Colder than a...

.... well, you know the sayings! I will let you complete your own sentences.

Here's Fred staring at the porch door as I got put my boots on Friday morning.

They look cold, but aren't. I free feed hay and they have heated water along with cozy woods.

By the way. Fred is 37 according to our records. He seems to be doing much better this year than he was last year. Fiesty as all get out. He bosses the bigger ones around. Other times he goes off by himself and plays the Grumpy Ol' Mule and sleeps next to the huge oak tree.

By 9 AM my co-hikers begged off from going to the ice caves. I don't blame them, one of the kids was missing his boots. 

I was restless as this was a planned day. So I waited a bit for the sun to come up a bit higher.
Then I was on my way to do exploring.

I am known as the NUT who loves winter. And I am a Winter Geek.

I'm going to include a photo from a gazillion years ago of my father on a night he prepared to go cross country skiing. He was ALL in on winter. Imagine this, when I visited him we could ski at night for miles and miles. Our conversations were about weather, skiing, techniques, and nature.

Dang! He looks like an original Horror Film Slasher!

He studied cold weather and how to dress for it. Imagine how he would be amazed at how cold weather clothing has improved since the 1980's!

I was not the only nut out there. One older lady was skiing and there was an old gent skate skiing. His movements were rather fluid and it was a pleasure to watch him glide by.

I decided to do some off trail sight seeing. I knew I'd walk into the wind for about 1/2 mile but then I'd go into an area that was protected by woods and bluffs.

The river seemed frozen over, but I won't walk on it. I know how deep and swift it is near the bluff.

Getting the shots right were really hard and I am pretty sure I didn't do it justice.  I was shooting towards sunlight and dark rocks. 

My hands got cold. I'd put my mittens back on over my knit gloves. I did more walking and admiring more than anything else. 

Bear suggested we move into the sunlight. Bear is usually right about things.

I cut through the frozen backwater pond towards the trail and the sunlight.

The sun was very welcome.

Bear and I walked alongside the trail with the wind at our backs. The sun filled us with warmth. I crunched along and thought how fun this trail would have been to ski with my father. 

Bear agreed with me. I like Bear, he is a pleasant but stuffy fellow. He reminds me that life should be enjoyed and no matter what, a person doesn't have to be lonely if they have a friend like him.

It was cold but it was refreshing too.

Bear is a good partner. He never complains about anything. 
Not even my driving.

 

Breathless

 

I thought it would be a good day to walk or just go for a hike. 
I walked the barely perceptible Winter Ice Cave Trail near Weister Creek. 

It was a bit messy and muddy from the August flash floods and heavy rains.

The beaver dam had been swept away too.

I spent some time just listening to the water sweep by me and then I turned and decided to go up over the top.

Here I am standing holding onto a branch to show the depth of the flash flood waters that came through here earlier this summer.

I went up and up and followed what could have been a deer or old trail from days long ago. The land in this area is not like any other place I've been. Up and up a person goes with thigh burning inclines. At the 'top' there is a sharp decline with a gully of sorts at the bottom.

But there are trails if you can spot them. The land has its own wicked and beautiful shapes. Here is where I stopped on a 'point' to have an apple and gaze down on Weister Valley. 

I went looking specifically for fungi and ended up just finding myself breathless at the scenery. I've never gone 'over' the top that I can recall before. I found more potential Ice Caves.

Most of all? 
I think I found myself.

Deep in the forest I stroll

to hear the wisdom of my soul...

The trees still the mind

and the deeper you go....

the more the soul's port widens.

Within that space

wisdom whispers.

~Angie Weiland Crosby

[Most of these were shot with my TG6 pocket camera. And there was some editing for color involved. The rest of the hike ... later.]

Looking for ice

We had sunshine on Wednesday and it was cold as a Well Diggers ____________, you can fill in the blank.

My friend Bill wanted to go and the winds were absolutely wicked so I picked a hike that would get us out of the wind and next to the Kickapoo River.

These first photos are from that hike. We had Yak Traks but should have had snowshoes as we were 'off' trail and the snow was icy crunchy and pretty tough to walk in. Bill was okay with that as he said the effort was a good test to see if his hip and knee were feeling better.

Bill's commentary was constant, telling me about adventures with his grand kids and then he'd stop and wonder where we were and I'd assure him we were not lost. Next he'd stand still and say, "Wow...Oh Wow!"

This one is my favorite from the ice bluffs and the last one I did with my 'normal' camera.

Note the slight colors in the ice. Pretty cool right? Well I also brought my little pocket camera that is a Full Spectrum Infrared camera. That means I can use different filters for different light spectrums. I chose the 665nm filter. 

The first shot is 'channel swapped'. With the 665nm filter blue skies are orange and green is bluish-white while rocks reflect a blue-grey. It all depends on your subject for white balance for the filter and how you want your colors to appear.  

These last two are not color edited. I simply de-saturated the blues. And let the ice reflection that appears orange come through.

Most IR photographers put their cameras away during the winter months, but I think it is fun to see winter in a different light.

Part II is coming.

I went out Friday to clear my head. Wind chills were -15, but I was prepared and I wanted to go visit the Wiester Creek Ice formations and hike up over the ridge on the old horse trail.