Sunshine and Forest

Sunshine still likes to ride on trails.

According to an internet search 28 years old is like being 83-87 years old in human years. I hope to be in as good of shape as she is when I get to 87!

Right now she is showing off her glossy red summer coat and in a few weeks, she'll be starting to grow her winter coat.

I'm able to ride her a couple of times a week and our rides are not difficult or demanding. 

The next shot is of Sunshine's new pasture mate, Willow. Willow is half Halflinger. 

Willow is beautiful! She is also the same height as Sunshine. If I were to have a horse, it would be Willow. 

Sunshine gets along with her just fine. When Cash sees Sunshine though, he does whinny and carry on. Equine are so funny with their attachments.

Sunshine is getting a pedicure from my farrier this weekend. Kristi is going to have Danny [my farrier who learned from his dad Dan] trim her horses and probably shoe Willow on her fronts.

I decided after a busy week of doing 'stuff' and exploring, that we'd have a quiet day. How much quieter can it get than an afternoon in the forest with a good book? Nothing but birdsong and the whisper of a breeze to keep us company.

Oh. And both dogs did get up in the hammock with me while I read. I think I feel asleep in the gentlest of ways and took a short and deep nap.

We went back after supper and hung out watching for wildlife and enjoying more quiet

Apparently, they both believe they can fit in my lap at the same time.

I do live in a quiet area and do have a nice porch to sit on.

But in the forest, there are no walls and almost no cell service which eliminates the clutter of the modern world.

Happy Friday.

Busy Week

Charlie digs the little hammock I have for our summer afternoons of laziness under the Hickory tree. He can lay on my chest and watch for squirrels and birds and I can swing slowly in the breeze and watch the sky.

Thursday morning was one of our typical foggy mornings were it was warm and sticky. I thought I'd be smart and walk down through the woods and check for Chicken of the Woods or something interesting before it got really muggy.

I found these!

Chicken of the Woods! Now I've seen them before and even tried a tiny bit last year. But since my neighbor Olive raved on about them, I picked some and then sent her a photo asking if this was what she was talking about. I picked them, afraid that the slugs lining up would really mess them up.

She started texting back at how THIS was it and they were delicious! I said I could bring it to her and she asked if she and her son Aiden could come down in the afternoon and I could show her the other ones. 

Of course!

Ever take a two year old on a hike in the woods? He really did quite well. When she set him down, he grabbed sticks and scooted around on logs and even helped pick more Chicken of the Woods. We ended up with a really big pile.

I took them down into the Meadow and a short way down the forest trail to see some fungi she'd described.
The books describe it as False Coral Fungi and it has a horribly long scientific name. Though it looks like bird droppings when it first starts, but generally grows on Oak roots from under the ground.
Cool beans, right?

Aiden saw the mules and ran with his toddler legs. The mules all stood quietly and watched. All of them have been around babies and toddlers before. [Mom caught him before he got to the fence.]

Aiden's face when he saw the mules...

I really get a kick out of some of the common names of fungi. The one below is perhaps...White Cheese Polypore. Not necessarily something you would want to eat though.

 

The thrill of the afternoon was Aiden discovering our 4 wheeler parked in the yard. He just had to sit on it and 'drive' it. Boys and machines!

I walked with Olive back home while she pulled Aiden in the Radio Flyer. I carried the big loot we'd gotten and she said she'd prep it and freeze some for us. I told her to make sure she had enough for them to enjoy and freeze too.

She commented on how fun it was to meet someone who liked doing what she did. And how hard it generally was to ask anyone to go into a messy forest on a hot day and look for fungi.

We sure had a laugh over that.

Olive said she had wanted to walk down to our place and meet us, but never wanted to be a bother. 

I guess we got over that part rather quickly. We know that we both are busy people. Her with her job and her son. Me with my hubby and critters.

But we may find some time here and there to do things both of us enjoy.

That is a win-win for for the both of us. Let's see what happens.

Today is a day for appointments. I have to see the eye doctor again. My vision has changed again since March.