Sunday morning coming down....

I checked the weather when I got up and stepped outside in the predawn. It was cool, but humid. A low fog drifted across the south pasture where Siera and Sundance were snoozing in the sandy area.

I checked my to do list for Sunday and decided to take my canine hiking as soon as chores and breakfast was done. 

We'd beat the midday heat and have the trails to ourselves if we went early.

It was August 30th. A year exactly to the date when Nurse Tim told me that Rich was going on the Actively Dying List.

We headed out and when we got to the trail head at the Visitor's Center, we were the only vehicle. I parked, attached the lines to the dogs [they don't need to be leashed but I keep lines on them in case I need to grab them].

We were going Fungi Hunting.

The recent rain and humidity was prime for mushrooms to start popping along the bluffs of the river.

Even though we'd had a dry week, the nights and mornings had been wet with heavy dew and fog.

A perfect climate for mushroom hunting.

We were not disappointed. We found huge mushrooms! 

We found such an amazing variety of mushrooms that I was just blown away.

I also found a flowering plant that I'd never seen before:

Great Plains Ladies' Tresses aka the scientific name: 

Spiranthes magnicamporum

I included a link because I felt they were so special and I've never run across them before. It is  MN wildflower link. I'm going to add it to my 'discovered' wildflowers!

I headed down the Wintergreen Trail because in years' past, I've found a single Indigo Ink Cap mushroom. Back then, someone had kicked it over instead of walking around it. 

Each August-September I retrace my steps to look for this beautiful mushroom.

This year I hit the motherlode.

I found at least a dozen or more of them. Below is a photo of Charlie standing in a spot where I counted 6 of them!

Ever see a 70 yr old lady doing the happy dance on a bluff in the forest? Yep, I was doing a jig and trying to avoid stepping on the pretty blue fungi.

So, just to let you know why my dogs wear beeper collars. I get so engrossed in looking at the little things that I ignore the puppers. They stay close, but I can push a button and call them in close.

Dogs here can be off leash. But I don't want to lose them in the 8,900 acres of forest that surrounds the Reserve.

I did some Toy Photography [of course!]

We'd gone so early that no one else would be around on this particular trail.

First shot with Hannah in the background.

Patience. Hannah moved on ...

...and then we hit the area where a little bit of water flows from the ice caves in the winter and some little dog had a total brain explosion of happiness with muddy zoomies... 6 seconds of unbridled puppy joy.

This is the ice caves in the winter. I can't wait to take Hannah here this winter!

I have so many items that we found. A two mile walk took us over 2 hours because I stopped and sat on the ground to explore and look at the mushrooms, fungi, and slime molds that presented themselves along the trail.

I'm that weird person who gets excited by the unusual slime mold, plants, or mushrooms. I stop, I look, and I explore.

My cohorts and I spent time sitting quietly at the end of the Wintergreen Trail. They had treats, I had a protein bar. 

Eventually we headed back. We could hear the traffic increase on Highway 131. The motorcycles were headed to LaFarge for the Chicken Q dinners at Rockton Bar.

It was time to evacuate the area and return home.

More fungi will come in the next posts. But I might be out exploring in the mornings this week. It is supposed to be unseasonably hot and humid. Perfect for fungi/mushroom hunting.

The dogs were silent on the way home and took long afternoon naps. I think they are ready for bed too.

It was a good Sunday morning. 

Cooler weather

Monday looked like a perfect day to go hiking. Our roads were somewhat plowed and still quite icy under patches of snow. Going down this hill can always be fun in the winter.

The skies were gun metal grey and the forecast was little or no wind but expected flurries. The temperatures were in the low 20's. Awful you'd say for an adventure, but I've been dubbed as the 'Mad Hiker' so Charlie and I went.

We had been cooped up on the farm for 3 days and had to get out. I figured to do an easy trail. It is called the Wintergreen Trail and is one of my favorites for views of the river and for the Hemlocks and pines that grow there.

Our big surprise is that we were the first ones to break trail in the snow. 

Ok.
Charlie broke trail. The snow wasn't quite as deep here as it was at home. Plus, Charlie has been down this trail so many times, he knows it by heart. What a good leader he is!

We took in the bluff view, but not very close as the snow covered up ice on the rocks. Charlie stayed up and away from the edges.

I did too, but grabbed a shot through the snow of ice formations and chunks floating downstream.

We walked among the Hemlock trees and I marveled at the scent and the snowy silence.

Truthfully, it wasn't much of a photographic adventure. We stayed warm and we enjoyed the snowy views along the river.  The shot below shows all the colors that we saw. Brown foliage and grasses, green Hemlock needles, dark tree trunks, along with a green tint in the river, and of course white snow.

We got back to the parking lot and continued past the Visitor's Center where someone had walked on the upper loop. I wanted to get down to the river and look at it. I check this spot in each season. Here is where I generally find the first flowers of Spring to appear.

We hiked back to the parking area and had snacks before we left. The roads were getting much worse and I was glad I decided to take a short hike.

I think by the end of the week, I may just go check out the ice caves and see if this frigid weather has effected them.

I usually try to see the caves in the first week of December and then again at the end of the month and continue through the melt.

They can be a disappointment, or they can be incredible!

Two years ago in January:

With winter this 'cool' how can you not get excited??

I'm still catching up with my week. Hmmm. It has been different.

I did start this project though: