

This morning I walked around and set up a plan to try and deal with Siera's weight [I know, I dropped the ball on this issue because she had been going through periods where she seemed 'cured'.]

Tomorrow I am making Sundance and Siera a smaller lot in this shady area. I can keep them there until Winter and they can be joined by Sunshine this late fall. It will be a dry 'lot' where I can monitor exactly what they eat and their condition.

Old photo from 5 years ago.

This morning.
What a difference a wet summer makes when you have only 2 grazers instead

of 5.

This area is on my list for a clean up project for next year. It won't take much but it will take machinery I don't have to clean up the fallen trees not pictured here from last August's windstorms.

Sundance is the youngest mule. She has been off and on slightly gimpy for quite a while now.  She has been diagnosed with ringbone in her right front. Otherwise she is perfectly healthy and full of herself. Ringbone is a form of arthritis. Treatment can include joint injections, special shoes, and special meds. She is a pasture pet and only shows slight discomfort once in a great while. 

Three older mules and an ancient pony cannot keep down our pastures so I have to consider doing something different.

The large meadow in front of the house will be brush hogged and one section will be bulldozed so I can mow it myself next year. The other half will be used as a winter pasture since it offers protection from the winds.

Photo from last year. Winter Pasture.

I'll keep mowing the back meadow because the dogs and I love walking there and in the winter it will make a nice area to cross country ski.

Little Richard is 35 years old and his teeth are worn out. He made it through last winter with flying colors. 

This summer he gained weight being staked out and having access to a small forested paddock. He is slowly losing weight again. I am fighting a slow motion battle that I will lose. It will pain me to possibly make a decision this fall with him.

I'm a realist. I won't keep animals that are in poor condition or in constant pain. I feel that is cruel. We set our long term plans in motion 10 years ago when Rich was no longer able to help with chores and maintenance. We kept the elder animals to give them a retirement. The young ones we had were sold. Over the years, the elder animals have crossed over. 

Charlie is recovering nicely. He has been bossing Hannah around and trying to steal her chew bones. Uffdah. I can't let him do that! He is back to ruling the household.

Hannah? She honors Charlie's space and cuddles with him when allowed to. She is also quite good at getting into trouble.

Here I ask her if she was in the shed digging under the old tractor.

Who...?
Me?

What shed?
What makes you think that?

It's August now and I'm finding it to be difficult to deal with so many decisions. It seems like that is all I have been doing for months now.

I'm even trying to plan out what I want to do once the large animals are gone. Some days I think I know what I am going to do and others?

I have no clue.

Charlie feels icky by Hannah

 Oh oh oh. So Valmom is a very cleverish human person. Sneaky sneaky!

In the morning she got out her hiking vest and the squishy water bottles and set them by the door. We saw our treat bag and the water dish which meant a big walk!

I, for one, was going to make sure she did not forget me. I had my hiking vest on and blocked the doorway. 
I like 'rides' and hikes.

"Charlie," I nosed him. "Charlie! We are going sniffing!"

Charlie ignored me, he was grumpy because he did not get any breakfast. He sat on the floor and stared at Her intently.

"Whatyah doing?" 

"Staring at Her. She will realize she forgot my breakfast."

"Bark at her, pick up your bowl and tell her!"

"I don't do histrionics."

I had no idea what that meant. I'm still a puppy and learning the ways of the world. 

I left him alone as She was having her coffee and reading which is her normal morning thingy. 

When She picked up her keys to the house and the hike vest we ran to the door and She let us scoot out. We were going for walks! Sniffs! Adventure! Water, bugs, rabbits, smells!

She put us in the car seats and when she turned the car around I got out of mine and tried to sit with Charlie. My tether kept me in my seat so I settled down. 

Charlie whines in the car all of the time. He groans he moans, he even makes little barks. I asked him why he did that.

"I'm giving her directions. I'd be a better driver. Her turn signal always makes me nervous so I tell her."

I dunno, humans and Charlie don't always make sense to me. But I am going to just go along with it because I'm still a puppy.

Charlie got really agitated when we pulled up to the stoplight in town. 

"Hannah, this is not the way." He whined and carried on while we were stopped. 

"Maybe we are going to Paisley's house," I suggested. Paisley lives at the farm where She took Sunshine the mule for the summer.

Charlie stood in his car seat and sniffed out the window and then gasped, "Maybe we are going to the Office of Shots! The place where you just went."

I had no answer for that. Charlie hates the Office of Shots. I don't really care one way or another. I've been there 4 times already and the humans there are so nice even when I had something called surgery. Lots of pets and love with a few pinches here and there.

I reached over and licked his ear. He seemed to be very nervous. It got way way worse when She pulled into the Office of Shots parking lot.

"No No No!" Charlie barked. "Not here, Not here! Let's go hiking! No!" He turned around and around in his seat and got all tangled in his tether.

Valmom came around and picked Charlie up from his seat and carried him in the door. She told me to 'Stay'. I can do that so I did.

She came back without Charlie. SHE fooled us! She pretended we were going for a walk/hike/sniff and took Charlie to the Office of Shots!

Then we were back on the road.

She said to me, "Charlie has some bad teeth so he needs to see Dr. Grimm who will take out the bad teeth and clean up his good teeth."

I whined, her words sort of came out 'Charlie Blah, Blah, Blah." 

I forgot all about that when we arrived at the hiking place and she put on her vest and hooked me up to the long line.

Oh the smells the sights! A rabbit smell, deer smell, and horse poop! 

15 seconds of Hannah on the trail.

We hiked and smelled a long way through the woods. She said we did 5 1/2 miles. The bugs were awful, but She said I did so well with following directions and coming when she called my name.

The rest of the day I waited for Charlie to come home. 

I waited all day. I really missed Charlie. 

Late in the day She told me to 'Stay' when She left.

Guess who She got!

My bestest friend, My Charlie!

Oh but he didn't feel good. He said he felt icky and very tired. His face was swelled and he was miserable.

I think She felt almost as awful as him.

She said he had 5 teeth removed.

He got some mush food for his supper.

She said that the Doctor said that we had to be separated for his safety. I wasn't allowed to play with him.

Since he smelled like the Office of Shots, I left him alone but lay down near him and watched for the old Charlie to come out.

Valmom decided we needed lots of quiet time. She read with Charlie on her lap and we went to bed early.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This morning....

Insects are cool

Insects....Love them or hate them.

I used to hate them with a vengeance. 

Years ago a neighbor girl who was 9 years old used to ask me to go 'bug hunting' with her. I went along, she had her net and she'd net insects and tell me what they were. I'd photograph them.

She and her family moved away, but my fondness for searching for insects continued.

Below is the much disliked Japanese Beetle that everyone really dislikes. They do quite a bit of damage to certain plants and are horrible pests. This year's batch has been mild or they dislike the flowers I've planted.

 My absooooolute favorite insect in July is the Hummingbird Clearwing Moth. They are hard to spot but patience is a virtue. Every day starting mid July when the Monarda or Bee Balm in the garden start to blossom, I go out no matter how hot is and sit in a shady spot to watch for them. 

They are fast like the Hummingbird which is also active on my Bee Balm. Each year I think about taking the outhouse down but the growth of flowers around it bring in the bees, hummingbirds, and the Clearwing beauties.

The one below was by the house which surprised and pleased me. 

I used rapid fire tracking and took two shots and composited them together for the shot below.

 

I like to do that with butterflies also. To me it shows their quick movements.

I just think they are so unusual and beautiful.

Now that you have seen the pretty ones...

How about my August Favorite Insect???

Phone shot. Yes, I got close...

I walked through thigh high grasses and weeds in the neighbor's meadow and squatted among my 'friends'.

I used to be afraid of these spiders but I realized that they are not interested in me at all. If you bump the grass that their web is on, they disappear into the grasses and return once you are gone.

Soon there will be thousands of them with larger webs

I just think they are so cool!  [Long lens]

I can't wait to find some of the very large ones. They are absolutely beautiful.

I leave you with the Buck Moon setting Thursday morning.

Damn it was Hot!

The dogs and I took a walk just after sunrise hoping to get some exercise before the dangerous heat moved in.

It was hazy and humid as you can probably see behind Charlie. [He seems to be doing fine even with his bad tooth situation right now. I don't know if he is just excellent at hiding his pain or he is stoic. My bet is on stoic.]

The heavy dew was amazing at showing spider webs that are springing up all over the place. In a few weeks the meadow behind Charlie will be full of webs for Orb Spiders. I was able to actually find one tiny spider between two webs. It took quite a few shots to get this little spider in focus, but I persisted.

The web below is likely built by a Funnel Weaver. I've yet to see one, but can appreciate their beautiful webs.

The bees are incredibly busy on these flowers. Horse Nettles. I've been fighting them in a section of pasture for a while. I tend to think of them as beneficial to bees so I am leaving most of them alone. When they are flowering, I can sit in the grass nearby and watch the bees swarm the flowers.

They are toxic to humans and animals so there is that. I'd like to get rid of them but not quite sure I should, I'd rather support the bee population. Perhaps I'll just make that spot smaller and keep them from taking over.

The morning quickly turned incredibly hot with the humidity. I picked a large bunch of Queen Anne's Lace along with a few of the Zinnia's that decided to blossom this year.

I thought I'd do a little photographic 'study' of them while indoors and beating the heat.

Your eyes are not betraying you. Some of the ones I picked have a pink hue to them. I left most of the flowers alone that I noted the pinkish color. I thought all Queen Anne's Lace was pure white.

By late in the afternoon the 'heat index' had risen to 115. I went out a few times with the dogs. I stayed out as long as I could and then brought everyone inside.

Hannah played ball and took all of her toys out of the basket and spread them around house. She was bored.

I read for a while and then decided to try and find something to watch.

I found a program that absolutely captivated Hannah.

It is a series of videos by a guy named Rocky Kanaka that goes into Dog Shelters and basically 'sits' with dogs that are non responsive or deemed not very adoptable. It is called Sitting with Dogs.

Hannah had a keen interest in what was happening.

The weather broke overnight. It is still muggy but the temps are in the 70's for today so I will celebrate by getting out and about.