November is also...

A time for cleaning. Like Spring Cleaning, but Fall Cleaning. 

Thursday was a get 'er done type of day. Now I am no fixer type person like Sandra is. But I'm in the same kind of mood for cleaning and organizing. I think many of the other Bloggers I follow [and some I just visit regularly when I can] are all doing the same sort of thing.

Sorting.
Cleaning.
Organizing.
Getting our indoor lives straightened out so when the frigid air comes, we can enjoy our comfy spaces.

I cleaned the walls, tore everything out of the closet of our bedroom and separated the clothes that would go to Bethel Buttik [they pronounce it Boutique!]. I donated the clothes in hopes that they will be used for those who need them.

So my mess looked something like this...

I took out the frame that was under our bed and replaced it with the original frame we've had for 30 years. The little frame was lower and easier for hubby to get in and out of until we swapped to a hospital bed.

And I flipped the bed position around. Hey, it makes sense for me and it feels right for now.

I had to prepare for the snow and rain event we are supposed to have tonight. So I cleaned Little Richard's stall and set things up for him.

Then I got with the program and finished the up with the chair. I sanded it and put the final coat of acrylic satin finish on it.
TA-DAH!

I'm sure someone could say that I mixed up all sorts of colors that may not really go together. However, the chair is full of whimsical colors. 

Whatever happened to make me happy at that moment was the color that went on the chair. I see that now...

I will have to work on those other two chairs! I won't know exactly what colors they will be until I start. The chair gives me an idea of what I should do.

You read that right. I don't plan, I just do what the chair seems to want. I imagine this one wants to be pretty. Don't you think?

I have begun to write a very detailed To Do List for each day so I can keep on track. I also make sure that I have adventure days. I have to equal adventures with work so I keep in balance.

My 'work' around the house and farm days do include an hour of walking the forest with Charlie. He needs to get out in the woods and so do I. 

How else would he be able to make sure that all creatures great and small know they are on his land???

I enjoyed the forest enough before it started raining to do some play time. My mind says that we are all on an epic journey of sorts. That journey is called Life.

We must give into it and live a life as we can and enjoy it.

I re-joined CrossFit --> Legends and am so happy for the movement and friendships I have in that class. I need to continue to work on my balance, strength, and friendships to continue to be healthy.

It is snowing now and we are expecting to have almost an inch of snow on the grasses by morning. I can't wait to wake up to a new day.

And to those that wonder. 

Yes. 

I miss HIM every single day. I still ask him questions and opinions on what I am doing. I see him laughing at me in a gentle way and telling me to 'Go ahead. Your going to do it anyway, no matter what I say!'

November ~ Rocks & Trolls

So, I have claimed to dislike November and sometimes I certainly do. The fading colors of October can be brilliant with the oaks showing off their colors.

I headed out with Charlie to grab another SD card and to wander about. I'd set hubby up with another football game from years past and had some time to spend in the fresh air.

I was cold when I stepped outside. The winds were WNWish. When I walked across the meadow out back, the winds cut right through my jacket.
Charlie ran ahead darting this way and that smelling where deer or other critters have traveled.

I only brought my pocket camera. I didn't have a plan in mind or a real destination either. I figured it would come to me eventually.

Neighbor's Land to the east of us. Nearly one square mile of woods, valleys and brush. One of the most remote spots in our county.

All trails are shared by all the wildlife around.

No wonder Charlie's nose is SO busy!

I decided to just follow Charlie as he took a different path from the creek to the backside of our acreage. 

I dropped down, slid down a critter trail into the dry run on east end. It is one of the more amazing places we have on our land. Huge boulders seem to have been tossed into the run. Massive trees grow on each side of this ravine.

Most of the time it is dry as the name implies. During flash floods and winter melts, it roars with water and washes rocks, logs, and leaves to the creek below.

View of an oak tree roots from above the dry run.

View of the same oak tree from the bottom of the dry run.

How on earth does this tree stay there? Erosion will topple it eventually.

We have two dry runs which catch the water overflow from the ridge above during storms and direct the water to the creek below. 

During the summer, it is nearly impossible to explore these areas. 

In the fall, winter, and spring, however, it is like entering every child's dream. It is deep, it is quiet, and it begs to be a fort or a play space.

It is out of the harsh winds of winter. It has nooks and crannies. 

With a bit of imagination

this could be a place 

where Trolls and

Dragons live?

I also like looking for unusual rocks while I am in the creek area. I can usually find neat iron concretions after a good flash flood.

I didn't expect to see this though. 

Our rocks are rough and not like those found elsewhere in our state. I stepped over this rock and glanced down. A fossil! I have no idea how old it could be or how it was formed.

I guess I could spend more time hunting our dry runs for interesting things.

Dragons

Trolls

Fossils

Lichen

Mosses

and

cool rocks.

As November progresses and winter arrives, it is time to go back to searching for those other things that interest me. Lichen, moss, and rocks.

November

November and I have always had an agreement.  I have a hard time enjoying November and she has a hard time pleasing me.

There is that time change and then there is that adjustment to the temperatures becoming cold. I have to hook up the stock tank heater. 

I have to prepare for the dreaded 9 day deer gun season. I don't dislike deer hunters, don't get me wrong. I dislike having to stay in close to the house and dislike the fact that I can't wander about like I normally do.

Those 9 days are spent washing walls, ceilings, collecting cobwebs, organizing the storage down in the little basement and thinking about decorating cheerfully for December.

If we don't get snow, the grass turns brown. The woods turn brown. Everything seems barren. 

I have to try to enjoy November, she and I have to come to agreement. I give her the nod as I put on my insulated coveralls and find reasons to like this part of the year.

Hiking is incredible because I can see through the woods and appreciate the unique land formations. No bugs. No bugs. 

I have to think about Thanksgiving. It used to be a reason for families to get together and enjoy each other's company and conversation.

That changed when my MIL could no longer travel. When I became the soul driver for two folks with severe medical conditions I asked other family members to visit us instead of us making the long day trip.

So now hubby and I have a lasagna dinner on Turkey Day. It passes with just barely a blip. This was how it was pre pandemic. Nothing much has changed.

This November won't be the same. I have decided that I will get along with Miss November... and we will make the most of it.

After all, after November, comes December and we all know what that brings! Short days and colder temperatures. But that is fine. Once the hunters leave the public lands I can go hunt for ice formations. I can proudly wear my Skunk Hat. 

And there ARE no Bugs.

Plus there are those very fond memories of A Hateful Woman or a Stupid Man invented Tree Stands. 

I go back and laugh and laugh at that incident. Hard to believe it was 11 short years ago. I miss those stupid and fun incidents. I really do.

Welcome November!

Don't keep me IN!

There is not going to be a big ol' Thanksgiving deal going on here today. No turkey since I am cooking and dis--like Turkey. Mashed tators, gravy, chicken breasts with crispy ranch coating, veggies, and red velvet cake.

So I have no big prep to do. Thanksgivings here have generally been a chili meal while the Great Big Hunters go out and sit in the woods to return and tell of the big one that got away. [Reminds me of fishing stories] 

Other years I made lasagna. Super easy. One dish no fuss.

The past couple of days were crappy ...rain with fog. Absolutely perfect for going out to the woods.

I mean, I had to get out of the house. I felt closed in.

Besides, wanted to see how the M1 Mark III did in the rain. I know, ...take a digital camera out in poor weather? Well, it is made for that. For skiing and rock climbing, I will use the Tough TG6 pocket camera.

Olympus makes more than one camera that is weather sealed and they also make weather sealed lenses. Those lenses are generally a bit heavier than the light weight kit lenses that I use the most. 

Nah, you aren't interested in that!

So how did this camera work? 

A dull rainy November crappy day.

And the messy but wonderful creek.

This camera has internal ND filters that you can use. This photo is shot at 2 seconds. The water smooths out with that exposure.

Fog, rain, and snow. 

It gives the creek such a different look doesn't it?

Without the 2 second exposure, the creek wouldn't have been as noticeable.

I had to walk to the ridge to pick up mail and drop off some cards to be sent out.

Charlie felt it was a good day to be out and find deer poop to nibble on.

We took a trail that led us down through the woods next to the driveway.

Multiflora and Berry Brier tangles...

Barberry in the wild and very invasive...but pretty.

Duck this thorny stem!

And the Meadow in all of its Gnarly Foggy Rainy Glory.

Ewww, just not pretty at all right now.

Today? I'll be putting up a hay feeder for the elder mules. Taking Charlie for a walk, and probably talking to family.

One of my Fractal friends told me to download another free fractal program called Mandelbulber. I'm going to watch a couple of tutorials later and see what fun things I can discover.

A couple of photos from this same day, 14 years ago.

Grand daughter and Grandpa together.

Have a wonderful day however you are spending this day.

 

Beautiful mornings....

 Just some beauty to ponder.

The shots are of the same general area on different days...

Let's just say that I enjoy morning walks most mornings.

Now that the weather is chillin' out, Charlie and I still often go for our walk to the ridge to see the sun come up.

But at least now, the corn has been harvested and we can walk out on the cropland.
The view to the southwest.

The view to the east..slightly out of focus!

The other morning... I just had to go out and enjoy the colors. This was about 45 minutes before sunrise as the stars are still visible.

Here you go.

Something pretty in this messy world.

Enjoy.

Bear Poop, Tide Detergent, Moth Balls

Well there it was... Friday the 13th!

We had 19 degrees in the morning and it felt a bit cold. I took a walk to the creek just after sunrise to see if there was any ice formations or tiny ice crystals on the rocks and grass.

I found one spot where the splashing water caught on a plant and formed a beautiful little ice formation!

The morning light in the creek was really quite beautiful and I took my time exploring. I'm glad I did. 

I found this:

Do Bears Poop in the woods?

Of course they do!

And they do it in the middle of a creek too!

I'm pretty sure this could be the same bear I saw while picking berries this summer. Generally the bears move on from our area to look for a mate. 

Black Bears are seen around here once in a while but generally it is a rare sighting, unless the population up north forces more bears south.

Anyway. The bear has stopped here more than once. There were a few piles on these rocks...well unless another bear decided to use this spot a toilet too? The under layer which is older is corn, the top layer is apples. There was another pile, but I didn't think you needed to see that.

Interesting! I thought it was a pretty cool find. 

I woke up early with a start in the middle of the night and for some odd reason I thought of Moth Balls. 

I'd used Moth Balls to deter the Ground Hogs from infesting my shed last year. They were making nests under a pile of old lumber. I had tossed Moth Balls under the lumber and dumped ammonia on top of the lumber and around their holes. They abandoned my shed within a few days. 

It smelled awful too, so I opened the doors and turned the exhaust fan on to keep it from being overwhelming.

So what about Moth Balls? 

It is a perfect critter deterrent. I use a few moth balls around the engine of the riding lawnmower's engine to keep the mice from chewing on the wires. 

How would Moth Balls work on deer? 

Rich said scented detergent would repel deer too. 

So being sly, and not wanting to deal with the guy who wants to shoot deer as they come up the trail out of my woods and towards where he parked his stand..........

I took some Tide Soap powder and spread it on the logs in the 'shoot' zone. Since we had a skiff of snow, it looks exactly like snow!

I added Moth Balls to the area, placing them here and there. I didn't need many and the smell was nasty. 

I had some old Tide detergent I'd purchased by mistake. Someone told me to use the powder in my machine. One, it doesn't work well, and two, I bought scented Tide. We don't use any scented soaps or softners at all. 

I can smell someone who uses scented laundry soap 20 to 30 feet away now. 

Being the Good Neighbor, I will call my 3 neighbors and let them know that the Bear is still hanging around.

I doubt he/she is a big concern. But I can't wait for some snow to hit the ground so I can do some tracking. I think I enjoy working out the stories that tracks of animals leave in the snow.

I would love to 'hunt' with my camera and get this fella in a nice shot I could frame.

Dull Days of November

Welcome to that time of year that things to photograph are utterly ...

un

inspiring.

I call it November Yuck. When things are sort of brownish icky-ish, the weather is cold and windy, or cold and rainy. Or

just

dreary.

The fun of hiking seems to be on hold. Well, that is, unless I can convince some other soul to join me in a walk/hike in the muddy dreary weather.

Charlie is always up for it as is Dixie.

See? Charlie is always happy now to lead the way...and come back when I call him!

Truthfully I do get bored of the sameness of the grey skies and the dull colors of November.

So I sometimes modify it.

Here is a photo of the forest run through an AI program called Deep Dream Generator.

Then there is the meadow photo run through DDG:

During the rain and windstorms on Monday, I went back into JWildfire and composed some fractal flames, then combined them just for fun.

I get tired of the lack of color before winter really sets in. November is a transition time for me. I am coming off the glorious short lived colors of fall and jumping into dark days of winter.
I seem to need a bit more rest these days and my urge to get out and hike is also dulled by the slate grey toned skies.

CrossFit is still going strong. Today I did something called muscle ups along with Calorie Rowing. I did a modified Muscle Up per the coach. I watched Josh do them and was amazed.
These Muscle Ups were things I did easily when I was in High School gymnastics.
So the coach modified my Muscle ups into two steps...

I did something called Ring Rows, they almost seemed too easy and the coach said I did I great job... [I was pretty tickled with that!] I did another thing that was pretty cool. Don't ask me what it was. It was similar to me placing my hands on a high log laying across a trail and sort of pushing myself up and over it.

When I finished those I told him that next time we'd have to make them a bit harder for me.
He smiled and said that he wanted to make sure that I didn't hurt myself doing a new WOD, however any time I felt I needed more of a challenge...just ask.
Oh... WOD. What the heck is that? I looked it up.
Simple.
Workout
of
the Day.


Thursday morning, I am meeting up with a camera club pal and we are going to venture out and take sunrise shots over the Wisconsin River. Well, that may be the plan. If it doesn't pan out, I'll be doing CrossFit.

I spent an hour the other morning in a bow hunting blind a friend of ours put up facing the meadow. I spent an hour this evening out there too.
Deer watching was pretty fun.

I got some really nice photos too.

So I guess my November is not as Dull as I thought it was.
More about the Deer Blind later...

Freedom is...

Riding with an excellent mule.

Sunshine and I went for a long ride yesterday. We rode through the neighbor's forest and along some old logging trails.

After watching the elections the night before and going to bed before there was a 'winner'.... I woke up at 2AM and found out who the president elect was.

Now I am not going to go all political on this blog. I was concerned and interested at the same time. I wondered how the rest of the world and our citizens would react.
Some would rejoice, others would be sure that the world was about to come crashing upon our heads.

I read how fraught some people were and how happy others were.
I read that our country would go to "hell" in a handbasket.

And because I am not good with words regarding politics, I just designed something.

And later on I went riding with Sunshine.
We rode for a very long time.

We explored.

And in my personal world things got set right.

I know I live in a country that allows me more freedoms than others. I know that our government has checks and balances.
I know that sometimes change is frightening and sometimes it can be good.

I don't know what will happen in the future, but I do know I am okay with it today.