Surprise surprise SURPRISE!

Sometimes I get surprised out of the blue. I went to the mailbox to collect my mail. I'd had a notification that a package was delivered. I just figured it was some of hubby's meds from the VA. I was curious, there was a box on our mailbox.

I should have taken a shot of the box and the multiple layers of brown paper bags. I'd shaken it when I picked it up. Oddly enough, it did not feel like a bomb but sounded like Legos. I glanced at the return address and didn't recognize it. My brain was on another Earth. I grabbed it and headed to town to pick up my groceries.

When I got home, I handed the package to Rich and he shook it too. "What in the heck is it?"

I tossed groceries into the freezer and put other things away. 

"It's Legos."

"Huh?"

"Legos! I know the sounds they make. I've ordered enough sets to know what they sound like."

[No argument there.]

I had to find my box cutter and used that along with scissors just to peel the tape and paper back. I saved the return address so I could remember to thank whoever sent the package.

Inside where little blue boxes tied up with strings and a little heart. Each heart had a date on it and the note said:

Sometimes I don't know what to make of people's kindness and thoughtfulness. In a million years I wouldn't have thought to do something like this.

Each box had a surprise 'blind' box minifigure in it with a note.

"we do not need magic
to transform our world.
 We carry all of the 
power we need inside
of ourselves already.
~~J.K. Rowling

This morning I opened the last box as soon as I got up.

I've got a few new minifigures which I will set up later today and photograph after I take care of some of the heavy wet snow we accumulated yesterday. We got quite a bit more than was predicted so that is going to take up most of my morning along with chores.

However, I have to say how fun and wonderful it is to be so lifted up and surprised by a box in the mail.

Thank you Aurora!

You are so kind, creative, and thoughtful. The minifigs are impatiently waiting next to their boxes for me to come over and play with them!

Happy Spring Day!

Busy day

The other morning, before my appointment, I went to feed the girls and they were in a place they weren't exactly supposed to be in. All I had to do to get them back was rattle the feed bin and bring out their hay. 

[BW shot with my Infrared Camera out the door]

I just shut them in this large paddock until I could get out to check fences.

The culprits of fence wrecking showed up the next morning.

We did end up counting over 30 deer congregated by the place where our fence and two other neighbor fences intersect.

Well after breakfast, I went out and fixed about 500 feet of hot wire. The barbed wire fence that belongs to the guy west of me is bent over and mostly broken. He knows it is a mess, but he sold his cattle and so he basically doesn't care. 

That said, I don't mind either because I use a hot wire on the inside of his barbed wire. Hot wire was the only way we could keep our jumping mules in our pasture as they were taught to jump fences. That is a competition with a history of hunting behind it. 

The mules I have left don't jump fences. But keeping them out of tangled barbed wire is my goal.

Winter Pasture

The winter pasture looks flat, but it isn't, there are a lot of trees, nooks, and crannies to go around.

Below, my fencing supplies.

It wasn't that hard to repair the fence since I use a fence product that is easy to put back together. By the time I finished in my chore boots, my feet were chilled.

But I had a couple of more spots to take care of before quitting. You know, once you start a job, you finish it before having to put all the supplies away again.

I'll just have to keep a closer eye on the deer. 

After lunch, I decided to get outside as it was so warm! 22 F or -5 C. I'd been bummed about the 'order' not to 'go' hiking so Charlie and I decided to go for a 'walk'. Semantics, it works for me. 

I dusted off my Infrared Camera and thought it would be interesting to see how things looked in a different light. 

Finally an hour to myself to relax! No phone calls to answer, no appointments to work out, no deliveries of meds that need to be signed for. Just me and my little dog.

We went down the good part of the trail to the creek.  It looks quite different with the snow on it. I like to try and get out to 'shoot' this trail before the critters mark it up with footprints. 

That little black dot is Charlie watching 8 deer running up the hill from the valley below.

I turned around and hot straight up the trail. Yep, one isn't supposed to do that with a camera, it causes a lot of sun flares especially when you are using an Infrared Camera. I didn't care, I liked the footprints.

I checked my watch, time to get back and make sure someone had their meds on time and prepare for the 100 questions about "What is for lunch?"

I wanted to take an IR shot of this oak leaf stuck in the snow. Yes, the leaf looks blue as the light spectrum I chose to shoot in reflects anything that has chlorophyll in it a shade of blue in camera. It just looked pretty.

As we walked back home, I kept looking for interesting shapes and shadows in the snow. I like a solo branch sticking up out of the snow with a cool shadow. But our snow is not deep so I was stuck with little weeds. 

Back under the large oak, I found a small spot that did not have animal tracks in the snow and had interesting shadows from the tree above.

I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning house since I hadn't really done so since I'd been sick over a week ago.

I have only this...

I got out yesterday. It was still below that zero point when I took a walk up through the woods to go get yesterday's mail. Charlie did go with me as did Bear.

It has been a while since Bear and I went on adventures together. Silly me. When there is no one to hike with, I can always take Bear.

He never complains...

Even if he gets stuck trying to get over a log. 

I had to give him a hand of course and we went on our Merry Way.

In the afternoon we decided to go for a hike along the creek to see what was happening since the Big Chill from last week.

We didn't find many tracks other than a few deer tracks and quite a few rabbit tracks.

I left Charlie home as we were going deep into the forest and this is the beginning of coyote mating season. Mostly the coyotes will leave us alone or run off. But over 30 years of hiking these woods, I did have two instances where the 'yotes followed me and a dog during the day time.

Bear and I stopped for an updated photo of one of my favorite spots on the creek. The trees that lay across this section are now on the creek bottom. The creek no longer flows where I am squatted. It has moved to my left.

Much of the creek had ice on it and in some of the places where there are springs, it was open.

This section had slow moving water from a spring inching its way across the ice. It flows up and over the ice and then freezes.

Layers of ice build over each other.

This 20 second video shows how the water creeps over the ice.... 
I sat in the snow next to the creek and was amazed by how quietly the water just seeped onto the ice.

Overnight, it will have created a new layer of ice and will rearrange the pattern of the snow on the creek.

The ice wall got a face uplift and the colors of the ice seem to glow yellow in all that bright snow!

I spotted this little beauty in among other winter flora. I think it is the tiny hulls of the Fleabane flower.

The next few days will be beautiful with temps still below freezing, but above frigid. I hope to get out and enjoy them....

I have only this left to say....

I do not wish to be ruled by fear. 
I wish for compassion and freedom from fear.
Is that too much to ask for?

Wild Weekend! Sort of!

We had 7 inches of snow on Thursday through Friday morning. It was up to Charlie's neck. That is how we measure snow around here.

Thankfully, around 9am on Friday, Frank showed up in his old beater pickup truck and plowed us out. I was in the middle of cleaning when he showed up and stuck my head out to thank him so much for his work. Yes, I pay him $50 for each time he plows, but IT is worth it for me not to fret about it or try to tackle that long hill on my own.

Just after Frank cleaned us out, I got a text saying that Dennis [18 yr old Grandson] was on his way to come and spend the weekend with us.

Saturday morning it was below frigid. It was 5 degrees below 0 F or -20C.  I waited until it was just above zero to do chores. Dennis wanted to take a hike through the woods. 

Charlie wanted to go but it was too cold for his paws so for most of the 2 mile hike through the forest, we took turns carrying him. Dennis actually dressed for the weather in his new Carhartt's. He has just landed a full time job doing finishing work in construction. It sounds like it is a good trade to learn and he'll always be busy. His finishing job is doing trim around doors, windows, and floor boards.

I may hire him to finish up what hubby couldn't do when he had his stroke.

We had a wonderful visit with his parents. Rich's daughter is an amazing cook and she prepared Prime Rib and all the fixin's to perfection at our house. We had an early supper and enjoyed each other's company.

They left, Dennis stayed as he wanted to go see the Ice Caves and give Grandma a ride in his new to him Truck.

Getting to the caves this time was a bit harder with the snow hiding all of the rough footing underneath. However, we got there. 

Infrared photo of the ice caves:

We bypassed going into the second set of 'caves' and headed instead to admire the ice along Weister Creek.

Hey! A shot of me with Charlie in front of one of the most beautiful places at the Reserve in the winter. Dennis took this for me.

The creek in IR:

Not IR

See that hillside behind me on the other side of the creek? There are a few 'sketchy' trails that go right above that ice and head further east of the creek. We went there to go see this...

There is a cable that runs across the bottom of the ice here. I've never figured out what it is for in the 10 years I've been visiting this spot. What was it for? Where did it go?

The water here is too deep to try and follow it out across the creek. It seems to end in the rock. 

Here is the same scene in IR unprocessed. Wild right?

Eerie! 

With channel swapping which basically swaps the colors nearly opposite of what they are. There is more to it than that, but this is the simplest explanation.

I'm fond of the cool blue tinted ice. 

...and now?

Onto the next phase of this week. Some fun and some quiet.

Santa is inrtoduced to his relief driver!

Let 'er rip!

Okay not like pant rips or other things like that.

Snow. It went from an Advisory to Winter Storm Warning. Color me happy as a lark.

One. I don't have to drive in it.
Two. I can play in it.
Three. I don't have to plow it. We hired out for that.
Four. The first snow is always pretty.
Five. I like snow. Except when it covers up ice by the mailbox.

Charlie and I had to make a trip up to the mailboxes at noon. We'd had about 5" of snow by then. Our UPS guy and I have an understanding. He always always comes to the house. But I told him not to come down the drive if the weather is bad and to leave the delivery in the big orange tupperware container.

Some meds that hubby gets from the VA have to be signed for and handed to an adult at the residence. Tom called us on his cell phone and I trudged up the drive. I didn't want to delay on the meds and Tom didn't want to risk our long hill. Talk about cooperation from a delivery service! I've know this driver since 2008 when I did Security work way back when.

I got the meds in hand and....Boom- bang- slip- butt smack on the ground!
I forgot about the ice right by the mailbox that never melted off. So I started to get up again and whoooopppsyy! I was snow swimming.

I did not hurt myself but had cold snow go up my coveralls sleeve and on my wrist. Ick. I like snow but not down my cuff!

Too much excitement for me! 

Charlie just stuck his nose under the snow and paid me no mind at all. By the time I got back home, I looked as if I'd been out doing snow angels.

The girls were comfy and out of the wind. They had their snow blankets on and later they took snow baths.

It sure is pretty out, I do love our first real snow.

I hope to get to tromp around in it more on Friday.

Update:

Whoo hoo! The plow guy showed up!

Hi Ho Winter! I love you!

 Finally!

After so many days of being stuck indoors. I grabbed Charlie and we went on an adventure of sorts.

We went wilding. Not a savage thing, an untamed sort of hike. Through the brush, brambles, burrs, prickly ash, and multiflora rose. Charlie is 7 inches tall so he has it easy, he can walk under most of the brush. I have to bust through it.

Years ago, Mike was the owner of the land. His cattle kept the forest clean and made nice trails. Since his death in 2005, his brothers have abandoned the land except for the deer hunting season. They lease out the farm land and lease out sections of the forest for a few trophy hunters to bow hunt deer and hunt turkeys.

The land has regrown in many places to invasive underbrush. I still get around on deer trails and always wear heavy coveralls to get through some of the rough stuff. 

Its getting harder to get to the special places I do like. Oddly enough, I don't even think Mike's brothers know of these cool spots. I like my secrets. I've walked and ridden this land for 30 years. I know the trees, the creek's secrets, and cool rock formations.

Charlie and I did get to our favorite spot in the creek though.

I had quite the surprise. I was following coyote tracks along the creek bottom and found this.... ----->

I swear that it looks like a coyote slipped and 'biffed' it. Doesn't it look like the back legs spread eagle as its chest hit the ice and it scrambled back to its feet?

It is very possible that this did not happen at all. But I'd like to imagine that it did.

Charlie sniffed the tracks and then walked to the edge of the ice. He knows better than to go off the edge. The water in that spot is over his head.

Another surprise met us at this spot in the creek.

An Ice Fall.

Closer..

The color in the ice is from the reddish sandstone in this area and the dirt. The moisture seeps out over the rock wall [which is warmer from being underground]. It hits the frigid air and makes these beautiful ice formations.

Another shot of a different section.

I can't help it, but this absolutely fascinates me. I run my hand over the ice ripples and marvel at nature's art.

I mean who doesn't love this? I love this. I can't wait for cold weather to see this phenomenon.

The creek is the main lifeblood of this forest and it is evident by all the animal tracks that can be found there.

In this section we found a nice set of coyote tracks.

If anyone is worried about Charlie. Don't fear! He sticks to me like glue when he smells these guys.  

If all goes according to plan, I plan to look for some more ice falls in another place soon. If the temps stay below freezing ice falls will develop. I sure hope they will!

Oh winter, how I love you!

March leaving like a Lion and Supreme Court...

 

I believe that Mother Nature got a cold and is Grumpy too. She is showing her wrath by tossing rain, snow, sleet, wicked winds, and then more rain and fog our way.

I won't complain too hard though as we need the moisture badly. We will take it in any form she wishes to give us.

The weather causes some issues with our eldest mule Mica's digestive system, she does tend to get a bellyache when the weather temps change rapidly. She hasn't gotten bad but we have to keep an eye on her.

I actually tuned into the Hearing at the Supreme Court yesterday. It was surprisingly understandable as to how certain Justices were asking questions as to the way they were leaning. I don't pretend to know legalize at all. But as a woman who saw Roe V. Wade happen as a Senior in High School and saw Roe V. Wade fall two years ago, I am stunned.

I recall when women were not allowed to have their own bank accounts or allowed to have credit cards.

How far will women's rights fall?

If they rule against mifepristone? I think they should make Viagra illegal. Take away some men's rights to control their bodies and see what happens.

It was an interesting listen. Just. Wow.