What about the Weather Alert?

I looked at the text message and before I replied I check the weather to see what sort of alert we were going to have.

Severe Weather Alert I got one on my smart phone: Wind Chill Alert. Shall we stay in or go? What do you think? The text was from my neighbor. We had a night hike planned. She is still learning the ins and outs of dressing for our rural winter weather.

I checked the air temperature and it was 3 degrees. The light 'breeze' ... can you call it a breeze in the winter? ... the breeze felt light and from the west.

The winds would have to pick up to nearly 40 mph for the Wind Chill Alert of the expected -25 to -30.
I didn't see that happening in the next hour or so. I stood outside on the porch for a little bit in my stocking feet and sweatshirt. It was chilly but dressing correctly would make our night hike comfortable.

I stepped back inside. I texted her back.
I can keep us out of the winds rather easily by taking some deep woods trails and following the valley. Your call.

She texted me back with what she thought she would wear and I told her to check her email.
I wrote out an easy system of layering for the cold hike, keeping in mind that a good healthy pace would keep us warm.

As it happened it did drop to zero degrees and it was chilly. But we headed out across the night landscape and ducked immediately out of the light wind and onto a forest trail.
We climbed the steep bank down into the creek bottom and both of us loosened up our coveralls a bit.
It felt much warmer near the running water.

We found some beautiful ice formations where the water splashed over rocks and onto grasses to make the neatest shapes.

I got this with my cell phone and the added light from our headlamps really helped.

Lauren obliged and took my phone so I could kneel near the formations.

I was sneaky, I nabbed a shot of her too.

We walked to the end of the valley which involved some tricky climbing up and down the banks of the creek. I showed her the Big Spring and the hoar frost that had built up on the mossy rocks was incredible.
I should have taken more photos, but moving was keeping us warm.

We made another stop at a part of the creek that had branches across it.

We dawdled on our way back admiring more of the frost on the grasses and the rocks that formed because of the air temperature difference between the running creek and the cold air.
Neither of us were eager to end this 'bone chilling' hike. Well actually it was not bone chilling.
We were not cold at all.

We were warm despite the weather alert.
However let me say that yes wind chills are nasty and one should be careful.
Yet a person should dress for the weather and not for style when going out in very cold temperatures.

Layering is essential. Hats, gloves, mittens, scarves....well you get the point.

Indeed the Weather Alert was still on Lauren's phone. And we laughed about it as we came to my lighted porch to part ways for the night.

Lauren said that she'd never in her life had been so comfortable in the winter. I'd opened up her perceptions of winter. Winter could indeed be enjoyed better now that she'd learned a bit about 'dressing for the elements'.

And there she was eager to do it again soon. Despite wind chill alerts.
Of course we would be smart enough not to challenge a really bad day.

And there you go, another night adventure.

Last Hike for 2016

Morris stared at me intently. He was not going to let me gather any photo 'stuff' together without his keen interest.

I took out the sling bag and put a few items in it. Morris sat on the strap and stared at me as if to say, "It won't move without me."

So I got ready with the whirling dervish dog swirling about my feet. He whined, he jumped, he spun, and then he sat on my gloves.
"Okay, okay! You are going with!"

Off we went. I considered snowshoes, but where the sun was shining, the snow was soft and mushy. Where there was shade it was hard and crunchy. I figured that the teeth under the shoes would get clogged with soft snow and pack up.

I followed the snowshoe trail from the previous hikes and made it to the creek without much fuss. I had to keep calling to Morris to hurry up and follow. He was busy checking out every scent along the way.

We got near the sandstone wall and I was mildly surprised to find that the ice formations had grown quite a bit since our night excursion.
Days with a slow melt and nights with a hard freeze contributed to the ice.
If it kept up, the ice would begin to layer itself.

At this point Morris usually ignores me. He spends his time finding 'items' of interest to smell, pee on, or deer droppings to eat. I've tried to keep him from doing it over the years but I know now after 12 years of hiking with him that it is hopeless.
Occasionally he will drop something if I holler, "ICKY Icky!" However, lately it doesn't really faze him. In fact it seems to encourage him to try and take the nasty treat and eat it faster.

When we get on the multi use trail of coyote, deer, raccoon, 'possum, and who knows what else, he usually sticks a bit closer to me.
When we got to the open part of the valley he followed in my tracks, leaping from one footprint to another.

Just past the tree that bends over into the creek is a rock formation that seems to be a den for animals. One year it was coyotes. Another year it was a hidey hole for raccoon.
This winter it seems to be empty. No carcasses or bones are laying around. No tracks leading in and out of the little cave.

Morris didn't seem to be bothered much either. He trotted along the rocks and sand. At one point I had to jump the creek. Morris stood on the other side and stared at me. Then he lifted one paw and another. I jumped back and gave him a lift.
We have been hiking that long together. I know exactly what he wants.

The sun lit up portions of the creek and there were no ice formations. But in the areas of shade, the formations on roots and grasses were fantastic.

We found the 'mother lode' near the snowmobile culvert.

We walked further down the valley and I checked the time. I needed ... we needed to get back and if we continued we'd get into more shaded areas which meant deeper snow.

I turned around and Morris the Wonder Dog led the way. He jumped and bounced from one foot print to another until he hit the deer trail. He was on a mission to go home.

He knows all of the trails and the shortcuts to home. I guess that is what is so fun having him as a hiking partner.

We sped passed the culvert bridge and as we got to where the creek made a large S curve, Morris chose the steep hill. I admit, it is the shortest way home, but for a human it is also the hardest way.

I refer to it as going up the down trail. This was the trail that Lauren and I took down into the valley the other night. It was steep and slippery. Well, at least for me.
Some little dog had no problem.

When we got to the Meadow, I had some more hard work. I had to break a trail across the meadow towards home.

We arrived home just as my husband got home with a load hay.

I put my camera in a plastic bag and zipped it up inside its case. I let Morris in the house and set the camera bag inside.

My excursions for 2016 in the woods were done.

I had plans for the first day of the New Year.
The Back Valley.

Diggin it

Well with temperatures rising overnight we had the deluge of snow slides off from the roof tops of our buildings. So Christmas morning I saw the forecast was for heavy rain and more melt...then freezing.

So it was time to get out the shovels and start digging out gates to different pens and paddocks. If I didn't, we'd have to use ice picks to get Mica's gate open in the next 24 hrs.

Next it was onto the young Dexter's gate. The skid steer got stuck in a real soft spot and we had to dig it out. The cows and this year's calves looked on.

We got fresh large bales to those who needed it and today we'll probably put out a corn fodder bale for them also.

The rain and winds swept in yesterday afternoon with thunder and lightening.

As hubby and I sat and watched a really odd movie called The Lobster, we heard the rest of the snow come storming off from our roof valleys.

Morris jumped off from the couch and ran around the house stiff legged and growling.

I have to admit, it was an unnerving sound.

Christmas is over and I'm ready to take on the rest of winter.

MugWumps and Knobbin' Knockers.

Just before the snows started I decided to go out and take a walk to find some 'knobbin' knockers.

What on earth are knobbin' knockers? Well they are those beautiful dried stems of golden rod that have a bump in them from some worm that the stem grows around in the summer.

My Grandmother used to gather these along with milkweed pods and other dried 'weeds' to make a winter bouquet.

They may not look like much, but put them together in a bouquet and add a bit of glitter and it looks quite nice.
I added a them to my old wash pitcher with some fox tail and got a nice 'free' natural bouquet.

Grandma used to paint her knobbin' knockers and milkweed pods in silver and gold if I recall correctly. I think her wild bouquets were her Christmas decorations.

I think mine turned out beautiful and I was ready to go collect some more wild things when the first snow storm hit.

I think still may make good use of my cross country skis and go find some more on the ridge this week.

I mentioned Knobbin' Knockers on FB and one of my cousins replied that she recalled them also.
Then she told me not to forget about the MugWumps.

Indeed I had forgotten that term. MugWumps!
She reminded me...
Those were those things that sat on phone lines with their Mugs on one side and their Wumps on the other. One should not walk under MugWumps back side.

It brought back such fond memories of being a kid in a time and place where we had our own language.
Oh.
Knobbin' Knockers?

We used to grab them and knock each other on the noggin' with them as kids.
Thus that name.

Make My Day!

All things were calm and quiet. I was in my PJ bottoms sipping coffee and thinking about how cold it was outside for chores.
The phone rang.

My neighbor's car wouldn't start even though she had put it on the charger. "Could I give the beasties a ride to school?"
Why sure. I grabbed the remote to the Subaru and piled into my heavy coveralls and boots. I wrapped up and headed out to scrape off the windshield.

The kids were really quite good and we got them to school only about 4 minutes late. Since I needed a couple of things we ran into Walmart and grabbed them. Then my nice neighbor took me out to breakfast!

We enjoyed chit chatting and having some friend time.

I laughed when she took off her 3 year old's jacket  and he had a PJ top on.
"What can be better than going out to eat in your PJ's!" I laughed.

Rich had plugged in both his truck and skid steer, he was going to go and get some large bales of hay. While he took a short nap, I decided to go fetch the trail camera from the woods and make a small cross country ski trip out of it.

The sky was bright blue with trails from airplanes overhead. The snow glistened and I had to get a shot of the 'snow diamonds'. Every time I see them I think of my dad.
We called them snow diamonds when we would ski together. And it makes for a fond memory.

I like my skis that I now have. The boots are well insulated and the skis are slightly wider to break trail easier. It only took me about 20 minutes to ski around the meadow and break trail at the same time.

It was much more effortless than snow shoeing. However I can't ski in the woods and snow shoes shine there!

Now another Winter Storm is headed our way. No one is sure what the amount of snow will be.
However since I work the third shift, I decided to pack an overnight bag in case the roads were too wicked to travel on.

Oh, when Rich went to start the truck, it ran just fine. But it won't go anywhere. No hay hauling. It was a very bad time for the truck to break down.
But there we go. Bad things happen, but going out to a PJ breakfast and skiing sure made my day!

Mirrorless Olympus OMD M 5 first impressions

I started looking at other cameras after lugging my most beloved and excellent Nikon D5200 around earlier this year in a sweet little sling pack.  
I love hiking and I took the time to hike Wildcat Mountain's Old Settler's Trail and Hemlock Trail.

There are some reviews of these trails that call the somewhat difficult.  Other reviews come them quite difficult.

Since I am now a 'native' of the area after living here 20 years, I am used to our hills and steep valleys.  It makes going to a place that is flat and well groomed rather boring.

However I missed the days when I had only a pocket camera and hiked.  Lugging the extra gear for those awesome shots took some of the joy away from the hike itself.

I have a fairly lightweight Olympus E 420.  They don't make them any more, but after over 10K clicks, I am wondering when it will give up the ghost.
I started by just browsing around and looking at mirrorless cameras.

Fuji makes an excellent one and I was lusting after the Sony a6000.  I even looked at Nikon.  Then I looked at the Olympus OMD M 5.  It is fashioned a bit like a retro film camera and looks very similar to the Olympus OM1 made in 1972. 

I had a Minolta XD similar to this one as one of my very first cameras.

I was able to take some excellent photos with this camera and enjoyed the fact that I had to figure out exposures.

This one is of my youngest son on the first day of school in 1990.

I did enjoy photography 'back then' and was pretty careful about figuring out exposures, settings, film speed, aperatures and the best lighting.

My sons playing with our pygmy cross goats.

Well imagine the nostalgia of finding this camera as a digital mirrorless camera.

Oh how I lusted after the OMD M1 when it first was introduced in 2013.  A weather proof camera?  Light?

I recall turning to my husband and saying. "I want that!"

The first OMD M 5 ran about $1,499.  Ouch, too rich for me.  But one can still hope right?

I found that this model was being 'discontinued' and replaced by a new model.

The price had dropped!  And I ordered it from B&H Photo. I will plug them ... I've never had an issue with B&H and they make sure their packages are signed for.

I've always had great quality items from lens caps to filters to lenses and cameras.

Okay.

Off I went with snowshoes along the Old Settler's Trail.

You are here

This is was fairly demanding even on a groomed trail.  In places it was slippery.  But the lightweighted backpack made it much more of a pleasure.

Foot bridge

This is the foot bridge over a steep gully.  The OMD has a touch screen for focus and shooting.  The screen in back can tilt so you can get as low as you want without trying to break your neck.

It also has an electric view finder, which I didn't like at first and by the end of the day and the hike I turned it off and used the back screen only.

I found I was able to set up photos quickly with the menus once I figured them out.

Lines and angles

The bright snow and the deep shadows produced some difficulty in getting a correctly exposed shot.  I was able to change the metering and adjust for this after some experimenting.

The white balance was more accurate in RAW or .ORF format and slightly blue tinted in .jpeg.  Overall though it was comparable to my other cameras.

I decided on the way home to stop at Winchell Valley Bridge over the Kickapoo River and see if I could get some slightly longer exposures and how easy would the manual selection work?

 ISO 200, f22, 1/6 second

4X ND filter

Both of these shots were taken at the same exposure.  I set the camera on the rail of the bridge and flipped up the back screen and simply touched where I wanted the main focus to be.

Easy peasy.  I felt like I was cheating.

It only took 3 hours for me to decide that I absolutely love this camera and will be taking it on most of my hikes.

I do have yet to try a few more things.

How will it preform with a macro image?  The lens is a 12mm-50mm lens.  I went with this lens because it also is rubber sealed and weatherproof.

I may end up adding a prime at some point.

My other test will be a few shots with an Infrared filter.

And a long exposure...long long exposure.  This camera allows you to watch your shot expose on bulb shots.

You can set it to update the image to your specifications.

Yeah.

That sounds totally cool.

Happy shooting!

Busy at the Farm

We had icy fog for the sunrise.  Sometimes it blankets areas and at other times it just provides a beautiful winter backdrop to a sunrise on the ridge.

The rest of our day was spent scurrying around taking care of things.  My intent was to go snowshoeing again but the forecast said it would warm up to the 30's.  The snow shoeing would have to wait.  Warm temps make the snow clog up on the ice picks and it is not enjoyable.

I quickly got the chores done and the laundry hung out to dry in the fresh morning air.

Hubby started the skid steer and we got the round bales put out.  As the skid steer was warming up I noticed an Eagle and a young eagle had perched in the tree above the summer pasture.
I wandered a bit closer to see if I could get a decent shot and cursed myself for not having my Nikon with the zoom lens.

But there you go, Baldy and Immature Eagle.

It isn't so easy to see from the photo, but I did walk up and get a better look. 

My next 'to do' on my list was running to town to get groceries.  

We were going to have nice weather so I planned on riding Siera when we got back. Our farrier said I could ride her and it would do her a world of good in helping her 'frog' redevelop.  It would be worse for her to stand around in the pasture.  As long as she didn't limp, she was good for easy riding.

And how funny is it that she actually kept coming to the gate as if to say, "Let's get going!"

The phone rang and all of our plans changed.  Hubby's truck was done.

Finally!  It needed new fuel lines and brake lines [the rusted brake lines were noticed while our mechanic was doing the fuel lines so he decided to replace them].

Well that changed the our activities for the rest of the day.  The mechanic shop is not close and it would be dark by the time we got back.  
Our mechanic has known hubby since his daughter was in school.  Let's just say that hubby knew the mechanic since Jim was a teenager.

What a good guy he is too.  So after we got to the shop, the men talked 'old times' and visited, reliving memories and telling funny stories.

I scooted out the door and headed home so I could get the chores done before dark.  The guys could talk for hours!

Bart, our polled bull was happy to see me coming with his hay.  He'd been laying down and chewing his cud until I came up the hill with a sled full of hay.

I headed towards the house.  And stopped by my snowshoes.  I certainly am hoping I get to use them more!  They looked as if they were waiting for me in the pile of snow.

I hope today, Sunday, I should be able to ride Siera!
Perhaps I'll just have to grab her and do a short bareback ride.  It should cure my craving for riding and her craving to get out and do something!

However the weather service is predicting some high winds move in.  So that may make our riding a bit less desirable.

NOAA has predicted blizzard conditions tomorrow for areas just west of us.
Yikes!

I guess I will wait and see what the day brings.

Opportunities are all over the place.  Winter is such a wonderful time to have a camera handy.

Ice Cave Trail

There is no doubt in my mind.
Winter is a wonderful time of year.  Of course there are those who dislike the cold and the snow...oh, and the ice too.

But there are no bugs, no annoying plants like stinging nettles, and the landscape is open for all to see.  No leaves block the view of beautiful vistas or interesting rock formations.

On a whim, I did something I never do.  I posted a question on Facebook, "Who would like to go on and adventure to Wildcat Mountain with me? Hiking, snowshoeing, and perhaps the Ice Cave?"

Friends replied and I even got a phone call from some friends on the other side of our state.  They couldn't make it, they wanted to.  But could we get together like last year and do a weekend in Baraboo, WI and explore some great hiking places again?  Yes! Sure! And we made arrangements.

The next morning I had a comment that asked, "We'd love to go but don't want to cramp your style, we have 3 little people."  This was from our neighbors at the top of our hill.

I was ecstatic and we made arrangements to go check out the Ice Cave Trail at Wildcat Mountain.

We did hike directly there and the scene was beautiful.

The kids took a look at it and thought it was very cool, but they were more intrigued by the little frozen run off created by the water coming over the ice cave wall.

And this started our true adventure.  What is more inviting?  A slippery frozen stream of water?
Or a nice trail?

Oh the frozen water of course!

There was hill climbing.

Ice crawling.

Adventures with Doe, Stinky, Dino, and Rex.

And, lots of adventures.

We eventually made our way back to Billings Creek and admired the formations of ice on the bluffs.
And the upside to all of this adventuring and hiking?  The little people got worn out ... as did this older person!

Where most people that come to the Ice Cave trail simply walk the 1/2 mile trail to the 'cave' and then back to the car...they miss all of the fun and beauty in between.

During the winter, there is so much more to see in my opinion.

Although this trail is unique and would be fantastic to walk on in April when the Spring Beauties, Trillium, and Blood Roots are coming to life.

I hope to go back in a week or so to check out another trail that is much longer.  I took that trail this summer and loved it.  In the winter it becomes a snow shoe trail.

Old Settler's Trail, is next on my winter list.