Just fun stuff ~ Rains!

This past week....

We got so dry once more. But that was good in a way as the farmers got most of their crops planted and I put off mowing the yard a few extra days.

I decided that a shaggy yard was okay since the price of gas was so high, I could mow it a bit less and not worry about how pretty it looked.

Now we are in a cycle of rain and rain and rain. 

Friday night we had close to an inch of rain with some incredible lightening.

Saturday was supposed to get up to 83 F and be hot and icky. So after sunrise, the dogs and I took a 'field trip' to our creek. There was a dual purpose to it. I could do my daily check on the mules and get the dogs some exercise before it got hot.

I made one more discovery. Hannah loves, loves, loves water. She paws it, walks in it, jumps into it, and plays in it. If I toss a rock into the creek and it splashes, she pounces on the splash.

Our creek is not deep in places there might be pools of water about 6 inches deep, but that it is mostly about 3 inches of water that tumbles over the rocks.

Alas, the creek is full of weeds and grasses from years of dry summers. It used to be a nice rock bed that one could pick their way through. Not any longer.

This is a photo of the creek in 2019 before years of drought.

And what the area looks like now.

I've watched the valley change over the years. 

I now fight through thigh high garlic mustard and in June, I stop going through the bottoms because of 5 foot tall parsnip plants. I have spent hours and hours clearing paths along the creek in my favorite spot.

The runoff from the fields around us drains into our valley and we get all the nasty weeds from our neighbor. The deer and other wild animals spread the seeds simply by walking through these patches.

Garlic mustard

The cattle from the two farms on either side of me are gone now and the lands around us have turned into 'wildness' and weeds. 

However, I still go out and enjoy finding amazing plants and scenery. The dogs don't care about trails, weeds, or flowers. They enjoy the smells and adventure.

I have to assist Charlie through some of the places now as the plants are up knee high to me or thigh high. I used to take a corn knife and cut a trail through the difficult parts. I may have to do that again this summer. 

This is part of the reason why I go to the Reserve or our county parks. The trails are mowed and we can walk on them.

But I do love our forest.

I'll keep exploring it as long as I can. The hillsides and upper forest have so many amazing things to see all year.

Maidenhair Fern

Golden Oyster Mushrooms

Reflections of the tree above in a small creek pond.

Mini-me and my backpack and camera

always searching for the next

shot.

This week we are predicted to have accumulated at least 4 inches of rain since Friday evening. Perhaps the creek will have plenty of water for Hannah to play in.

Busy busy!

Between the humidity and the two days of rain, I've gotten a lot done around the inside of the house. I'd picked up 2 dozen ears of corn from a farm stand and have it all frozen and put away now.

I did laundry except for the stuff I want to hang out to dry. That will have to wait for the rain to stop. Being forced to stay inside made me clean the house and scrub the floor. Yuck. It needed it.

In between rains, I grabbed the SD card from the Trail Cam and see that this guy has been using the forest trail.

I did see him the other morning when I was checking the meadow pasture. I can't help but be in awe of our wild creatures.

I finally had some time to look at the photos I took last Friday when I hiked part of the West Ridge Trail. 

Much of the first mile of the trail is in fields. But this time I decided to really try to be interested or more aware of 'what' was in the fields around me. Normally, I consider this trail ... at least this first mile quite boring.

Charlie didn't care, nothing is boring to him. He uses his sense of smell to keep up with things that are occurring in the present and the past. Imagine being able to have his sense of smell. 

I was excited to find this grass on both sides of the trail in great abundance.

I haven't ID'd it yet, but the first thing that came to my mind was Bluestem grass.

Another delight along the trail was blackcaps. The ripe ones were so danged sweet! I had to stop often to grab some to eat.

There were a few spots where this butterfly weed grew wild.

Such a brilliant orange.

Then we went into the woods and headed down the trail for a ways.

The undergrowth was SO thick it was hard to see into the woods for any distance until we got into an area with a heavy canopy of maples.

I found Downy Rattlesnake Plantain! And...I found it flowering! Wow...wow! Wow!

It is considered an Orchid. Did you know that? I did not!

Below is a photo of one of the new plants. They are so beautiful!

When I walked the trail, I finally got to an area where I knew I should find fungi. I found them too. 

The last ones are Golden Oyster Mushrooms and I've seen them now in this same area in June and August. They thrive all summer long when they have moisture.

This was also the trail that the fellow at the bicycle shop recommended for a bicycle ride experience. I may try it. But in order to make a loop to get back to my vehicle, it will take some road riding or 9 miles of hills, roots, and rocks to get back.

I'm going to first check out another nice bike trail that was made out of an abandoned t train right away that isn't too far away. 

The Pine River Recreational Trail in Richland County. Apparently there are a multitude of trails even closer to home in my own home town. Looks like it is time for me to put on my exploring cap once more!

Nature is curious

Bat: Found under my car a few days ago. I picked it up with cardboard and moved it into shade and foliage on the north side of the house.
 

Our fungi hunts were very successful, both Olive and I bagged full canvas bags of both Golden Oysters and Chicken of the woods the day after we got 2/10ths of an inch of rain. [That was last Sunday]

However, when I went to our forest the next day all I found were nasty slugs climbing all over the oysters. Even though that is gross, I thought it was interesting. The slugs love moisture and it makes sense that they would gather just above the lowest part of our narrow valley and steep hillsides to enjoy the moisture.

For your entertainment....

Classica slug dance -> video is 15 seconds long.

We have misty humid mornings 

and 35% humidity by early afternoon with brown/blue skies.

The colors of the morning sunrise are orange.

The evenings just fade away...

With poor air quality and intense heat, not much is going on around here. My days consist of getting things done outdoors before noon.

Happy Summer to everyone. This summer is sure and odd one.

All in a Day

All in a day's work.

I'm actually a bit too small of a person to handle a scythe properly with a good wide swing. However, I make it work.

I do this work at dawn, it is cooler out and I learned that weeds cut with a scythe much easier when they are damp with dewfall.

I see these tools hanging on the side of sheds with citified folk who don't know how to use them ... I imagine they are 'decorates'. To me, it is better than a power tool. I have to get it sharpened again. I asked hubby but he forgot.

[Perhaps I'll take it up to my neighbor and have him do it as he has one too. When I was getting the mail he and his son were out yesterday afternoon and we discussed the attributes of Scythes. I think he was surprised that I used on. ]

Next up was a trip to town to turn in my ancient STIPUD Phone and see if I could get a newer upgraded one. I went to the local US Cellular place in town and was waited on by the absolutely nicest bunch of customer service folks. The gal that waited on me was named Sara and she was newer at her job so she apologized a lot for doing things slowly.

I told her that this was my thing to do today, so I was not in a rush. I was learning about this phone and it was the first decent one I've ever had. My previous cell came at a discount of less than $50 and I admit, it was pretty crappy. However, it worked for what I needed it for.

Hands down. The greatest Customer Service I've ever had from anyone in recent memory!

When I got home I tried to familiarize myself with the Google Pixel phone [yeah Eddie, it is a nice phone and I got it for 50% off!]. 
Olive texted and asked if I wanted to walk in their woods with her and Aiden.

Off we went.
We were hunting for Oyster Mushrooms and we hit the jackpot.
The first shot is dried up Oysters...

[photos below are with the cell phone Google Pixel 6a]

This one is of a flush of them....

No Forest Adventure is complete without a Lego Person.
This guy needs a name before he is introduced to Fern! Got any good ideas?

By nearly nightfall, I was tired and worn out. Today I'll have to take a nap so I can go out in the fields on the ridge and hopefully shoot the milky way & fireflies!

As a last bit of something, I'll say this. I know I go on and on about CrossFit and it may seem obsessive to others. It can seem that way. Below is a link to a video that pretty much shows what our gym is like. It isn't a hard core place -- though if you wish to be hard core, it can be done. Our gym is very unique. In the summer they offer children's gym class and teen gym class too.

CrossFit Viroqua 'We are Family'

This video is Exactly Why I
Go... [the video directs you to watch it on FB so I am sorry for that, but if you have access, it is really quite fun and very short.]

PS: 
This morning I finished up the Thistle Patch ... onto my next Farm Job whatever that will be!

Foodie? Catch up...

Spring calls for wild food. I skipped the wild ramps this year, Rich doesn't like onions that much and I have a tiny plot of chives out the back door that I can use anyway.

However, he had a taste for Morels. I hadn't been able to find any until yesterday. I found Morels and I found several places that had Oyster Mushrooms. I leave enough oysters alone so they will spore out and create more on the same log or tree.

The Morels were not huge, but I will cook them up for hubby. It is his favorite. 

I thought I'd try some Pheasant Backs too since they are so plentiful.  They can be found mainly on box elders that are dying. I read up on when to pick them and how to process them.
 

I decided to just try a few and see how they tasted.

Scrap off the spores with a spoon. And it surprisingly smells 

like

cucumber!

Then peel off the brown top...

Chop into thin slices...

One recipe called for white wine and butter. I went with another that called for dipping them in eggs and flour/seasons, then frying. 

I can fry or sauté pretty good aside from boiling water that is...

They were okay. After all, what doesn't taste good fried in butter? Not as good as Morels or Oysters though.

Meanwhile there is mowing, fencing, grooming, to do.

The toilet took a dump and died. I was impressed by the same day service from 608 Plumbing. The price was?  Well. You pay a good price for a plumber. Joe was super nice and said if we wanted him to adjust the flush, just let him know. 

I quipped, as long as the s--t goes down, I don't care about the flush!

The farrier[s] were here too. They are a father son team. All mules behaved and Lil' Richard was probably the hardest for them to do since he is only 31" tall.
One of his jobs is to keep the hill in front of the machine shed trimmed.

We had some rain overnight so I'll be out foraging again for Morels and perhaps dig up some parsnip for fresh veggies.

I did manage a trip to the Kickapoo Valley Reserve to knock off another trail section and do some exploring. More about that when I get time.

Hectic Week! I'm looking forward to 2 quiet days! Next week the Mini Split will be installed!

20 seconds of Orioles

Hot and Humid

Hot 
Humid
Wet
Holiday Weekend

That is the weather this week which is good for the crops and not so good for mowing or enjoying the outdoors. 

I did spend a whole day though cleaning up the upstairs of the house. Both the East Wing and the West Wing [ ~~ tiny little rooms in our story and a half cottage ~~] got deep cleaning. 
I did some purging while I was at it.

My walks have been short and after Charlie nagged me one morning, I decided to take him along with my long lens on a walk to the mailbox. 

This wren kept chattering at us so I stood still and waited for her to land on something. I was pleased that she was singing her morning songs. 

We got to the ridge and I grabbed the mail which was just junk mail. It was a flier advertising a Huge Sale! All mattresses must GO! Store Closing!

That store has been closing for about a year now. 

I tucked the ad under my arm and decided to look at the weeds along the ditch to search for insects.

I was so pleased to find this beauty. I think it is a Spotted Skipper, however I am not sure as the wings in this light almost appear blue tinted.

This one could be some sort of Spotted Fritillary. I call it 'little brownish spotted butterfly'.

However, my buddy didn't think too much of our little side trip.

I wanted to just walk down a ways and look a tiny bit more... and so I called Charlie...and got this...

I agreed with him and turned around to take him home. Once he got in view of the house, he trotted the rest of the way to the porch door and stood looking at me. Little dogs get the heat from the ground and his short nose doesn't allow him to cool off very well. 

My morning walks are the highlight of my day right now. I do it early as the weather is hot and mugg--ly.

This is from my morning foraging walk. Oops! I should have left my camera sitting in a bag on the porch for a while before taking it out in the extremely hot and humid climate.

[This was one of those days where the dew point and temperature were just about the same degree!]

Stupid me. But there it is:

I'd stopped here to photograph a fawn laying down in one of the mule trails but got a fogged lens instead.

I did see this fawn on the way back though!

My morning foraging looked very promising.

This is my creek or was the creek until the drought hit. For the first few years I lived here, it was like this. Then we had some flash floods and for many years water always flowed over the rocks but no more than a few inches deep.

It is almost moist and cooler in this bottom. Beware though, the rocks are like walking on marbled ice.

Yep, marbled ice is a good description. The bruises on my gluteus maximuses will be a good judge of that. 

However, I was more interested in getting some delicious oyster mushrooms for supper and some to dehydrate.

On the way back home with my goodies, I found some chicken of the woods...I think. These did not look appetizing at all with the amount of icky looking gnats and bugs on them. 

But the blaze orange color is hard to miss.

And then more cool bugs. A Hover Fly and an inch worm on the head of a yarrow blossom.

So what is this hot and humid weather good for?

Well.

It is good for short excursions into the woods to find neat insects, wild flowers, and wicked cool fungi and slime molds while picking black raspberries!