After all that...

I have to admit that I lost a lot of sleep over the weekend with the unusual Northern Light Show. I will definitely never forget that first evening.

Our old mower had a sudden death and it was left up to me to mow the overgrown yard with my little mower. Thankfully, the mower guy, Mark, came out to pick up the rider and take it to his shop. We've done business with Mark for nearly 30 years. We've purchased all of our mowers from him and hubby has purchased his chain saws from him. He has been the only guy we go to for repairs on that equipment.

It took me 4 days of mowing at 2 hours a piece to get the yard done. If the big mower stays out of commission, I will be making temporary fencing for the mules. Most of the 'yard' was over 6 to 8 inches tall! How did it grow so fast???

I turned my flower beds over again and started planting seeds and finished off my rock-succulent garden in front of the porch.

It's cute and I know I'll enjoy it. It is a great spot for my fossil rocks to enjoy their days while the humming birds visit.
Over the years I've changed this area several times.

Work, work, work. I really was burning the candle at both ends and trying to get everything done at once. I got tired and cranky. And the other half was being a pill too since his mower was out of commission.

I however did get out to get some 'shutter time' on one of our very foggy mornings. You know, a walk to the mailbox on the ridge where I actually just wander around for a bit.

Dandelions in the yard make for interesting macros!

Dew dropped poplar leaves just emerging.

Oh so sweet smelling Honeysuckle and a much unloved plant in many forests as it is invasive.

I do love  Box Elders they have such interesting shapes. This tree is putting out it seeds. The seeds start out as red and turn green. Sort of Christmas-y in color.

The maple trees are filled out now. This was the star of the walk. A single water droplet on the tip of the leaf catching the morning sun.

This was a form of Forest Daydreaming for me. I just meander-er along and stop to peer at spiders, insects, study the light on the leaves, and listen to sounds around me. 

It is calming and satisfying. Each time I go out and investigate at my leisure, I feel like I learn something new.

To catch up on sleep, I tried to take a nap on Monday. It didn't really work. Instead I fell asleep while watch Brokenwood on Acorn TV. Hubby likes the show, it is amusing, not too dramatic, and they always get their guy. 

 Perhaps Charlie and I need to go out and do some Forest Daydreaming in the Reserve. I'd like to find some Trillium before they are all gone.

After Wednesday, it looks like we will have rain for a few days. I may as well take advantage of the good weather while I can!

I like Lichen

The winter doldrums are sometimes hard to shake and after days of being stuck inside, I've been getting out again.

Whew. Yesterday's excursion was just an amble through the woods and valley to see 'stuff'. I wanted to go explore Lichen.
The book I got said it can be found in the winter rather easily. 

I really like this book and could call it Lichen for Dummies. It is separated by where you can find certain Lichen. Trees, ground, rocks, for example.

So I headed out to the woods on snowshoes which was a good choice. 

And I stopped by one of the first trees I saw.

Next, I need to learn how to identify trees much better. I pretty much am clueless unless I have hubby with me. He can glance at a tree and tell you what it is just by looking at the bark and the shape. 

The moss book is much more difficult. I think the writer assumes that the reader already understands all of the biology and taxonomy behind plants. I don't, but I can learn.

I was pretty excited to try something new. 

Foliose Lichen. [Lichen having lobed leaf like shape]

I didn't know that Lichen is not a singular plant. It is composed of two dissimilar organisms. Lichen is a unique form of Fungus and Algae. The two organisms work together. Tree Dwelling Lichens.
There are between 14 thousand and 20 thousand species. So uffdah! I will only look for general ones!

Lichens don't hurt trees. They can grow on the ground and grow on rocks. I can't wait to get back to Black Hawk Rock in the KVR and study all the lichens I've seen there.

Do I know what I am looking at yet? Nope. Just delving into it. 

Tree trunk with a crack in it and lichens of different kinds growing on it. I recognize the 'leaf' pattern of the most common type of lichen. 

White lichen and moss below. Did the lichen 'eat' the moss? Or is this just dried up?
I don't know.

So much to learn!

Cropped for a closer look.

When I got to the creek to search for mosses and more lichen, I got sidetracked.

Guess who? The Robin crowd!

I crept up on them and they flew off. So I squatted down on my snowshoes and waited. The Robins came back and busied themselves along the edges of the creek.

I really think this bunch has wintered here in the valley. 

I realized my hands were getting cold and I'd dropped my mittens somewhere along the way. 

I found the mittens at the second tree I'd stopped to look at. What a duh moment!

But the mitten retrieval took me past an old oak tree that had been blown down about 3 years ago. It was covered in exciting 'stuff'.

I put the mittens in my pocket and pulled out the Oly Tough camera with the super macro mode [this is what I used on the other photos]. I should have taken those shots with the auto focus stack, they would have been clearer. [Live and learn right?]

Cool white black lichen. I can classify it as a Crustose Lichen:

Very odd looking. I just thought it was some sort of slime moldy thing. Did you know that slime mold falls into the fungi category? Nah, me neither, but it does.

Last but not least. I think this is some sort of fungi growing on the lichen. 

They look like creepy little turds or something. They are less than 2cm across so you can have an idea just how small they are.

And for the last of the discoveries.

Unidentified orange 'stuff'.

This was growing in small cracks in the wood. So I may assume it is dead lichen or dead fungi of some sort.

I do love mysteries like this to solve. Tiny things in the woods that we don't even notice because we are always looking for the Big Picture.

I can't wait to get out and find some more curious things. 

Little Red Camera/Olympus Tough TG6

First an update on Sven.

I've taken a warm soapy washcloth in a baggy now each morning and have gently cleaned Sven's ears. He drinks his warmed water and stands quietly while I wash his ears.

So, who would have ever thought I'd be washing little elfin goat ears as part of my morning chores?

However, as we started our walk, I noticed that Sven would stop and shake his head. So I peered at his ears and the left ear was gooped up again. I cleaned it gently with my glove and then gently massaged it. More runny goop came out. It was not green or smelly. He shook his head again and loose goop flew. 

He then settled down to walking with me and browsing.

We ended up in the creek of course and the boys had some fun.

Apparently Charlie believes that Sven drops magic pellets of smart pills and I happened to catch him putting his nose up Sven's rear end.

That is part of the fun of having a pocket camera. You point and shoot and don't miss the goofy stuff.

We got to the frozen 'falls' and I thought I'd set up the toys that the boys from Missouri left me to hike with.  Every once in a while I take them on an 'adventure' and send the photos to the Doe Story page on FB so they can follow the adventures that their toys have in Wisconsin.
I thought this would make a nice Christmas Card for them.

Charlie ran over the ice and somehow made it to the leaves on the other side. Poor Sven, he tried to follow but ended up losing his footing and slid down this ice and into the creek bottom where he landed on his feet.

He stood up and shook his whole body then gave Charlie a look. I think the expression on Sven's face was 'YOU tricked me!'

I coaxed him to join us once more with a doggy biscuit. I had no idea that a goat would adore a dog biscuit so much! Good thing to know. Both Charlie and Sven love dog biscuits.

And then the two of them decided to help me rummage through my backpack.

I decided to do some experimenting with the Tough camera. Could I fool it into taking a 'longer' exposure? Indeed I could. I did this without a tripod, but it took me 3 tries. It is slightly harder to take a steady shot when a goat decides to taste test the straps on your backpack.

But I got the job done. I went to aperture mode bumped it up to f9 and lowered the ISO to 100 which gave me a shutter speed of 1/6th of a second. Just enough to get a little flow blur. If it hadn't been overcast, this wouldn't have worked.

I was happy with the result.

Then I tried out the macro modes.

Macro mode:

In camera focus stacking mode:

Pretty good considering I didn't have this on a tripod. And I am sure my hand moved. I'll have to really try this with a timer and a tripod to get a proper idea of how good it can be.

However, I did one last shot with Sven at my elbow.

I want to go back and try this one again...without a goat nibbling on my hat.
[Same mushrooms on 12-3!]

By the end of our walk, Sven's ears were clean. He was tired but more himself than he has been in a while.
I know he needs the walks just as much as Charlie and I do. He is such a character.

If I have to wash his ears daily in the winter, so be it.

He is a very sweet animal.

And there it is. A first outing with the tiny pocket camera. I did take a short video of Charlie running but it is nothing worth writing home about.

Now I need to get back to writing out some cards and searching high and low for my address book that I put in such a safe place that I cannot find it!

Trip to Duck Egg

What is Duck Egg? When I first heard about people going to 'Duck Egg' I envisioned an Egg. Literally.
A Duck and an Egg.

But it isn't an Egg. It doesn't even look like an Egg. Nor does it look like a Duck.
However, it is a County Park that I've grown to love and appreciate. It is a Hiking/Trout Fishing/Horseback Riding natural area that has a flood control dam in it.

It is one of our many County Parks that I will call 'treasures'.

The first few photos are going to be some of my Infrared Shots. IF anyone ever tells me again that they need a 'better' camera to take 'better' shots I am going to show them the little Canon ELPH I have.
There is another saying I guess, *The best camera is the one you have with you.*

I will agree that I took the Canon ELPH which is converted to Infrared along because I hoped I'd have a few things that make IR so fun. Harsh sunlight, shadows, foliage, water, and sky.  I also brought my Nikon entry level DSLR with a nice prime lens for the purpose of shooting just wild flowers.

Canon ELPH:

 Foot Bridge 2. I love these shadows with the stream

running underneath. Fav for black and white.

 From the East side of Foot Bridge 2.

I edited for the funky IR colors and then added a 

bit of what is called Faux Color.

The Y Log. 

Hard to imagine 'seeing'

in Infrared but once you start to

think IR you can tell that a scene 

like this with this bright lighting 

wouldn't be so nice

in regular light.

I dig the reflections

in the 

water.

My Favorite shot of the day.

I tried this view from more 

than one angle.

Bridge 1 at the horse

crossing.

I love Wildflowers. Okay. I love garden flowers too. But I find the odd wildflowers more fun to photograph. I get excited like a child hunting for easter eggs or magical gifts when I find those tiny little wonders in the woods. [say that 3 times fast!]

 Bloodroot. I love these guys. They

get my vote for

coolest flower.

Dutchman's Breeches.

I recall my Grandfather taking the domestic 

relative of these

which is the bleeding heart.

He plucked the flower and 

told me a story about

the lady in the

shower....

Ginger Root.

The flowers are on the ground. 

Very cool.

Trillium. 

Not open yet.

Looks like I'll have 

to go back!

I think Charlie would like

to go too.

When I hiked out the parking lot was full of vehicles. Most of them were trout fisherman. Obvious by the clothes they had on. I enjoyed talking with them for a bit and asked if they'd heard of Tainter Creek. They did and it was on their list, but they'd heard it was a bit crowded with fisherman. 

They asked if I was a 'local'. I said indeed I was. I finally had lived here long enough to be considered 'local' by the locals. 

Anyway I left and told them to enjoy their fishing. I'd be back to hunt morels.