Ice Bubbles?... At The Spot

Ice Bubbles and a little history of photos for The Spot.

 Amazing ice bubbles?

I've seen these before but never tried to photograph them to show their depth and bizarre-ness.

This is at our creek along 'the wall' where the tiny trout hang out. I've always seen itty bitty bubbles come up from the bottom of this spot.

Apparently they froze and spread out as they got to the surface of the water [it is deep and very still in this spot]. Then the next bubbles froze in layers? 

The ice was very thin and clear. If our weather stays below freezing in the valley, this spot would eventually freeze over and I wouldn't get to see the bubble ice!

We didn't find any Blue Birds or Robins this time around, however the Nuthatches, Juncos, and Chickadees were all busy in the area.

This is the same spot with Charlie and I a few years ago.

The same spot in the spring of 2018 during a snow melt...

...and since I've been photographing this 'spot' as it changes for 20 years, here is a photo of me on my mule Badger who was 15 hands at this spot in 2005 when this 'spot' was dry and the creek ran trickled just in back of my mule.

Since then different flash floods have slightly changed the depth of the creek and the route. Trees have fallen across areas and water has swirled out deep pools where the ice bubbles formed.

The area has deepened which would be obvious in comparing the photo with me on Badger to the one with me holding Charlie.

It is my Spot.

I hike there nearly daily.

Years ago with Morris and I.

Since these shots were taken, the trees that are above me have finally given in to gravity and nearly lay on the ground now.

I think it is time to take an update photo of me in the same spot if I can get around all the fallen trees.

Just some stuff.

I've been stacking up the miles in hiking without even thinking about it. I do hit the 'walk' button on the smart watch and go on my merry way hiking around here or along groomed trails.

I checked my stats and was really surprised by them. If I hike 27 more miles by the 31st, I will have hiked 1,000 miles in one year.

Well damn. That is a lot of miles! I mean I could have walked the nearly the whole WI Ice Age Trail in this year. I did not hike every day and skipped those hot/humid days and of course many below zero days that had dangerous wind chills.

So that is something interesting.

Cool things found when hiking the other day.

The boulder below is probably a ton or so in weight. It stands about 4 feet tall. According to my geologist friend it is a huge fossil from 470 million years ago. A Stromatolite fossil. You can read about them here at Stromatolites at the UW site. These were algae mounds that grew before multicellular organisms.

In the next dry run ravine over, I found this curious root system holding on to the side of the steep bank. The tree is an old oak which has survived many flash floods in this spot. I just find that the root system is simply amazing.

Nature sure can surprise one.

My Geologist friend came out on Monday to explore a formation I've known about for nearly 30 years.

I'd told him about a 'hole' in the field that was a rock like entrance. He wanted to go see it and maybe go down into it.

Finally Rich and Jason got to meet and it actually went very well. Jason is a chatterbox and will pick up any gaps in a lagging conversation.
They discussed the history of the area, rocks, sinkholes, caves, rock shelters, lay of the land, and whatnot. Jason was inquiring about the land around us and Rich was enjoying the company.

Jason wanted to see the 'hole'. And. He wanted to go down it.

Nope. Not my cup of tea. Hubby had a hound dog go down that hole years ago and spend a long time getting the dog out. The amount of scat around the hole said 'Disgusting Gross Poo' to me. I avoid the hole, it gives me the creeps.

After Jason climbed down in, the dogs and I chilled out in the warm sun.
Charlie was more nervous than Felix and Piper. He really adores our friend, the treat man!

Sleepy Hairy Dogs
Happy in the  Warm Sun

What did my friend find? He found a 40 to 60 foot 'room' with a ceiling of 2-4 feet tall. It was full of wet mud, and bottles that looked like liquor bottles that had been set there. Most of the items were not broken. He commented that there were hundreds of bottles and jars.

To him it seemed that at one point people used to come down and drink in the 'cave' perhaps. I do know that the previous owner had said that they had a ladder to go in and out of the cave when they were quite young.

That was over 70+ years ago.

Since then the hole has had tires, a window, and even barbed wire tossed down into it. Last year, it was covered in a brush pile to mark it so those working the field wouldn't drive into the hole.

The look on his face when he came back up was priceless. He was incredibly happy.

And...the dogs were happy to see him, despite the fact he was covered in mud.

We hiked through the forest so he could see the Grumpy Face Rock and then headed back to the house so we could share with Rich what he'd discovered.

The huge tract of land next door has a fairly interesting history. There was a Speak-Easy on the land during prohibition. It was located in such a way that anyone visiting there had to walk nearly a mile through the woods to visit it.

The original settler that acquired most of the land was a migrant from Norway. He changed his name when he came to the US as he was 'wanted' back home for something. He built a huge farm, purchased a local bride, and had two boys and a girl.  During the Depression, he paid back taxes on farms around him and extended his farm land. 

There are many local stories about the original owner. He was considered ruthless.

When the milk man drove his team of horses there to pick up the milk, he'd bring the owner two large jugs of liquor once a week. It was rumored that the husband and wife were not the 'cleanest' folks around. They allowed chickens and other animals to wander in and out of the house.

The land is now in the hands of the third generation. The farmland is rented out, the forest is leased to some hunters, and starting soon a logging company will be coming in to harvest trees.

What an interesting start to the week.

Piper and I.
Photo by Jason.
She is sitting on top of the huge fossil in that
first photo.

Evening Rides with Sunshine

Sunshine, after we came out of the woods. Riding the woods is so much nicer than riding the fields and back roads. 

No traffic. No surprise coyotes running in front of you. No gaggles of turkeys or deer leaping out of fields of corn.

It seems these girls are happier in rough terrain with deep woods surrounding them. Of course, the footing can be difficult, there are logs, rocks, and dry washes to navigate so it requires most of their brain cells.

Yes, she wears a trammel. I could probably get by with a snaffle these days however this is what she has worn since her first run-away with me 21 years ago.

She wore a snaffle at 4 yrs old. Did you know that because a mule has a wide set of eyes, that you can pull their head to your knee and they can still canter in a line of their choosing? 

The second time I tried a 'one rein stop', her head was pulled to my knee and she galloped through trees and jumped a creek. I survived the run off by steering her with all my strength into a brier patch. We got scratched up but survived.

We put this bit on her and it can be very gentle with gentle hands. I set her up for another run away. We rode up the gravel road and when one of the neighbor's came by with her tractor, Sunshine tensed and then bolted. I let her bolt 3 steps and then lifted the reins so the bar would touch her nose.

She screeched to a stop. Mules love their noses and don't like pressure on that spot.

In the following 21 years of riding, she has never offered to bolt. She will spin at crazy spooky Zombie Deer that spring out of the corn field, or aggressive dogs. But she no longer takes me on a wild and crazy ride.

With that said, our wood rides are so relaxing. We drop down steep hills and negotiate old trails and deer trails. She knows the way since she helps me maintain the trail. Here is a choppy, crappy video of our last ride. I'm not good at holding a cell phone to try and capture video. Usually I don't even try.

I have a pocket camera which I normally take.

This is our last deep ravine to cross to go back home. I make a huge circle [about a mile loop] through the neighbor's woods. 

The mules wear breast collars and either cruppers or britchens which keep the saddles from sliding around in this steep stuff.

There is a 3 mile loop, but I haven't done it lately because I don't like going that far off by myself. I will see if my neighbor would like to do it with me one of these days if he has the time. [He was raised on a Quarter horse farm]

Sorry for all the creaking and whatnot. But I like that noise! She also wears a bell if you can hear it.

The first part is a long descent on a very steep hillside, so she tippy toes down the trail. Again, forgive my crappy video, but there it is.

1:34 seconds....