That Hurt!

In December we had a heavy wet snowfall that dropped a huge section of a Boxelder across part of the summer pasture electric fence. 

I have my woodland pastures fenced off in rotating sections so I needed to get most of the wood off the fence or at least cut so I could fence around it.

First, I put up a temporary hot wire to keep my critters from wandering down into the area I haven't pulled burdock from. It would drive my hubby crazy to see how I made the zig zag fence through the upper woods. He is a straight line fencing type of guy. Not me!

Crappy photo of a small portion of upper fencing. I had to go around some multiflora rose bushes I intend to cut down yet and some of last year's burdock.

The red line is my one line hot wire.
Thankfully, the mules are very cautious about the hot wire and will not go near it.

There is a perimeter fence way down in the woods, so if they did go through this, they'd still remain within our fenced land.

I also need to replace a lot of insulators way back in the woods. Over the winter, the deer are pretty hard on them. 
Once upon a time, our old pony mule would scoot under any hot wire fence and go where he wanted to. He also went to the line fence and jump the 4 strand barbed wire to graze on the neighbor's land. When he was satisfied, he'd jump back over to our side and join his buddies.

Here is an example of Opal who was our other champion jumping mule taking a short cut from our neighbor's land over our line fence. This was in 2007. She was State Champion Jumping Mule for mules under 14 hands in 2002.

She was an incredible animal.

Annnyyywaayyyy, back to my self induced painful wreck. I take full credit for it.

This large section of tree was down on the fence. So I took my machete and my reciprocating saw and got to work on clearing the small branches and piling them. 

I did a great job and eventually I was down to the large pieces.

I cut a V shape into the largest limb and thought I should leave it for another day. However it was just one piece. If I tugged on it this way and that, surely it would crack and break.

So I set to tugging. In the back of my head, I thought: If this lets go with all the pressure I have on it...

It didn't, so I gave it another go and really pulled backwards with my teeth gritted and a cuss word on my lips. I didn't want to walk away without the job done.

Crack!

And suddenly I realized that I was going backwards down a small incline. I guess I really figured it out when the world suddenly went upside down. I guess I tucked and rolled. 

After I landed, I didn't move. 

Hmmm. Since no one was looking I decided to assess the damages. The appendages moved without pain. So I considered how stupid my move was for a few moments. I stood up and picked up the offending limb and tossed it on the brush pile.

By the time I walked back to the house with my tools, my upper back ached and I was getting a very light headache. 

I learned a lesson. Next time, barter for some chainsaw work from one of the neighbors.

However...the fence is now free of branches!

Friday was a day of NO hand sawing and no hard labor. 

PS- I checked out okay.

soups

My first experiments in making soups were pretty terrible. I tried recipes and different kinds of stews and soups. 

Most turned out pretty blah over the years.

My MIL taught me how to make soup her way which was pretty unique. 
Her methods were generally what I'd call Left Over soups. Cook a roast? Save the leftovers with the juice and use it later as soup broth.

Leftover veggies? Toss them in a freezer bag and wait until you have more.

Eventually take the leftovers, add some diced tomatoes and maybe some creamy mushroom soup and cook it up.

Viola. Left Over Soup.

I made some incredible Garbage Soup last week. It was amazing. I combined the left overs from two previous left over soups of venison veggie soup and pot roast [frozen ]. I put it in the crock pot, stirred it and let it cook all day.
It was amazing.

My interpretation of a foodie photo
done in AI art in an
abstract way.

Rich had been asking for another round of potato soup. Creamy potato soup. I'd made some a while ago and needed to finish up the tiny purple potatoes I'd purchased in October from the Farmer's Market.

I had 3 large regular russets that I peeled and cut up along with diced purple potatoes. I followed the idea of the soup I'd made last time but thought that I'd use up the rest of the bacon that was open. I fried that and added it to the soup.

Rich thought carrots would be a welcome addition. I added carrots. Now I had a soup that was mostly yellow, with bright orange and purple in it.

I recalled that I had about a bowl of the old soup in the freezer.  I opened it up and grabbed what I thought was it and dumped it into the crockpot with the new ingredients. 

I headed out to do our chores and go care for the neighbor's two dogs. I took them for a long walk on their property and then feed them and the cat [she hates me! and hissed at me!]. The dogs got their meds and I headed back down the hill.

When I got back, the new stuff had melted into the soup and it looked pretty good. It smelled good too.

When I got done with all the evening chores, we decided to have the soup.

I served it up and while I was doing something at the sink, Rich commented, "Wow! This is really good!"

He is always kind regarding my cooking. He won't/can't cook for himself, so he remains on my good side.
He slurped away and kept making mmmmmmmmm sounds.

I made it to the table and took my first bite. It tasted a bit sweet. Not what I'd expected at all. But it was really quite delicious. The carrots and the purple potatoes really added color.

I took another bite and then stopped. What was I tasting? Then I took another bite. Apple.

I hadn't taken the old potato soup out of the freezer, I took an unlabeled container of homemade apple sauce and added it to the soup!

Wow. What a taste sensation!

Rich liked it so much he took a second full bowl of soup and ate it. I asked him if the soup tasted different to him.

He said it did, but it was just great. 

When I told him what I did, he laughed.

I'm pretty sure I won't ever do that again, but hubby was happy that we'd have enough potato/apple soup for lunch on Monday.

And yes, I usually label what I put in the freezer. Apparently I didn't when I took the extra homemade apple sauce and dumped it into a container this past fall. It was what didn't fit into canning jars.

Happy Accident this time. 

Next week I'll be cleaning out more leftovers. A turkey breast and some chicken to make another soup.

Then I can start adding leftovers again. This time...Labeled!

I like ice

Not Ice Cubes, or Ice Storms, or Icy roads but natural ice formations. 

I like ice caves or actually ice formations. I like those rock shelters that have water seeping over and through them. In the winter they form exotic and beautiful ice curtains. The colors of the ice can be stunning depending on what the seepage picks up. I've seen hues of greens, blues, and yellows.

It all has to do with absorption of light and reflection of light. But I just admire it for what it is.

I'd planned on this hike for over a week so I packed my things and set off.

It is one of the winter attractions at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve. Getting to this valley is described in the brochure as "Trails into and around the ice flows are steep, slippery, and strenuous travel. Walkers are are advised to use caution as the trails are strenuous back country winter hiking."

This is true. The trails are there and sometimes even easy to follow late in the year by all the frozen foot prints in the snow. The trails are not maintained and sometimes marked with blue strips of ribbon on trees.

I hadn't done a proper exploration of the Valley of Ice last year, just a hurried walk through when I met my Geologist friend Jason and his dog Piper.

This time I wanted to take my time and explore.

So I did. I found the first ice cave after taking the trail from the maintenance building along the snowmobile trail. The 40+ degree weather had melted the packed snow into ice and the light skiff of snow and sleet we had the night before made that trail just plain treacherous. I trudged through the snow on the side of the packed trail. 

The first cave wasn't too impressive and many more large trees have fallen over the past year. Climbing through the mess wasn't my what I intended to do first thing so I followed a run off along the valley floor. 

In a way it was a happy accident because it took me far out off the trails and to where I wanted to explore last spring. 

Charlie and I crossed the backwater marsh on the eastern side of the river and gazed across towards the Valley of Ice on March 11th in the blog titled Time Out.

I ended up where the arrow is in the next photo.

I sort of rejoiced in the discovery and then turned towards the steep hillside behind me and get back to the trail.

According to the contour map of the area, I had to climb 100 feet up from the valley floor back to find the trail.

I did. And I enjoyed every bit of it. At times I sat on an old pine tree's roots and stared down into the valley and the ice covered river. 
I was feeling every second of being alive. 

I took off my coat when I reached the trail on top and carried it as I hiked along the trail back towards where the ice caves were. I did a face palm as soon as I realized that the trail would take me around the top of all these valleys and that I'd be going at least an extra mile. I secretly was glad no one else had gone with me. However, doing all of the trails last year was a real bonus. As I immediately knew where I was and how far I had to go.

In good time I found the right valley and the first of the Ice Caves. I made my way down into the run off below the cave.

It looks as though you can walk right on into it. Well, it takes some scrambling and some grit. Here is the view from where I was sitting inside on the left part of the cave.

I scrambled around to the other side. Having good insulated and water resistant pants is a good thing here. I sat inside for quite a few minutes and listened to the water dripping. It was peaceful.

View of the Ice Curtain across the front from the inside.

As the noon whistle went off in LaFarge, I was halfway back to the parking area. 

I passed up a father and son who asked me about the ice and then a couple with their dogs. A pit bull and a mini Doxxie. It seemed that a  few people were taking advantage of a nice sunny Holiday to get out and walk.

When I got to the parking area I had to laugh. It seems Subarus like to park near each other. 

I can't wait to go back and explore some more.

Valley of the Ice

We all Fall Down

Sometimes I wonder about the careless blasé attitude I have towards certain things. Yesterday's hike was great. I left the snowshoes at home and elected to not wear my YakTraks. 

The temperatures were climbing and the snowshoes would have gobbed up with ice and compacted snow after crossing the creek. I headed down the steep trail towards the creek and realized that snowshoes would have been a good choice.

The fresh snow that covered the trail was full of hard lumps and bumps from previous walks and they were hard uneven and still frozen under the fresh snow.

No matter, I slipped and slid and carefully negotiated the nasty footwork. 

I marveled at my own balance and footwork. I was careful and steady. I did not have one misstep at all in a two-ish mile hike through the valley and back up the steep slopes towards home.

I spooked up a huge herd of deer and watched them leap effortlessly through the underbrush. I lost count after 15 deer. 

They had good trails that were easy to follow up and down the hillside. Great for deer and coyote, but a bit bumpy and lumpy for the human foot.

My walks often take to on changes of elevation of nearly 200 ft from ridge to valley. 

On a terrain map it looks like this:

I made the whole trip with a few stops to admire the creek, listen for birds, and track coyotes.

I ended up gathering the mail on the ridge and headed home without any incident.

Perfect right?

At chore time I was in a hurry and pulled the deep sled full of hay out after filling it. I spread it out in different feeders and spots so there was no arguing over piles.

I decided to be really well prepared and got all the hay set up for in the morning. I bent down to pick up a feed bucket in the shed and hurried around the front of the Subaru to put it away.

My foot caught on the rope from the hay sled.

Trying to hang on to a bucket and is stupid mistake. I think. Well. There I went. 

In order to stop a face plant on the shed floor I shot out my left arm. It immediately felt like I'd been stabbed in the shoulder. 

The fall doesn't hurt as much as the sudden stop.

However, I did a fantastic roll....
I would have won an Olympic medal for form.

I spit dirt and stopped moving. Was I alive?

Yes.

Breathing?

Yes.

Dirty?

OH yes.

Could I move?

Slowly. My left arm hurt like the dickens, so I rolled to a sit, then to a kneel and rose. 

All I could think was 

oh damn, what pickle this was.

Actually I think my first thoughts were all curse words.

I made it to the house and made Rich come out and get the dirt and snow brushed off my coveralls. 

He immediately wanted me to go to the ED. I made supper and did some icing and resting in a neutral position instead. I said if I was immobile come Monday, I'd go in.

Sunday morning was a surprise. The shoulder still aches but I'm beginning to feel what I did. I have incredibly sore triceps, and a tender bicep, and shoulder blade pain. 

I have good range of motion, but very slow.

Lifting something heavy is not an option.

Ice is nice.

We'll see how the next few days pan out.

Lesson learned. 

Do

not 

be in

a 

friggin' 

rush!

And stop marveling at my great balance and footwork. Seems it failed me!