I still like mornings

Pre-dawn is my favorite time of the day during the summer. I like to be out just as the birds are starting their morning songs.

This morning I cajoled my Grand daughter Ariel into coming with me on an early cruise. She held Charlie and we went out to watch the most glorious part of the day.

I do love it when we have mists or fog.

It lends an air of mystic to the low spots on the ridges.

In the valley bottom on the other hand...it is dull and grey.
This was taken at one of our favorite spots at Bridge M.

The ridges were clear and the valleys were immersed in grayness.

Didn't I say that I loved foggy mornings???

This view was from Kolstad Road looking down on the ruins of an old shed.

A July misty morning is not complete without a quick stop at Linda's cropland to grab some morning shots of her oats and corn.

Last year she had soy beans in this spot. This year it is field corn....

Did we enjoy the morning in all of its glory? Yes I think we did.

Meanwhile Fall is Glorious!

A cool foggy morning. The sun begins to come over the horizon and the fog turns orange.

Fog and hills plus sunlight = amazing.

Sidie Hollow County Park on a rainy Saturday.

Under the sugar maples on a sunny afternoon.

Ridge road to the creek in *Van Gogh* style.

Even just walking up to get the mail is amazing.

The hickory tree has turned golden and will be brown in a few days.
We had over 2 inches of rain last night and everything is misty looking and very sodden.

The cloudy overcast light has a certain way of enhancing the colors. Perhaps I'll be able to get out and enjoy some more color before entering the 'brown' season.

Where is the summer going to?

The Hopi Squash are getting ripe, the cosmos are getting ready to explod into colors in the garden. All is so beautiful.

The sun is moving towards the south as the earth tilts, racing towards fall.

Our nights are actually pretty cold for this time of hear. We were in the 40's this morning. It has made the bees sleepy and lazy. Better to photograph them though as they are madly buzzing about.

On our way to go fishing at Blackhawk Park on Wednesday we saw trees that were turning. What a surprise! I don't know if they were damaged trees, sick trees, or just as Rich said. "They are turning because it is time!"

We fished at Blackhawk and enjoyed a few hours of peace and tranquility. The fish weren't really biting and the 3 small ones Rich caught were tossed back into the water.

I couldn't help myself with the bright glaring sunlight. Perfect for Infrared photos and not so great for regular shots.

Thursday was another whirlwind day. Off we went to the Madison VA to do Speech Therapy. Towards evening, I had promised to go visit a 4H family and walk around and inspire the kids to take their photos for the upcoming fair.

To say the least, we had fun!
Their farm is on a high ridge top with amazing views.

School starts soon and some of the grand kids are coming for another visit.

This weekend will be a whirlwind of activities. My K-town friends are coming to visit. We'll be target practicing with our bows, doing some hiking, and of course seeking beautiful places to photograph.
On Monday Ariel and Dennis will arrive to spend the last week of August with us.

I am looking forward to the fall season.

And more visits to the farm on the ridge....

Time

Time for me.

Being a caretaker is not an easy task. But I am not complaining really. I am again going through the stress of taking care of billings that are done improperly and juggling appointments with the VA Medical Center. I try and help Rich get one goal accomplished each day.

I realized that I needed some quiet time. I hadn't been leaving the farm at all really. Just getting groceries and in the mornings I await for him to get up. We both have the fear that another stroke will happen if I am not there to watch him get up.
He awakens and wonders if something will happen.

But we are working through that now.

So this morning I took a 5AM jaunt to some of my favorite places. I was only gone for about an hour and a half.

But it was worth it.

My first stop was on top of the ridge. The sky and colors were out of this world.

And then I jumped in the Subaru and headed to Black Bottom.

Black Bottom Creek ~ 

the creek is called something else now 

but the old timers still refer to it that way.

I caught a little color before the fog moved in and took over.

I headed home to get a cup of coffee.
And when I got out of the car I had to stop.

The heavy moisture in the air had created a beautiful dew on the burdocks that I intended to cut down.

When did burdock look so lovely?

When did fleabane look so incredible?

My morning was complete.
I went inside to start the day with a huge list of 'to dos'.

However I got some quiet time in before the day really started.

A trip to the creek was on my next "Me Time" list.
As a caretaker I have learned that it is so important to take some time out for myself in order to do things I really enjoy.

Early mornings work out fairly well, and sometimes late afternoons do also.

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.