Busy busy

Monday was a day of surprises.....

It started out with a text from my youngest son.

"Call me when you wake up. I'm bored driving home." He and his wife and their daughter were on their way home from Colorado.

I called since I was up at my usual time: Hannah Time ----->> which translates to predawn.

We talked for a little bit and then he said he had to pull off the road for gas...and "WAIT wait! Oh my goodness the sunrise is amazing!" 

As he said that, I was about to pour a cup of decafe when I took a peek towards the NE direction. The fog was heavy but there was a slight color threatening to brighten the sky. 

I texted back: Later! I'm headed towards the ridge to see our sunrise! 

My phone pinged once more: See you mom in about 5 hours!

I passed our mailbox on the ridge and saw a typical driftless region sunrise where the valley was thick with fog. The cool waters in the rivers and streams often produce amazing fog.

I pulled out my regular camera with my long lens. 

The shape of the land I live has wonderful shapes. When we have valley fog, the ridges and the trees appear above the fog creating an unusual sight. Meaning, I'm still not used to it after living here for 30 years.

The fields are not flat and even, our world is uneven and wonderfully rough. Contour farming is the only way to farm.

I thought I'd drive down into the valley and take a peek around. Sometimes the valley fog hangs 40 or 50 feet off the ground.

Not this day! However, the swallows were so busy at the bridge over Black Bottom Creek that I just stood in the road and watched them for a while.

[Yep, I could stand in the road on the bridge and not even see any traffic at that time of day!]

They were literally swarming the area. You can see that the sun is ready to dip into the valley from the light on the top left of the photo.

Depending on the season, it can take up to two hours before the valley sees the sun.

Back up on the ridge the sun was shining brightly. I was able to see across the valley fog to the dot on the map that is called Folsom.

This is one of the Folsom Lutheran Churches on the next ridge over.

I stopped back at Linda's Tractor on the way home. I taken a sunrise shot through the tractor and wanted one afterwards. It is rare that she leaves any equipment in the field. In fact this is the first time in 30 years that I can recall she has left one parked on a field she rents.

Linda still farms and is in her later 80's. She hires help of course, but still does quite a bit of field work on her own.

The heat and humidity set in by the time my son and his wife showed up but I had to walk them back to our 'campground'.

They were amazed at how cool it felt in the grove of trees and the definite lack of bugs.

Here is Mari who is 5 she was having a blast playing with Charlie and Hannah.

<--------------->

Today [Tuesday] I got to go to a birthday party for the grand daughter of a friend. I went to help and take some photos for fun because I was asked to.

Everyone was smitten with my friend's mini horses!

We came up with the idea of a birthday party with the idea of the kids decorating the minis. 

Safe to say, it was a huge hit.

All I can say is that it was a blast! I think the little girls are going to remember this as the coolest birthday party ever. Homemade cake, homemade ice cream, decorating mini horses, and so much laughter.

Grandma Pat is obviously the coolest Grandma Ever!

 

Chill out

 

Charlie and I took a very different walk yesterday. We went to the ridge and decided to hike the cropland hayfields. This way we avoided slogging through mud. We could have walked along the gravel road but one neighbor choses not to watch their dog.

This dog has attacked but has not yet hurt Charlie and I just don't want to risk it. The last time this dog attempted to get at Charlie, I held him and sprayed her with Pepper spray. She got a snootful and wouldn't leave us alone....
Anyway...

We walked this high ridge and kept to the fields. It was much more interesting for Charlie because of all the critter tracks. So many good smells for a dog.

I left my camera at home and just walked with my cell phone, and was a bit sorry that I did not bring my camera with a long lens. We reached the road across the ridge and stopped to admire the fields for a bit. I heard a chirp that I haven't heard all winter.

And there they were! Bluebirds! [sorry the picture isn't very good!]

We headed back along the fields and came to a patch of trees in the middle of this cropland. It is in a slight dip where water runs. I got to the deer trail and walked in among the trees. I looked back and Charlie was sitting just outside of the trees. He refused to follow me.

More than likely it would have been the fresh scent of a coyote that lingered on the trail that deterred him.

So we detoured and walked up one of the waterways and decided to just sit down and enjoy the warm afternoon sun.

From here we could see the intersection [if you want to call it that] to our dead end road and the other gravel road that crossed the ridge. 

When we got home the two of us sat on the porch bench and listened to the world around us. 

The antique wash table got the addition of some real flowers to mix in with the Lego Wildflower Bouquet.

I'm enjoying the bright colors!

The year changed

I used to get really excited about staying up until midnight and watching Dick Clark's count down. 

I don't anymore. The new year is another way of starting January all over. I know that sounds pretty dumb and stupid. But for some people, the holidays are bummers. The expectations that on January 1st things are suddenly going to change is well,

stupid.

January can be a contentious month for winter weather. It can be awful or fun depending on where you live and how you like or dislike winter.  

I woke up early and thought to self. Hey Self, have a cuppa coffee and walk to the ridge with Charlie. It isn't too wickedly cold and perhaps the sunrise will be beautiful for the first day of 2023.

And we did.

I walked across the cropland to the eastern edge where the land is highest and waited. Charlie wandered around the corn stubble smelling deer and searching for mice or voles.

Maybe there wasn't much that was incredible about changing a number from 22 to 23. But the feeling of standing there in the still morning air watching the light change felt pretty incredible.

As it rose the predicted fog/haze from the high humidity of the previous day started to work its magic on the land.

I stayed longer than I intended too. Rich's coffee was made and I hadn't left a note but I figured he'd know that I walked up to the ridge as it is my usual routine.

I stayed a bit longer. I like this little tree. In the summer it gets lost with all the weeds and crops growing up on each side of it.

I walked home.

2023 officially had begun.

Let the adventures begin...

Dog Day Sunday

Text: Hey, would you like to join us sledding?
Answer: Absolutely!

My young neighbors went out to do some sledding. Unfortunately, the adult in me had to stay indoors and fix someone an early lunch. When I got dressed and ran outside, I could hear that the sledding up on the ridge had ended. 
Little kids don't tolerate a lot of sledding like teens do. 

I texted back that sorry I was too late, but they had given me the idea to go sledding anyway.

I grabbed my old plastic sled. Charlie decided to come along for the adventure. What a dog!

The snow was deep enough even with the warm temps that he had to do the Charlie Leap to get through the snow.

We hiked across the ridge cropland out to where there is a gentle slope with no obstacles other than perhaps some long grasses and corn stalks in the contour strips. I picked the waterway that is left as grass in the summer. Linda cut it and baled it the fall so it was a perfect gentle hill.

The first pass was rather disappointing as you have to make a trail before getting a good go at it.

The second was great and I put Charlie in my lap. The ride down the cropland slope lasted at least 30 seconds.
Since the snow is so deep Charlie elected to ride with me and by the 4th trip he didn't even try to jump out.

The walk back to home was nice too. Charlie was worn out from Snow Leaping. When we got inside, he immediately curled up on the couch and went to sleep.

All that fresh air and walking back up the long hill made for a very good night's sleep.

Busy Busy Sunday

I started the morning out by going into a little blind I set up the night before. It is supposed to be a hunting blind but I thought I'd use it as a photography blind in the hopes that I'd actually be able to watch and photograph some deer.

I got into the blind and zipped up before 6AM. I had my coffee in a thermos. I'd placed a chair inside along with a bucket to use as a 'table'. 
For over an hour I just sat and listened to the birds waking up and other soft morning noises around me.

I decided that nothing was going to happen. It was going to be a bust. So I poured a tiny thermos cup of coffee an sipped it. 

When I looked up I saw deer emerging from the woods.

Soon there were two groups of them. Some young ones raced around the meadow while the others browsed. 
Two young bucks came out and expressed interest in the does. 

Last week I'd caught a nice buck on camera too, but that buck was still in velvet.  These guys aren't. 

So HAH! The blind worked! I waited until the deer left the meadow and then left the blind and headed back to the house.

So the evening before I set up the blind Charlie and I had a Skunk Encounter. I was getting stakes that were made for round bale covers out of a bucket in a shed we rarely visit. I heard thumping behind me and turned to see Charlie and a skunk were about a foot from each other staring each other down.

The skunk had stomped its feet to warn us. Thankfully, the skunk was also between two old barn wood doors that were stacked together and it couldn't turn around.

We exited quickly. [Today the shed gets mothballed and ammonia treated. We don't need a skunk close to the house.]

Charlie and I took two walks yesterday. One to change SD cards in the trail cams out in the woods and see what has been visiting our deer/mule trails.

The bobcat is using the trail more frequently that he/she has before. One trail showed so many photos of a busy squirrel and then raccoons in the night. There were lots of deer also. One nice buck with a 10 point rack showed up and stood right before the camera as if he was posing for us.

Our second walk was to look for fall colors on our ridge and compare it to last year. Last year the leaves had already started turning on the ridge. This year? Not yet!

The ridge is still very green looking. The sky was blue, and the day was beautiful even if it was breezy.

Charlie and I chose to walk around the field above. Another field was being chopped with a combine and trucks were literally racing up and down the gravel road. 

Walking through the hayfield was hard for Charlie, his short legs just aren't built for deep grass. However we eventually came out in the oat field where the cover crop was and walked along there.

Charlie was happier about that.

Your view when you are 7 inches tall.

Back at home...it was time for chores.

Oh! I forgot to mention that we have new neighbors! My now ex-neighbor Justin finally answered my text when I asked if they were moving. The next morning I met the new folks.

Their names are Justin and Cybil and they have two little ones. 

For Rich's sake I call the new Justin.... Justin 2.0. 

Whew.

This week promises to be crazy too. 

Friday all day

Most mornings, Charlie and I go up through the woods and take a round about way to go get the previous day's mail. We get out for fresh air and take our time following trails that the deer and other critters make.
Sometimes it requires rerouting because of the underbrush and low limbs. 

Charlie is on the look out for squirrels, he loves the chase but generally loses them in seconds.

Hey, I give the guy an A+ for effort anyway.

Later on in the day after doing chores and the usual stuff we went for a second walk. I get cabin fever if I am stuck in the house all day. 
I chose to hike across the snowy crop fields and down to the tree pictured below.

 

I was looking to get out of the thick woods for a bit and see just what it looked like from the huge dip in the field.

Charlie wasn't in a hurry to go anywhere. He was checking for mice, I think.

The walk was rather uneventful and by the time we got down by the old oaks, I was warm enough to take off my hat and scarf.
The hollow blocked the northeast wind and the sun was extremely warm. Things were melting all around us and in places I could see corn stalks and parts of the soy bean plants from last year.

The temperature when I left the house was 16 F.

This area of the cropland is called a 'waterway'. It is left with grasses and plants growing all year round and when there is a hard rain, the water runs through the grasses and trees which slows down erosion.

I marveled at how warm I was and after admiring the large twisted oak's shadows, we headed north and towards the top of the ridge to cool off.

We walked up the waterway in the shot shown above. By the time I reached the ridgetop, I had to put my hat, scarf, and gloves back on.

We crossed into another field that had been planted in corn last year. I hope they rotate to soy beans this spring. I love coming here in the summer to watch the sun come up.

It an was interesting hike. I plan to go back and explore more of the field to the east of this spot. If my memory is correct, the farmers who once lived here would park their old machinery in the the woods on the edges of the fields. 

I wonder what I might find?

Hunting shadows and

light...

Winter solitude-
in a world of one color
the sound of wind
~Basho

I've been on a black and white stark patterns 'kick' lately.

I recently read an article where one pro photographer said one needed to practice just one genre of photography to get very good at it. 
I agree with him.

Then I read another article that said Do What Inspires You. Okay!

Cold.

Snow.

Winter.

Stark.

White.

I've been inspired by shadows and light play.

And I was inspired by the incredible snow and clear blue skies. 

Trees that huddle in

 the hollow of a soybean field.

The Sumac that stands 

against the western winds.

Here is the tree line that still hides parts of a barbed

wire fence that once separated two farms.

There is pleasure in knowing where to walk to see these favorite places of mine on the ridge. In the other seasons none of these trees make such an amazing statement.

Yet in winter, they are must see spots for me.

I can't help myself.

I love how the winds whisper 

cold air past me 

and it makes snow designs

under my feet...

I feel

free...

~~~

The allure of the open ridge...

 

Here is the view from our neighbor's woods. We share a driveway with them. 
The next nearest neighbors we have are much further up on the ridge.

Our 'hollow' generally protects us from the most cold north winds. The mules often enjoy laying in the snow and soaking up the sun. At night they move into the woods and hide from the cold drafts.

This morning we are sitting at something like -10. 

Charlie and I went for a walk yesterday after chores to get the mail. Mr. Short Stuff and I went through the woods to avoid the wind.

When we got to the road, Charlie sat down and waited while I did some photography.

One should not waste a trip to the mailbox by leaving a camera at home. Something might be interesting and ... something may not be!

Charlie hardly ever passes up and opportunity to pile into the snow and hunt for the ever elusive vole.

The sun was bright and the cropland just begged to be explored.

But first, I needed to take the mail home and drop Charlie off. I needed snowshoes and some different gear.

I wanted to try some 'stark' winter photos. Artsy Fartsy stuff. 

The deer tracks that lead off into no-where gave me an idea....

Stay tuned....