Turkey Day was Lasagna

Our Thanksgiving was just a peaceful and quiet day. I'd made our lasagna the day before and thawed one of hubby's favorite pies I'd purchased from a Mennonite bakery. Peach pie.

Of course we are non traditional, why not? Whatever floats your boat, right?

While the hunters were out stuffing their faces, I got outside in the cold weather. 

I found treasures.

A box elder tree had frozen sap running from a broken branch. In the drop at the end you can see the forest and meadow reflected upside down.

In the buckthorn woods I found mossy logs with frost coming up out of their centers.

The crystals of ice and frost were beautiful. This was a look into the hole.

With the rest of the forest looking rather bleak, I found the mossy logs to be the most interesting. I imagine the center of the log was warmer from the previous warm days and had a lot of moisture.
As the moisture moved up and out, it formed the frosty crystals on the moss.

I only found it in this one place where the land hollows out in the forest. It is a bit of a swale but heavily shadowed and full of logs and downed trees from storms we had nearly 20 years ago. This section of our woods reminds me of the Mirkwood forest in The Hobbit, but without the frightening spiders!

It is a rather peaceful place both in all seasons.

January is Done...

January wrap.
The first of the year was mild and not very wet. I was able to get into the furthest valley in our area and hike along Black Bottom Creek.

Mid month we got walloped by two huge snowstorms. Next came the cold temperatures and wind chills. These are all normal events for January in a sense. But the winter has been warmer than usual due to La Nina.

For the past two weeks it seems that we've had nothing but fog, rain, dampness, and more fog. At first I was pretty excited about the fog. I could walk in it and enjoy the ethereal beauty of it. 

After a few days though, that wore off. 

Then we had a dense fog freeze advisory. I spent an hour walking around looking for frosted plants and leaves.

If I'd had my MapMyWalk App on, it would have shown me going back and forth and around in circles. I wanted to find some exciting and beautiful frost formations on plants.

The key word was 'exciting'. I didn't really find anything spectacular.

I went back out right away after hubby was up and had his breakfast. I wanted to take Charlie for a walk while the snow was still firm and he could walk on top of it.

I grabbed my snowshoes and off we went on a jaunt to the creek. The deeper we got into the forest, there was less frost.

By the time we got to the creek, I had to take off my snowshoes and carry them. Since the creek has so many little springs in it, the temperatures can be much warmer near the water. The difference is startling. You walk in mud and green grass as opposed to a foot of snow. 

I set my little camera on a log and took a photo of Charlie and I walking along the creek.

Our trekking area.
This is the spot where I always stop to admire the little trout. Since the last flood that cleaned out the creek bottom, trees have been falling down across the creek and through out the area.

Our walk becomes a bit more adventurous by having to negotiate around fallen trees and nasty multiflora rose.

The only times I can easily walk through this area is early spring, winter, and late fall. In the summer, it is impossible. The weeds and plants grow so high here that they are taller than I am.

When cattle grazed on this land, it was easy to get around. But the cattle have been gone since 2005 and the land is not managed very well. So it has a lot of invasive plants and it has gotten very wild.

Once we got out of the creek, I had to put the snowshoes back on. We followed the old deer/cattle/4wheeler trail which is growing in now too.

We climbed the hillside and went out to the meadow just east of our property and headed back home. Charlie was such a champ. The only time he asked to get picked up was when we heard a big boom far off.

We came up through the back of our land and walked through the area where the mules had dug up snow and had browsed during the the snowstorm.

This photo shows the back of our shed and the long hill driveway. The mules really dug things up, I was surprised at how much the snow had melted in this particular spot.

However!

The sun came out late in the afternoon to provide us with a stunning sunset.

I was pretty excited since we haven't had an evening with a beautiful sunset in ages:

Let's see what February brings!

It is November!

In the past, I've complained about November and the time between the gorgeous fall colorful leaves and the ick yuck of barren trees. However this year I intend to find a way to enjoy it visually. Miss Aurora said I needed to go out and find the beauty of November for there was a lot to see.

Okay. I'm in on this. The month of November will be a search for beauty in this time of the year. I'm committed. What will I look for? Fungi? Tiny things? Landscapes? Skylines? Moss? 

Nature's Artwork that we don't see when the leaves are full?

I'm going out on a mission to find beauty in November.

There is something to be said to be able to go out and enjoy the sunrise and the brilliant colors of the morning. Especially since the sun comes up at such a reasonable time these days!

There is still time to get out and take a nice walk before the weather turns...

or just get outside and enjoy some nature.

I'm determined to find things I like about this brownish-russet season.

It will be a change in my thinking but I'll give it a try.

I love Winter

 

Someone told me I was lying to myself when I said I loved winter the most. Chuckle Chuckle.

I love every season of course. Winter always provides me with so much to see. 

Granted. In the spring and fall, I can walk the woods and not be so bothered by insects. Summer brings its own delights which include much longer days and some un-delights of heat and humidity.

I love flowers which only bloom in my garden from Spring to Fall. But Winter provides me with time on my hands to explore the shapes of trees. Time to watch ice falls develop on a rock and moss sandstone wall.

I am afforded the ability to admire the frost that develops on the rocks in a large spring.

I can hike through the valley and bask in warm sunshine in one spot and be in chilled in the shadows and cold breezes in another.

I can be amazed over and over by an old oak tree's shape against the snow or how it casts shadows over the stream.

I can see how the natural order of things progress. I can find deer beds, coyote dens, 'possum trails, and raccoon tracks. I see how nature cleans up after a death. Who strips those bones clean like that? Not coyotes. But the Titmouse, the Bluejay, and Woodpeckers! 

Death in the valley provides a little something for everyone except the unfortunate whitetail perhaps.

The mice will find important minerals in this buck's antlers that will help them. They find calcium, phosphorous, and minerals that may be lacking in their diet in the antlers of some deer and their bones.

This huge spring provides warm water for scuds and caddisfly larvae to survive cold spells.

The spring comes out of the hillside.

It joins the creek as it flows down hill.

View looking towards the south.

No matter how cold it gets, I've never seen this spring freeze over. The water is about 45 F all year. During a very deep freeze, all the moss covered rocks get covered in a beautiful frost.

The first signs of spring arrive here on near this spring. Skunk Cabbage!

Winter provides me with more challenges to find interesting photographs. There is the snow to deal with which throws off the camera meter. There is the cold to deal with. The cold will drain batteries swiftly. Moving cameras from cold to warm can damage them if precautions aren't taken. 
Dressing appropriately can also be an issue. After years of trial and error, I am coming to a happy medium.

This hike last week involved a small backpack with a thermos of hot chocolate, hand warmer packets, fresh mittens in case mine got wet, my pistol, and camera batteries in my inner pockets. 

The thermometer hanging off my camera strap read -9 F at the spring.

My feet got cold while I explored the Big Spring. But I knew that a hard and fast walk with my snowshoes on would warm my feet up.

Eventually I made it to our ridge trail and headed up out of the valley.

That is my shadow and if you look closely, you might even see the shadow of a Teddy Bear face in my backpack.

Silly, I know, but Bear doesn't mind the cold.

By the time I got home, I was damp with sweat. 

And that

is 

some of the

reasons

I like  love winter.

Chillin'

I'm not going to complain too much about this cold spell. I've been able to get out and about in the big chill and not really suffer much.

We are got pretty cold over night but I am a bit luckier than those who live on flat lands or on the ridges.

We have the bone chillin' cold, but we miss some of the light wind. Perhaps it doesn't feel so bad? I don't know yet. The air temp outside my door is -15 F. I'm going to wait until the sun shines into our hollow before heading out to do the chores. 

Yesterday I did walk to the ridge with Charlie to get the mail in the morning. My coveralls didn't offer enough wind protection. 

I got cold heading back down the hill. Charlie stopped and asked to be picked up.

I went back out later with a different set of winter clothes and was super comfortable.

Charlie did not go with me.

He said he wouldn't wear the Goggles nor would he get dressed up at all.

'Give me a cookie and go out on your own dorky strange Human! I shall stay right here and protect the couch from invaders!'

Oversized Goggles for glasses are great eye/face protectors. All these years I've worn them with my glasses and have always been irritated that the glasses fog up. Now I carry my glasses in a case in my pocket and hike without glasses. I can see clearly enough to walk without glasses. 

It really helps keep my eyes from getting windburn and the masks I have keep most of my face warm. I am always pulling it down to grab a gulp or two of cold air.

I made it to the ridge to look around the area I like to watch the winter sun come up.

There were dozens of deer beds by next to the small copse of trees. It made sense as the deer could sleep out of the wind and keep an eye on the open land before them.

The light winds were still blowing the snow around and the air was filled with very fine snow. I decided to head back home through the woods to avoid the coldest air.

I followed some well made formed deer trails and once out of the sun it just was plain cold on my cheeks even with the face mask.

I sat with my back to the light breeze and studied the Barberry bushes. They litter this part of the forest. They are invasive but enchanting in the cold harsh days of winter with their tiny red berries.

Man o' man my face did freeze off by the time I got home! 

I spent the rest of the day warming up.

So Friday morning it was -14, when I went out to do chores. The wind chill was supposed to be colder. However it was from a different direction and I never got cold! Go figure.

I like crisp air. I don't like --it'll--freeze--your-lungs--air-- but I don't mind my mask which warms my breath.

And...

NO bugs!

This is me heading out to the creek around noon. It was up to something like 4 by then and the mules were all laying around taking turns sleeping in the sun.

Lazzzy critters!

I wanted to check the ice wall and see if the creek froze over. In places where the water moves slowly it has but in other spots the warm springs keep the water open.

Spring water keeping the ice thin:

Watering hole further up the creek in a sunny spot. Tracks are coyote, 'possum, deer, and mice all mashed together. 

Ice Wall

Frost on the moss and grasses from the moisture given off by the springs

This is why the creek and my daily walks are so important to me. The going can get rough in the cold weather with deep snow, but still it is worth it!

Yesterday afternoon I sat on a rock and listened to a very quiet woods. Eventually I was able to watch some deer browsing further down the valley.

A good chillin' day.

It was perfect.

Today I am headed off to guide/hike with my buddy Bill as we start our Trail Challenge and meet up with Jason [the geologist] and his dog Piper. 

It should make for an interesting hike!

Ice is cool

In our creek bottom there is a sandstone wall on a north wall that seeps water all year. If you didn't ever go into this are in the winter, you wouldn't know it was there. I'll never forget discovering it for the first time. 

I think it was the year I discovered snow shoeing. In the forest around us there are no groomed trails other than perhaps one you make yourself or one the deer and other critters have made.

I got pretty good at jumping the creek and climbing over downed trees with snowshoes on.

Here is the ice wall on the 3rd of January.

Depending on the winter temperatures, this wall will grow and melt and grow again. The sun never shines on this area and it is always cool even on hot summer days. There are cracks in the rock and sandstone that seem to breathe out cold air.

I find that pattern and the texture of the ice so incredible. It differs at different times of the winter. The ice generally looks a bit more yellow because of the particles of sand it picks up.

The water in the creek below it flows slowly still with frost on the rocks and surrounding grasses.

It takes a consistently very cold winter to freeze over the top of the creek, but the water still flows underneath the ice. This spot freezes often and thaws on warm sunny days.

Part of our daily routine is to take a walk to the creek and to the wall past the X spot where we stop and watch trout for a bit.

In the winter everything changes nearly daily. New tracks, the ice formations change, the creek freezes and thaws in different ways which is always fascinating.

Where the creek has a small springs, the water is so much warmer than the air that moisture collects on the grasses and makes the most incredible frost formations.

Below is one tiny spring the flows gently into the creek. The formations of ice and frost constantly change here. It is also a hot spot for the deer and carnivores to gather for a drink.

I guess I am just a sucker for the strange beauty of winter in this area. More and more I am realizing just how lucky I have been to live here.