Charlie nails it...sorta

Charlie doesn't like to pose much. I could tell Morris to sit and he would sit and stare at me with an intensity that only Jack Russell's could muster up.

Morris his last Christmas pose:

Charlie...

Nah mom...just nah...

and the next year.... nope, won't look at you....

Finally this year I just winged it.

I'm sure Charlie could care less. No stupid sweater, no garlands, just a ribbon this year. It was a grab and shoot and I think I will keep it.

Such a look of ultimate unconcern on his face.

I may try another one with him. But truthfully? He is happiest while hiking or holding down the couch with his Dad-human.

Charlie Morning

Charlie, after we had a morning excursion together.
I stuck my baseball cap on him that I use for outdoor work.

He was not impressed.

But he is such a good sport about it.

The sideways glance as if to say. 'Really? You are going to keep pointing that thing at me?'

And...I am bored. Totally bored. Let's do something else.

Yesterday morning he didn't let me out the door without him for my predawn bicycle ride.
I let him come along and wondered how his tiny legs would deal with me pedaling.

I didn't go very far, but he kept up when I pedaled slowly and when I sped up he just followed unless a scent at the side of the road interested him.

Charlie was behind me sniffing at the edge of the gravel road. At this time of day and any time of day there is almost never any traffic. Only 3 homes are on this road and the guy at the end of the road never is up early. My closest neighbor leaves at 7 to go to work. Most of the time, this road is empty. Well, not during planting or harvest season!

Anyway, that is getting way off track. I just wanted to assure you all that Charlie is perfectly safe with me. He has come a long way and has instant recall. Well, most of the time, that is if he isn't on a chase. So he still wears the collar on these outings when I don't have him on a leash.

I'm very lucky that I have all of this time to work with him. That makes a huge difference I think!

Even with the cloud cover things got pretty neat. Bluish sky and pinks on the horizon.

And then the horizon began to glow...

I zoomed in on the trees and caught the change of light. 

And when the sun peeked through, it was partially hidden by clouds.

The whole sky changed colors and the clouds moved in.

Charlie and I headed towards home.

Just before going down the driveway, I had to stop and take one parting shot using field corn for framing.

We got back to the house and did our morning chores together. Sven was happy to have a new spot to eat nettles and other weedy plants. If I had an army of goats my weed issue would be gone. However, I'm not prepared to re-fence this place for goats.

Rich got up after 10am and I convinced him later in the day to take a short drive with me and check out Runge Hollow for fishing later this fall.

I intend to go back there and to Sidie Hollow to get some photos in infrared and in color. Sunrise at Runge would be pretty neat. Sidie has incredible fall colors that reflect on to the man made lake.

Oh ... and how did Charlie do? He loved it! He never once ran in front of the bike. If we were to go a long distance however, I doubt he'd be up for it. Friends have suggested I get a basket or buddy seat to put him in.
I'll consider it.

Doggone it.

It has been a bit since I felt like sitting down and doing this.
I started a blog a few times and then deleted it as there was always something else that needed doing.

Charlie and I went hunting earlier this week to find some ice caves.

We found them but with the strange weather we've been having, the formations were not exciting at all.

However, I do know where these caves are now and how to get to them should the weather begin to cooperate.
Tonight it is supposed to rain quite a bit. I suppose that is better than a snowstorm.
However, the driveway hill will become ice and well, that could be an issue for getting out and to Rich's next appointment at the VA.

Each day this week I've done a nice long walk or hike with Charlie. He loves and adores the snow.

Yesterday morning we walked out the croplands to watch the sun come up.
Charlie had more interest in deer poop and rabbit poop than the beautiful morning.

Yesterday afternoon was more dog day stuff.
Dixie joined us on a nice long walk.

Charlie was so happy to have his big gal pal to annoy.

We covered a few miles of creek and hillsides and then ended up on the porch to lounge in the sun while I got out the nail trimmers and did both dogs.

We sat in the sun and relaxed for a long time afterwards.

We listened to someone doing some squirrel hunting east of our place. The dogs were curious but decided the porch was a much nicer place to hang out.

I left my jacket on the porch when I went inside with Charlie to get some things ready for supper and chores.

Dixie pulled my jacket down and made a bed in front of the door.

Dixie was the chore helper last night. After she ate she crawled into her doghouse and went to sleep. She and Charlie will assist again this morning.

My life has gone to the dogs.
However they are good company.

And they rarely talk back to me!

Christmas Chair...

I decided to go all wooden this year. Driftwood from Lake Michigan found while hiking with good friends. Odd looking roots found while walking in the woods. Old wooden boxes, sewing drawers, the old kitchen drawer from before the remodel.
A green bench from Donna's Daughter's in Coon Valley.

I like this because I will probably redesign things several times over the next few weeks. I like setting it up as if I am going to do Still Life photography with it. Last year I painted a few branches and I used the old Christmas tree to adorn the chair.
This year I'm going to see if I can avoid the green tree and do a non traditional decoration.
The branches I cut while walking with Charlie last week. The grape vine wreath was something I've always wanted to try. And this year I did it. I am leaving it plain though.
Toss in a few birch branches I found on the ground and....well, I am ready!

Here is a dog food can that was painted and decorated last year. This year I took a chunk of wood and a napkin with a snowman on it...I did Mod Podge and crackle on the chunk of wood, then glued it to a stick. Viola! Fun decoration with no real money spent!

I like this. Non traditional and unique.

And very different from the past few years:

At least that is how I am planning it!

I'm going with less glitz and very few ornaments too. Basically I thought it would be fun to set it up as small 'sets' for Still Life Photography.

This year I bought some floral foam to use for the branches and some of the sticks. I moved the boxes around and put boxes inside of boxes. I even found what might have been an old handmade silverware organizer and used that.
I was going to paint it, but decided to leave it alone.

And then there was Charlie who had to get involved. Well, he watched until I started draping garland beads over him.
Then he looked at me and away from the camera. As if to say "Ho hum."

And then as if to say "Hmmm, I'm not too sure about this whole thing."

"Puhleese. I am too dignified for this."

"Well perhaps this scarf is better. Can you believe it, I'm only as big as the bear next to me."

"And there you got it, scarf and beads. I am the bomb."

The chair is behind Charlie. More shots coming later.
Charlie has been so good through all of this and seems to not mind getting dressed up.

We Like Ice!

Ok.
I like ice. I love to walk along the creek and look for these ice formations.

I took Charlie for a long walk yesterday afternoon specifically to look for these little beauties.

We started on the ridge with the warm sun on our backs as we walked on the edge of a large cornfield that was being combined.

That's Charlie walking ahead with his string on. Yes he still wears it. He still darts off on a scent trail once in a while which is what he is supposed to do naturally.
It seems that if he wears it, he feels like he is tethered to me?

I did have to take the string off when we got down into the thick of things. I don't want Charlie to get tangled up when he is log jam climbing.

Here is what the top photo looked like while I was taking the photo. I had to work around Charlie, water, ice, mud, snow, and bad footing.
But it sure was beautiful!

Remember the pup who wouldn't cross the creek? Now he is a dog on a mission. When we get to a real deep spot he is smart and asks for a lift.

He is also a good photo bomber...

We had a wonderful hike and after I cleaned Charlie up he took up a spot on the couch and went instantly to sleep.

Tonight we are supposed to get 4 to 6 inches of snow. It will be good for deer hunters, but I am bummed. I won't be able to go out and play in it.

I convinced Rich that he can indeed sit out if he wishes and hunt. His knee bothers him a lot. But he found a spot close to home that would offer him a good view of things.
I told him I'd sit with him.

The Kenosha Gang will arrive late tonight, so it looks like a busy weekend coming up.

Floods, Fall, Charlie

Of course it is all about the weather. This past week has been rain, rain, heavy rain, and then some more rain. If it rains an inch the creek is up. If it rains 1/2 inch, the creek rises.

While walking out to do chores yesterday morning I could hear the ground gurgling underfoot. I don't know if it will dry out enough in the next week or so for us to do a final lawn mowing. The winds and rains have clogged the porch gutters and I can't get up to clean them as the ground is so saturated that the ladder just sinks into the ground.

We went from cold temperatures to hot and humid for the past few days which brought in so much moisture and more rain. The Asian Beetles and the Box-elder bugs have swarmed the house in those brief moments that it did not rain. The weather is supposed to turn sharply colder in a few days and fall weather should return.

I have gone out for a walk with Charlie each day that we get a break from the rain. The subdued light was pretty beautiful for taking some fall photos.

Charlie was mostly interested in finding chipmunks and squirrels. He does still try to chase them. They generally fly up a tree and he loses sight of them. I call and he comes back fairly quickly.
He still wears the collar but I haven't had to 'ring' it much. I find the bell ringing distracts him enough so he comes to my call right away.

I think come winter I will be able to leave the collar off on our hikes. He is wearing his little black cord here too. He seems to understand that the cord means "stay close".

Yesterday I went solo to the creek and walked through the neighbor's land on each side of me along the creek. I got caught in a downpour and was thankful that I'd brought a cheap emergency poncho to put on over me. It protected my camera case and kept most of me dry.

It was alarming to see how swiftly the water began to run over the trails and down the ridge road.

I got home just in time too. The thunder began to roll and the lightening began to light up the afternoon sky.

Chores had to wait until there was a pause between storms. Three different wall clouds went over us in just two hours. Odd weather for mid October.

We are in a Flood Warning again for the Kickapoo River. It hasn't really gone back to normal since the rains at the beginning of September. I drove up the west side of the river the other day when I went to check on my MIL.

The power of that river water is incredible. It moved huge round bales that had been wrapped in a tube and displaced them all along the river.

I'm so over this rain! My driveway gravel and dirt is turning green in spots!

Helping Paws

Sunrise walk. Charlie assists in making sure I set things up properly.

He then slides off to the side of the road to investigate smells.

...and the final product we were working on.
Morning Coffee on Tigen Road:

We went back home for morning chores and errands. Charlie supervised the house cleaning by sitting with Rich and watching the vacuum cleaner.

Our whole afternoon was spent gardening. Okay. Charlie and I.
He had a unique method of helping.

He packed some seeds down for me.

Later he helped by guarding the bucket of seeds and chewing up an old corn stalk.

It got warm in the dirt and he started to pant so I put him on his rug up on the porch where he could oversee the progress and stay cool.

I'm not sure how I could manage each day without him as a Helping Hand and Supervisor.

Rich didn't feel well most of the day yesterday. He felt dizzy and out of it. He spent most of the day in bed. I hope we are able to soon figure out if the meds he is taking are doing this or it is something else. His B/P and his O2 levels were appropriate.
Today we take his mom to have a Neuro-Psychology Test.