Making the most

...out of 4 hours off.

Finally. The weather has broken into something I can live with!

And... I didn't have to run errands when Respite Tammy came on Tuesday!

Instead, I decided to run away from home (figuratively). I wanted to run. You know, really run. 

I decided to take Charlie along. Did you know this little dog can boogie?

When I started down the trail, Charlie was game. He wanted to set the pace. Off we went onto Little Canada trail. A runner passed us going the other way and grinned at us. She was in her cutest running clothes. I was in my cargo pants and T-shirt with my running vest on and a long sleeve shirt tied to my waist.

I certainly did not look anything like an athlete. But watch out for old ladies in disguise.

I let Charlie set the pace and it was impressive for such a short legged dog. Our first mile was around 9 minutes. We did a walk/jog/run thing.

Sometimes I'd tear ahead of him grinning like an idiot and jumping over rocks and roots. Then I'd stop and wait for my buddy. 

Our first 3 miles went pretty quickly. Then we started to just hike with intermittent bursts of joyful speed. 

It was like dancing in a way. We had the woods and trail to ourselves.

I only took my smartphone and supplies in running vest. Charlie wore his beeper collar to prevent him from running off into the woods after a chipmunk. 

I didn't take photos of all the damage done to the trees from that last horrible wind and rain storm. Places along the trail were littered with tops of trees, roots, branches, and areas where a crew had to work for a long time to recover the trail.

Thank you KVR crews, you are as always, awesome.

By mile 3 we slowed down quite a bit. My purpose in covering the first half or so quickly, was so that Charlie and I could look around on our way back through the loop. 

I have 4 hrs. 

There is a 25-30 minute travel time there and back. 

The trail when hiked slowly to look for things can take at least 3 hours. More, if there are a lot of cool things to look at. I had to time things out. Run or hike quickly --- and explore when I saw something.

Of course I brought mini me and mini Charlie.

Since I don't do selfies on the trail, we did mini shots.

Since most of this summer has been too hot for Charlie to get out and hike with me [and I have had very limited time to hike], he got tired. I tied my sleeves of my shirt in a knot and made a sling over my neck for Charlie to rest in. It is easier to carry him that way.

I may look into designing a sling for him out of some long scarves I have.

Charlie is often a good reminder not to be in a rush all of the time.

When we got home, he was tired.

We did it!

So he got some time to chill out in his favorite place.... our little hammock.

Good day...

and Happy International Dog Day on August 26th!

Fun fotos...

Just because...it is after Christmas and I have a bunch of fun fotos from the month of December.

Santa's Relief Driver????

My all time favorite
ornament!

...I collect horsey ornaments. This may be
the most photographed ornament I've ever had.
I've had it for over 30 years. 
It was a cheap plastic one I picked up in
some second hand store so 
many 
years ago!

A much newer addition to my collection...

My tiny Button jointed Teddy Bears I made

years ago. Still up to no good!

Even Dragons celebrate Christmas?

I can't help it.

I think Dragons are cool.
New addition to the dragons!
A Baby Lego Dragon!

And then there was Mini-me
and Charlie doing last 

minute errands in the Village...

Little Bear and his wooden friends gather on

Christmas Eve at the Chair.

[These are old toys gifted to me

over the years.]

My ever changing toy display next to

the Christmas Chair.
It is made up of Vintage Boxes 

and

an old nesting box for hens.

I really didn't want to take down my cheery fun 'display'. I've had so much fun with it this year. 

But eventually the party ends, right?

I took down the Christmas Chair, the North Pole, and the Christmas Village and traded out the Lego buildings for the Medieval Village. I wanted to take a break from Lego so...

...before the rains hit, I grabbed some of my of my action figures and headed out. 

Ailie and Rabbit came out to play. I added the snow in post.

Time for a change up...

Little me's big adventure...and the Aurora...

 

Hubby has coverage and meals all set up. He and Charlie get a break from me and I get a break from them. All the farm animals are taken care of. The weather looks good and I am so ready to go see my new little granddaughter and of course her folks.

I've decided to stay at a hotel near Lake Michigan and do a bit of shopping, walking, and seeing the sights of the town I used to live in years ago. 

The drive there will be casual. I'll listen to music and take a route so that I can visit a place called Paradise Springs again. I'll feel a bit like my life is untethered and free at least for a little while. That is about the nicest thing I can do for myself.

Last night I saw that we might be able to see an Aurora Borealis show. My neighbor -- who I share the driveway with asked if I was going to watch for it. She said she'd text me if she saw anything and I agreed to text her if I saw anything.

She did text me around 7:30 to say she saw faint pinks in the northern sky and it wasn't even dark yet!

I ran out and got this....

It was very faint to the naked eye but I was ecstatic! I set things up in our little valley and asked my neighbor if she wanted to come down and get the view of a bigger sky. She couldn't, the kids were in bed and hubby was at a meeting.

So I walked up to her place in the woods.
The show was still incredible.

When the skies did this....

I thought it would be fun to do a star trail. The Oly camera I use has a LiveComp setting which detects light movement and adds it to a composite as it happens.

I don't have to take 400 shots and then align them later. 

Each time the waves of color moved, the camera added that to the photo also.

What I ended up with after 25 minutes was wild...

👇

Airplanes and maybe some shooting stars passed overhead.

While the camera was doing its magic Cibyl and I stretched out on the gravel with our cell phones and took shots.

We even walked out to the road where she dropped into the ditch and laid back to view and shoot the sky.

Cellphone shots...

I mean, it was insane and we oohhheedddd and ahhhhhed and giggled like kids. 

Cibyl sent me a chart explaining the colors that we saw:

I took so many cellphone shots that it was crazy. They turned out okay.

But I enjoyed trying to nail something special with the Olympus.

Star Trails above her house when the sky turned red with green and yellow... the Aurora waves were so bright that they washed out the stars in the lower part of the photo.

It felt insane to see the skies turn red at night.

I commented that if it wasn't the Aurora...it would look like the end of the world...

It fluctuated and changed and seemed never ending.

Finally, we called it a night. Her hubby came home and the lights started to fade.

At least...

That is what I thought...

As I came down the driveway, my naked eyes saw something faint in the east...

still going on...

But I was tired and had miles to put on the next morning. So I thought I'd take a finishing shot over our house.

I was so pleased at what showed up.

Hiking for colors and distance...

Surprise ... 

Surprise...

I finally feel like I got my physical mojo back.

I don't want to brag, but heck, I'm going to anyway. 

I went back to my map my hike and also tallied up the miles I've hiked since June when I got a pretty plain smart Garmin watch.

Miles hiked this year? 698! I have not been tracking it each day or month. In fact, I figured with all the heat and humidity and BUGS we had this year, that my hiking would be pretty lame. I had two weeks that I did not walk or hike at all when I was sick.

So what am I doing with that Mojo? 

I'm moving again. If I can't go to the Reserve and hike, Charlie and I head out to the wilds next door. 600 acres of wild woods with old cattle trails that are now faint deer trails. If I can't find a trail, I wait and let the Trail Master find the easiest path.

We cross ravines, dry washes, and hike up and down steep hills.

OH Come ON Ma!

The fall colors are not always so prevelant inside the deep woods as many of the trees are fairly drab. Portions of the woods have been heavily logged for the really good trees. What is left in the understory are some pretty junk trees along with invasive barberry brush. 

Hint: If you walk here with me, wear heavy long pants so the barberry doesn't poke you so hard!

Photo of one of our hiking areas through barberry 'prickles'.
Charlie can find the deer path through this.

Hunting fall colors can be frustrating when you walk through a thick forest. Since we live in an area of steep hills and valleys...

Wonderful landscape views are rare here unless you can get on top of a bluff or you can stay on top of a ridge.

That has probably influenced my photography quite a bit.

It also means that I hike and hike miles to find a pretty shot or perhaps something very tiny to see. 

So what is the point of keeping track of how far I hike? Well, I don't know but it is fun to have a goal to reach.

Of course, I take Mini-me and Mini Charlie along. We love our outdoor time. The hikes in the forest next door will end in a few weeks when the gun hunters invade. 

But until then we will stack up the miles or as I call it...

time spent breathing air and chilling out.

Meanwhile, Charlie and I are going to see if we can reach a 1,000 miles by December 31st. 

Wintergreen Trail

This is one of the most used trails in the Reserve. However most folks don't go beyond the look out point on a rock bluff.

Charlie and I always go to the very end and spend some time hanging out at the dead end and watching the river. No matter the season, it is always beautiful with something to see.

I decided to do the Wintergreen Trail, it is only 1 mile out and you have to turn around and come back. I would like to go on an all day hike, but it wasn't going to happen. The afternoon was predicted to be muggy, hot, and smokey. 

With the recent rains and all the foggy mornings, I felt it would be a perfect morning to look for fungi. We were not disappointed. I did come across 4 elder ladies who had been foraging. It looked like they had a small bag of mushrooms of some sort. State lands prohibit taking anything from State owned land. I don't know the Reserve's stance on that though. I just hoped that they'd left beautiful fungi for me to admire and photograph.

I found another one of these brilliant white ones. I spent several minutes trying to get a good shot. [This is an Amanita Cokeri which is poisonous]

...and since I brought the mini me...

She...

was meant to be holding her camera. However, she dropped it when I finally balanced her...

and I spent 15 minutes looking for a tiny Lego camera in the debris under and around the mushroom.

I did finally find it and moved on.

The colors of Fungi are incredible and the different types are so amazing. Wintergreen Trail follows a bluff facing west along the Kickapoo River and has a micro climate that is conducive to interesting Fungi. One just has to keep looking.

Especially if one finds a friendly dragon.