Quote from a 10 yr old that I went hiking with yesterday.
I think that is one of the nicest compliments I could ever receive.
Of course this after we collected 'Owl Pellets', the jaws and the skull of an old buck, inspected a skeleton, found cool rocks, and did some creek jumping.
Of course I was very excited to find Skunk Cabbage emerging in the valley bottom.
We even hiked to the farthest end of the valley and found the remains of ice.
We followed the ice up to the spring and then decided to climb the ravine side. Crawling was more like it.
We made it just fine, I was a bit out of breath but I guess I didn't do too badly from being a LOT older than my hiking partner.
We found Hepatica leaves dotting the east hillsides.
And then we decided to head home. I'm pretty sure that my hiking partner would have stayed out there with me until past dark.
But we decided to do this again. Of course, when schedules would permit.
My husband said it was good that I had someone 'my own age' to play with.
Morris convinced me that it was a good day for a hike. As long as I took him, that is.
He sort of promised not to eat really icky things.
So I loaded up my camera back pack and we set out for the ice flow on the east side of the valley.
I put ice cleats on my boots and was happy that I did. The extra traction assisted with going up and down hills and in the areas where the snow was soft.
It was even more important to have these cleats for when we got to the ice flow.
I had decided to walk up the ravine on the ice.
Well, I was able to in a few spots, but the going was slippery even with the cleats.
A few times Morris stopped ahead of me. Or attempted to stop.
His feet slipped even when he was standing still.
However he seemed perfectly content to be my camera assistant.
When things got too slippery for his taste, he simply climbed the side of the ravine and watched me from above.
I'm sure he thought I was an idiot.
If that dog did not have on that red collar ... I wonder if I could have found him?
However, it was worth the walk and the hike. Thank goodness for the cleats.
The spring in the upper part of the ravine was still producing water. The spring is in an area that sun can get to while the rest of the ravine is in the deep shade.
So water keeps running over the formed ice and building. It looks as though waves of water were instantly frozen in this shot.
And yes the colors were blue, green, and brown in the ice. I imagine from the minerals in the soil and rocks.
Lastly, a shot of the Adventure Dog/Assistant standing in the middle of the ice flow.
My next goal is to get to the 'ice cave' not at Wildcat Mountain, but here ... in the back valley.
And Morris kept his promise. He didn't eat anything ICKY, but he did roll in something really nasty and got an immediate bath when he got home.
I know I wrote before about Morris going on a long hike with me and then it seemed he felt bad or perhaps stiff the next day.
He suffered no ill effects whatever after this hike. I'm pretty sure that the warm temperatures probably had a lot to do with it.
It was 40 degrees when we took this walk.
Saturday was warm. It wasn't until about 4pm that the screeching, howling, train wreck winds came sliding through.
And
then it was not fit for man, beast, or tree outside. Things hit the
house all night. Nothing major but branches. Everything was fine this
morning. Whew.
But yesterday.
The
dogs and I decided [see? we are a pack!] that we were going for a nice
long hike, to wander around in the forest and see what the warm air had
done to the ice flow that wasn't too far from home.
In
places the creek was still frozen on the top. The ice was thick enough
to lay on it with a camera and get some fun shots of Dixie. This is
not recommended if the ice is thin.
I
sat down on a mossy rock and watched the dogs run, sniff, run, sniff,
run some more, and then stop and look at me as if to ask:
Which Way Now?
I'd
get up and walk a ways and then find another spot to stare down at the
water running over the rocks or watch the deeper part of the creek where
the trout were darting about.
Well the winds began to roar and the muddy dogs and I headed home.
It
was very obvious that my partially white Jack Russell was no longer
partly white.
He was black with mud. Dixie had flopped in the mud in
the summer pasture and was dirty as ever. I swear both dogs were
grinning at me.
Bath time.
Morris first. He is well experienced at baths and bears them as if they are something to be ashamed of. But he is a good boy.
Dixie. 32+ lbs of Hound Dawg Puppy, wiggling, wagging, hound dog puppy. I was worried about her bath.
I
lifted her into the tub and then began to wash her. She hung her head
on the edge of the tub and stood quietly. She let me shampoo, rinse,
and do a conditioner on her ... wow, I was impressed!
Then I lifted her out of the tub and knelt to wrap her in a towel. She literally melted into me and pushed me to the floor.
I sat with a big ol' puppy wrapped up in a huge towel on the floor.
Dixie had decided that it was the best tail waggin' love-fest that she'd ever been too.
She groaned in ecstasy as I rubbed her dry.
With the wind screeching outside, we settled in for the night.
What can I call it but an almost perfect day for me....
