After my big adventure over the weekend, I ached for some more fresh air and hiking.
I like to hike.
I put together a few things and off Morris and I went. Hubby went to take a nap and said he wanted me to wake him up in about an hour and a half.
I marched down the ridge road to the creek and started up our dry run. It didn't seem to be much of a challenge after my last adventure with the kids. However I did climb all the way to the ridge across mossy rocks and boulders.
Each year it seems another tree falls into the dry run. There was a bit of crawling and scrambling to get through. Morris however, took the easy way and followed a deer trail right above me.
I'm sure he wondered what was wrong with me.
This old oak will probably go with the next huge gully washer. It has been hanging on for years and I am amazed that it is still upright.
We got to the edge of our land and watched through the trees as a huge combine picked corn.
It is that time of year again, when photography in the woods feels pretty mundane and boring.
The landscape is not beautiful.
So I am going to try and find some photographic inspiration somehow.
Perhaps I'll have to dig into my black and white 'magic pouch' and see if I can come up with something worth looking at.
All in all, I hiked at least one mile with a change of elevation of 200 ft, which makes for a nice workout.
We found some deer trails, but nothing heavily used enough to clear the leaves off the path.
Morris and I made it home in time to wake up hubby and get chores done.
I found some wild parsnip and sauteed them in pesto sauce. Wow, was that ever good!
I hope to find these pretty soon! One of the very first flowers to come up in the woods in the spring. That is ... after the Skunk Cabbage which doesn't look anything like a flower but still technically is.
These I found on the 15th in our creek bottom. They are just emerging here so the ground must be much colder in this area.
That means in order to find Bloodroot flowers I'm going to have to find some hillsides that get a bit more sunlight.
You'd think after years of looking for them each spring, I'd have figured this out. Nope, it didn't occur to me until the other afternoon while I was out with Morris.
Who posed for a cookie!
Look carefully in Morris's eyes. You can see me holding up a dog treat to get him to sit still and look up!
He was too busy to stop and let me take his portrait otherwise.
I've looked back in my photography records on Flickr and the earliest I've ever found Blood Root in these woods has been April 20th. So, perhaps I have to be a bit more patient.
BUT...
it is only two days until the 20th!
The leeks are coming on strong though and I may collect some young ones to chop up and mix into some scrambled eggs.
The temperatures are perfect for what I was looking for.
Morris and I headed out about 2 pm which was the 'warmest' part of the day.
We headed into the valley where the winds were not gusting.
Along the way we counted two herds of deer. One set of 4 went up the north side of the valley and about 10 went up the south side of the valley. From what I could see, they were all does.
We walked along the creek looking for ice formations and I was pleased to find them in the long summer grasses.
I found this near the snowmobile crossing.
The temperature of the spring fed creek is warmer than the air, in places that it splashes over rocks the water freezes onto grasses and other rocks to create incredible ice formations.
Morris and I walked further down the valley where Ariel and I had gone a few weeks ago and I found a cool spot where the water was flowing under the ice!
The creek was making beautiful music here. The sound of the water going over the rocks and splashing was intoxicating.
I sat down in the snow and Morris climbed onto my legs.
He obviously needed some warming up.
After a bit we decided to head back home and follow the creek back to our fence-line instead of going up over the hill.
This portion of the creek is pretty deep, so I called Morris back and carried him over so he wouldn't get soaked.
I do love this time of year, things are so fascinating along the water ... the life blood of the valley...
Oh.
Morris the Camo Dog.
I think winter suits him!
We stopped at the Trail Cam and exchanged the cards.
The doe and her twins have been coming back to take a drink ...
And with that we headed home.
Happy and feeling refreshed.
Here it is.
November.
I do like this time of the year. It is cool but not bitter cold.
I can hike and not have to deal with flying insects, although ticks are still an issue.
This weekend my son and his wife came to visit. Of course their dog, Teslin came along too. Morris and Teslin have known each other since they were both puppies.
Photo above dated: December 16, 2006.
You can say that these two learned the ropes together.
And happily they have grown older and still play well together only they not quite as lively as they used to be.
During our hike Morris decided to go one way on the log and Teslin decided to go the other way.
No one fell and all was good.
We hiked down into a secluded dry run or if you prefer a ravine to explore.
We did some rock climbing and just enjoyed exploring. We uncovered quite a few cow bones from when the owners of this land still had cattle.
At some time one must have fallen into the ravine.
We searched around in the leaves and came up with quite a few to line up on the log.
Our dogs enjoyed it immensely. They ran, sniffed, climbed logs, and simply were dogs. No leashes, only their master's voices to keep them in sight.
It isn't often that I get avid hikers to go with me and this was a special treat.
That included all the special ribbing I got later from MY son!
He and his wife are always ready and willing to go on an 'adventure' with me.
We usually find something interesting on our hikes and no two trips to the forest are ever quite the same.
It had been probably about 2 years or more since I climbed up this rocky ravine from the valley. I'd totally forgotten about the little spring and pond I'd discovered in the spring of 2009.
Teslin later provided us with entertainment as she pursued light reflections on the wall in the kitchen as Morris looked on ... rather unimpressed and slightly curious.
The weekend drew to a close and 'the kids' left.
I watched their car go up the driveway and ... yes, well...I started missing them as did my husband.
Morris however, after such a whirlwind week took no time in claiming his new fleece blanket on the couch next to one of his hedgehogs.
To say he was exhausted would be an understatement.
So our huge busy week has ended.
Time for us to rest a bit.
Apparently the weatherman has stated that we are in for a quick chill down this week.
That ought to prove interesting along the creek.
The water will splash over the rocks and make incredible ice formations.
Didn't I say that I really liked November?
The grand kids wanted up at Sunrise ... well at this time of year it is later than usual. Daylight savings time put it back an hour, the grands were pretty tuckered and just barely made it up to see the sunrise.
Even Morris wasn't really willing to get up.
But we got going and Ariel, Morris, and I decided to head out for a walk in the woods and down the valley.
I really didn't realize until the two of us were further down the valley exploring things through her eyes, how much I missed having another person to hike with.
I put my arm around and hugged her tightly and said "I wished you lived close enough to go hiking with me all the time."
Oh I meant what I said. Hiking and exploring is okay with Morris, but it sure was more fun with Ariel along.
We went to some of my favorite spots and to places that Ariel had not seen before.
I guess I realized then that even though I knew nearly every inch of this huge forest, that sharing its wonders with someone else would be like a fine gift.
We turned around at this point of the valley. And Ariel led the way confidently with Morris close on her heels.
I told Ariel about the 'ice cave', the back valley, the big rocky dry runs, the out cropping that overlooked a valley, and more...
In my mind I was truly trying to figure out how to take her there and show her these amazing spots.
I felt like a kid with a new playmate.
Oh yes, I am her grandmother.
But for the time we were hiking and talking I felt like a youngster showing my 'playground' off to my best new friend.
I guess that makes me a bit odd, but I can't wait for our next hiking adventure.
We love looking and searching and hiking. Yesterday it was time to return to the creek bottom and visit the last few breaths of fall.
[It was 28 degrees this morning!]
The leaves were coming down like rainfall.
The afternoon was a bit cool and breezy and it was getting late, but we decided to go for a hard and fast hike.
Though when we got to the creek, of...course we got side tracked.
Morris had to 'water' every log and stick he could find.
After all, it is his territory. Or so he thinks.
The hateful Japanese Barberry plant is quite beautiful in the fall and winter. The berries and foliage are stunning in colors.
But they crowd out other plants.
The reflections of the trees on the hillside were incredible.
For a while I stopped and sat on a log in the water.
I was able to see a Tiger Trout. The distinctive markings on the fins were bright.
They weren't large, but they did let me catch a glimpse of them before they disappeared under the banks and into to other dark places.
The creek is incredibly clear. Can you see where the water surface is? Hint the colored leaves are floating on top.
Winter will change the look of this area drastically. But we've had a fairly dry fall so the creek is pretty low here.
Finally, with daylight fading, Morris and I headed back home. We had supper to cook and chores to help out with.
Although we were greeted by a beautiful scene provided by the donkeys not far from the feeder.
The skies were dull grey but there was a hint of sun ... as if the light was trying to penetrate the dark heavy clouds, but I wasn't sure which would win.
I decided to ask Morris if he'd like to go look for 'things' in the woods.
Of course he never ever refuses.
Not even in the rain.
He will refuse to go out to his potty spot if it is raining hard...but not to go for a walk with me.
What an odd dog.
I chose the 50mm lens for a few reasons. It is a fast lens ... meaning in low light you can still take hand held shots just like this without getting camera shake.
The colors on the forest floor were quite beautiful.
So many things to discover after 2 3/4 inches of rain for the previous few days.
One of the odd things we found was a huge 'jelly' fungi!
I think the rain really helped this one along!
The colors of the birches showed up nicely with the muted sky.
In a way I find this time of year very exciting. It is a race to grab the beauty of fall as it quickly changes day to day.
Even as the peak fades, wonderful colors show up.
The bright green grass has not yet faded to brown and the forest in places is holding on desperately to its leaves.
By the way, the calf peeking around the corner is WhoDunnit, our only bull calf.
The grey mule walking in another pasture is Mica. I couldn't get enough of the colors that bordered their pasture.
And a view from one pasture into another....
The colors are hanging on just barely.
This morning there is supposed to be some dense fog in the river valley areas.
I always find that this makes for very interesting sunrise photos.
I can still see stars to the east in the upper sky.
Down in my hollow, the fog is starting to build.
It should be an interesting morning.
Yep, Morris and I went for a nice long hike yesterday. He supervised while I re-cut part of my mule trail in the woods. Over the summer the berry briers had grown into the trail and I opened it back up now that Autumn is near and the plants are done growing.
We found some interesting plants while we were out hiking.
Here is Blue Coshcosh, also part of the Barberry family. Scientific name: Caulophyllum thalictroides (L.) Michx. Family Berberidaceae
It was a startling color to find in the woods. I'm sure these have grown near my path before but perhaps I just have not seen them!
Just a bit further on we found some more Indian Pipes. They seem to be abundant even though it is very dry in our area right now.
Yesterday was one of those almost perfect summer days. Warm with a nice breeze during the day and last night it got down to 59 degrees!
Normally we experience some rather hot and muggy August days.
Actually our whole summer has been milder than in years past. It has shown up in some of our garden plants, the cool nights have kept them from producing normally.
Yet the milder not muggy and horridly HOT days have provided for better hiking weather. Morris thoroughly enjoyed playing leader.
He is very good at finding obscure deer trails for us to follow.
Old Dog is a good dog.
