This is just going to be a few shots and not much else. Fall is starting to show up and I am spending time just admiring the sun angle and the deep woods around our farm and on local trails.
Charlie sitting on a bluff.
Hiking...at the Reserve...
The forest that surrounds us... I got stuck on stuck leaves!
Much of the canopy is still green but slowly turning and in places the leaves are brightly colored on damaged limbs.
Many leaves were slowly drifting down from above in the forest making a noise almost like a rainfall.
....
And then I was stopped by this.
Light, dark, shadows, yellows and colorful. Everything we look for in Fall Colors.
*I'm going for a walk. to the Big Spring. I'll use the field road, the snow mobile trail and the cropland to get down and back. I'll stop by the big dry run on the East side of PeeWee's.* PeeWee was the nickname of the owner of this land.
I tell this to my husband as he goes for his morning two hour-ish nap. He knows these locations as he has ridden and explored the neighbor's land we still refer to as PeeWee's.
Here is a photo of the Big Spring
Photo of the Big Spring last winter when the water still ran quicker. The warm air and water creates incredible frost on the rocks:
I went from the Big Spring over to the East Dry Run and walked up to where the little spring flows out of the 'step rocks'.
This spot in non drought years produces a small steady stream of water that works its way through all of these rocks.
In a normal cold and wet winter it looks like this:
A person can literally walk on two to three feet of ice or even more. It fills the dry run with incredible colors of ice that vary from blue to green and in places... an orange color. These photos were taken in 2015.
Two years of drought has changed the flow of the tiny spring. It still runs, but the temperatures have not been cold enough to create the river of blue ice like it has in years past.
Charlie is standing next to some cool roots and there is a critter path that leads up the bank from where the animals come down to drink from the tiny spring.
In years past, the river of ice has been at least 4 to 5 feet thick right at this spot.
From here back to the top where the snowmobile trail is a 100 foot climb up to the top. The grade is steeper than 25% so it is pretty intense.
The ground was frozen enough to climb up and out to the top. Yes, I climbed it. I do it each time I visit this spot. It is easier than back tracking into the valley.
Below is a map of my walk in the terrain mode of maps. The road viewed is called Tigen and it is a dead end road.
The yellow dots are places where someone lives. The start and stop is where we live. The black dot is where the where I was standing in near the little Spring.
I include this terrain map so you can see that the hikes are not on flat ground except when I cross cropland. You can see how steep our terrain really is.
View from the top 14 seconds.
My walk on the ridge was interesting also. I've decided to do another project on Farm Junk. Why not? Old farms have cool junk that farmers dumped in their dry runs to slow erosion and get rid of old machinery and things like tires.
Here is the first of my Junk Files.
The Viking.
Hey, it could be advertised as a great AirBnb!
--- Unplug! Enjoy Nature in our Viking Hut! No internet, no electricity! Experience the outdoors like a Hobo!
The open air feeling of this AirBnb is wonderful. Hear all the forest noises all night long. The unobstructed window faces east where you can watch the sun rise over the Driftless Region!
That's it folks....
Charlie and I have a lot of junk to find this winter. Can I just call it Still Life??
Friday's first order of business was to clear out some Iris plants and make sure the Mini Split that will be installed later is not crowded out by flowers and leaves.
These I'll take up to Olive's house. I think it will be the third time I've split up Iris plants and spread them out to other folks.
The morning was cold but there was sunshine. I jetted out the door with Charlie at 10AM to enjoy the morning sunlight. The winds were howling on the ridge so we headed down to the valley and followed the creek.
I wanted to see if any more Marshmarigolds had opened up. The only place I knew that they grew in all of the 600+ acres of woods was this one large warm spring.
I did find Virginia Beauties with their flowers still closed tight, but they had sprung back up after the heavy snow.
It is a 20 minute hike to the Big Springs if you hurry. There is no trail other than places where deer and other forest creatures have gone. Sometimes we just walk in the stream. I was pleased to see the bright yellow of the Cowslips when I came around to the spring.
There weren't as many of them as I was hoping for. I suppose that is due to the cold temps after the heat wave. Nights are near freezing and days have been chilly. Most of the time the moisture comes in a mix of sleet and rain.
But for the morning we had sunshine and we took advantage of it.
You know I had to bring something fun
along. A Dinosaur !
This little character is Grogu
from the Mandalorian series.
We headed back towards home as I promised to make a nice lunch of some sort. I couldn't help but stop and take a shot of how the Skunk Cabbage had changed.
They were opening their large leaves.
Maypoles were appearing in inconspicuous places. Once the leaves open and spread out they are obvious.
By the time we got back to where I first spotted the Virginia Pinks, they had opened their petals to the sunlight.
Charlie was so patient with me. He has become such a great Photography Assistant.
The photo that pleased me the most on our quest for Marshmarigolds? This one, with the sparkles coming off the spring's water. Everything worked out just right on this shot.
As soon as we got home, the clouds moved in and it alternated once again with sleety snowy rain and bone chilling temperatures.
I sure hope Spring eventually comes.
I spent all day Saturday fencing in more snow, sleet, and bursts of sunshine. But I have a new pen up for Lil' Richard to enjoy.
Hobby wanted a tripod, but she rummaged through the leftovers of Lego pieces and found a Chandelier top which she converted into a Quadpod.
She isn't sure how it will all work out, but for now, she is pleased. She thought she'd also try her hand at Infrared Photography, she was very surprised at how the Skunk Cabbage appeared white!
Skunk Cabbage Patch Below:
Below: Skunk Cabbage Spadix [center bumpy thing], the hooded Spathe is gone from being stepped on by wildlife.
The plants huge leaves will soon appear.
The Big Spring is located about a half mile or so from our house. The hike to get there isn't too bad, as long as you stick to the valley. The spring comes up from the ground and is probably the warmest spot in the valley. Most of the early plants can be found here.
I found the first Cowslip or Marsh Marigold yesterday. The spring is dotted with them, I imagine with the warm weather this weekend, more flowers will open.
Charlie in the Big Spring shot in IR. The blue colored lumps
are moss covered rocks.
In contrast the rock wall has ice on it. The sun only shines on this section of the valley when their are no leaves on the trees. The rock holds onto the cold. This little pond is a great place to cool off on a hot summer day.
It is only about knee deep but the water stays at 45 degrees F most of the summer.
Just above the wall with ice on it...I found fern curls emerging from the detritus.
Charlie sits and waits for me to make through the tangle of dead trees. He knows exactly where we are going now that he has been hiking this route for 5 years.
Come mid June, we won't be able to hike much further than this spot as the plants and weeds will be waist high and we won't be able to see our footing unless the deer and other wildlife make a trail along here.
In another few weeks though, I can come down and dig up fresh wild parsnip to take home and eat.
Today we should get off to KVR to hike the Jug Creek Trail. I want to get up on the rock formations while I can still see through the trees.
I am that strange person that delights busting through brush and briars to get to certain places in the spring to find that first wildflower.
It isn't a pretty wildflower and it doesn't even smell nice. It is the Skunk Cabbage.
Interesting enough, the Skunk Cabbage can push up through frozen ground and the bulb can create heat up to 70 degrees F to melt snow from around it.
Symplocarpus foetidus
While definitely not the prettiest wildflower, I find it one of the most interesting. It can create its own heat [thermogenic]. It smells bad because it attracts pollinators that like rotting meat.
Most animals avoid eating the plants as they emerge as the leaves create a burning sensation in their mouths.
The plants themselves like wet forests and stream banks. I find these near the Big Spring in PeeWee's Valley.
The trek there is not an easy one any more. Years ago the brother that lived on the land had cattle that kept the land well grazed. 13 years ago the cattle left the land and the land has gone wild. Charlie and I explore the valleys in the late fall through late spring. In midsummer, the land is choked with tall Parsnip, brambles, and other plants.
By June the grasses and other plants around the stream will be nearly 4 feet tall.
But for now, we will still enjoy wandering along the creek looking for cool things.
Antler shed and Iron Concretion.
Anytime it is cold but windy and sunny, I can walk in the valley and enjoy the weather without dealing with the cold winds. I took off my insulated flannel and hung it on a tree branch while walking east along the stream. I picked it up when I headed back home.
Charlie was a mud puppy. I had to rinse him off.
I'm so glad he is so easy going. When I got him out of the tub, I just laid him on his side and he let me towel him off.
The marsh marigolds shouldn't be far behind as I saw them just emerging in the Big Spring. I'll go back towards the end of next week to see if I can find any blossoms.
I'm pretty lucky to have this land near us. There are easier trails to be found at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve or one of our many County Parks. Duck Egg has an abundance of wildflowers in the lower trail that burst with Ephemeral flowers each spring.
This valley has several names but the absentee owner likes to refer to it as the Lost Valley. In a way it is. The Valley is cannot be accessed by any road. The only way to get there is by foot or 4 wheeler. A snowmobile trail does run through the area above the valley. There is an old logging road that can be walked down.
In 2005 the cattle that grazed the woods and grasslands were shipped off and the land was basically abandoned to the wild. Over the years the owners have leased out to the land to a few people for hunting purposes. One year a fellow planted 1/2 million dollars worth of marijuana in different areas. Other folks decided that since no one oversaw the land, they'd make trails with their 4 wheelers.
The whole land encompasses two valleys with two streams that flow into what is locally called the Black Bottom. That flows into the Kickapoo River. In those times of flooding, the narrow valleys become rather dangerous.
All that aside, I've hiked the 600+ acres of woods since 1996. Someone once quipped that I must know every tree by now. I almost do.
I have permission from the estate to wander at will on their land. I'm afraid that I know their land more intimately than they do. But that is the wonder of it all.
To get to the Back Valley/Lost Valley/Forgotten Valley -- all names for it -- requires a 1 mile walk through some steep terrain.
Here is a shot looking back towards where I came from on the day I snowshoed this trek. Up until a few years ago, where I am standing was grassland. The estate decided to rent it out as cropland. I have yet to see a good crop come off this land so I can't see how the renter is making any money.
However, the deer love the left over corn. This spring it should be rotated to soy beans. Whoever rented it the last two years put field corn in. The land won't yield much if they farm like that.
In many places the briars, noxious weeds, and thick underbrush has taken over. By midsummer, the land is difficult to walk through. I enjoy winter and spring walks here.
Here is a nearly 3 minute video of how the riding was in 2010. It is longish, but sort of interesting to see how calm Badger was and how he dealt with obstacles. We did ride to the Back Valley and explore this 3 mile trek that I now take often on foot. I can still ride this with Siera and Sundance, but I rarely do so any more. I stay closer to home now.
The video is pretty crappy, but in 2010 I only had my little Pink Fugly camera and it did do video. The dog is Morris, my Jack Russel that never missed a ride. When he tired, he jumped on Badger's legs and we'd heft him to ride in the saddle with me.
The valley has changed so much now. But it is still interesting to walk through. I made the trip this weekend back to see the stream and the ice cave.
I probably won't go back until spring arrives because snowshoeing and crossing the stream is just too difficult. I did find evidence of beavers, coyotes, and a lot of deer.
Here is the 30 second video of this snowshoe hike.
"When we look at a rock, what we are seeing is not the rock, but the effect of the rock upon us." ~Bertrand Russell
I found myself looking for reflections that were odd. It didn't start out that way.
I had no intentions of looking for anything specific when I took Charlie for our hike in the forest yesterday.
However, my feet found their way to the valley and the creek where I could find some water.
I just became fascinated with the little creek and all of the neat reflections I found. I hadn't hiked this area most of the summer.
I kept finding interesting perspectives.
This is Rich's favorite shot from my walk, he loves this one and calls it The Floaty Rock. He usually doesn't take much interest in what I discover. But he really liked this one.
It isn't even in perfect focus, but I'll keep it anyway. The odd part was the plant reflection. It looks out of place and strange. Enough to make a person question their eyes.
In another spot, as I got ready to take a reflection shot, a slight breeze rippled the water and it looked like the water was hand painted.
I had a few good Up/Down shots that turned out. Here is one that feels out of balance. The photo looks upside down but I included the edge of the tiny pond and Charlie [out of focus].
When I turned back west towards our fence I glanced up the valley and was startled to see a white tree with brilliant red leaves. I thought it odd and impossible.
So I pulled out the camera and zoomed in....
If I had been standing in any other place, it would have been evident that the birch was just in front of a tall oak. But from a distance it looked pretty strange.
On our land portions of our creek are bone dry. I think some of the springs may still flow but not where you can see them. Here is the view of our creek bed that is normally at least ankle deep and knee deep in the the spot where the large rock is.
