Perfect weather

The temperatures were insanely warm on Wednesday, so much so that I wore a spring jacket while Charlie and I took a nice long hike.
I knew the weather was going to change on Wednesday evening and be awful on Thursday, so I made the executive decision to

not do laundry
not vaccum

not dust

leave my messes alone and

go out for fresh air 

and snow.

I chose to stay on a flat and familiar trail nearby. I had considered going to one of the State Parks but I opted for the shorter drive.

In the summer this is a paved trail for bicyclists and hikers, equine are to ride off the blacktop to the side.
In the winter, the trail is groomed. No bikes allowed, but those who walk are supposed to stay off to the side so skiers can use the groomed area.

I chose not to take my snowshoes. When the temps are nearly 40 F, the snow will clump up under the snowshoes like a huge snowball. It makes snowshoeing rather unenjoyable. 

Charlie was in his element. He followed the proper trail and ran ahead stopping to stick his nose into the snow and smell for mice and other things.

We went to the bluffs where I go each year. There is no trail but one can walk below the bluffs near the river. Here again, we found damage from the August Storm that took down so many trees in the area.

The marks in the snow were made by myself and Charlie and other critters.

No human tracks were found here.

Perhaps you can see why I continue to work out at the gym. Balance and agility are things I hope to keep for quite a while yet. The color is off in the shot below, the snow I don't believe wasn't that blue! But it was chilly next to the bluff!

This is with my back to the river looking up the bluffs and hillside. After looking at the rocks and the little bits of ice we found we went up the hillside to find a log in the sun and have our lunch.

Ice. The nice kind that is pretty to look at.

We had plenty of time so I headed down to what I call Star Valley ponds and decided to see how iced over it was. 
It surely was iced over. 

Curiously though, I saw where x-county skiers had crossed the ice. 

Infrared Shot

By the time we got back to the car, I figured we'd have a really nice long hike in. The footing got a bit mushier as it warmed up.

I ran into someone I knew from the gym but hadn't seen since 2020.

He and his pheasant hunting lab were out walking and looking for some birds. 

We caught up with each others' lives and then moved on.

I kept my infrared camera out and snapped a few shots. 

Kickapoo River at bridge 15

Pine forest and shadows.

Heading back.

Follow the leader!
cell phone...

I was rather surprised that it was about 2pm when we got to the car. Charlie made himself comfortable in his car seat and we headed home.

Another fine day at the Reserve.

Today, it is wicked and wild. Who pissed of Mother 
Nature??

 

Catching up

Well here we are on a Sunday. I was going to send in a grocery order and go pick it up in town when we got a phone call.

Rich's nurse is coming out at noonish today. He called while I was doing morning chores.

So instead of doing that, I am readjusting my schedule once more.

Before the Rich got sick, I did a nice long hike in the neighbor's valley.  There is this very gnarly and twisted tree in the grassy part of the valley that always fascinated me. The tree has been dead for quite a few years and has a lot of interesting lichen on it.

I've always wanted to do a 'good' shot of this tree but never quite figured it out. So here is the tree. Once I decided to convert it to black and white, it seemed to stand out a bit better.

It is surrounded by a variety of plants and quite a bit of golden rod shown below. I'd read an article about shooting through a plant at another plant to give a bit of interest to the shot. 

So I shot the tree from the other side with the lens close to the golden rod for a light blur effect. Below is the result. It only took me a gazillion years to get a shot of this twisted tree that I liked. And there it is.

During the big melt down on February 25th, I spent quite a bit walking around through the creek bottom. In my bag I had another Titan 13. This one is gold. I thought with the late afternoon sun he'd surely shine.

I had a bit of excitement when the Titan fell forward into the rush of water. I had to chase him downstream a bit to rescue him. The water wasn't deep at all. But I had to try another shot just for the heck of it.

I thought he'd look more regal and I wanted to shoot more up at him than this direction. I'll find another time and place to do that but without the water.

That run off on the 26th was really quite beautiful. I enjoyed taking it all in. The sound of the water was relaxing and invigorating at the same time.

Now I'm trying to figure out my new routine[s] and get used to another change in our lives.

Including creativity is going to be a new challenge to explore. I can think of it in a way as being pushed to change things up.

Caught up and now moving forward.

Overflo...

 Charlie is really one heck of a champ. 3 inch front legs, with a low slung powerful chest and then he stretches out to be a long dog.

Yesterday we caught some time to run  hike walk down to our valley. I could tell the snow melt was running off. I could hear it in the run off to the west of us on our west neighbor's land.

There is one thing I try very hard to go enjoy. Mini flash floods [I'm not a fool] and snow melts. The sound is music to my ears. Our creek used to have quite a bit of water in it. But for the last few years, we've had a bit of a drought.

I used to go down to the valley and sit on a rock or log and just listen to the water. It soothes me. 

Last week this area was solid ice with water running slowly underneath the ice. The water from the ridge west of us drains down through their land and into the spot where the creek actually starts at a spring. It gathers water from the hillsides and two large south facing dry runs and heads down the valley and through us.

The brownish colored water is typical of run off. It is dirt, sand, clay, and debris that gets washed off the top of the soil on the ridge. Erosion. It is more fierce in the winter as the land underneath is frozen and cannot soak in.

It was sunny yesterday afternoon and nearly 60 degrees out. The water was icy cold with ice slush in it. That tough little dog made his way back and forth and over rocks to assist me in exploring.

In the shots below, the light color that looks yellowish under the water is ice that is still frozen. 

The white streaks are foam that comes from oxygen in the snow, debris, and dissolving organic matter. It is complicated science but pretty cool stuff. I never understood why there was so many bubbles during a snow melt and run off.

Now I know a little more.

Foamy:

And photographed with a 3 second exposure. 👇

The foam does literally spin in circles in little eddies. I just love to 'catch' it in a longer exposure. It makes so many interesting patterns.

I tried something I hadn't ever done before. I took a very strong ND filter and stuck it on the lens. I literally faced towards the west and set this shot up for a very long exposure. I wanted to highlight the foam streaks.

Charlie and I sat on a log with the water running around us. He was patient with me while I fiddled with the camera and the exposures to try something different. In the shot above, there is a leaf, snow, and stick jam just in front of us.

I like it. It is weird enough to be different and highlight the foam. 

I get geeked out over the foam in the water. Sorry, can't help it.

the log...today.... 👇 nice place to sit right?

The shot below is where I'd taken the video with Morris a few years ago. The water wasn't charging down through the boulders like in years past, but it made for some cute little water falls with bubbles!

This morning, the sunrise was spectacular, when I went out on the porch to watch it, I could hear the water running again on the neighbor's land. 

After getting ol' hubby settled, fed and whatnot. I walked carefully down to the neighbor's valley and took this shot. 

The walls of the creek are steep. I took this shot so you could understand what it looks like. Getting in and out of that bottom can be tricky sometimes. I didn't go down at all this morning as the banks were all ice.

I did eventually find a safe way down a bit later and spent a little more time enjoying the sounds and sights of the creek.

I just can't stay away from water. Give me a river, a creek, or a lake to be near and you can color me happy.

I spent all of my free time at the creek today. Hubby napped, I 'creeked'...not creaked.

Side note. He says he is too sick to see a doctor. And again refused to go. I think that should be my Stress Test, not some machine, right?

The Big Melt Down

Sunday morning I had to wear Yak Traks to walk up to get Saturday's mail.
The snow had melted all night and the fog misted down ... so the driveway was a combination of ice and water.

I had to run to the nearest gas station/convienience store before breakfast. I thought the Subaru could handle the driveway. Icy but not pure glare ice.

The gravel roads were somewhat of a nightmare, soft in some spots, icy in others, and in one spot a culvert was plugged and icy chunks of water was beginning to run over the road.

By the time I got home our township had rescued the day and had spread gravel on the worst spots and down the steepest part of our driveway. I parked the Subaru and did a short happy dance.

Since water was running I thought I'd do a quick hike down to the creek and see if any run off was occurring yet.

The fog was intense even down in the creek bottom. But the air temperature had changed so rapidly in 36 hours from -32 on Thursday morning to 42 degrees on Saturday and Sunday.

I figured that one of the dry runs could bring water off the ridge. So I walked the length of our creek starting from the west and heading towards the east. I could hear the run off before I saw it.

And as I climbed closer, I could hear the sound of the water change from above me in the dry run.

I quickly backed up.

Somewhere an ice jam had given way and released dirt, clay, and ice with water all at once.

I backed off to the other side of the creek and watched it roar.

It soon subsided yet the water still ran. I looked upstream and didn't see any of the tell tale white bubbles or discolored water heading my way.

So I set up to take a few shots before I had to get back home and check on Rich.

The top shot is looking upstream 

and the bottom is looking 

downstream from the same spot.

I wish I'd had time to stay for a while, but I grabbed some photos and headed home.

The weather calls for rain again today with ice jams and localized flooding in small streams.
This truly is my kind of weather.
Okay, it isn't pleasant, but it sure makes the creek very interesting.

Moving right along

Sunshine thought it would be fun to take a little jaunt. After all it has been December since we last got out for any time together.

On the ridge things looked pretty good. It was a bit muddy but we went before the ground got too soggy.

My clever little red headed mule wasn't fazed by the icy snow mobile trail. She moved alongside the trail where the ground was good and solid.

When we go to the normal creek crossing area we just sat a bit and watched the water roar on by. Sunshine was happy to just watch and then after a bit we returned home.

My day didn't end there. I had watering to take care, Dixie to play with ... and then I couldn't resist the urge to go back to our creek bottom.
I could hear the waters tumbling and crashing from the house.

I was already muddy. I gathered up my back pack and set off. Rich was sleeping and I had supper in the crock pot.

This is a shot of my neighbor's pasture. This water comes from the area west of us and runs down towards the creek. There is a Dixie head in the right side of the photo.

This is the nice quiet little pond that marks the end of my property and the fence-line that should mark my neighbor's land.

Further downstream I stopped for a quick look around and then headed back home. I was wet and very muddy.

I had to take my pants off on the porch and leave them to dry. My sweatshirt and vest had mud splatters on them also.

I think that meant I had an awesome day.

The venison roast tasted quite wonderful. I think it is one of the best ones I've made.

Note to self though. Plant more green beans, carrots, and corn in the garden next year.

Oh to love the creek

I like snow melts or winter thaws. It makes my little heart sing and my husband shake his head.
He often wonders if I am just crazy. No, I think he knows I am crazy.

I am nuts about our little creek. Any time we have a huge rain or a snow melt event I am scurrying to go watch it and take photos.

On the 15th we had our second day of extremely warm temperatures. I was sure that we'd had a 'run-off' on the 14th, but I had to wait for a phone call from the clinic. I was really quite put out that I could have been missing an adventure in Awesome Creek.

This photo is from March 2014. We'd had a lot of snow then.

February 15th this year...

I do love the sound the water makes as it makes its way through these boulders. The water is a coffee color with streaks of foam from the melting snow and ice. I believe the water color is from erosion from the cropland above and a mix of the clay and soils that line this 'dry' run.

I'd worn knee high waterproof boots for this.

After so many years of running down to the melt off, you'd think it would be boring or ho hum.
It isn't.
Each time it is different.

The path of the creek changes ever so slightly with each 'event'. Sometimes it changes drastically.

During such melt downs or heavy rains, I'd like to be everywhere at once along the creek. But that isn't possible.
This is the run off from the heavy rains we had on January 26th.

This is from the snow melt of February 14th and 15th.

boots...

Try as I might, I never do seem to get in the same exact place for these shots.
I gave up trying to be exact a long time ago.

But that is the charm of snow melts and heavy rains. I get to set up and practice some long exposure shots of the water.

Time was a factor also. I rush down to shoot the creek and explore as the daylight is beginning to fade.
I hurry instead of taking my time.

There are chores waiting for me at home. And a hungry husband.

I put the Olympus camera in my mini back pack and grabbed the tripod. I walked upstream to take the easier way out of the creek.
As I got above the water, I could hear a roaring coming from my neighbor's dry run.

I stepped through the barbed wire and walked over to where I could look. The water had started coming down here too. I couldn't help myself. I had to take a shot of the run off winding its way through the boulders and rocks.

I think I am going to find an old plastic chair to drag down to Awesome Creek and put it in a place so I can just sit and watch.

Morris doesn't come along with me any more. His eyesight is not very good any more and his hearing is pretty questionable.

I do miss his company and the looks that questioned my sanity....

Morris in 2014 giving me the look:

Weather alert.
Melting today.
Rain and ice event from tonight through Tuesday night.

I'm going to polish my cleats.