Anticipation

I did it again.
Ran off into the woods.
I didn't mean to.

I just had to.

Morris came along this time. I knew where I wanted to go. Back to the spring that comes out of the hillside.
Um.

I got way sidetracked.
By some very incredible icicle formations that were coming out of the side of the steep stream bank.
However I did find some open water...but most of it had done a 'fast freeze' with the temps dropping so quickly last week and the past few days.



I promise to 'get at' those icicle photos I took today.
They are sitting in my camera...kinda quiet like.

I'm sorta afraid to insert the memory card into that itty bitty slot on my computer.
Stupid isn't it?

But I know if I open those photos and look at them, I'll be immersed in photography and forget the world around me.

The anticipation is literally killing me. I want SO badly just to toss all other duties aside and start working on them.
[I shot them in .RAW format, which needs a different process to handle]

...my hand reaches over towards the Nikon D40...and withdraws...
I
must
go
make
supper.

Oh but the wait!

Sneaky doodle out the door...

I had a list of *honey do's*...
Yup, I sure did.

And when the honey left, I grabbed my backpack, .22 pistol, camera stuff and ran off to the creek bottom for an hour of exploring.

Honey wouldn't get back at least for two hours, so I had plenty of time if I really hoofed it down through the woods and into the valley.

I hadn't been down in this area since before the DEEP freeze. The first photo is from a place that never has frozen that I can recall. The water runs pretty fast along this portion of the creek. I could hear it though under the ice as I tippy toed across it.
[Yep, I thought about hearing a *crack* and falling in...but, it didn't happen.]

Then I came to the most amazing spot. I've been here 100's of times but never seen it quite this way.
There is a spring that comes out of the hillside and flows rather quickly towards the creek. Because of the spring's warmth, everything had a layer of 'hoar' frost. This was at noon!

I could've spent a lot longer 'playing' in the creek bottom ... but decided an hour was all I had. I slung my camera backpack on and headed home.
Wishing I could have stayed.

And yessiree...I got my honey do's all done before the honey got home.

Serenity in the Woods

Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.

That's how my footfalls sound in the snow. A combination of crunch and squeak. When the temperature reads -7 degrees, snow squeaks and crunches.

I stop and listen.
There is a small whisper of a rattle above me in an old hickory tree. The brown leaves vibrate in the 'light' breeze. I turn my head. This winter breeze makes my eyes water.
It is cold.
A leaf falls and skitters over the snow until it is stuck in a gooseberry bush. It shudders as if alive.

Morris follows in my footsteps. When I stop he puts his front paws on my coveralls. I pick him up. I can't tell if he is shaking from the cold or he is sensing something.

I look up and around scanning the woods above us. I can't see anything. Perhaps he is just cold and I shouldn't have brought him along.
I decide to cut the hike short.
Besides, hiking in knee deep snow with a jack russell on your hip [who likes to try to climb to your shoulder to observe] is tough.

The woods are quiet. Except for the sigh of the winter breeze there are few noises.
Far off in the distance I hear some crows.
Morris sees the mule trail and scrambles out of my arms and runs towards the house.

My goal today is the creek bottom. Morris may stay home.

Kids

I was going through some old photos today while putting my Christmas stuff away. I found this photo of my boys with the neighbor children.

I believe this was when I was 'sitting' for the neighbor.
This is back in the days when imagination ruled!
A little lipstick, some rags, and some sticks made you into a warrior~or whatever you wanted to be.

I remember the world before Play Station, cellphones, Ipods, and Xboxes. This was the world where the kids were sent out to play.
And play they did.

The boys went to the 'junk yard'. It was about 1/2 mile through the field behind our house. Called the junk yard because it had been somebody's dump at one time or another.

I remember one of the boys got mad at the others. He stalked all the way to our house to 'tell on' the other boys.
I don't recall what the incident was, but it wasn't very serious.

I asked him if he really walked all the way back to tell me something I didn't want to hear.
He stammered and looked at his feet and then back towards the junk yard.

I waved him away with my hand and told him to settle it with the other boys, I wasn't to be bothered.

I watched him grimace, then turn and march back to the junk yard.

I had to hide a laugh. I figured by the time he got done with hiking nearly a mile just 'to tell on them', he'd be ready to play again.

I had a dream...

Last night I had a dream. Strange because usually they are not so vivid that I wake up nearly sobbing or reaching with my arms outstretched.

I was in a strange land and things just were not going right at all. I was lost and there was a huge storm coming.
People were running for shelter. But this was a rural setting and I could hear their radios declaring a tropical hurricane.
[Perhaps I really wanted to be somewhere warm at all costs even in my sleep?]

The sky darkened and rumbled. I felt frantic for some reason and so terribly alone. I heard a noise and ran to a fence that surrounded a small wooded [palm trees?] area. It made no sense that there was a gate there. I knew also that I shouldn't be there, yet had to be.

In a moment of thunder, a ragged mule came charging from the far side of the wooded area. I stood with my heart thumping.
Another came, another came...and then one special mule came.

Badger.

A man came from somewhere behind me and started to yell at me. I wasn't supposed to be near his gate, what was I doing, was I crazy or what?

I flung open the gate and Badger thundered towards me, sliding to a stop. I flung my arms around his neck and suddenly knew...
I'd be safe no matter what.

I hung on for dear life and stuck my face into his neck.
I was safe.
I was safe.
I
was
safe.

[I woke up and looked around. It was dark, I was in bed...and I had this incredibly strong urge to run out and see Badger.]

Happy Birthday to our Equine!

[Above is Cheyenne, the grand ol' lady of our farm taking a nap in yesterday's sunshine...doesn't she look content?]

January 1st is when we celebrate most of our equine's birthdays...

Happy Birthday!

Ring in the New Year...

Thoughts for the New Year and Old...

Mend a quarrel
Search out a forgotten friend
Dismiss a suspicion and replace it with trust.
Write a letter to someone who misses you.
Encourage a youth who has lost faith.
Keep a promise.
Forget and old grudge.
Examine your demands on others and vow to reduce them.
Fight for a principle.
Express a gratitude.
Overcome an old fear.
Take two minutes to appreciate the beauty of nature.
Tell someone you love them.
Tell them again.
And again.
And again.

(author unknown)