For myself

I gave myself the gift of a hike on Friday when Shay came for her 4 hours of Respite. I could have chosen to go work out, get groceries, shop, run errands, and do all of those proper things.

But I decided to use my time doing my favorite sport. 

Hiking.

I chose this loop trail at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve because I've done it a few times and I know I can finish it and get back home in the time I've been allotted.

It was also a great way to try out the 'hydration' vest I'd gotten on sale last year. These are normally very very pricey but I nailed one at REI for only about $25. The vest fits like a vest and carries water bottles and essentials in several pockets.

Last year on my last distance hike, I wore a back pack with my supplies and towards the end of the 11+ miles, my shoulders and lower back ached like crazy. My son suggested one of these and I am so pleased to have it.

Anyway, here is a selfie of me wearing the pack while on the trail.

 [I used a little bendy tripod that wrapped around a sapling to take this shot.]

Everything I needed fit in the vest. Soft water bottles, snacks, wallet, phone, first aid kit, bug spray, emergency rain poncho, and my mini Joby tripod. Clipped to the vest was my emergency Bivvey Bag and my PLB [Personal Locator Beacon].

I didn't look exactly fashionable, but who cares? 

I was hiking on the Reserve enjoying the morning air and the sounds of birds.

I went up and down hills and walked above the river and then into the valley and along the river. My feet got wet from the rain and dew but I was never uncomfortable ... and the insects were not bad except in one area.

Most of the walk was done with periods of light rain. Perhaps that is why I had the place to myself. I don't mind the rain.

This old oak pictured below has always attracted my attention while hiking through. I think I finally got a decent portrait of this tree. I call it my Megan tree. My daughter in law likes neat trees and I think of her each time I pass by this one.

In my imagination, the tree is reaching out and letting me know that it approves of my activity. Hike and leave no trace.

The sun actually peeked out of the clouds as I was nearing the end of the hike.

I found fungi but not as much as I thought I might. Still, the bright colors caught my eye.

And this Jelly Fungi caught someone else's eye!

I was relaxed and chilled out by the time I got home. I had a good dose of 'forest bathing'. Well, a good dose of Me Time. I wasn't even tired or worn out.

I was happy. The vest worked out so well, by back and shoulders never even got angry with me. My feet trucked along as I enjoyed the surround sound of birds.

I used my Merlin Bird app to figure out what I was hearing deep in the forest. Ever hear of an Ovenbird???

Apparently there was a Veery an Eastern Wood - Peewee, and an Eastern Towhee within earshot. I heard them and saw only a flicker of movement. I had just been enjoying all of the birdsong and forest noises.

I had a very relaxing morning.

Me Time had worked out exceptionally well.

 

I had an hour of ...

quiet time on Monday. 

Charlie and I headed to the woods with an idea in mind. Well, Charlie wanted to do dog stuff, like pee on all the trees.

I had discovered one of the Jason Christoble sculptures had been named Father Tree. While I was doing chores in the morning I thought.

Hmmm. Father Tree ----- >>>>>and I heard the chainsaws going in the distance and it hit me.

Princess Sara gets summoned to the Big Deep Forest by Father Tree. She has been busy gathering her fighting force to go rescue the Magical Dragon Egg from the nefarious Rock Monsters and other Evil Forces, but this sounded quite urgent.

The ride starts out through the lush green forest and...

they find themselves in an area that has been devastated...

[note...this is what occurs when Charlie helps. I didn't mind. He heard a large tree crash to the ground far off and decided that he needed to be next to me... Photo Bomb!]

The Princess and Joan of Knight meet with Father Tree....

Father Tree explains that he was neutral on the plight of the Dragons and the Mythical Egg until the Rock Monsters started killing his trees and causing cataclysmic damage to his forest.

His eyes glowed with displeasure. He was going to gather his Tree People to help Princess Sara and all of the Little Forest People.

[Well why not?]

So that is how my imagination works. I get stuck, I know where I want to go with a story. But I get distracted with other things.

Then something comes along that makes sense and adds to this never ending saga.

Princess Sara has heard of yet one more warrior she can get to help her in her Quest. He is said to have power over wild beasts. After meeting with Father Tree, she decides to seek him out.

[Thank you Aurora for the surprise once more in my mailbox!]

Monday Monday

Yesterday we took a short excursion into the neighbor's woods. I meant to see how far the loggers had gotten around this section of the forest.

We got part way into the new forest trails and we heard the skidder start up as well as the chain saws. That surprised us as it was Memorial Day.

Maybe not surprising as they'd lost 3 days time last week to heavy rains and rains were now predicted from Tuesday through Thursday.

Charlie and I chose a deer trail to get back to the ridge top. We passed this tree and I had to stop and look it over. I believe from the shape of the tree that it is what we call Musclewood or American Hornbeam.

I've never seen any of these trees this large before as they are very slow growing trees. It made me wonder how old it was.

The trunk was fascinating with ripples and twists in it. Charlie was in no mood with trees falling in the distance to hang around while I took photos. I'll have to go back and find it on my own so I can look up into the canopy and see what kind of leaves this tree has.

I love the shape of it, very unique.

Just before we left the forest, I couldn't resist a bit of fun from my bag of goodies. 

"Wow Hank! Look at those big tracks! Whaddya suppose they're from?"

"Hmmm, dunno. Yah think there might be some really big deer out here?"

As promised to Hubby, I decided to take the day off. I hadn't even put the mower away from the day before. I'd mowed with the zero turn and the little mower ...then spent a while weed whacking some places. 

Since we had no company planned, no visit, no ... nothing. I moved my camper cot outside on the porch and grabbed a book to read.

Charlie and I read, watched birds, watched the clouds float by, and fell asleep.

Tuesday was going to be busy enough. I'd spent Saturday re-arranging and deep cleaning the living room so we could move hubby's current bed into the living room and the hospital bed can be placed in the downstairs bedroom. 

But Monday was reserved for relaxation after chores of course.

This cot is so easy to move that I may do this again. It felt nice to recline and read a book with all the bird chatter around me and the wind whispering through the pine trees above.

Cool wildflower of the day:

Virginia Waterleaf:

Shot with the Lensbaby SOL 22.

Just stuffss

 They started on the woods to the east of me....

I know the absentee landowners needed $$$ for their taxes. They've leased out the land in sections for hunting and farming. Apparently it doesn't pay enough.

Sigh.

This was one of my walking trails... 
I guess I won't freak out because it IS not my land.
They need the money.
The understory will grow back in.

But damn, it looks ugly.

These are the tops of the magnificent oak trees they cut down. The tops are left where they land and the oak logs are taken.

I know all of this, it has been years since I've seen another section of this land logged. 

The stump of one of my favorite oaks. The sunlight pours into the forest now with these grand old oaks cut down.

However, my creative thinking says this would be a perfect dystopian backdrop for some of my toys.

Right? What better place to show off the damage to the earth.

This logging is not for forest health. It is for cash and quick money.

My neighbor who is a 'forester' goes around our county and helps people manage their forests for a healthy forest.

His biggest concern was the logging company taking oak trees in the spring.

Oak wilt is a huge concern and spreads with this activity in the warmer weather. He wished they'd done this work in the winter.

I calmly explained to him that the owners are not stewards of the land. They only want money for leasing and money for profit [I think]. Someone pointed out that a lot of land owners log off their forest before selling the land.

Uffdah. 

The dynamic of the forest will be changed. It is not my land but I know it so well from walking it for 29 years. Last summer......

How it will change remains to be seen. 

Things change and we have to adapt.

Lil' Bear looks at the stump and at the forest....

~~~~~ 

I had meant to show off some birds we've seen in the past few days. But this was on my mind.

I wonder how it will affect the two families of the Pileated Woodpeckers in this forest. This was one of them visiting just the other day. Chipping at the deer skull on the tree for some calcium perhaps?

Fog Magic

 The weather that just keeps on giving.

I feel like the past week has been full of beautiful surprises.  

A snowstorm, an ice storm, extreme cold, and now intense fog, which will be followed by rain. A lot of rain.

That means the dry runs will fill with water and run over the boulders into the valleys.

This guy/gal stopped by for an hour or so. I've been seeing Baldies this week. This one perched close to the house so I kept Charlie inside mostly because he is no bigger than a cat.

It looks like this Eagle had been doing some scavenging, his/her head feathers were pretty dirty.

The fog promised to hang around all day so I decided to go out and see the forest and perhaps I'd get lucky and see something interesting.

The fog was like a light mist. Enough to think about, but not enough to avoid. The water droplets on tree branches at the edge of the forest were beautiful.

I found these tiny fruits on a sapling scrub apple tree.

And then I stood still and listened. I heard birds, but couldn't really tell where they were. Once I spotted them I was so pleased. I didn't have my good zoom lens on so I walked a bit closer and stood still.

They were feasting on Honeysuckle berries. I used arrows for them because they are so hard to see. There were more of them, but I couldn't get them all in frame.

I did manage to get just a tiny bit closer without scaring them off. Finally, one little bird! And I don't know if anyone can see it, but he has a berry in his mouth.

I don't know what it is about fog that makes me smile. Maybe it is the hush it seems to bring over the forest or perhaps it is because no one likes to go out in it because it is dull and yucky looking.

I don't thing it truly is. Fog is one of Nature's Ways of creating Art. 

Maybe we just have to be able to see it to appreciate it.

The Meadow

There is a chill in the meadow that echoes my thoughts.

The frost lays heavy and hard across the land.

I wait while leaning against an old oak.

Watching.

A murder of crows breaks the morning quiet.

I wonder what set them off.

They circle in the east and fly off over the silver meadow.

I wait.

Eventually they come one by one out of the forest.

Searching silently.

Morning breaks and they disappear back into the brush.

The day begins.

Dreams...

Dreams...

The air grows crisp and the trees

release their leaves...

in colors of red and gold.

Barberries' sharp thorns

catch leaves like lost dreams.

~~Val 

 

Me Time?

Charlie and I usually go out once a day to check on the fencing situation in the woods. We follow the path that was made by a dozer a few years ago. Since then, trees have fallen here and there across the trail and we either step over logs or go around the fallen trees.

The undergrowth is now in full force in places making it nearly impossible to just wander about off any path.

When we followed the mule trail to the creek, I saw a doe nursing her fawn. I stopped and told Charlie to sit. [Yeah, he just stared at me like I was speaking in tongues.]

The doe startled and ran off. Her fawn immediately dropped to the ground and became a statue.

Charlie and I headed off in a different direction so mom could come back and get her 'baby'. 

We eventually climbed down into the dry run.

This is what it looked like a few days ago with the heavy rains we had:

This is what it looked like when Charlie and I visited it yesterday:

and...

this is Charlie on watch, pretending to be my photography assistant. When in fact, he was just listening for his nemesis, the CHIPmunk. While I was setting up some Toy Photography, Charlie slipped away apparently on some sort of mission.

Imagine a dog who is 7 inches tall disappearing into the understory of the forest without a sound.

I couldn't hear his bell or see him. I called and called and hollered 'Cookie' as loud as I could, then I beeped his collar and buzzed him. I climbed up on rocks and took a plastic bag out and shook it [plastic bag noises almost always gets his immediate attention as that means Treats.]

Darn that dog! He is so bullheaded when it comes to the chase. He believes he is 7 foot tall and fearless. 

 After a few minutes of me thinking about freaking out, he came climbing up over the rocks and sat down next to my feet. He looked up at me with ... I swear... a grin on his face.

In the meantime, I had been setting up Homeless Joe and Dog. Looks like they are enjoying the nice weather also.

I don't think Dog likes this puddle of water. Joe seems distracted by something.

Thankfully, I can still get to parts of the creek without a machete, but it might be a good idea to take one along next time.

I decided to take this shot and call it--->

Me Time.

My walks in the woods in the mornings are my quiet time, my me time, and a time to regroup and get ready for the rest of the day.