Why do you do that?

Black and white photos in the winter versus color?

Well, let's say that black and white just is something winter is great for. Winter is stark in its beauty. Leafless trees, stark shadows, clear skies, overcast skies, white and black.

or...this version...

The color version is beautiful. Look at that gorgeous sky with a wisp of a cloud drifting through. 

The monotone one [I choose a bluish tint just well...just cuz.]

Another friend of mine can't always understand why I love the winter so much. 

Lines.....

I love the lines and shadows the sun and trees create.

I mean just look at those lines! The tree shadows create geometric shapes on the road in the winter.

Here is this road in the summer...

Not quite as striking is it?

Tainter Creek from the west bridge.

Tainter Creek from the west bridge in color....in the summer:

[I used a painting technique on this....]

The red rocks...well I don't do those red rocks ever in black and white. They just don't deserve it!

I love these rocks. I stop and admire them every time I take this road.

See? This is with the new 'Ru.

This is with the old Chevy my son gave me....years ago.

No way I'd ever photograph these rocks and make them black and white...well...

Well...

Um.

Let's see:

Okay, to me that could work as the light colors are accented. But I do like the color version much better.

Last two shots from yesterday. Color and black and white:

Whoops. 

I lied.

And although I loved the colors of the creek and hillside, I thought it was too distracting so ....

When I go through my photos, it is just a matter of what tickles my fancy.

Storm photos of drifts and blowing snow...that was today's adventure.

I can pretty much assure you that those shots will be almost naturally black and white.

Looking back on my blogs...I had this very same arguement with myself before in 2015. Tell me should it be color or black and white?

And it was all with photos from Tainter Land.

Return to Tainter...Land

Tainter Hollow is an interesting area. It has more than one very steep narrow valley and a creek named Tainter Creek that runs through it.

The roads are gravel roads and there are many little bridges that cross Tainter Creek as it twists and turns.
There is Tainter Hollow E., Tainter Hollow W., and Tainter Rd. Tainter Rd is closed still.

I had a bit of time yesterday and it was gloomy and raining. I couldn't do garden work, yard work, and my shoulders and forearms needed a rest from all the weed whacking I'd done. I asked Rich if he'd mind if I went down to Tainter Hollow to look for wildflowers to photograph while he took a nap.

He shrugged.
I put some things in the Subaru and went to Tainter Land.
At one of my favorite bridges to stop and take photos, there were surveyors marking out sections on both sides of the road. Orange paint markings were in the gravel.
The floods of last year caused a lot of damage to our many 'Tainter Bridges'  [one of the reasons that Tainter Rd. was still closed].

Dang. I felt too self conscious to share the bridge with them, so I drove on.
Up the road a ways there is a dairy farm pasture.
Here I found Besse and Wilma, they looked a bit perturbed that I'd interrupted their "udderly" fantastic conversation.

Harriet and Fern, meanwhile were looking rather sneaky about something. I wonder if the girls were planning something, or just really curious about the lady in the muddy Subaru.

I circled around back to Tainter Hollow E. and headed back to the Public Land entrance.

I'm not sure the bridges will do very well if we have any more flash floods.

Tainter Rd is closed due to the culverts being washed away and the road being destroyed in one section. The other bridges all suffered damage from log jams last September.

I parked and walked the footpath through the tall grass along Tainter Creek. In the early spring this is a nice walk. Starting in May or June, the grasses and other plants are nearly as tall as I am and can make for a less enjoyable hike.
However I found two nice places to admire Tainter Creek before I turned back.

Give me a whole day and another person to go with and I could really have fun exploring. Tainter Hollow is in such a place that there is no cell phone coverage and a GPS won't get satellite reception. Not an issue for me unless my husband needs to get hold of me.

I headed out and passed a residence on Tainter Hollow W. This person's house/cottage is built on the hillside and has stilts supporting part of it. I often wonder how it stays on the hillside.
Anyway this was parked on the road next to the creek.
I shot it through my review mirror.

Sort of overkill for a trout creek right?

My time was up, I needed to head back home.

I got a peek at a few critters along the way.

When I got to the top of Hinkst Hollow, I did pull over and compose a shot. This is one of the straightest roads in our township. And the view is always amazing to me.

Normally you don't get such vistas where I live. But there are a few to be found.

I didn't get the wildflower shots I wanted. Nope, not at all.
Instead I had a very interesting drive.

It was nice to have a small break.

Here is hoping that the rain and gloom ease up. Notice that most of the fields are not worked up. Our farmers are way behind in planting. And those that did plant corn have some very yellow sickly plants coming up.

Tainter Hollow

A few days ago, I made a side trip to Tainter Hollow, the Public Hunting and Fishing area near where I live.

The Wood Anemones were just poking up and I had seen the leaves of the Trout Lilies on the forest floor. I decided to make a quick detour again on my way to work. Of course it was out of my way, but I was glad I did it.

The Trout Lilys were everywhere!

You have to get close to the ground to see these little flowers and they won't be seen if you are not looking for them.

They hide well, but once you find them, it is very obvious.

Here is what they look like if you are standing up and looking down. I placed my 58mm Nikon lens cap next to two plants.
You want to find these in bloom. Once they are done, the plant disappears and won't show itself until next year.

As I expected, the Wood Anemones were covering much of the forest floor.
Its hard to pick out the other white flowers that come up at the same time. I find myself standing in the sea of Anemones and peering around me. Only then can I spot other flowers and plants.

This is one of the most exciting times of the year for me. I love finding these exotic little plants that most people won't even notice.

The Dutchman's Breeches are the wild version I think of the bleeding hearts. They too are white and hard to spot.
However, one you get used to seeing the leaf pattern you can find them fairly quickly.

The Blood Roots are just about done now. And the only part of them a discerning eye will see for the rest of the year is its distinctive leaf.

And last but not least, one flower that stuns me every spring. It, like the trout lily, disappears after flowering.
The Virginia Bluebell. I am not sure why it has 'Virginia' in it as it is a native species...but there you go...

I was happy to see that there were still quite a few plants even after the huge flash flood this valley had last year.

One last thing about Tainter Hollow.
If you are there Trout fishing, pick up after yourself.
If you are hiking, don't leave trash.

Respect our public lands.

And expect the unexpected.

Tainter Hollow

After my haircut yesterday I decided to go to the Tainter Creek Public Hunting and Fishing area. There is a small parking area just past this sign.

For a while the area was trashed with remnants of little campfires and beer cans. After this sign was erected, I made sure to visit often and pick up trash.
Whoever was partying here has moved on and the parking area has been pretty clean for the past couple of years.

I call this area *Tainter Land*. There is a Tainter Hollow Road, a Tainter Hollow East, Tainter Hollow West, and a Tainter Road. These back country gravel roads all come in contact with Tainter Creek at some point.
Tainter Creek is fairly well known locally to trout fisher-people.

I like the area because it is so unique.
In the early spring the flowers near the parking area are amazing...

Last spring I found Trout Lilies along with the bluebells and other flowers.

Since it is early spring and the snow is gone, I decided to see how far along the creek I could walk.
There is a path that has been mowed, but it ends. I instead just made my own way along the creek.

The creek is clear and cold. Which I imagine makes it perfect for trout. In this shot you can see the tufts of debris still left on trees and brush from last September's floods.

I found a rather beat up soccer ball wedged in the roots of a toppled tree.

There was a beaver dam in this area last year, I don't know if the DNR removed it or the flood waters did.

I will let you enjoy some of the views I did.

 Oh yes...Val-Barbie shared the adventures!

I followed Tainter Creek until I came up on Tainter Hollow West at the bridge and then walked the road back to the parking area.

In the hours that I was there, I saw one vehicle. I think that must have been the mailman/woman.

Welcome October and rambling

Yesterday while hubby installed the heater, I played Twister on the stairs. I didn't want to go back to boring carpet so I changed things up and got the bright idea of painting the stairs a different color than the risers.

I went for a hike through the neighbor's valley before work on Friday to see what the flash flood had done. While hiking across the Merry Meadow, the gals decided to race up to me.
Talk about thundering hooves!

Curious Miss Sundance was the first to arrive as always.
I was hoping this summer to be done with most of the house remodel work to be able to spend time with Sundance and with Sunshine.

Sunshine is trained and a very reliable mount. She just needs a refresher course. With the interest in riding by the grandkids, she may get called into duty next year.
She was raised particularly for her good attitude and loving nature. 
And...she and Sundance are both from the very first horse I owned. Cheyanne. 

I was not disappointed at the forces of Mother Nature when I got into the valley.

The snow mobile 'bridge' over the creek was carried away. The culvert has been there for about 6 years. They'll be able to fix it but I imagine there are a lot of trails that will need attention before winter.

In parts of the valley the water cut a huge swath moving old logs, rocks, trees, and debris stacked in places. In certain areas the flood waters were as wide as the valley.

In others it narrowed and rushed cutting new paths for the creek. I was amazed that most of the waters were over 6 foot tall.

I didn't have any time to really explore, that will come later. I just wanted to take a look around and get some fresh air.

However I noticed that the colors are beginning to certainly change. I wonder what sort of fall we will have?

Suddenly I realized that I've been letting nature change around me and haven't been able to get out in it enough to enjoy this time of the year!

On my way to work later I took Tainter Hollow Road. The road is in poor condition but open and passable. There is a lot of damage to the bridges, but they are also open. Many of our township roads are just passable. 

I was so happy to see my favorite tree still standing in the valley.

After a long day of painting and twisting around on the stairs, I decided to take Morris for a walk to watch the glorious sunset.

The above shot was taken with my cell phone.

Indeed any camera would have done this display justice.

I'm very happy to see sunshine again after such a long time of clouds, rain, and dreary days.

Welcome October, I hope you are kinder to us than September was!