Just wow

Last night's evening storms brought in heavy fog which is typical for our area.

NOAA  issued a dense fog warning. I was pretty pleased.

The wall of fog was so thick I couldn't see the mules in the pasture when I got up.

I grabbed a camera and headed out after sunrise. I usually don't pick up the mail on the day it is delivered. I generally save that walk for the mornings.

When I got to the ridge it the fog was thicker than thieves. The world was grey.

I mean there was nothing at all to see. This is a field of oats and generally you can see all the way to a horizon.

I wanted to wait around to see if the sun would break through enough to shine through the forest and create a magical atmosphere. 

Just as I was ready to give it up.
BAM!

The sun broke through.

It was time to get wet and wade into the forest. I knew where I wanted to go. I wanted to go see The Hugging Tree. [Sometimes I give names to certain trees I really like. I'm odd, okay?]

I started down the faint trail that is still there and headed into the forest.

And there is where I lost all track of time and just focused on the magic that was appearing before me. It changed each minute with the movement of the fog and the sun. 

I just kept moving around and shooting. One of the awesome features of the Olympus camera [aside from being very light], is its stabilization feature. 

I wasn't thinking about that, but was just mumbling to myself -- ohhhh...ahhhh...ohhh see that?...oh .. my...OH!

Oh!

The light kept changing and so did the foggy sun beams. 

Even after I walked into multiple spider webs, I was still marveling at the scene before me.

I was amazed that I didn't trip and fall over a log as I kept moving around. I couldn't keep my eyes off the forest.

Neither could my small friends.

I didn't want to leave the woods, but I knew I had to. Someone was sitting and waiting for me and would wonder what took me so long.

The sun rose a bit higher and the light beams started fading.

It was amazing while it lasted. I followed a deer trail out and got soaked from the wet leaves. I didn't mind. It was worth the little side trip. 

Once more I consider myself quite lucky to live in this area which presents such amazing beauty just a short walk from my porch.

Oh yes, I finally did make it to the Hugging Tree.

It is the tree in the distance with the arms uplifted.

[I have so many photos yet to look through. I am still just stunned by this one single foggy morning. Watch out, more to come?]

Breathless

 

I thought it would be a good day to walk or just go for a hike. 
I walked the barely perceptible Winter Ice Cave Trail near Weister Creek. 

It was a bit messy and muddy from the August flash floods and heavy rains.

The beaver dam had been swept away too.

I spent some time just listening to the water sweep by me and then I turned and decided to go up over the top.

Here I am standing holding onto a branch to show the depth of the flash flood waters that came through here earlier this summer.

I went up and up and followed what could have been a deer or old trail from days long ago. The land in this area is not like any other place I've been. Up and up a person goes with thigh burning inclines. At the 'top' there is a sharp decline with a gully of sorts at the bottom.

But there are trails if you can spot them. The land has its own wicked and beautiful shapes. Here is where I stopped on a 'point' to have an apple and gaze down on Weister Valley. 

I went looking specifically for fungi and ended up just finding myself breathless at the scenery. I've never gone 'over' the top that I can recall before. I found more potential Ice Caves.

Most of all? 
I think I found myself.

Deep in the forest I stroll

to hear the wisdom of my soul...

The trees still the mind

and the deeper you go....

the more the soul's port widens.

Within that space

wisdom whispers.

~Angie Weiland Crosby

[Most of these were shot with my TG6 pocket camera. And there was some editing for color involved. The rest of the hike ... later.]

Forest Garden

In just three weeks, the 'Forest Garden' has changed so much! The rain and warm humid weather of course is a factor.

Here is the view from the west side of the rock formation three weeks ago.

A view from the top of the rock just before the rains came.

View from below the rock.

I marked some spots where I planted seeds with dragons and dinosaurs.

The garden should be a place of curiosity and exploration. So I have little objects all over the area.

The neighbor children want to come and explore the rocks and garden so I keep things interesting. 

If you want to take a tour of the garden, I did a video of it. It is 2.5 minutes long. I am NOT a videographer so just keep that in mind if you watch it. I did enjoy trying to piece something together to sort of get an idea visually of what it is like on this rock outcropping.

This rock outcrop is rich in dirt, however it is on top of a rock. So I had to get creative with planting some seeds. I filled a hollow log with dirt I dug up and used the log as a planter.

Of course the unicorns will protect the seeds until the plants come up!

This spot is smack dab in the middle of the forest pasture so there is an electric fence surrounding it. Will the deer invade and eat all of it? Gosh, they might come fall. Right now there is plenty of browsing for them in the rest of the woods.

So I can be in my cool shaded forest garden and enjoy my critters at the same time!

This may explain also why my mules don't wear fly sheets and fly masks. They are constantly walking through thick brush and branches.

Just for fun. 

Do you see this grumpy guy?

And that is it... for today. 

Charlie and I plan on going exploring today. We like rainy days.

Thursday's snow

The prediction was for 7 to 9 inches the first time. Then adjusted to 3 to 5, then adjusted to 4 to 7 and gusty winds.

The elder mules got moved to a very sheltered area. The others have the woods. The elder mules get different feed than the youngsters so I have to keep them separate. Fred is now 35 years old and we've discussed getting hay cubes for him. Sort of like babyfood for the elderly. He prefers his senior feed and his regular hay.

My neighbor now does the hill plowing. Rich used to do it, but Justin takes care of it for us. He does it to our property line and stops. But in severe cold weather, he will come down and finish cleaning us out. Good Neighbor!

A look at the driveway from our big shed when Rich used to do it. That is a full sized Skid Steer!

Thursday's view of the driveway from the bottom.

A view from the mailbox on top of the ridge. 

The view looking east, the same road I walked down just the other day with Bear and Charlie.

This made me pleased that I am not driving down to the plant anymore for midnight and 4 am shifts. Our township roads generally don't plow until the snow stops. They used to plow when the buses were on these roads but the school buses no longer travel these back roads. Parents have to take the kids out to the blacktop.

So. I like snowstorms. I love walking and hiking in them. It is made even easier by the fact that I am surrounded by woodlands.

I headed back down through the woods from the mailbox. Part of the way down through the woods the winds started picking up above us.

My face and glasses got plastered with sleet and snow. I was also walking in nearly knee deep snow, but I took it slow and followed along the 4 wheeler trail most of the way down the hillside. 

I just took my pocket camera because I figured the both of us were going to get soaked.

When I got to the end of the hill I just stood and watched the snow get blown and drift across the unused meadow. 

I really wished I could have stayed there all day.

But.

I had to get going. 

Our snowfall? It was about Charlie Shoulder height. 7 inches.

Next up? The Deep Freeze.

A sense of wonder

 

The above video is of the Robins singing. It may not be very clear and you may have to listen very hard. I took this so I could play the audio for Rich when I got home. 
My intention was to hike with Charlie along the creek and find a good spot for the Lonely Looking Bear to sit. I brought a Rabbit to be his friend.

When I got to the Ice Wall, I stopped to listen. Birds.
Bird song. Not just the Nuthatches or the Cedar Waxwings...no, and not just Cardinals either. A sound...

gosh

a sound I shouldn't hear in January!

Robins? It could NOT be!

Yet there they were. Hundreds of them flocking through the oak trees in the valley. I called Charlie in close and sat at the base of a tree. 
Just
Sat

and listened. 

You know what? I forgot about the outside world. Whatever was occurring outside that valley was not important. The bird song was important. 

Mindful

Every day
I see or I hear
something
that more or less

kills me
with delight,
that leaves me
like a needle

in a haystack 
of light.
It is what I was born for--
to look, to listen,

to lose myself
inside this soft world--
to instruct myself
over and over

in joy....
~~Mary Oliver

Frosted

I'm just going to put these shots up from yesterday.

Mother Nature really outdid herself with the Hoar Frost....

Boy was it incredible!

And the fog looked like it would let up this afternoon, only to swoop in again this evening.

Hoar Frost. My favorite, but 3 days of it? Wow!