Surprise!

Surprise visit!

I was getting out a saddle to put on Sunshine when I heard some voices.
Oh I know what you are thinking, but the voices were real. They belonged to Dennis and Ariel.

Since I had Sunshine out and was just about ready to ride, I asked Ariel if she wanted to ride Siera.
Dennis went in the house to visit with Rich while Ariel and I took a jaunt across the fields and a short trip through the woods.

After we got done riding we visited for a bit and then it was time for them to go. I walked with them up to their parents' vehicle. Charlie escorted us of course.

Charlie jumped into Rich's daughter's Tahoe and made himself at home. I had to retrieve him.
Charlie is an excellent ice breaker, no one is immune to his big eyes and exuberance.

They all went to visit my MIL at the nursing home for a while.

The bigger surprise was when they all returned to visit with us.

It was nice.
That was a surprise that was welcome.

A Gift

It is fairly rare for us to get a visit from my youngest son who lives near Wausau Wisconsin. I won't explain any of that here, but let's just say, it was wonderful that they could come to visit this year and the weather cooperated too!

I used to drive to their place each year to see them just before Christmas until Rich had his stroke. He wasn't comfortable being home alone even though I had chore volunteers and neighbors who would check on him.

I chose to take the 'kids' and parents on a hike to the Kickapoo Valley Reserve where the trail I'd chosen had enough of a variety to interest a 4 and 5 year old and a safe trail that would allow them to run off energy. Lily who had just turned 14 came along also. The Grands chose to ride in Grandma's Subaru.

I think the deciding factor was Charlie.
Elena or Nonnie as her brother calls her offered to hold Charlie so he wouldn't get car sick.

How perfect is that? Charlie gets to sit on Elena's lap in her carseat and...navigate!

Sterling fell asleep on the ride to KVR.

Once out though, the fun began. I don't think it was so much the adventure outdoors that attracted everyone, as it was ... who would be in charge of Charlie's Leash...

Not a fantastic photo, but here is Sterling aka 'Buddy' totally delighted to have Charlie's leash.
Now at the Reserve, you don't have to have your dog leashed when the birds are not nesting, however, everyone wanted a bit of Charlie.
And Charlie didn't mind at all.

Lily. What can I say about her? Just that she is heartfelt and true. I managed to get a quick shot of her. She watched over her little siblings.

My youngest son here is holding Elena and they are looking down the bluff towards the Kickapoo River.

Onward we went...

Down the 'magic' stairs into the wondrous Kickapoo River Valley...ok. My words, but why not? It is a pretty magical place.

We walked along the trails and through the covered bridge. Everyone found sticks to poke at ice. Here is the moment when I think I realize that indeed...Elena could be a Wood Princess with her Stick Scepter! That look!

Lily captures Sam and I in fur hats. Yes I am the Stinker. I loaned my fox hat to Sam so she wouldn't get cold.

I'd handed Lily one of my pocket cameras and told her to fire away. Now I know what she was doing when she was hanging back!

The trails were very icy and instead of instilling fear in the kids, the ice seemed to be just a challenge and something fun despite warnings from the parents.

We got up towards the old dam site...there is a long and very bitter history that surrounds this area, but this isn't the time to go into that. The result is that there is now a great hiking trail that is a snow shoe/cross country ski trail in the winter and bicycle, horse, hiking trail in the summer.
Let's leave it at that.

The kids had a great idea once they got on top of the dam.

The real fun was finding ice puddles and smashing them with sticks.

The fresh air and hiking wore everyone out. And the drive back home was nearly silent.

That evening Sterling and Elena entertained Rich with their antics and toys. All that laughter wore Rich out.

But it was worth it.

It was one of the best gifts we could have had. A nice short visit. Laughter, yelling, shouting, quiet moments, and kids.

And ...
Charlie was sad to see them leave.

Thank you for the gift Jeremie and Sam.

Poetry

Mary Oliver 
Excerpt from Leaves and Blossoms Along the Way

All important ideas must include the trees,
the mountains, and the rivers.
.

To understand many things you mus reach out
of your own condition.
.

For how many years did I wander slowly
through the forest. What wonder and
glory would I have missed had I ever been
in a hurry!
.

Beauty can both shout and whisper, and still
it explains nothing.
.

The point is, you're you, and that's for keeps.

And those are some thoughts from Mary Oliver on of my favorite poets to read for today.
Just some art made from some photos to finish things off....

My youngest son made it with his family late last night. It was quite the adventure for the to get here. My son left his wallet in a way side and a State Trooper found it and they got it back with nothing stolen.

It is sure to be an interesting few days....

Enjoy, all is very quiet here this morning.

Whirlwind Activity

I like dawn. I like it even better with a pal. In this case my pal was not just a mule or one Charlie.

I took Ariel on her first 'rough' ride in the woods. This photo was after she and Siera did a mule slide into the creek. A big deal for Siera as she is pretty sure she doesn't want to do it and a big deal for Ariel who had to convince her it was okay.

Everyone survived and Ariel got to test out her 'muleman ship'. Ariel didn't seem convinced that she did fine. I was on Sunshine who is rather ho hum about mud, muck, and sliding into streams. Siera is sure it is mule-eating mud. She will do it though.

We rode two early mornings and what can I say? It is fantastic to have a riding partner. We beat the heat, got wet from dew laced leaves and got to see the fog coming off the creek into the warm air. The trails we followed were deep in the woods and along the creek. We simply followed the 4 Wheeler's trails. [Apparently they are not allowed in there!]

I rode Mica the second morning. We took the 'tough' trail out to the valley bottom and then used an old logging trail to head back home.

On a nice open trail like this Siera is the dream ride. Mica gets bored and seems to walk in her sleep.
No matter, we made two early morning rides and enjoyed them.

When I got back, I asked Dennis if he'd like to ride and brush up on his skills. He said yes. I gave him a boost to get on Siera and let him ride in the yard area.

The kids are pretty darned good riders on well behaved mules of course. I wish I had a buddy that would come ride with me often.

Morris always used to run alongside Badger and I. Later after Badger passed over the rainbow bridge, Morris would come with Siera and I. He even rode with me on Opal.

We'd had a very busy weekend. Stepdaughter's husband had wanted some wood to cut and load so he was busy during the blistering heat on Saturday. We grilled hot dogs and had a nice supper in the air conditioned house.

And...
of course Charlie makes for sweet moments. MIL thought he was so darned cute and Rich held him for her to pet.
And...
then there was this other Charlie Moment with Angel, the beagle. They grew rather fond of each other.

I've been working my fingers to the bone on the little gardens I have around the house. So much great dirt to work with! I'll catch up on that later.

Our farm friend stopped by, and yesterday I had to move the Dexters we are shipping to auction. We just can't afford to feed them and take care of them as they deserve. I kept the 'good' ones as forest foragers and they are just the right number of cattle to help keep the pastures in order.
More on that later too.

This morning I will see them off. Yesterday was an all day extravaganza of me pounding posts with a heavy post pounder, stringing electric lines and testing them.
The effort was worth it even if my hands hurt like the dickens this morning along with my arthritic sternum. The cattle are ready.

As soon as they are loaded and up the drive, it looks like I have MIL duties to tend to.

Tomorrow my Kenosha Gang will be arriving for the weekend. Charlie can get over his doldrums, I can wish that my house were clean after such a whirlwind weekend with the in laws and grands...however.
So much to do and it is delightful outside.

The locust trees are in blossom and the air around the house smells delightful.

And that is that....
Until I catch up on my garden stuff, yard stuff, ... and ... well, you get the idea!

No Time to catch up!

Well, let's say that it has been busy around here...

And that should catch us up to today....

Mica

August 2009 is one of the last times Mica was ridden out and about. I don't recall why Rich stopped riding most of the time, it seems that my job then interfered a lot with riding.
Here she is in full riding gear.
Mica has an excellent training backround. Her trainer was pretty meticulous about her ground behavior and her manners.

Fast forward to 2017. Mica has been 'out to pasture' retirement. Not because anything is wrong with her, but because Rich just 'didn't have time' or was 'too busy' to ride.

I insisted on keeping Mica even though she hadn't been ridden in ... 8 years. Rich took her out a few weeks ago and she acted like a bit of a ninny.
I sometimes wonder if it is the attitude of the person handling the animal.
Don't get me wrong, Rich is not mean but he does demand perfection.

I realize the animal is an animal. Mica has been handled a lot since her 'retirement' I catch her often, clean her feet, move her from one pasture to another...and she has never been tough to handle.

So. Yesterday she came out of retirement at the ripe age of 21.

I worked for about 20 minutes with her. Then I put on a saddle and mounted, dismounted, and lay across her.
I let her 'heel' me around the pen, stop, turn, follow, back up, and stand on vocal command.
She actually was enjoying the attention and the work.

The kids handled her too. And she was polite when Dennis made mistakes, she tried to 'heel' him and not get in his way.
After a bit of coaching, Dennis nailed it.

I was so happy and Mica was so content with the kids petting and grooming her.

My question to the kids was.
"Do you think Mica enjoys this?"
"YES!"

Most mules love a job. Mica is going to love coming out of retirement.

We put her away and the kids still wanted to 'mess with mules'.

So out came the fabulous bay duo.
Siera and Fred.

End of story!

I needed to bring Mica out of retirement. The kids want Grandpa to ride with them. He can ride Miss Sunshine and go along if all goes well with Mica.
This week will be fascinating.

The Flurry is Over

When a grand child spends a week here, it feels as though the house is lacking something when they leave. 

Morris takes it to heart.
He wanders the house and makes frequent trips up the stairs to see if his pal is really gone or perhaps he can find a sniff of them somewhere.
Eventually he ends up curled up on the couch and will spend most of the day there.

On Saturday afternoon I went for a walk and he started out with me and then turned around and went to the house. He sat in front of the door and looked at me. This had me worried. Morris refuse to go for a hike? Impossible!
Yet he did.

Sunday I took advantage of the free day and picked produce from the garden.

I had a bounty of food. A garden cart full of beets and turnips along with two buckets of green beans and a sinkful of red lettuce [thanks to the cooler temperatures ~ it didn't bolt!]

I spent all day Sunday blanching and freezing the green beans and the beets. I used my vacuum sealer. I also dried lemon basil herbs with my old dehydrator. I finished one jar for the neighbor and am working on another jar for my step daughter.

Monday I decided to do some wandering in the woods. I gathered some items in my back pack and grabbed the Nikon with the Nifty Fifty [50mm prime lens]. 
Morris perked up. He bounced in his usual manner and came with me. 
Apparently it takes him about two days to get over missing kids.
Though he still checks a few times a day by going upstairs to look in the bedrooms.

I let him hike with me without his bell on at first.

He keeps getting 'lost' in the thick undergrowth, so I eventually put his bell on so I could hear where he was.

For fun, I'd brought my Flea Market tea cup and saucer. I found shelf fungus on a dying tree and thought it would be fun for 'outdoor' Still Life. 

Faerie Tea Time

In the creek I thought it would be fun to try out the tea cup and saucer in a long exposure with water running past it.

The overcast day was perfect for some flowing water photos. I added a polarized lens to get rid of water reflections. I took quite a few shots to get the one I was happy with.

Personally though, I sort of like the tea cup on the shelf fungi best. I think it is odd enough and unique enough to satisfy my tastes.

I spent yesterday working on my flower garden and the vegetable garden. I purchased some black bark mulch and I really like how it looks. Seems I will need to go back and get some more to properly cover the area I want.

Last but not least, I took an afternoon break and sat on a stool in the garden between my malva flowers and zinnias to watch bees and butterflies. Of course, I had my camera.

The grand kid flurry is over, only to start up again in another week or so. 

The Kenosha gang will be coming at the end of the month with their dog Scout. 

My Flurry of Fun Summer has not ended!

I can say I am certainly enjoying this beautiful summer.