Wonders...

Nature is always surprising me at every turn with odd things to find.

After our last heavy rains [more expected this weekend], I found this white stuff on a large chunk of wood.
It looked like frost at first. 

No, it wasn't. It was some sort of slime mold. Eeeks, that name sounds horrible, but little slime molds that can be found in the woods are pretty neat and some are just odd looking and beautiful. I've found some incredible brilliant colors of slime molds growing on wood over the years.

Nature just keeps me smiling!

In my shady wildflower garden, I found these beautiful tiny pink flowers. The flowers themselves are no larger than a pencil eraser.
When I looked at the photo on my laptop, I found this!

Imagine! I found a Katydid Nymph and I wasn't even looking! Katydids make a lot of noise in late summer. I found it interesting that over the years I probably confused Katydids with Grasshoppers as they are very similar.

I found a much more common insect when I was pulling weeds. I was so pleased to see the Yellow Swallowtails fluttering about in the same garden.

I found this insect resting on some Oxeye Daisies in the morning pasture. One of the best ways to find summer insects is early in the morning. According to Insect People, find flowers or places that the bugs will rest in the night to catch the early morning sun and warm up.

Mystery Insect

I suspect that it is some sort of fly but who knows???

Meanwhile, in the pasture, I found beautiful but not so nice weeds. The land to the east and west of me do not do any weed control or mowing. Such is the nature of our wild woods and meadows. Both neighbors at one time had cattle which really cut down on many unwanted plants.

However, there is nothing to do about it, so I make the best of it. 

Oxeye Daisies are pretty
with dew on them.
Many mornings, they have 

cool insects resting on 

their petals.

I cut these down, but they love to 

grow on the fence between

or properties.

Nightshade

Multi flora Rose
Actually, the mules will eat blossoms 

and leaves off these

if there is nothing else

left in the pasture

to eat.

Sheeps Sorrel?
pretty, but not useful

for 

grazing.

From slime molds to insects, to dew drops on plants. Nature keeps me wondering.

I really do enjoy my walks and am glad that I stop to look now at everything I can find. Grasses, bushes, trees, and even slime molds can be beautiful.

PS~~ Mica update. She is walking normal now with her diaper cushion and shows no sign of lameness. Her abscess is healing nicely and we do a daily foot wash and wrap for now.

Mules in the Meadow

Bushes, Trees, and Birds

 I was out on Thursday determined to find some birds or something exciting to look at.

Most of what I found was a bit dull and boring.

I was looking for any sign of birds at first. But then I noticed some things about the bushes and the trees.

I did find birds.

I mean, who cannot find crows? They are all over the place!

I heard the Redwinged Black Birds, I did! I crept around a large field edge to see if I could get a glimpse of one. 

And there he/she was. In a thicket of Prickly Ash. There was no predator that could bust through that thorny bush.

I knew from hiking here over the years, that I always heard them in the brush but never paid particular attention. Now I see why they would love this area as a nesting spot.

I decided to sit quietly in the field and see if one would eventually come out. That paid off.

There were several sparrows flitting around inside that area too. I couldn't get any decent shots of them to ID them. But they were all very talkative.

I ended up on the road where I'd seen the Bluebirds a few weeks ago and started walking along my neighbor's land. His big old birch trees grabbed my attention, their branches looked like they were pussy willows.

The photo is of lower feeder branches coming out from the tree itself.

Further down the road I saw these above me. More Birch trees, but I don't know exactly what kind.

I know that there are several types of birch, so this shouldn't have surprised me. Of course, I first thought that all birch trees should show their catkins in the same manner. But different varieties, just like different varieties of flowers will appear different.

Each year, I learn a little bit more about trees.

So this Hophornbeam gave me a bit of a brain tease.
My neighbor ID'd it as a Hophornbeam.

He ID'd this tree below as a Hophornbeam also. But they present differently.

So this confused me. But since I am not a botany person, I am going to leave these two trees as Hophornbeams of different varieties?

This tree keeps its leaves but doesn't have the 'chicken foot' winter catkins.

The leaves stick around and only fall off when the buds push them off.

See the tiny bud?

Tiny bud.....  ----->

So the more I 'investigate' these trees, the more questions I come up with.

These trees are grouped under the name of Ironwood Trees and there is apparently several kinds of them.

Hop Hornbeam, Hornbeam, Ironwood, and Musclewood are names given to these trees because of their hard wood. 

Let's not forget that these trees in the summer look like elm trees.

How confusing can that be????

Then there was evidence that the Gooseberry bushes were coming alive in the forest. I have a love hate relationship with these thorny guys. However, their flowers are cute and their berries can be picked and eaten when ripe. 
I've never tried it.

Even the invasive and horrible Multiflora Rose is trying to wake up.

In the shot below there are leaves that had budded out a few weeks ago during an intense warm spell. Those leaves dried up and now I can see new bright red ones peeking out.

The flowers to these bushes are pretty, but man those thorns are tough to get around. 

I may tie a ribbon or something around those two different Hop-Hornbeam trees and see what happens through the year. 

Seems that I enjoy watching some of the least popular trees and bushes there are.

Colors in December & Winter's Solstice

I do love the fact that the month of December gives me an opportunity to enjoy tons of beautiful lights indoors and so many things to practice Still Life with.

The felted snowman and the little ceramic tree were items I used to decorate my MIL's room when she was in the Nursing Home.

Gnomes. Well, since I live in a Nordic part of Wisconsin, we all love Gnomes. You can't go anywhere without seeing Gnomes and Trolls in gift stores.

I am searching for a gnarly looking troll to add to my collection.

I did get out for some hiking this week. I went out with one thing in mind. To find some December Colors.

Along Old Hwy 131 at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve --> Highbush Cranberry!

Along a deer trail at home on a gloomy day ----> Multiflora Rose 

When I got down to the creek bed I sat on rocks and looked for some teenie tiny things. This log lays across the rocks and the place where the creek flows in wetter years.

So I got up close and personal with the moss. 

Powderhorn Lichen. Those tips should turn bright red and 'flower' in February!

This grey lichen was found on an old oak log. The tree had been blown down late in the year in 2018. It is near the Powderhorn lichen I photographed above but a different log.

A common name is Rosette Lichen. I think. Since I am no expert, this is a pretty good guess.

Mosses and Lichens are pretty easy to spot in the winter since there are no leaves to hide them!

Happy Winter's Solstice!

It was too overcast to enjoy a beautiful sunrise, so I will give you this one from a few years ago!

The Woods and New Tool

For me
the door to the woods
is the door to the temple. ~Mary Oliver, Upstream

Now that the big gun deer season is over I can pretty much wander again freely. I had no idea how cooped up I was feeling until I was able to get out again.

This morning the ice was collecting on the grass next to the creek and there was a fairly heavy frost on the plants above it.

One just has to have a love/hate relationship with Multiflora Rose. The red rose 'hips' are quite beautiful as are the leaves with frost.

The thorns however are nasty!

By yesterday afternoon the temperatures rose up into the 40's.

I burned my small buckthorn piles.

This area was choked with dead buckthorn trees that I simply tipped over and stacked them. The area was so dense with dead branches that it was almost impossible to walk through. 

Normally I don't do intensive labor in the pasture, but this area is pretty unique.

It is a rock formation. Below is the view from the top of the rock outcrop. So far I have cleaned the area of all the nasty weeds and deadfalls. The dead tree that my coat is hanging on will get chopped up when someone with a chainsaw comes along. Perhaps I can just push it down eventually too.

My burn piles are very small and very controlled. I don't burn with any winds and this week we had 3 days of calm.

This isn't far from the house, yet it feels isolated. I can sit here on a log and read if I want. I can sit and just listen and watch the woods too. 

In the black dirt I'm hoping to plant shade grass and see if I can't get some ferns to grow too.

I have a lot of fun and imagined plans for this spot. 

[Wouldn't a little movable shelter be nice there??? Bird watching? How about putting out a feeder and sitting there photographing them? Sitting and reading?...ahhh so many possibilities.]

Look at it this way. It is keeping me off the streets!

For the old larger Buckthorn trees, I gird them with my machete. I peel the bark from around the limbs and trunk. They should die and stop spreading. Well, that is my hope. Once the roots die back I'll be able to tip them over and chop them up.

I ordered a new tool to help me with cutting down the smaller trees.

I don't use a chain saw for obvious reasons...I'd cut my legs off. I generally use a handsaw and it gives me great satisfaction to saw a 5" tree down. But it is tiring. Thank goodness the Buckthorn never get to be as big as oak trees!

New Tool. 

This will mostly be used on 3 to 6" Buckthorn Trees. I will saw them down and dab the stump with a Herbicide or cover it in a plastic bag to kill off the roots. I could use soup cans too to smother them. 

This tool was husband approved. We had a lengthy discussion about my cutting abilities and dis-abilities. 

Watch out multiflora rose and buckthorn! I am on a mission!