Fresh air Hike & Junk

*I'm going for a walk. to the Big Spring. I'll use the field road, the snow mobile trail and the cropland to get down and back. I'll stop by the big dry run on the East side of PeeWee's.*  PeeWee was the nickname of the owner of this land.

I tell this to my husband as he goes for his morning two hour-ish nap. He knows these locations as he has ridden and explored the neighbor's land we still refer to as PeeWee's.

 

Here is a photo of the Big Spring

Photo of the Big Spring last winter when 
the water still ran quicker. The warm air and water
creates incredible frost on the rocks:

I went from the Big Spring over to the East Dry Run and walked up to where the little spring flows out of the 'step rocks'.

This spot in non drought years produces a small steady stream of water that works its way through all of these rocks.

In a normal cold and wet winter it looks like this:

A person can literally walk on two to three feet of ice or even more. It fills the dry run with incredible colors of ice that vary from blue to green and in places... an orange color.
These photos were taken in 2015.

Two years of drought has changed the flow of the tiny spring. It still runs, but the temperatures have not been cold enough to create the river of blue ice like it has in years past.

Charlie is standing next to some cool roots and there is a critter path that leads up the bank from where the animals come down to drink from the tiny spring.

In years past, the river of ice has been at least 4 to 5 feet thick right at this spot. 

From here back to the top where the snowmobile trail is a 100 foot climb up to the top. The grade is steeper than 25% so it is pretty intense.

The ground was frozen enough to climb up and out to the top. Yes, I climbed it. I do it each time I visit this spot. It is easier than back tracking into the valley.

Below is a map of my walk in the terrain mode of maps. The road viewed is called Tigen and it is a dead end road.

The yellow dots are places where someone lives. The start and stop is where we live. The black dot is where the where I was standing in near the little Spring.

I include this terrain map so you can see that the hikes are not on flat ground except when I cross cropland. You can see how steep our terrain really is.

View from the top 14 seconds.

My walk on the ridge was interesting also. I've decided to do another project on Farm Junk. Why not? Old farms have cool junk that farmers dumped in their dry runs to slow erosion and get rid of old machinery and things like tires. 

Here is the first of my Junk Files. 

The Viking.

Hey, it could be advertised as a great AirBnb! 

--- Unplug! Enjoy Nature in our Viking Hut! No internet, no electricity! Experience the outdoors like a Hobo!

The open air feeling of this AirBnb is wonderful. Hear all the forest noises all night long. The unobstructed window faces east where you can watch the sun rise over the Driftless Region!

That's it folks....

Charlie and I have a lot of junk to find this winter. Can I just call it Still Life??

Outside Exploring

Yes, I did get out for a bit even though it was cloudy with a mix of drizzle and rain. I walked along the creek bottom to see what I could find. I like to observe how things change and what is going on in the woods.

There is a pool that is about knee deep or so next to a rock wall. During the summer it was nearly dry, but with some of the rain and moisture we've had, it appears to have more water in it!

I was so happy to see the little trout swimming around.

I love to just sit and watch them. If they notice you, they flee to a darker shaded area of the little water hole. So I waited a few minutes and then they came back out and began to swim around. 15 second video.

I found the partially fresh carcass of a deer. It was mostly bones but there was enough color in the bones to indicate that it had only been there a couple of days. 

The birds were happily cleaning what they could off the bones.

I climbed out of the creek bottom and made my way along an old deer trail when I spotted a old birch log in the wet snow. I recall reading somewhere that one could start a fire in the woods even with wet birch.

I had some time so I decided to try that theory out. 
I picked birch bark off the log and made it into strips than piled it in the snow on another log.

I had a lighter in my bag, so I thought I'd try making a tiny fire.

Imagine my surprise when it worked! I watched the little fire catch and burn and then stomped on it. There was no danger of it spreading anywhere. However, now I knew if I could find birch [which is common in this area], I could always build a fire if I needed to.

This was my New Year's Eve day adventure. I had about an hour or so to use up and so I hiked through our woods and enjoyed fresh air.

I hope to start out the New Year once more Exploring. After all, I love that the best. 

Just another day...

So many folks are anxious for spring to arrive. I'm on the fence. I'm still enjoying the bare bones of winter.

My forest garden is asleep under the snow. I wonder what I'll find this spring? 
I know one thing, begonias loved it there and the deer didn't even eat them!
I stopped here yesterday to watch deer. 

There is my busted up old Christmas Chair. 

It is awaiting spring also I imagine.

I waited and waited for the Clerk of Courts to call me back after I'd handed them the letter from hubby's Palliative Care doctor. The original summons says that the jurors should assume that any request for delay of being a juror would be denied unless contacted specifically by the Clerk of Court or by the judge.

No return call! Why am I not surprised? 

I grumped about it to my son and he laughed and said there was always Malicious Compliance. 

I'm going to file the juror issue under -- forget it for now.

I finally put on my hiking boots and headed towards the valley. I was in search of blue ice. 

There is a deep ravine that runs from the south part of my neighbor's cropland down through tumbled boulders and trees to the bottom of the valley. There it joins the creek and runs out to what the locals call Black Bottom Creek. 

It has a spring that flows out of the boulders and rocks half way up the ravine. In wetter years the ice freezes in the bottom of the ravine and the fresh water keeps traveling over the ice making this incredible Ice River.

Here is Morris in 2015:

Here is Charlie in December 2020:

Getting there is a one mile hike. Getting in and out of the ravine can be tricky. 

I always make the hike, each year at least a few times. Sometimes I am disappointed and sometimes I am in awe.

The ice flow isn't apparent down near the valley and I had to walk up the side of the ravine towards the spring. I assume it is because of the dry year we've had.

It still is awe inspiring.

I climbed up to the spring and walked on top of the ice that was buried under the softening snow. In years past this area would be so slippery that one would need ice cleats. I remember my first venture along this ice. 

I crawled to avoid falling. 

The sides are so steep you can't walk on them.

I could hear the water flowing from under the ice, it reminded me of the slow drip drip of a leaky faucet.

After finding the spring, I considered hiking to the top of the ridge and then trying to cross through the upper ravine and the old barbed wire fence and end up on a the ridge/snowmobile/camp trail.

I headed back down into the valley and decided to walk along the creek.

I didn't take Charlie on this hike as we have to walk right past an active coyote den.

Coyotes are messy. They like to toss out the bones of their small meals and they don't use a service to pick up their trash.

Back home the 'guys' were taking a nap.

The Clerk of Courts never called back. I'll have to check and see if they issue a bench warrant for a homebound veteran.

It is irritating to me that they make the demands yet they cannot respond in matters like this.

Okay.

Off my high horse and back to the unreal world.

Today looks like a good day to practice some artful skills. 

Sunday Stills ~ Fresh #30

 Sunday Stills~Fresh #30

Pony Mule Fred in 

Fresh Snowfall

November 18th

[age 37]

Charlie on ice 

Fresh blue ice in

the dry run

Fresh Laundry

Hung on the

Line

 

Well, except when a pregnant 

donkey is loose in the

yard and chooses to

use your laundry as shade.

Summer 2006

And there are 

Fresh Vegetables 

from the Garden!

A version of

Attack of the 

Killer Tomatoes.

Wood ticks

I had started to write a long drawn out and disconnected sort of blog that well, frankly, would interest no one.

So I shut down the laptop and started my Subaru with the remote and said to heck with it.

I drove up to the ridge and kick started my Friday with this....

an amazing blood red sky

and my lovely warm Subaru in 32 degree weather. Don't you just love a heated seat?

Ever take Doxycycline? It sucks too. I picked up a wood tick while out mucking around on Monday and pulled it on Monday night. Guess what? I had to make a visit to the doctor who took one look at my calf and said, "No test needed. That is the Lyme Bullseye and Rash." 

I'm generally very good at changing into my other set of clothes when getting out of the woods. Yet for whatever reason, I didn't on Monday. I had other distracting disconnects going on.

Thankfully [knock on wood], I don't feel sick like the last time I was bitten by an infected tick. Little buggers! I had fevers, headaches, and chills that time. Nasty...just...yuck. Um, wait...I guess there is still time to feel rotten. 

Charlie and I did not hike through the woods and the brush. I thought he'd like a road walk and he did. He sought out all the proper places to pee on clumps of grass. I had to laugh about how serious he seemed to be while kicking up grass afterwards.

We then cut through the large hay field and corn strips to avoid the Naughty Dog House.

Charlie: Who you calling short stuff?

Come on lady!

Yes, I am an amazing little dog with a very mixed heritage.

And I like to ignore you.

The purpose of this walk was to see what the Hazelnut tree looked like along with the dogwood trees and the Bittersweet at this time of October.

This is a way that I study things. Take photos of trees or plants and compare them as time changes them. A lot of the shots, I toss because they are just for personal interest. But eventually if I put them together, I get a clearer 'picture' of how a plant or flower grows, changes, and dies off.

Last note. The doctor I saw said that the ticks with Lyme were awful this year for some reason and she had seen an 'up-tick' in cases. I hope we do have a cold enough winter to kill them off or to at least make them scarce.

Yes, I hate wood ticks but it won't keep me out of the woods. I just need to be much more observant and swap clothes when I get in.

friluftsliv

 Norwegian

~~ Literal Translation : Free Air Life
or the connection with the outdoors.

Hygge:
~~Quality of cozy and well being.

I've never put names to it, I just know that being outside and in the surrounding woods are essential to my well being. Daily trips through my woods and along the creek let me observe the changes of nature around me. I always find something to make the trip worthwhile.
Sometimes it is only Caddisfly larvae 'homes' in the creek. Sometimes it is the ice that glitters or the way the creek flash freezes in subzero temperatures.
Or in spring, I note the first signs of Jewel Weed coming up in the creek. Later in the summer I am pulling the Jewel Weed because it chokes the creek!

I decided that it was warm enough yesterday afternoon to go for a stroll. I guess my intentions were to put on the snowshoes and take a slow walk back to the creek since I hadn't been there. Yeah, those muscles were not happy, however it had been quite a day already.
I won't bore you with details. 

The temperature reached 4 degrees so I put on my cold weather gear and snowshoes and headed out. 

I needed some Friluftliv or some fresh air and outdoors to keep me from going bonkers.

Imagine my surprise when I heard robins in the creek! What on earth were they doing?

I had to sit on a log for about 30 minutes and remain nearly perfectly still for them to land in the creek area. I was as surprised as all get out. 

I turned and decided to walk up the creek and take a look around. I was using my snowshoes as the snow in the valley was still pretty deep. I walked over 'submerged' rocks and logs. Stepping over logs with snowshoes takes a bit of practice.

Frost on roots near a little spring that was flowing.

The upper portion 

of the creek was frozen

solid.

I love the way the snow covers the boulders and makes everything appear soft. Under the ice the water is still moving along.

I eventually made it to the fenceline and then climbed up the hillside and through the electric fence to the summer woods. [It is disconnected]

I was happy to see the end of the trail in sight. I was tired and sore. But I was also warm.
Most of all, I felt happy and calm inside.

Or was it Friluftsliv?

Drink water

 

I took the 'boys' on a walk to the creek. Sven was happy not to be in his pen, he took the opportunity to stop and nibble at things as we hiked. Charlie tried to get him to run and play but I guess Sven was more interested in munching and looking around. 

I really hadn't had him out on as many walks/hikes as I should have been doing.
He seems to be very happy most of the time with Li'l Richard's company. 

When I did chores early Tuesday, Sven was shivering. I spent time after chores cleaning out his stall and putting in fresh dry bedding. When I tried to shut him in tonight he threw a temper tantrum. He couldn't see his buddy in the next pen. Pony Goat Love. Or something like that. When they are in the larger lot together Li'l Richard likes to chase Sven around. 

They really have become attached to each other.

I spent most of the afternoon working on brush piles and burning the last of the mess I'd made out by the rock outcropping. That is, until I get more Buckthorn cut down.

Working with a small fire nearby was nice and toasty. I forgot how cold it really was. 10 degrees.

I used the larger hand saw on a couple of the old hard dry Buckthorn trees. My little saw wouldn't do well on that hard wood. I'll have to go back and cover up the stumps a bit later.

The girded trees should die within in a year. Meanwhile I will use them to attach a blind to so I can have myself a Woman Cave.

I actually thought of putting up a bird feeder this winter and using the blind to stay out of sight and out of the frigid breezes. 

I don't know. I could be kidding myself. But it is a good project and will keep me busy. I am encouraged as it is looking pretty nice compared to what it had been.
When the snow falls I can still cut Buckthorn and cover the stumps to smother them.

It does wear a bit on me though. My hands kept cramping up tonight while making supper. Ever have a cramp in your hand that makes your fingers curl up tight? Wow!

I know I hadn't had water out with me. Bad me. Cold weather, working hard, and dehydration are more than likely the culprits. I'll take a thermos out with me next time. 

Last but not least. I created a Christmas colored Fractal for fun tonight.

I had forgotten how fun and frustrating this program can be. I did like this one though.

A Wee Break

Charlie and I did end up going for an afternoon hike. A very long one. I left my cell phone at home and packed some snacks for the two of us.
Dog treats and granola bars along with water of course.

The auction for my MIL's collectables and apartment 'stuff' was going to be held on Saturday and I'd promised a friend I'd go with her.

I really enjoyed the time just wandering without looking at a clock. The sunlight came through the thinning leaves of gold on the trail that lead to the back valley.
I didn't feel compelled to try to photograph the scene as I knew I'd never capture the smells and the golden light properly. I just wanted to wander with Charlie and enjoy our time away from phones, doctors, emails, and appointment reminders.

I didn't get to do my CrossFit intramural workout scheduled and I felt badly about that, so I decided to put that out of my mind also.

When Charlie and I got into the back valley, we spent a lot of time watching small trout swim in a rocky pool. I got out the infrared camera and took some photos.

Both of us decided not to follow the creek downstream as the water was too deep in spots for me to cross without getting soaked. I would need my knee high boots for that.
Charlie wasn't really thrilled about swimming across either.
We headed back up to the ridge and found that the sky was amazing. The clouds were amazing.

There is tiny Charlie looking up at the 'world'. To be so small yet so brave. He is a wonder.

So our ridge walk around the corn field did not disappoint us at all.

Funny thing happened on the way up the trail. I stopped and gave Charlie a treat and then had a granola bar while I re-arranged my back pack. I glanced to my right and stared into a low slung trail camera. I took off my hat and waved before shouldering the back pack and heading up to the ridge. That was the second camera I'd seen. This is my absent neighbor's land and he does come once a year to hunt on it. I've got permission to wander to my heart's delight on the land, but won't step foot on it during the 9 day deer/gun season. That is when the land is overrun by insanity.

Most of the year, I have the 'land' to myself and the critters. In the spring the 4 wheeler guys are around every weekend making a racket, but I just enjoy the place during the week days when they aren't around.

Someone had mowed around the fields and set up cameras. I just wave if I see one and continue on my hikes. The cameras will disappear by the weekend after Thanksgiving.

I had a notion of dressing up in a Halloween Costume and dancing near the cameras.

We made our way back home slowly. I was in no hurry. I longed for those days that I could stay out on the ridge until the sun set.

I knew I should not have gone off and hiked when I had so much to still do in the shed, but I figured I needed a break from that too.

Saturday promised rain all day. Sunday was supposed to be nice, the rest of the week? Cold and rain.
All good days to work in the big shed.

Fresh Air

It is interesting how many people think that winter air is bad for you.

Now having said that, extreme cold on people that have constant health issues...yes, it is not good to go out and breath subzero air.

Yesterday topped out at maybe 9 degrees F, when I decided to grab the My Little Ponies in a bag along with a toy skunk and a toy deer.  I stuffed my pocket camera inside my jacket to keep it warm and took off.

Sweet hubby thought I shouldn't go.  It was cold.  But then he knows that I love winter hiking so he relented.
Besides, I told him, fresh outside air is better than breathing stale inside air.

Aside from that, I'd spent two days stuck in the house with wicked winds. It was time to get out and get moving.

I guess one thing I haven't mentioned is why I like the winter hiking so much.
No bugs, no humidity, and I simply just like winter.
I don't like driving in snow storms, but I love going out and exploring in them.

So yesterday's hike was to take the toys and find a neat place to take a photo of them.  

The other purpose was just to follow trails and wander aimlessly in the woods.

I found multi use trails in which the deer, raccoon, and coyotes used.  In one area that was sheltered from the wicked winds yesterday, I found dozens of deer beds.

I found four places where I imagine, from the tracks and evidence left in the snow, that coyotes had caught rabbits and had a snack.

I even found a place where crow feathers were scattered. I couldn't figure that one out so took photos of it and showed it to hubby.  We ended up surmising that is may have been a hawk that nailed a crow.
I didn't think anything preyed on crow!

I walked on top of snow and ice following tracks through a rocky ravine and found the most delightful formation when I climbed out.

The log was hollow and you could see where squirrels had left acorn shells.

I finally glanced at my watch.  It was time I headed home!  I had no idea that I'd spend so much time wandering the west facing hills on Peterson's land.

Home was only 1/2 mile away and up a hill, so I hurried to find my snowshoe trail and hiked home.

Hubby was getting ready to do chores when I got to the house, he was bundling up.  I glanced at the thermometer as he bundled up.

It was zero.
But I still felt warm and cozy even though I wasn't in coveralls.

All that hard hiking had warmed me up.

By 10pm I was ready for bed.
That fresh air and exercise made me sleep like a baby.

I love fresh air!