Interesting

Well that was very interesting regarding the 'Retreat' Motivational Thing. I will give it credit as the ladies who are working on it are really working hard. And their program that is offered will resonate with a certain clientele. 

Speaking of Retreats and other events, our area has had quite the uptick of folks moving in from California, Chicago, and other areas. Viroqua became a magnet for a change of culture and people. Good article here:

How Hippies Saved Viroqua

On main street you can find the most interesting store fronts from herbalist to palm reading, art, eclectic antiques, Gelato, and more.

There are always interesting 'offers' that make you scratch your head and go...hmmmm...

There is a farm that lets you pay a fee and join other women to hang out in Hammocks in their forest and um...well...for a fee of something like $60, you can do Nature Journaling. You can find your connections to the natural world and learn that women are um 'magical'.

Here is another one: Dear Friends, you can now apply for an apprenticeship. The magical plant herbalism apprenticeship is now open for enrollment for a fee of $1600. She offers her best selling book also and claims that she is an award winning author. 

I did search out her name and looked for her awards and didn't find them.

Can you say, Snake Oil Salesperson?

Maybe I can offer something too! 

For a small hourly fee, I can take guide you through my magical mystical wild woods with my Goat Sven as a loving and endearing companion. 

Actually, I can only offer what I have learned in life. But it isn't for sale, it is free. 

I try not to give advice because I never spend time in another person's shoes. 

"The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for

...and the most you can do is live inside that hope."

Quote from Barbara Kingsolver, Animal Dreams.

I am pretty pleased with how things turned out. Until I moved here and joined hubby, I was really afloat in that big outside world.

I find my days mostly pleasing.

Where else can you go and sit in the middle of a road and enjoy a sunrise??

Another rambling mule post

Darn, I feel so tall when my shadow is like this!

Those LONG ears. Siera has super duper long ears. She is pointing out a young buck to me...

She is actually listening to me here when I tell her to 'walk on' and stop being stupid.

We walked by a trail that she knows goes towards home and thought she should turn there....

After our evening trail rides, I am ready to tackle the longer route and sent a message to my neighbor, Justin, to see if he'd like to go with.

It has been almost a year since I went on this long trail, so on Saturday afternoon, I will walk it to make sure it is passable.

Then I'll take each of the girls on a solo ride through it. They know this route too as they have done it since they were trained under saddle.

Disclaimer. I did training. They will 'neck' rein on trails as they see the path ahead of them. If they disagree with your choice of trail they will resist. 

Mules often resist because:

They sense the trail in front of them is not in their best interest.

Or it is dangerous in some way.

Or...they just don't see the point.

Following a mule's instinct is sometimes the best option. Unless they are bluffing.

Mules test your humor and your patience. If they do not feel the need to repeat a lesson over and over, they will just stand and refuse to do anything.

Last year I invited a person to ride with me and all the way along she complained that Sunshine was not what she expected. She wasn't polished like the horses all of her friends had. 

Her friends had show quarter horses, and she rode in their arenas. I imagine that compared to them, Sunshine was a bit of a brut. 

The only training I have done is giving them ground manners and riding manners. We need to get from point A to B safely and the rest is just noise. They go right and left when asked, unless they don't feel like it. They back up and step forward on verbal commands. They are polite with their ground manners and allow me to pick their feet while they are loose in the pasture. 
They come when called.

And their Whoa is impeccable.

These girls are not perfect, but they are reliable. Siera and Sunshine have taught kids to learn to ride. Fred, who died last winter at 38 yrs old also taught kids and grand kids to ride. He even took care of  adult riders who had no idea of what they were doing.

Once Fred thought you should know your stuff, he'd challenge you. The perfect pony mule!

I guess we have been so very lucky with our mules. Below is a photo from the last time hubby rode. The kids convinced him that he could just go with them once. He never rode again, but this was a memorable moment. [He could still move around outside without oxygen.]

He is on Mica, the grey mule, grandson Dennis is on Fred, Ariel is on Siera, and I am on Sunshine. This was 5 years ago this month. 

I do miss having the grands here to ride, however, I only have Siera and Sunshine as riding mules now. The grands have jobs and come to visit maybe once a year.

A few thoughts

Our world needs more kindness. Is it a natural trait for humans to be mean and spiteful or hateful and jealous?

Is it a natural trait for humans to ignore the softer side and sometimes be aggressive and cruel?

What has Mother Nature taught us? I see coyotes chase down young deer or perhaps a small dog. We think they are cruel and awful. They are only doing was comes natural for them to survive.

We are supposed to be civilized folk right? We are supposed to be of a higher order. Ahhh, but perhaps we just think we are.

Where am I going with this? 

Saturdays and Wednesdays are what is called Dump Days. We can go to our town hall and deposit our bags of trash and do our recycling. 

Since our new neighbors got rid of that ugly dumpster, I've had to go back to doing the weekly run to the town hall. Actually, I am glad the dumpster is gone. IT was SO unsightly even if it was very handy.

There is a gentleman who now oversees the recycle bins. His name is Stan. I only know this because someone called out his name when I was there. 

I took my time with my bin of recyclables and then needed to purchase some Town Trash bags.

I noticed that many of the other folks that stopped by never bothered to say hello and pretty much just did what city--transplant to country folks would do. Looked down their noses at Stan. He was the Dump Dude and nothing more.

I asked Stan how he was doing. Everyone had left and it was just the two of us on a nice Wednesday morning. 

"Ahhh," he answered quietly, "I'm..." he made a face "I'm okay. You know, I'm here."

I waited because sometimes if you don't interrupt and pay attention, the other person may continue.

"You know," he added, leaning on a dumpster, "my wife passed on in April..." He sighed, then added, "She was sick all winter and when she passed my daughter insisted I come back to the township and do this work again. She knew if I didn't, I'd just be sitting at home staring at the walls. So here I am. I'm not sure..." his voice dropped off and he shrugged.

I saw sadness in him, in how he moved and how he glanced at something above and behind me. I'm sure he was thinking about his wife.

"I'm very glad that you are here, Stan," I said. "I enjoy seeing you each week."

"Well," he answered, "I guess." His hands fluttered a bit and he rearranged some plastic bottles. "Maybe that is a good thing." He stopped and then leaned up against the bin.

"You see, I'm going to be 74 pretty soon, and I am retired. I took care of my wife while she was so sick and now?" He shrugged again. 

I waited.

"Some days it is hard to get up and get going, you know? But this job on Wednesdays and Saturdays is something. Not much. But I get out because I have to."

So even if I don't need to go each week, I go see Stan so he can chat with me. 

Last week Stan saved out a couple of nice little storage crates and asked if I could use them. What a nice gesture and yes, I could use them.

I don't tell Stan that I too am a Caregiver, he doesn't need to know my story or frustrations. He all too well knows how that goes.

What he needs is a kind ear.

And it seems he looks forward to chatting for a bit each week. Some of his days are better than others. I can tell, when he jokes about me driving over with just a little bit of stuff, I smile and tell him that ... hey, I just needed to get out!

Maybe I'm just a softy...my husband says I'm soft in the head.

I think thoughtful kindness goes a long way. You never know what others are going through.

CareGiver

 

"A hug is always the right size." ~~ Winnie the Pooh

I was asked by a VA Social Worker how CareGiving changed my life. I didn't get philosophical like I could have IF I'd had time to think about it.
So I answered honestly.

It isn't how I saw myself spending my time as I aged. Pre Caregiving was a life full of trips and adventures with a lot of camping and riding mules. I worked a pretty good job that drove me nuts with the odd hours I worked.

I became a CareGiver because it was the only way hubby could come back home. That was 5 years ago. It just felt right. I couldn't leave him 14 hrs a day on his own after nearly losing him twice  in the early morning hours. 

The Social worker asked if I had experience in this. I chuckled and said that it was on the job experience. She smiled and said most folks who have raised children have extensive experience. 

I agree. I was a mom, but being a caring person for a once able person is much more different than caring for a child. At least I could send my kids to their rooms or ground them for misbehaving. 

I looked up quotes and inspirational 'stuff' on the internet. All of them sing wonderful praises about being a Caregiver. How enlightening it is, how courageous it is, how fulfilling it is.

No one quotes or discusses the arguments that cannot be won. The discussions that go no where. The memories that are flawed yet have to be glossed over in order to keep the peace. 

CareGiving did change our lives. In a sweet way, it has allowed us to stay together. In a hard way because of his frailty it has isolated us socially. You can draw your own conclusions regarding that. 

Caregiving pushed me to be an Advocate and a mom to my husband. Yet we still find those magical little moments where both of us forget all the medical issues and frailties. We laugh and make like we are going to beat each other up with slippers. There is a spark in his eye and laughter.

A hug goes a long long way. 

Compassion and empathy is not in everyone's make up. I'm not special.

To Quote Winnie the Pooh [my hero]:

"Some people care too much. I think it's called love." ~ Winnie the Pooh

The Loose Lightbulb

I had a fun discussion with my friend BJ on Sunday. We talk every Sunday without fail. How we ended up being long distance friends is really bizarre. It came about by the love of Daschund type dogs.

I mentioned to her that I'd had a project brewing for many years that I called simply The Project. It was to have been observations of how the creek in our valley changed over the years.

Our conversation turned to questions like: What inspires you to write?
What inspires you to photograph certain subjects?
What inspires you to study something you have never studied before?

Writing is like a loose lightbulb connection. You jiggle it and it goes out for a while. Whack it, and sometimes it shines brightly.

There can be long periods of boring nothing-ness and then a sudden insight.

So, with the delivery of the Giraffe Toy, my inspiration exploded into what BJ called a huge ADHD Bomb. 

I had to run around Saturday with a bag of toys to capture photographs while the bulb was shining brightly.

Here enters the ADHD DD H D AA dd a ddd...ddddd... or whatever. 

This morning I was browsing through my Flickr albums in search of my old Teddy Bears and The Project Album caught my eye. So I got sidetracked and began to look through photos in my album called The Project.
The original intent was to observe changes in the creek over a year.  Actually I have been recording changes for about 8 years. Because I just kept adding to the photos and never ended up compiling a project regarding The Creek.

Morris and I 2013

Hunting season 2013

2015

Just after the 

great floods 

of 2016.

All the mosses 

are washed away.

Summer 2016

A new tree came down across the 

creek during the summer storms here.

2017

And the trees keep sinking lower 

and 

lower...

Winter 2018

After the floods of 2019...

the mess of new trees fallen

and washed into 

this spot.

2019

Below, a shot of this same spot just 

beyond the mess and tangle.

Summer 2020

This spot in the creek has always intrigued me. I always stop here and take a comparison shot. It is fairly easy to find in my album because I think I keep renaming it The Spot.

My intent years ago was to combine all these into some sort of study of the creek. I'm not even sure what that means. I've observed the the creek for years and observed how the seasons change the creek and how flash floods change the route each time by rearranging leaves, logs, and rocks. Sometimes the change is so subtle and sometimes it is dramatic.

See? In conclusion, I am like that person who has so many ideas that are scattered here and there in my brain. Once in a while an idea pops up and I chase it.

Maybe I will compile my thoughts and notes about the creek and it's life because it is such an interesting and vital part of our valley and forest.

Just like BJ said. She was ADHD and had to address an idea when it came to her like a lightening bolt. 

I like that explanation because it fits me perfectly. Just like the loose light bulb. I may just be motivated to work on the project now that it gets dark so soon.

Perfect.

I'm going to work on my Loose Lightbulb. May it shine brightly.

Chasing Fungi, Lichen, and Dreams

 

This is the spot where I turned around and headed back alongside the creek. 

I found this old fungi carcass ... is that even a proper way to say it? Dried out black old fungi. I thought it would make a good Trick or Treat surprise to gross someone out. 

The hike back along the creek was much easier than going up and over. The lichen on the rock faces always stop me in my tracks. 

 The colors range from pink to green to an aqua color. I have no idea what all of the lichen are called.

In a few spots there were tiny ferns growing. 

When the leaves fall and the colors leave the forest, I turn my eyes to the tiny things such as moss and lichen. 

I will transition from chasing fungi and mushrooms to chasing moss and lichen. [And Ice Caves!]

The beavers of Weister Creek  rebuilt their new home near the rock bluffs until the next flash flood moves them again.

Their work is a sample of ingenious engineering. I didn't get a photo of it as I was sort of hurrying back to the car.

When I climbed over the section of where the beaver dam used to be, I took a detour to see if I could glance down at one of the ice caves.

I got sidetracked by Woodland Russulas...I think:

They were everywhere! I could smell mushrooms in the air.

These coral fungi were hiding. The tiny Rabbit is 1/2 inch tall for some perspective.

I stopped here and sat in the pine needles. I could hear an occasional vehicle out on County P and I could hear waterfowl coming in for a landing below me on a large bend of the creek.

I didn't want to leave. 
I just didn't.

May...be, if I just melted down into the pine needles. I could just become part of the forest. I was sure if I shut my eyes and opened them very carefully, I'd see gnomes an fairies peeking from behind the trunks of trees.

My camera could capture photos of the adventure but not the essence. The smell of mushrooms, pine, and leaves...what sweeter smells could there be?

When I got home I was excited, tired, and relaxed. My mind was still in the forest.

The phone rang and it was my doctor. She affirmed what I'd seen in the test results. Her concern was rather urgent and she ordered more tests for Friday morning.

I don't like the 'unknown' I'm a person who likes to have all of my facts up front so I can look at them and deal with them. I like a plan, I like order, and I dislike chaos. But the human body is chaos.

A bone density test rates your bone mineral loss and the brittle factor so to speak.  It is to assess risk factors going forward. So since I am a very small person, it was no surprise that I was rated with mild osteoporosis  in one hip and a bit worse in the other. However the score for the Lumbar area was out of this world.  Leave it to me to be unusual. You know I strive to be 'different'.

Well huh. I guess that means I need to come up with a plan after the new test results come in. I feel better when I think I have a plan for things. And I do realize that I am not always in 'control' of my world. I would love to think I could be!

I am going back to the forest to Dream...

Know where you are.

There was a story this week about how a woman had to be rescued at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve. She had gotten lost. 

Woman lost on Kickapoo Valley Reserve. 

She was found safely around midnight. The sheriff department used a drone to find her heat image that night and she was 'rescued' unharmed. 

I am not going to make fun of her experience. A good friend of mine last spring called me on her cell phone as she and her family had taken a wrong turn 'somewhere' on the Reserve and she felt lost. That worked out as her husband [ex marine] took them to a spot and went to get the vehicle on his own.

Here is look at the map.

and a closer view:
This area in close up, is probably THE most confusing part of the KVR.
I carry a paper map while hiking and I have my map marked up with mileage of each section of trail along with notations about tricky trail junctions.

Here is a satellite map of the area not all of it, but just enough to give you and idea of the contours, hills, and valleys.

I have many friends whose biggest fear is getting turned around in the KVR. I have ridden mules on the Reserve before it was the Reserve. Now I spend my time carefully plotting hikes to show my pal.

On my own two feet I have done all but 4 miles of the 50 miles of trails. There is some wonderful logic to use here. Hike with someone you know. If not, have a paper map AND a compass. Some junctions are tricky and it is easy to go west when you intend to go east if it is heavily overcast.

Don't leave the trail if you don't understand the lay of the land. However, walking the trail will eventually take you to a road. Listen for traffic. If you are quiet you can hear in which direction roads are.

Bill and I took a wrong turn last winter. Too much talking and not enough paying attention. We backtracked and were fine. So having Bill with me asking questions was my downfall. We didn't get lost but it sure was embarrassing to me.

I recently spoke with another friend of mine and she had asked if I'd show them around to the ice cave trails as she'd tried to figure it out but was afraid of getting lost with her kids. 

I am more than happy to, the KVR is no longer the mystery it used to be.

One more satellite view. The circled area I hike and live in. I've spent from 1996 to present walking/riding this area. The very first time I went on my own, I took my mule so in case I got turned around, he'd take me back home. Now I hike it daily up and down the hills and through the valleys. 

When I first moved here, I could not figure out my directions. 

I am hesitant to try places that I don't know. However I would love to get to know Governor Dodge State Park and Wyalusing much better. Unfortunately they are an hour drive one way. Too far for a quick hike. 

We are lucky in our county to also have Sidie Hollow, Esofea, Duck Egg, and Jersey Valley County Parks to hike/ride equine/bike/camp in.

Okay. I got way off track.

Be prepared. I always have a backpack with food, water, map, compass, emergency blanket--the space kind. A Firestarter, and a lighter. Of course a little first aid kit too. 

Last funny thought. 25 years ago two ladies came into the Chiropractor's office where I worked and told me a story how they'd gotten sort of lost on the Reserve. No cell phones at that time. The one lady said they'd been hunting morels and got off the beaten path. It got dark so she built a campfire and waited until morning when she could get her bearings and walk out.

That story stuck with me. Those women were totally calm about their experience. 

One of the signs at the trail heads at KVR is to notify hikers to not depend on their cell phones as the reception is spotty at best in the deep valleys.

I am very happy to learn that our Sheriff Department is able to launch a search with a drone that can read heat images. 

I hope to hike on Saturday on one of the less popular trails. This week has been full of appointments. I'm off to get my eyes examined in a bit.

Rich said I should have my "head" examined.

This photo is from Tuesday...our first crocuses!

And now to the weather...Sunday

snow/sleet/rain and yuck!

Gotta love March!

Yikes and Coronavirus

Maybe the CrossFit shake up happened at a good time? Most of our group of maniacs are finding small ways to work out in the outdoors doing WOD's and adding fun things like car pushing, feed sack carries, and other fun things.

Small groups of as little as two are doing work outs together when they ...can as we wait for the next step ...and there is something in motion for that.

Our Coach has sent out workouts to do at home with no equipment! Very cool stuff. It takes real dedication to do that.

But in the face of the Coronavirus epidemic, pandemic, or sickness.
Working out at home, working from home, staying home, are all choices we have to think about.
I am pretty darned lucky to be able at this time to stay home and we are lucky that we are 'isolated' in a way.
We live in a very rural area.
That is not going to stop me from hiking. It won't stop me from enjoying the outside as much as I can now that the weather is nicer. But it did make me look at how my mom and Grandmother always had food stocked in dry form, canned form, or frozen form.
I used to joke that our family could survive the 'worst' case scenario.

Mom had learned from WWII and rationing. I think Grandma understood it well too after living through the 1918 pandemic, the Great Depression, and WWII.

Am I over reacting? Possibly!
But we got notification that the Nursing Homes are in 'lockdown' locally. School field trips are being cancelled. So is it over reaction? I live with an individual with compromised health. The regular flu could kill him. So why not take precautions?

The local VA clinics and the hospitals now have patients line up in the parking lot as they do screening before you enter for an appointment. They are asking patients to do video visits for common colds.
Any time I walk through the VA clinics I feel a bit cautious for my hubby. So many people with masks and without masks, a person just needs to look around to see the large population of very vulnerable elderly veterans.

So what to do?
Well.
Simple, but not so simple.

I will try to carry on with my more or less normal life. Continue with Master's Class. I will ask them if they have prepared for this scenario.

And wonder. Is this Coronavirus being overblown? Is it not?
Prepare in case?

What will happen to our economy? What will happen to people like my son and his wife who can't work from home?

We are entering a new and uncharted territory.

Things could get very interesting.

Stuffs....

Do you remember how little Sven was???

He and Charlie were not that different in size!

Now 10 months later....

Wow!

Sven had an ear infection...I think. Lots of ear gunk for a while. Now he walks with his head tilted and his balance isn't as good as it could be. However his vitals are just fine and he seems normal.
His mom was sickly and his father had the same issues after he was a year old.
I wonder.

I guess I don't care because Sven is such a doll who has NO idea that he is a goat!

Here my hiking cohorts are when I took out the treats. Sven loves dog biscuits. Charlie prefers the bacon flavored ones. Go figure, I rattle the plastic bag and I am both of these guys' best-est pal!

Rich and his psychiatrist have 'new' rules for me. I am not to hover and watch over Rich reminding him to take his meds. I am to let go a bit of my 'mothering'. Rich feels well enough to express that and I have decided to stop being the major worry wort. His mood is much better and his health is tenuous still. But he is holding his own.

So there it is. I signed up for a Master Naturalist Class which starts in March on Monday nights. I am going hiking with my ex neighbor and two of her friends tonight for a candle light hike at Wildcat Mountain State Park. I have a 'date' to go trail running with a CrossFit pal next Tuesday afternoon.

This year feels different for me. New and exciting things are happening quickly.

I donated an Infrared Photo to OneEarthStudios for ArtShare Dare in Ohio. ONEarth Studios is run by my [ex] sister in law and her amazing family.
I had two folks from CrossFit  actually purchase some photos of mine!

Okay, I do not plan on becoming a pro. Phew. Nope, not me.

I've been asked to volunteer instruct kids for cross country skiing too! Smack my forehead! How fun could that be?

Kristi from CrossFit asked it I'd consider doing a trail race/run with her. Um. I am going to be 64 and she is 41. But she sure can be convincing.

I've always loved 'running' or jogging. Trail running? Well, if I had a pal to do it with...mayyybeee!
I looked at the map for the Tromp and Chomp and realized that I know the trails very well.

So watch out. I have 4 months to 'train'.

Yesterday, Charlie...Mr. Short Legs, ran through the hay fields and across country with me. I don't like road running anymore and besides, it was ice.
We did 3/4 of a mile before Charlie pooped out. I was not going to try and make his 3 inch legs go any longer than that so we walked the rest of our 'run'.

A mini doxxie is not really a distance runner. But, the important part is that we had so much fun!

I have not run any races or seriously done distances since I was 30. But yesterday I didn't feel tired, I felt like a kid running for joy.
I'm going to give a huge nod to my CrossFit workouts for the past year for this feeling.
I felt so alive and so free.

I haven't felt that in such a long time.

Stay tuned. I have a good feeling about this coming year.

Donated photo: