I have only this...

I got out yesterday. It was still below that zero point when I took a walk up through the woods to go get yesterday's mail. Charlie did go with me as did Bear.

It has been a while since Bear and I went on adventures together. Silly me. When there is no one to hike with, I can always take Bear.

He never complains...

Even if he gets stuck trying to get over a log. 

I had to give him a hand of course and we went on our Merry Way.

In the afternoon we decided to go for a hike along the creek to see what was happening since the Big Chill from last week.

We didn't find many tracks other than a few deer tracks and quite a few rabbit tracks.

I left Charlie home as we were going deep into the forest and this is the beginning of coyote mating season. Mostly the coyotes will leave us alone or run off. But over 30 years of hiking these woods, I did have two instances where the 'yotes followed me and a dog during the day time.

Bear and I stopped for an updated photo of one of my favorite spots on the creek. The trees that lay across this section are now on the creek bottom. The creek no longer flows where I am squatted. It has moved to my left.

Much of the creek had ice on it and in some of the places where there are springs, it was open.

This section had slow moving water from a spring inching its way across the ice. It flows up and over the ice and then freezes.

Layers of ice build over each other.

This 20 second video shows how the water creeps over the ice.... 
I sat in the snow next to the creek and was amazed by how quietly the water just seeped onto the ice.

Overnight, it will have created a new layer of ice and will rearrange the pattern of the snow on the creek.

The ice wall got a face uplift and the colors of the ice seem to glow yellow in all that bright snow!

I spotted this little beauty in among other winter flora. I think it is the tiny hulls of the Fleabane flower.

The next few days will be beautiful with temps still below freezing, but above frigid. I hope to get out and enjoy them....

I have only this left to say....

I do not wish to be ruled by fear. 
I wish for compassion and freedom from fear.
Is that too much to ask for?

Daisy Daisy Daisies...

It is that time of the year when the Ox Eye Daisies bloom. They really are pests in the pasture because the mules won't eat them. I do chop them down in one of the smaller paddocks, but their are gazillions of them across the fence line and some days I feel like it is a losing battle.

However they do make for nice wild flower photos.

I do love capturing them in the early morning light...

 Sometimes I am lucky enough to see them before the sun is high enough to light up the whole plant.

The dew drops on the white petals and their happy bright yellow centers make me stop to admire them.

Then there is the 'daisy' looking flower with the horrid name of Fleabane. Before I knew its name, I called it Wild Daisy. I know it isn't the right name, but --- do they really deserve such an ugly name?

 I saw these while hiking to the creek [well the creek is mostly dry]. 

And then. The sun beams through the mist as the light shines through the trees to light up the forest that surrounds the creek. It is easily at least 10 degrees cooler in this part of the valley. Well, that is until the midday sun shines down on it. 
Now the creek bottom is Hot during the day with little or no breeze.

After my fence inspections were complete, I walked back home.

Interesting to note that this huge mess of thistles I cut down last week were gone!

Apparently they wilted to just right to make them Mule-ishious!

Go figure. 

Enjoy your day... and pick a daisy!

Finding Things

...In nature....

In the shot below there is an aphid on the stem just below the bee. Not sure it you can see it unless you click on the photo and it appears larger.

Possibly a Long Horned Bee

This is a Tussock Caterpillar on a

Milkweed leaf.

They look rather fearsome.

But they are also 

referred to as a Wooly

Bear Caterpillar.

This is what we call a ground nut plant. 

Leaves of three, but not to leave it be!

American Hog Nut Plant.

It blossoms in August.

Apparently you can actually eat the seeds from the pod once they are dried out. I'm not sure I'd collect them all, but it might be interesting just to take a few this year to see how tiny they are!

Maidenhair Fern branch. This is one of my favorite ferns,
the shape of the plant is rather beautiful and distinct. 

They are starting to fade now and die off.  The photo below is from a few years ago.

Bracken Fern.

Boy that is not a fancy name for how pretty this 

fern is as it readies itself for fall. I love the colors.

Mystery fungi or

Slime Mold?

It is considered Dog

Sick Slime Mold

or Dog Vomit Slime

Mold.

Or a scientific name:

Mucilago crustacea

No name for this one. 

I just thought it was 

beautiful.

It caught my eye and I literally had to get down to get a look at it. That is a blade of grass behind it. It was still damp from the fog and morning dew.

This is perhaps a Lycoperdon perlatum.

Fun preferred names are Wolf Fart, 

Devil's Snuff Box, 

and gem studded puff ball.

I do enjoy finding the wee things in the forest and pasture and then trying to figure out what they are is a delight also.
Sort of like a Treasure Hunt.

I'll be out again tonight watching the stars. The Perseids were kind of cool and I had fun sitting out with a large mug of coffee watching the stars.

More treasures coming. I didn't want to bore anyone with Treasure overload.

Shots taken with my pocket camera and my Oly and 30mm macro lens. 

Little things...

Looking for nothing ...

but seeing everything...

that is how I wander the woodlands.

Well I did get off and walk the one little trail down to the creek and back. I've been so wrapped up for months now taking Rich to all of his appointments that it seems I rarely have an opportunity to catch a bit of air for myself.
I took Charlie on a quiet 'meander' to the creek and back up to the house.

It took a long time as I was walking along just studying the light and the plants along the forest floor.

~~~~~~~~

Note this was the day before surgery while I was waiting for the 'Tree Man' and calming my nerves about the upcoming knee surgery for Rich.

His surgery should be easy and routine, but nothing may always be easy and routine when your medical history is very complicated.


I took only my little macro lens along and decided to try some different things.

The above photos were taken with the sun shining on the fleabane and the shadows behind them.

It is a fun experiment and not very technically hard but it does take quite a bit of walking and observing to find the right subject.

I think I'll do some more of this around the yard while keeping close during the first couple of days of recovery.

Tiny acorns! These were so small that I didn't notice them at first until I squatted down to look at the fleabane nearby to see if any crab spiders were on them.

The acorns are the size of my pinky fingernail!

With fences checked, I let the mules out back and then proceeded to check the zinnias near the porch.

I knew I could find bees but was surprised by the variety of insects I was able to find.

I did find a crab spider ... eating a bee!

And just a normal 'bug' shot.

A bee on my yellow cosmos. Quite boring after all the other bug drama!

In the mornings and evenings I watch the hummers, bees, and gold finches feed on my porch flowers. I can sit in the morning and have coffee and enjoy the show too.

The surgery went well.
We were home by noon and I think his pain is less now.
We were both exhausted by the long day.

Onward....
and here is
to
little
things.