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.

It should have been

 ...a good day to stay inside and do...

Well. Read, nap, lounge, make chili ..or maybe even go through things and purge more crap out of drawers and the basement.

But by mid afternoon I was climbing the walls. I took Charlie out for a walk with me and he made it about 40 steps before his feet froze. I carried him back to the house and let him in. 

I thought I'd go finish breaking a trail up through the summer meadow and grab the trail camera down in the woods. With the subzero temps, I figured the batteries would be dead.

The wind chills were still in the - Below Zero Range, so I covered up. Since I live in a hilly and forested area, I can walk into the woods and avoid the winds. But covering my face and eyes is by far the most important thing for me to do.

I got down into the woods and retrieved the trail cam. Of course there was this shot of me walking during the snowstorm. 

And here is a shot of me coming to get the camera. In both of these photos I am using snowshoes. The more often I break trail, the better it is to walk on. During the storm, I was  up to my knees even with snowshoes on.

It was pleasant in the woods, but my feet did start to get cold since I'd neglected to put on my snow boots. 

The walk was beautiful. I'm not going to kid you. I did not march with great speed up and down the hills. It is very hard work with snow shoes and deep snow. I walked, I rested, I looked around and admired the scenery.

I do love shadows on the snow from the trees. Out in the meadow there were oak leaves sticking in the snow like this. I always find it amusing as to how they ended up that way.

I have to give a nod to Aurora  at equine expressions and her beautiful winter photos that are always inspiring! Where there are oaks and snow, there will be those oak leaves doing their cool winter things!

The sunshine is so welcome to see after what feels like months of dreary skies.

Even the mules enjoyed it.

The photos are soft because I took this shot through the window and screen.

Today's menu includes chicken veggie soup with rice. I have to go tomorrow to town and get some groceries as the cupboards are getting a bit thinned out.

Charlie and I finally got a nice long walk in this morning. I walked along our plowed road and out to the ridge and back. I figured Charlie would get cold feet, but he didn't. He trucked right along and chased as many smells as he could.

We noticed that the deer had been out in the soybean field digging up snow like crazy. I imagine the food is harder for them to get now that they have to contend with deep snow.

Stay warm and enjoy the sunlight if you have it!

Wild Things

These are not my photos but photos from the Trail Cam I have set up on a trail in the woods.

As you may be able to tell, we all use the same path right here. It is the only way around an old oak that fell across the 'ridge road' as we call it. I had someone who said he'd clear it for me. Yeah, that didn't happen. More about that on another post perhaps....

So we walk around it.
I was surprised by the 'critters' I caught coming through here. 

The blur in the second shot is a Robin!
It is interesting too, to see the temperatures on these days. I don't know exactly how accurate the readings are though.

This looks like a young coyote or one that is a bit scrawny. Interesting to see it in the midmorning hours.

And a few minutes later....

Then I come through with the kids.

That evening a doe and her fawn pause for their photo to get taken.

I used to have the camera lower on the tree. It seemed that every critter had to put their nose on it to sniff it. I had a lot of smeary photos of globs last month. So many mule and fawn globs!

I think this is a good spot for the camera now.

And here comes a nice little buck that we've seen on the other camera. I think it is pretty cool to see their antlers growing.

I think this is the same fella.
My old camera only takes in Infrared. That camera is about 8 years old.
It still works and has a good position in the Buckthorn Forest on a very well used trail.

I have an appointment with the young Entomologists today again. 

My young charges want to go 'buggin'. 

Uffdah. This morning it was like walking in pea soup. The temperature and dew point are nearly the same with humidity at 90 something. My grandma would say that the air is Heavy.

We had an orange sunrise and fog laying across the meadows. The air movement is zero....

It is a Wild Wild Life

 

I posted these photos in my WildLife album last week on FB.

There is a Bobcat and a Coyote caught on camera. Earlier in June, I caught this same or similar Bobcat in a different part of our land. I see coyotes about once a month on the trail cam. Lately in pairs.

Now there is a bear that I have yet to capture on the trail cam, but he/she has left piles of scat in the creek bottom and has been seen by two neighbors. This bear raided my neighbor's berry patch in July and I saw its behind this summer while out in the wild lands. Bear ran off as soon as it heard me.

Anyway my city friends cautioned me to start being very careful!

I was amused and fielded an actual phone call from one friend telling me that I shouldn't be out in the woods with a Bobcat around or Coyotes for that matter. I assured her that 99% of the time these creatures run amok at night and avoid humans like the plague. Or should I say, avoid me like the Pandemic?

Bobcats are very secretive and it is rare to see one. They normally eat mice, rabbits, and raccoon. They will grab and kill a fawn in the spring but rarely take on large animals. Their tastes are similar to coyotes. 

When I first moved here in 1996, the land next door was over grazed by cattle. Only the deer and coyotes were around. The 'yotes had plenty to eat. The deer had a bit less as most of the underbrush was gone. Most parts of the land next door looked like a golf course with streams and trails. 

Now it is the Wilds. There has been no cattle on the land in 15 years and the forest has taken over.

This spot in my woods is very active. I've seen raccoon, skunk, and an immature eagle on this camera.

This by far is the most active place on our land. It seems to be a resting place for the deer as well as a place they like to play. I must have found the highway for the critters.

Rich says this has been very entertaining. I will keep the camera there and let it observe forest life.

I moved the newer camera that shoots in color to another section close to here. We'll see what it captures in about a week.

Meanwhile, I'll be out and about after this next storm to read tracks. That is another one of my favorite things to do in the winter months.

This by the way is in the Buckthorn Forest which really surprised me. I didn't think that any of the wild life would haunt this area. It makes sense though because the undergrowth is almost non existent because of the heavy shaded canopy. It is on a slight slop with a good view all around. I have been back there on windy days and it seems to be protected from almost all directions from heavy winds. 

It might be the perfect spot indeed!