Hannah/lost and found and more

Sunday morning I checked the weather and it looked perfect for another campout. I took the dogs with me to set up the tent, they saw my backpack and ran next to the car and sat.

I had to laugh and imagine me explaining that No, they were going to help me set up camp.

I usually struggle a little bit in putting up the tent, in the end, I get it done. Instead of using the rain cover, I tossed a blanket over the top vent to keep our body heat in overnight.

I turned around and there was only Charlie sitting on the old camp cot I have. No Hannah. So I called, whistled and hollered. I tried her 'beeper' collar. She always come running to that as it means she gets a treat or a pat on the head.

Nothing.

I grabbed Charlie and took him home on the 4 wheeler and put him in the house so I could run down through our woods and call for Hannah.

I spent 45 minutes calling and then realized that since we are surrounded by 600+ acres on the east and 200+ acres on the west, and hundreds of acres of fields and forest to the south and north -- she could have gone anywhere.

I stopped running around. Hannah knew the lay of the land. She'd either come to camp or go home eventually. When Rich and I would lose a hound while hunting, we'd take our coats off and lay them down at the last place we'd been with our hound. By morning, the hound would have made a bed of our coats and we'd pick him/her up.

I got back to the house to grab my chore flannel off the porch and check on Charlie. He was happy to see me and then he ran to the porch door. I asked if he had to go out when I heard a very quiet 'woof'. It wasn't Charlie.

Hannah was laying on my insulated flannel in the sunshine on the porch. I wanted to yell at her and tell her she was bad bad bad and wished she could tell me what happened. 

I didn't. She was so overjoyed at seeing me. She launched into wiggles and smiles. Yup, she draws up her lips while wiggling and shows her teeth in an awkward smile.

I hugged her and gave her a treat for being so smart as to come home and lay on the porch.

We eventually got back to the campsite and got set for an October camp. It was going to be a chilly night with temps dipping into the low 40's. I figured if we got cold, we could just walk home and go in the house.

We left at 5pm and spent quite a bit of time sitting on the old junk cot watching the fire and listening to the forest around us.

At sunset, I walked out into the meadow and took this shot looking east with the pretty pink clouds and the neighbor's meadow. The line of fog is actually smoke from my fire lingering in the woods far off.

Once it got dark, the temperature started to drop. That is when the first group of coyotes started to sing their hunting songs. Not too far off an owl started to call. It was a different call than the 'Who Cooks For You' but it was a Barred Owl --> I think.

The fire had burned low so I banked the coals and we retired inside the tent. It was only 7:30, I cracked open a book and started to read. My cohorts made a bed on my jacket and some blankets and seemed to be interested in what I was reading.

Around 8:30 I decided to check on things outside before calling it a night. I walked out with the dogs and had them do their thing while I looked at the stars.

I couldn't believe my lucky eyes. The Milky Way had not quite set yet. I kept the dogs collar lights on and grabbed my camera out of the backpack.

I thought that time had run out on seeing the Milky Way, however, it hadn't quite set yet.

I was so tickled and happy, I did a little jig and Hannah did one too. Charlie huffed and went into the tent to make his bed. Apparently he was not impressed.

I could see my breath in my headlamp so I know the temperature had dropped again. I thought I'd take a couple of night camp shots so I could remember our 'night out'.

So the night sounds we heard were really quite beautiful. We heard raccoons chirping in the forest. Yes, they do make chirping sounds! A buck not too far off was grunting which sounds hilarious. I am guessing he was chasing a doe who he thought was in heat.

We heard from the coyotes a few more times but they didn't come our way.

The coolest sounds we heard were from the Barred Owls or perhaps they were Great Horned Owls. The songs were odd but definitely an owl of some kind. It sounded as if a Barred Owl couldn't quite get it right and was trying to sound like an adult.

They kept at it every once in a while until nearly dawn. 

I enjoyed the night noises so much especially the owl 'talk'. It was one of the highlights of my night!

By the time 6am arrived, the dogs and I were buried under layers of blankets together. I got dressed and had to convince the dogs to leave their warm blankets and walk home with me in the predawn. 

We walked through our meadow towards home and listened to the group of Robins that were chattering. They were migrating through and gave us more 'songs' to enjoy on our camping adventure.

The outside temperature at the house was 38 degrees F. Hmmm. We survived!

And, I got a pretty good night's sleep!

[I also want to say that Hannah is a huge scent driven dog. She can track me if I hide from her, a playful trick I used to do to all of our hounds. Charlie doesn't have that sort of scent drive, but he has also learned to stay close over the past 8 yrs.]

Birds and a full moon...

Rich got a neat barn-like birdfeeder from his daughter for his birthday. He really likes it. I put it in a spot where he can watch the mules and the birds at the same time.

It seems all the birds enjoyed it. 
 

Of course, I couldn't resist making sure that the Lego Birds got in on the act.

The Cardinals weren't bothered by the little Lego Birds at all. They all ate together without a fuss.

Our ground is warm enough for the Robins to be pulling up worms. I watched this Robin and learned something new once more. They don't gobble down the whole worm. At least this one didn't. It pulled it up and then took bites out of it. After a bit the Robin left leaving part of the worm.

I always assumed that Robins grabbed up the worms and chucked them down all at once. See? I can learn new things on any given day!

I spent most of the afternoon grooming the mules and getting burrs out of their tails. A bit of hair conditioner rubbed into the tails makes that chore a bit easier. I am always amazed at how they go find more burdock any way. 

We spent part of the day looking through old family photos. Rich would tell me who they were and I'd write the names on the back of them. He couldn't ID them all, but we sure had fun looking at them. When I pulled out his High School Yearbook I read him the signatures he'd collected. Some of them were pretty hilarious. He was drafted not long after graduation.

This morning [Sunday] we had the full moon peeking at us from a partially cloudy sky, I took this shot and then did a little video of the predawn morning sounds.

20 seconds long. The moon is not in focus as I was

recording the sounds.

The song is that of the coyotes and their young hunting in the valley to the west of us and in the forest to the east of us.

The mules were rather unconcerned.

One foot in front of

 ---

the other....

We got some snow. Around here we call it free fertilizer. In the spring the snow delivers nitrogen to the land it falls on and as it melts, it fertilizes the ground. We call it the poor man's fertilizer.

Charlie and I got out for our first hike since Saturday. That is a long lay off for me. We enjoyed the fresh air and went down in the valley to check out the tiny trout pond in the stream.

They were fine and flitting about under a skiff of ice that was rapidly melting.

I enjoyed the hike and didn't rush. All sorts of plants are budding out. The gooseberries, multiflora rose, and barberry bushes to name a few. I was really enjoying the birdsong more than anything else.

I saw a lot of Robins. In the first shot the Robin is in a tree that has a grapevine in it. He/she was eating the dried fruit pulp. Back in our pasture, the Robins were actually getting worms from the ground.

This Robin was with several Juncos who were getting grit from the gravel road. I find watching birds and listening to them relaxing in so many ways.

Each spring I get Bird Fever and tell myself that I am going to learn more and more about birds. That usually falls by the wayside when the wildflowers start to do their thing in the woods. But...yes, one of these fine years, I'm going to get serious. I'd love to go along the Mississippi River and watch those birds come in.

When I worked at the Genoa Power Plant, we used to watch them at our leisure while we were doing our rounds.

Now just the dry cask storage is left as they demolished the plant this week. 20 second video:

Anyway, I got off track. While working at the river for years, I got to watch all sorts of birds migrate through the area. At the time I wasn't interested in ID'ing them.

Maybe in the future I can have time to do such things. One can hope and have dreams right?

Meanwhile in the woods. I found it quite odd that there are still bucks running around with a full set or half set of antlers towards the middle and end of March. I usually start finding sheds towards the end of February. These are trail cam shots.

This is beginning to be an odd year.

I think I'll go for my morning walk with Charlie and then just do some experimenting with Still Life and lighting.

I'm currently messing around with a build that the grandkids left behind.

I am modifying it slightly to experiment with different colors and minifigs. I keep moving figures around and changing things to see if a storyline will appear.

Sometimes things just seem to click and other times they don't. I like this scene. The softness was created by focusing through other bits of Legos.

I need to get things prepared for our busy week. I have multiple appointments to negotiate through Friday and an arrival of another Grandkid.

This weekend looks like my only day to chill out and relax a bit.

One foot in front of the other.

I got cold!

I totally misjudged the temperatures last night! 

When I left home it was 60 degrees. I was warm and toasty. When I arrived at the Reserve, it was 50. I'd only brought a light sweatshirt and a windbreaker. 

Note to self. Next time, add some jackets to a bag and leave it in the back of the Subaru. I thought I was getting good at figuring the weather out. Obviously, I forgot it was October.

I did get there just before sundown and enjoyed watching the sky and listening to Red Wing Blackbirds as they settled into the branches around me on their migration route. I didn't get any photos of them, but I could identify them by their song and the songs of Robins too.

Just as the sun dropped another flock of Canada Geese went overhead to the east. I think I was enjoying the sounds and songs of the birds more than anything else. 

To stay warm, I hiked around the pond trails and finally settled on a spot to watch the moon come up. I had 20 minutes to wait for moonrise and at least another 10 minutes before it would appear over the bluff to the east.

As the light faded, I watched some beavers -- or muskrats -- swimming in the east side pond. I think it would have been beavers because when they swam closer to where I was standing, they alarmed by slapping their tails against the water.

Oh, the sounds of nature when you can be right in it!

When I got to Bridge 18 I stopped to glance at the moon on the river. It was so beautiful. It seemed to glow orange.

I wanted to stay longer but my hands were freezing.

And as I put away my camera I heard a Hoot Owl calling out. I smiled, I love the sound of those owls.

Then I heard a blood curdling screech. I actually stopped a moment because it did actually sound like a scream.

It raised the hair on the back of my neck until I recognized the call of a Barn Owl. Yes, they do screech and it sounds pretty awful at first.

Another terrifying night sound is a fox screaming. But I haven't heard that in a long time. I did hear the coyotes calling out to each other when I reached the car.

It seems that all the creatures were enjoying the beautiful moonlight with me.

Enough about my night time wanderings.

Looks like the weather will change for the cooler and perhaps I'll be smarter about what I wear!

The Subaru said it was 39 degrees when I left for home. 

Just Dance Instead

I had plans to sneak out to the Reserve and look for some birdies. Instead, let's just say things didn't work out for me to go check out the ponds.

I got pretty grumpy. And I wanted to have a temper tantrum. I really did. But it wasn't anyone's fault that things didn't work out. The day was absolutely gorgeous, so I went out to the forest garden with Charlie and did some clean up. The ground is still frozen under the leaves and sticks. 

That didn't make me Un-grumpy so I decided to try a different tactic.

I decided to take out my camera and go enjoy some sunshine. 

I took my Smart Phone and tuned it into Pandora and donned my little wireless earbuds. Pavlov Stellar's Booty Swing came on and my feet couldn't help but start to dance.

I am glad I live in a secluded area. Imagine seeing me dancing to a tune no one else could hear. My husband once told me that my dancing actually looks like I'm having the Vapors or some sort of Seizure.

I went in with my goat and we danced to tunes only I could hear. Sven was happy to have someone to play with. 

I found myself laughing at his silly reactions to my absolute horrible moves. Laughter led to smiles, smiles led to happiness and suddenly that Grumpy lady disappeared.

I left Sven's pen and went out to wander about with my camera. The sunshine felt fantastic and I decided to make the best of the afternoon anyway.

I thought I'd experiment at trying to catch a bird in flight. I'm still working on that skill, but at least I got to see Robins.

And those annoying Grackles.

My beautiful red head walked out of the woods to watch me. Perhaps Sunshine had seen my awkward dancing.

Maybe goofy dancing with a goat is a cure for stress. It sure helped me.

Oh Deer and other things

When I got up I didn't think the sunrise would be much of a big deal. I walked out to the summer pasture and everything looked rather hazy and bleh.

I thought perhaps the ridge might offer something different so I walked up the steep hill. When I reached the spot where I come out of a wooded area, I saw a herd of deer in the cornfield.

The group yanked their heads up so I stood stock still.

I crept up to the ditch so I could stay somewhat hidden from them. I sat in the ditch and decided to just watch and see if I could catch them in the dim light.

The sky kept brightening and I kept shooting trying to get the deer to appear on the horizon.

 Yesterday we saw a bluebird that perched on a fenced post. 

I saw a swan flying overhead while I was driving to drop off my tax paperwork.

And in the afternoon Charlie and I spotted a Robin that I could photograph. I'd only heard them for the past few days.

I had one more awesome cool discovery. The boxelder tree sap was running like crazy!

I managed to get a shot of the sap dripping from the ends of the branches. Look at the droplets, they are reflecting the trees and sunlight to the west of the trees.

Today is going to be warm and sunny. All my chores are done and I am thinking....

Perhaps I can sneak out and go look for some Sandhill Cranes or at least some Geese to watch.

The day started out amazing. I want to keep that going forward.

Have you ever...

Have you ever wandered lonely through the woods?
And everything feels just as it should
You're a part of life there
You're part of something good
If you've ever wandered lonely through the woods
If you've ever wandered lonely through the woods.

Have you ever stared into a starry sky?
Lying on your back you're asking why
What's the purpose I wonder who I am
If you've ever stared into a starry sky
Have you ever stared into a starry sky.

Have you ever been out walking in the snow?
Tried to get back where you were before
You always end up not knowing where to go
If you've been out walking in the snow
If you'd ever been out walking you would know.

~Brandi Carlile

So I was listening to Pandora and this song came on. I had to pause it and look up the lyrics. It was that stunning and spoke to me. 

Yesterday was a wandering day. I just slid on the snowshoes and started out. I had absolutely nothing in mind but just to go and observe. To see what would catch my eye.

Ice Crystals

Sunburst Lichen
I think...

I have no idea...

.....but it is

crazy cool...

Robins eating

Buckthorn berries
and spreading the seeds

in poop.

The ice wall

I took off the snowshoes and meandered down the creek. I had no idea what I was looking for or what I wanted to do.

Grumpy Dragon to his 

brother the Forest Dragon:

Hey, I thought you said

Spring was on the Way!

Cool Clear

Water

Moss along the 

rock wall.

Have you ever been out walking in the snow?
Tried to get back where you were before
You always end up not knowing where to go
If you've been out walking in the snow
If you'd ever been out walking you would know.

That was me.