She needs my help by Morris

I was sleeping and doing my morning daydreaming on my couch when She walked by.

She said something like, "Well Morris what do you think about looking for Parsnips and Skunk Cabbage? Do you think we need to take a hike down into the valley to go find some?"

What I heard was, "Morris...blah blah blah HIKE blah blah..."

So I turned and ear and an eye to watch her. It was still morning and normally we did our hikes in the afternoon when He was taking a nap.

She went upstairs to where she keeps her camera stuff and started to rummage around. "HIKE" echoed in my little ears. We were going on a HIKE!

I hadn't been feeling too well the past few weeks and the doctor guy had given Her some stuff that I had to take every morning. I don't know what the 'stuff' is, but my appetite is back and so is my bounce. Apparently that makes Her a very happy person.
It makes me a happy dog because I can go hiking with Her.

I started to bounce and whine with great vigor. She gave me one of those looks and shook her finger at me. "Calm down Morris, yes you are going!"

Of course I heard, "Blah blah Morris, ... blah blah!" But I got the tone of the thing and although I don't understand much of what She says, I get Her body language very well. I was going with.

Off we went into the forest and climbed down into the creek. I ran ahead and then stopped and smelled the air. It was delicious and full of scents on the breezes.
I tracked deer and followed coyote scent among some other forest creatures.

The coyote scent was old. She stopped to check on the tracks in the sand and the mud of the creek.
I lingered here and there and She would have to call for me. Once I was confused, I had no idea where She went.

She stepped out from behind some brush and called me. I'm pretty much a sight dog so my nose, while not too bad, can't track Her like Dixie can.

She bent down and patted me on the head and then turned to show me what she found. Well, I wasn't really impressed. Plants are not interesting unless they have been marked by a coyote or another dog.

Apparently we were gathering some sort of plant. She pointed out the smelly Skunk Cabbage to me.
Not interested.
She pointed out the Wild Parsnip She'd dug up.
Not interested.

I ran ahead and tested the air at the Big Spring.

Now that interested me.
There were dozens of tracks in and out of the spring. She looked at the Marsh Marigolds and photographed them.

I stood guard and smelled the lingering scents of deer, 'possum, raccoon, coyote, and skunk. They must have all visited the Spring overnight and the damp air was still heavy with their smells.

She filled her bag with wild parsnips to cook as vegetables for supper and then we headed back through the Skunk Cabbage place.

We went upstream and headed home. I was muddy and happy. She was pleased with her wild vegetables.

Spring has arrived

Well at least it has on the calendar.

I finished getting the sheets hung out on the line and thought about my Still Life project that I'd been working on.  

The house was put in order, supper was already partially prepared and the chores had been done.

It was a toss up.  I could groom a muddy mule, or I could go hiking.  Morris knew what my choice was immediately.  He began to do his circling thing and then poke me with his nose.  
With all the rain we'd had the poor old guy hadn't been out much.  And a Jack Russell needs to burn off energy.

I did too as I chose the hiking over the riding.  I was fairly surprised at how dry it actually was in the woods.  I thought I'd encounter mud slick trails.  
I'm not sure that is a good thing.  March should be a bit soggier than this.

Morris and I hiked the 'high' trial which takes us around just below the ridge.  It is sort of like walking on the edge of a bowl.  The valley was below us and the ridge above us.

We crossed dry runs and downed trees.  At times we lost the deer trail, but would find another one. 

By mid summer these woods will be hard to get through. The undergrowth will be thick and nearly impossible to navigate.
There is a 4 wheeler trail that relatives drive on when they come to camp on the land.  But other than that, the woods and the valleys are slowly getting choked with willows and prickly ash.


When Mike had cattle on the land, it was a pleasure to hike the cow trails and wander under the large canopies.  Since he died and his brothers took it over, it has gone to the wayside.

Fences have fallen and in order to bring it back to pasture condition, it would take quite a bit of work and money.
I still maintain a few deer/hiking trails that I can also ride on.  It is hard work though keeping it clear in the warm months.
Maybe this is why I like fall and winter so much.

We looked but didn't find any antler sheds nor any intriguing mushrooms growing yet.  However the moss was quite lovely in spots where it grew on rock formations.

More climbing...dog on a log.

We saw some deer and heard a red tail hawk.  The chickadees were singing as were the cardinals.

I could see buds on the the briers and other plants with sharp pointy ends.  How is that for a technical term?  Okay, the barberries, multi flora rose, black berries, gooseberries, and probably some other pointy sharp plant that I am forgetting, ...are all getting buds.

I keep hand nippers in my pocket for times I want to get through a rough patch and have no other choice but to chop my way to where I want to go.

We eventually left the area where the rock outcroppings were and dropped down into the valley.
Morris took off running up the creek.  
After 11 years of hiking with me he is pretty good at also telling when we are heading home.

He and I took the creek bed which is by far the easiest for walking.

We eventually get to our portion of the creek where it is dry.  
Water runs on both ends of this dry bed, so I imagine it goes somewhere underneath us.

We stopped at the odd little pond.  And it was very peaceful.  

I wanted to sit and relax a while near it, but then remembered that I still intended to rake rocks out of the yard and back onto the driveway.

I quickly climbed the bank to take a peek in case the wild leeks were poking up through...
and....

...there they were!

That means I should be able to find Blood Roots soon!  

I do love this time of Spring when things begin to appear on the floor of the forest.

It is mud season.

As beautiful as spring can be, there is always Mud Season to count on.  When the frost comes out of the ground as the snow melts, everything gets.

Squishy.

Our gravel roads become some of the most interesting places to drive.  Ruts and yellowish mud are items to contend with.  If the car is washed in town and you drive 1 mile on the squishy road, your car will be covered in road mud by the time you get home.

Our dooryard has become the annual 'swamp'.  It usually clears up as the frost leaves and the driveway hardens again.  This year after construction, hubby said we'll redo this section of the driveway.
Right now I'm looking at all of the gravel and mud that has been plowed onto the grass and think of endless hours of raking.

Surprisingly enough, daffodils are beginning to peek out from the ground!  I haven't found the crocuses yet, but they should have been first.

Morris and I went down into the valley to see if the Skunk Cabbage flowers had poked up through the snow yet.

Morris got muddy, and I got muddy.  We stopped near a spring in the creek.

We found treasures that had been hidden by the snow.  An antler shed, an interesting rock, and hip bones from perhaps a raccoon.

The creek was fairly low for this time of the year.  But I expect the rains that we are going to get may help a bit with that.

The valley felt so warm, I left my jacket hanging in a downed tree that I would pass by on my way back up the valley.

PeeWee's Valley

  

The hillside trails were pretty treacherous.  Which basically means any way I chose to hike was treacherous.  The north facing hillsides were icy and slippery. Any other trail was just muddy and slippery.
I found that I could slide on my rear end quite well while holding my camera in hand.

My backside accumulated some mud.

We found no skunk cabbage yesterday.  But today is supposed to be 70 degrees and rainy.  I think that should bring up the flowers!

I do love winter, but when spring comes along there is the excitement of new growth and warm weather.

I expect at some point this month to get some more winter like weather, spring usually never comes this early to our part of the world.

Hunting for Skunk Cabbage & Leeks

It didn't start out that way.

I took off through the woods with Morris to where the wild leeks grow. I was sure that they'd be up and I'd be able to pick some for myself and my new neighbor.

Well, the leeks, or "wild ramp" as they are also called were up...but only about 2 inches.
Okay, I should be patient, maybe in a couple of weeks.

So I marched down the creek bottom where I know the skunk cabbage make an appearance each year for a very short time before they leaf out green.
I was happily rewarded for my hard fast walk.

Skunk Cabbage, a whole patch of them.
Of course I was scouring the ground, looking for them, when I looked up and saw Morris...
looking at me as if to say....


Hello...Duh...look at by my feet!

And there they were, hidden somewhat by dead Queen Anne's Lace and tall Streamside Fleabane.
I do get excited and thrilled over small things don't I?

But this is such an odd plant, I just love seeing it each year. The plants are very good indicators of when spring has begun to warm the soil.

On our way back home we followed our 'winter' deer trail, which is almost impossible to follow with the human eye.
But thank you Morris, for knowing the exact path to take up that steep hillside.