Deconstruction Day

We started out with a foggy and rainy morning that promises to be wet, rainy, and humid. The mules were out in the south pasture fog just doing there thing until....

Patrick showed up.
 

2 hours later:

One of the huge surprises was that the concrete floor of the garage is not chipped, broken, or heaved.

In fact the trees that grew in there grew from dirt and leaves that had accumulated in piles. So I could have a nice parking spot, I could make it a patio, I could put up a gazebo, or even one of those premade little sheds. 

I always wanted to put up a tiny shed with windows in it for my own private studio. What a great dream that would be. 

Probably too...$$$.

A craft area. But heat and cooling would be an issues. Just tossing ideas out there. 

Maybe even a little outdoor fireplace.

Anything is better than looking at the garbage filled old smashed up garage. 

My husband fought me for 13 years on tearing this building down. But now, I'm happy to say I took the dive to pay for a demo and cleanup. 

I'm sorry Rich, but I had to do it for my own sanity. Almost most everything in there was totally destroyed by years of neglect. Now? Let's rejoice for having some more beauty put back in our land.

10:43 He is cleaning up what he can fit into his truck. 

This will open things up and not make the house feel crowded by an old crushed garage. Filling his truck and taking the trips took more time than the demolition did.
But he got the job done as he said he would. He will return after the dumpster is picked up and do the rest of the work in that area.

The video 6 seconds of an 8 hour job.

He estimated one dumpster would do the trick. The garage had more unusable 'stuff' in it than he thought. He filled the dumpster and had to fill his truck 3 times and take it to the landfill. [Extra costs, I'm sure]

He picked up the metal pieces and delivered them to the Scrapper that had been out here earlier this year.

What next?

Landscaping and seeding along with cleaning up the piles of dirt.

I'll have a nice concrete pad.

I don't know what I'll do next....

I could.....do something like this....

Probably not practical, but it would be cute. Annoying visitors could sleep there too. 

Possibilities. But for now, we continue the clean up.

PS. Blogger is not publishing comments for me at this point in time. 😔

And so this....

Take a good look at this mess. It may well be a memory by this weekend. 

I got a text from Patrick on Monday saying the Dumpster will be delivered on Wednesday. I was momentarily confused as he'd planned the work for much later. He had the time and is getting right with the program. 

Color me very very impressed.

The engine hoist stays, that is how I lift the mower and clean it out. It may be placed in a less conspicuous place.

September 2026

March 2026

Most of the 'stuff' that was piled around the garage has been cleaned up, but there is stuff in the weeds that I can't get to and don't want. Hopefully those small things will get cleaned up also. I am not allowing the scrappers back to search in this building, it is a hazard at this point.

June 2012

The deconstruction and this week's work will keep me from getting out to another Fungi search at least until Sunday. 

Stay tuned! I may set up my trail cam to take a time lapse of the de-construction.

---

My Grand daughter will be spending Saturday with me and she is not a forest person at all.

Looks like a busy week for me and no fun fungi marches!

However, I can add to what I did find last Sunday.

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Below is a photo of the end of the bluff where the trail dead ends looking over the Kickapoo River.

Below are some very odd looking mushrooms!

Elfin Saddle or White Saddle and Scientific name:

Helvella Crispa

I almost passed these up because they had such bizarre shapes. I thought perhaps they had been stepped on and deformed. However, saw too many of them to be that.

These beauties below...well maybe not beautiful to

the casual observer...

Amanita Panther 

Poisonous!

I couldn't help but think of Ailie who is an action figure I have. She would chop one of these down and dry it. If you got on her bad side I imagine she'd slip some Amanita Powder in your drink. Be nice. 😋

 I didn't know what this might be until I got out my reference books.

The common name for this beauty is a Cauliflower Mushroom.

I think it could be called a Sparassis americana or spathulata. This is the first time I've found one and spent quite a bit checking it out.

I found so many of these growing, tiny little Boletes beginning to come up all over.

That is the end of my fungi/mushroom tour on the Wintergreen Trail. I can't wait for another trip out along the bluffs of the Kickapoo River.

Busy days ahead.

Sunday morning coming down....

I checked the weather when I got up and stepped outside in the predawn. It was cool, but humid. A low fog drifted across the south pasture where Siera and Sundance were snoozing in the sandy area.

I checked my to do list for Sunday and decided to take my canine hiking as soon as chores and breakfast was done. 

We'd beat the midday heat and have the trails to ourselves if we went early.

It was August 30th. A year exactly to the date when Nurse Tim told me that Rich was going on the Actively Dying List.

We headed out and when we got to the trail head at the Visitor's Center, we were the only vehicle. I parked, attached the lines to the dogs [they don't need to be leashed but I keep lines on them in case I need to grab them].

We were going Fungi Hunting.

The recent rain and humidity was prime for mushrooms to start popping along the bluffs of the river.

Even though we'd had a dry week, the nights and mornings had been wet with heavy dew and fog.

A perfect climate for mushroom hunting.

We were not disappointed. We found huge mushrooms! 

We found such an amazing variety of mushrooms that I was just blown away.

I also found a flowering plant that I'd never seen before:

Great Plains Ladies' Tresses aka the scientific name: 

Spiranthes magnicamporum

I included a link because I felt they were so special and I've never run across them before. It is  MN wildflower link. I'm going to add it to my 'discovered' wildflowers!

I headed down the Wintergreen Trail because in years' past, I've found a single Indigo Ink Cap mushroom. Back then, someone had kicked it over instead of walking around it. 

Each August-September I retrace my steps to look for this beautiful mushroom.

This year I hit the motherlode.

I found at least a dozen or more of them. Below is a photo of Charlie standing in a spot where I counted 6 of them!

Ever see a 70 yr old lady doing the happy dance on a bluff in the forest? Yep, I was doing a jig and trying to avoid stepping on the pretty blue fungi.

So, just to let you know why my dogs wear beeper collars. I get so engrossed in looking at the little things that I ignore the puppers. They stay close, but I can push a button and call them in close.

Dogs here can be off leash. But I don't want to lose them in the 8,900 acres of forest that surrounds the Reserve.

I did some Toy Photography [of course!]

We'd gone so early that no one else would be around on this particular trail.

First shot with Hannah in the background.

Patience. Hannah moved on ...

...and then we hit the area where a little bit of water flows from the ice caves in the winter and some little dog had a total brain explosion of happiness with muddy zoomies... 6 seconds of unbridled puppy joy.

This is the ice caves in the winter. I can't wait to take Hannah here this winter!

I have so many items that we found. A two mile walk took us over 2 hours because I stopped and sat on the ground to explore and look at the mushrooms, fungi, and slime molds that presented themselves along the trail.

I'm that weird person who gets excited by the unusual slime mold, plants, or mushrooms. I stop, I look, and I explore.

My cohorts and I spent time sitting quietly at the end of the Wintergreen Trail. They had treats, I had a protein bar. 

Eventually we headed back. We could hear the traffic increase on Highway 131. The motorcycles were headed to LaFarge for the Chicken Q dinners at Rockton Bar.

It was time to evacuate the area and return home.

More fungi will come in the next posts. But I might be out exploring in the mornings this week. It is supposed to be unseasonably hot and humid. Perfect for fungi/mushroom hunting.

The dogs were silent on the way home and took long afternoon naps. I think they are ready for bed too.

It was a good Sunday morning. 

Big Night Out

The August Sturgeon Moon was the big event of the week. I was excited to be able to watch the partial eclipse.

I raced up to the ridge and caught the full moon rising over the cropland. 

As darkness settled in the moon lit up the night sky with a brilliant orange. 

At home, I prepared two cameras so I could shoot two different scenes at once. One camera with the long lens set up for just shooting the moon.

My other much older camera set up to shoot [hopefully] stars.

I'd never tried shooting star trails during a full moon. The dogs joined me in the yard and trotted around with their collar lights. They were not too interested in what I was doing even though I explained in great detail about the camera settings and how everything worked.

At least when I talk out loud, I can say that I'm talking to the pups and not to myself.

As I started photographing the eclipse, my cohorts asked to go in and sleep on their blankets. Kids!

I had one camera in the driveway and the other one at the edge of the pasture pointed at the house.

Imagine my surprise when I actually was able to 'do' a star trail with the bright moon shining! [plus satellite and plane trails].

I was ecstatic. I had always thought that one couldn't shoot star trails unless one had perfectly dark skies.

Well.

I guess that is a fallacy. 

The moon slowly started to enter earth's shadow. 

I set a timer for every 20 minutes to take a shot of the changing moon.

I walked back and forth between the two places I had cameras set up. I drank decaf coffee to keep awake [and yes, it helped].

As the moon got darker and darker I fiddled around and finally got a decent set up for the next star trail looking north from the other side of the house.

The dogs asked to come out for another inspection. I think if they could have talked they'd have demanded that I come in and go to bed.

I watched the moon became a sliver. 

And then I noticed something very unusual.

I could see the Milky Way. I could SEE the Milky Way on a Full Moon night.

So I took this shot. Not great, but one can see the light of the partial moon and the Milky Way.

I was breathless. The shot didn't turn out very well, but still...it was something you never can see during a full moon. 

I was done in by this time and the heavy dew was getting my cameras wet, so I called it a night.

Of course I couldn't just go to bed, I was too wired up. I decided to review my photos right then.

The final composite of the moon

 shots put together in one frame. 

It will be a night I won't forget. 

I didn't go to bed until about 2AM. [up at 5:30!]

How lucky was I that I could stand in my driveway and watch this event take place.

The last time I'd photographed a lunar eclipse was May 26, 2021. I caught part of the eclipse while hiking to the top of a bluff in the dark and getting a shot as the moon was heading west and the sun was rising.

It was called the Super Blood Moon/Flower Moon.👇

 

Tent part III

 Well, sorta.

I have to say that I that with great regret, I took our campsite apart on Tuesday.

However, I 'tented' from Friday through Tuesday morning in our tent. It was Amazing. The quiet, the solitude, and the peace was extraordinary.

😞😞😞

I needed to rotate the mules to that pasture for a few days. Plus, it was supposed to rain and be quite windy on Tuesday night.

I surprised myself by being able to take it down and put it in its tiny carrier bag without any cussing and refolding this time!

This is a shot of it partly taken down. The folding and rolling is the tricky part. [Almost as tricky as putting it up but I am getting better at it.]

Tah Dah! Everything fits into a tidy carrying bag.

I can drive the 4 wheeler back there, I could drive the car, but most of the time we walk. That is, unless I am carrying everything in one trip.

One day I may have this all figured out and take a 'real' camping trip somewhere. But I am enjoying this for a few reasons. 

Minimal gas cost.

No camping fee.

I can walk home to cook.

I can walk home to make coffee.

If things aren't going to plan, I can

go home.

I could put a fence around the tent and little site to keep the mules from exploring the tent and taking it apart or...trying out the hammock. 

My next camp out is going to be with me taking the Subaru and setting up a bed in the back end. 

IF the gas prices ever come down or I can afford to take an Adventure Vacation I wouldn't mind camping from the car for simplicity. There is even a pop up tent addition 'thingy' for the back of vehicles like this 👇

These are all wish list items to do things on my 'wish' list.

Those wishes include.

Hiking the Ice Age Trails in Wisconsin.
Exploring the State Parks along Lake Superior.
Exploring State Parks in both WI and Iowa.

Just these goals/wishes could keep me busy for a few years.

Things I need to learn before embarking on a trip like that.
Camp cooking.

Uffdah.

How about freeze dried camp meals? Do they even taste good?

I have been so lucky to find so many scenic things to see not more than a 10 minute walk from my own back door.

I want to thank my son and daughter in law for giving me one of their tents. It has opened up such a new and incredible world for me.
The joy of being immersed outdoors all night is fantastic.

One small step at a time.

For the moment, I am content to hike locally and camp here at my place. 

Very soon though, I am going to book a campsite at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve. That was the one thing I wanted to accomplish this year.

That's it for now!

Forgive me while I try to catch up to anyone else's post. 

Have a day.

I'm going to get ready for Thursday night's partial lunar eclipse.