was not glamourous today. In fact, the lack of snow, the lack of any wind, and the smoke from people's woodstoves combined with the smoke/steam from the corn dryers gave the valley a look that was unreal.
When Charlie and I got to the 2 mile mark we decided to turn around. One of the mega dairy farms had a guy out with machinery clearing land and piling up trees in a pile that was burning. The shot below is smoke, acrid, nasty smelling smoke.
I imagine they were clearing the edges of the fields for more area for their hay crops. I had planned to go just a bit further but Charlie was dragging his feet and I decided that the smoke was very unhealthy.
The things that did surprise me was the abundance of food for the birds along the trail. The edges of the bike trail were covered in grape vines, multiflora rose buds, dried wild grapes, old man's beard, and highbush cranberries.
When we got back to the long bridge over the Pine River, we took a break as the smoke was clearing. It was time for us to have a snack and water.
As we finished up, I looked to the southwest.
The sky was turning ominous. Charlie was still dragging his feet so we made our way slowly back towards the parking area.
Walking slowly was actually a bonus. The skies were turning ugly, the land looked dreary, but birds were everywhere.
I noticed something I hadn't seen before while bicycling. The busted up farms, dilapidated buildings, and a variety of old machinery hiding in the weeds.
Another thing I'd never noticed was the sewage treatment plant hiding behind trees and small hills. But that explained the strange looking sewer lids that one would normally see in cities. They resided in a pasture.
I could hear water running through them.
Oddly enough when I stopped to look closer------
I found a mystery.
Shoes.
I needed to get out of the house and do some walking. Movement outdoors seems to help my attitude and brain and it seemed to be a good way to enjoy the January Thaw.