Tent life [part one]

We decided to have a night out. You know, a wild Saturday night!

First came the tent building. For me, it is the most difficult thing to do.

I am a novice. I still struggle.

I'd found an old beat up metal camp cot in the shed. I cleaned it and repaired it for my supervisors. 

I added some blankets and 

they were content to watch while I worked.

Well. 

That was until it seemed like I needed help. Then Hannah came to assist.

I asked her for some advice. She promptly laid down on the tent and wagged furiously.

I thought I set up the trail cam with a photo every 3 minutes, but flubbed it.

I got things sorted out, and my buddies spent the evening watching the meadow while I doodled and wrote in my Pretty Painful Grief Book. 

A note. It is a book with some helpful pages. It also has many pages where the author asks you to write answers to questions about what you are going through.

Sometimes, I just draw circles or write whatever comes to mind 

We spotted a buck following a doe and her fawn. Hannah and Charlie sprang to chase. I used the vibrate mode on their collars and they stayed in camp.

Good dogs.

Maybe TV is more interesting, but I don't think so. I observed how the setting sun filtered light through the Hickory leaves highlighting the leaf edges.

Some of the Hickory trees are starting to turn colors. The box elders are yellowing quite quickly also.
Fall is lurking just around the corner.

The wind sighed through the branches above, an owl asked 'Who cooks for you?'

On the ridge to the south (about a half mile away), I could hear Olive's dogs barking. Further out Linda's cattle were calling out.

In the dusk, I listened to Robins chirping telling me all about the long journey they had started. A doe whistled not far away just outside of camp. We heard her (?) moving away through the brush.

No. The forest is not boring, something is always going on.

Here Charlie and I have a deep conversation about....... 

Well, about ear rubs and all the important things in a dog's life.

Getting dark. 

The daylengths in August shorten 70 minutes from the length of the days in July. 

Maybe that is why I feel such an urgency to spend more and more time outside in August...so I don't miss a thing.

As darkness fell, it became 'deer' time. The deer often cross this meadow right around sunset and right around sunrise or immediately thereafter.

I didn't have my 'long' lens ready but took this with my 200mm zoom lens. This is one of the reasons I picked this spot, it has a great view of our meadow and ....

Soon, the moon appeared...

[Waxing Gibbous Phase

August 22nd]

And we turned in. 

At first Hannah decided to take my cot.

She ended up snuggling in the blankets next to the cot.

Charlie snuggled right up against me on the cot. He is a great foot warmer. He sleeps under the blanket in his cave.
 

My intent was to get up at 1am and photograph some stars.  We did get up. I was not prepared for how chilly it felt so I tip toed back to the tent and climbed into the warm blankets. Hannah came up on the narrow cot too and lay against my side.

I was warm, but could barely move. The next few hours were restless.

But the morning was pretty darned glorious too.

Stay tuned...

 

Air BnB um, not...

Another Friday night out.

I set up camp even though it was hot. The 'Hickory Grove' always seems to have a faint breeze and the shade is delightful. 

Some thoughtful pup placed a bone on our bed just in case I might feel the need to chew in the middle of the night. Or perhaps she thought it would clean my teeth and brush my gums.

Of course we had a tiny little fire. That was how we had to camp, right?

The old 4 wheeler and the garden cart goes with us, it carries all of the stuff we need including the dogs. I could carry it all back to the grove, but this saves me trips.

As soon as darkness started to fall, I failed all the things I was going to do. Like read, contemplate nature, and the meaning of life. I had a little book light, I brought my tripod so I could 'shoot' the Milky Way and lightening bugs...however...
 

I didn't even make it to full dark. I'd had a full day of doing yard work and a great workout at the gym. 

In short, I zonked out as the evening slipped by.

I woke up much later when I heard a deer whistling at something close by. Then a Barn Owl called in the distance. That is a call that will raise the hair on the back of your neck. It sounds like a murderous screech.

Sometime later and much closer, 'Who Cooks for You' became the song from a Barred Owl. Two of them sang for a little while and as their songs faded, the coyotes began their hunt and night music.

Charlie and Hannah sighed and snuggled a bit closer. I listened to the night sounds and smiled inside. I wasn't getting a great night's sleep, but I was listening to the living forest around us. The dogs perked up when a tiny hickory nut plunked on the tent top. 

Eventually I fell back asleep to awaken to Hannah slowly doing the otter crawl up towards my face. I opened my eyes to dim light and her nose. Her eyes stared into mine. She tilted her head one way and another as if to see if I were alive ... or maybe she was just being adorable.

I pulled back the door flap and was surprised by faint light and a meadow of thick fog. I pulled on my pants and turned the collar light on Hannah. When I pulled back the flap two little black dogs jetted outside. --- oh, well maybe they just had to go pee!

I think they like camping as much as I do. 

Everything was soaking wet. I walked out to the meadow with the pups and trotted back into the tent for the camera.

Layers of color, layers of fog. Blue hour? Fog hour? 

I took a few exposures with my supervisors watching me. Hannah still had her collar light on. Soon, the pair was watching for rabbits and giving chase. It's what dogs do and I let them go for it.

The rabbits were never in danger. 

The photo above is part of the revamped Meadow that my Grand daughter dubbed the Merry Meadow. The name has stuck. I've been mowing it every other week so we can take multiple daily walks without the grasses and weeds being above the dog's heads. 

Yes, the gals get in there when we are not using the Meadow. They seem to like the forested area much better.

Go figure.

Waning Crescent Moon over the neighbor's meadow.

I was torn between just looking and figuring out how to photograph the scene. My two canine cohorts were busy with exploring the grass and doing their business. 

Good pups.

Below is the scene from the tent. 
Of course it was humid. I mean hu--mid! So damp that icky slugs had climbed the outer walls of the tent to get to dryer ground. 

[gross!!!!!!] 
Hannah tried tasting one and immediately shook her head and spat it out.

😝😧---> Pups!

I was in coffee deficit so we packed up the 4 wheeler and headed back to the house. Hannah ran alongside the 4 wheeler. Charlie insisted on riding shotgun in my lap.

Below: our tent and 'camp' is in that grove of trees that is fogged in.

My home away from home.

I love this place. I am at peace here.

The decision to have this area cleared with a Forest Mulcher may have been the best decision I've ever made this year.