Not much to say today.
There is a lot going on in the news and I need to sort that out yet today with some strong coffee.
It is Veteran's Day which my husband largely likes to ignore. He is of the Vietnam Era and believes all the nice things said to him now are a bit too late. That sounds so bitter, but this is his way.
He has been a good and sometimes difficult person to have as a husband, however, I am happy to have had these years with him.
These are some photos from the past.
My 5 little hanging ghosts I'd put out in the forest on Friday afternoon got a HUGE reaction!
You know little Halloween decorations.
I went back Sunday with some Gnomes to take some Still Life photos and walk with Charlie.
Imagine my surprise when I saw that the person bought 20 brand new yellow Do Not Trespass signs ~ and literally nailed one to nearly every tree around his stand for about 20 yards in either direction.
He also put up a camera on our/his fence line.
I do not trespass period.
He has owned that land for 15 yrs and made it clear to all of the folks in our area that he would not allow anyone ever on his land.
I have no reason to go there, it is a large corn field and rather boring.
I would call his reaction to my little ghosts a bit over the top...I'll explain in a minute.
I have a trail cam set up next to one of the Halloween decorations. There is a nice photo of a small buck grazing not far from it. So yeah, it didn't bother the wild life at all.
It was the Huge Purple/Pink Dildo that he strapped to one of the trees that I thought was in poor taste. I almost was offended, but then decided it was probably one of the funniest grossest things I'd ever seen. The guy's trail cam is aimed at the huge dildo strapped to the tree. I suppose he thinks I'd find it so offensive he'd catch me on camera stepping through the fence and removing it.
Tempted to make a sign and put on my side of the fence.
"Is your wife missing this?"
But then I'd stoop to his level.
I didn't get up close to look at it, but if it is plastic or rubber, the raccoon will have a field day with it. I know, they've chewed up my dolls I had back there for Halloween past decorations.
Odd things happen to items left out in the woods....remember the Teddy Bears at the creek?
So just to be clear, I've decorated that area of my woods before with zombie dolls and skeletons so the neighbor kids could take a long walk and do a Treasure Hunt in that section of woods.
Well obviously I won't have any Treasure Hunts back there for a long while now. At least until the forest creatures chew up the purple/pink thing.
Also...something I thought very funny. This fellow had to actually make a huge effort to go out and purchase the signs ... then spend a fair amount of time nailing them up.
He had to use a step stool or something as the signs are about 6 ft up...and god knows where he got that offensive huge Purple/Pink Dildo, but he spent a good amount of time NOT hunting.
Here is a view and I smudged the offensive Purply Thing. The flowers are on my side of the fence.
I'm thinking of my next move.
This is starting to be really quite funny. However, I think my point was taken.
Don't Shoot on my Land. Recovery yes.
I am totally bored with this Isolation/Staying at Home situation. So I can have a bit more fun with this.
Think Blair Witch Project?
I am very creative. But I won't stoop to offensive behavior.
Oh...
Here is the Gnome project I was doing!
That is all I have for today!
Have a great day. I'm going to be busy again!
Charlie and I started out early enough to 'beat' the crowds at Wildcat Mountain State Park. I wanted to hike the cross country ski/hike trail on the ridge top and check out the lookouts.
I wasn't exactly clear on how the trail integrated with the equine trails, but I thought it would be great to get out on all of the lookouts. I was disappointed in most of the lookouts however.
To be clear, they put up the barricades to keep folks from climbing out on the pinnacles of rock and falling to their deaths. However, they have let the scrub brush grow up which obscures any views. Oh darn.
Um, I didn't take any photos of the log barricades. Oh well. Charlie and I stopped for lunch and snacks at Billings Creek lookout.
It was getting warm and I could hear the noon whistle from Ontario. Charlie was tired and hot. He isn't built for hard fast hikes and after a bit he just sat in the trail and refused to move.
He also has a crooked leg and foot.
So a while back I had ordered a Kurgo backpack which is designed to carry a pet. I normally put a DSLR softie camera saver in the back when Charlie isn't along. It carries cameras well with plenty of room for lunch, hats, mittens, an extra jacket, hand warmers, and sleeves for water bottles. It is behind me in the above photo. It also has a rubber bottom so you can set it down in damp/wet or muddy areas.
He did quite well in the backpack and rested up. He prefers me to wear the pack like a front baby carrier. On second thought, I think I'd prefer that sort of pack for him as he ages. But for now, this works. Little mini Dachshunds[he is also half Pekingese].... are not known for loving long hikes even though Charlie has always been a champ.
He will trot along happily for about 4 miles before needing a lift or a rest.
We headed back to the car. I missed going to the Johnnycake Outlook, but that would have added two miles. Charlie wasn't up for that.
Friday night we stood on the porch and watched the deer come in to the mules' pasture.
This part of the woods has a very heavy canopy in the summer and very little undergrowth which makes it good for open shots.
They have the right to put it there and to hunt from there. I do not dispute that at all. However, the last two years I have picked up arrows on my side of the fence. One was stuck in a tree, two were in my leek patches.
I keep debating how I'd like to handle it. I do mind finding arrows on my land after the fact. I also do mind getting a lecture from this fellow last year while hiking on my neighbor's land [which I have permission to do].
So this year I'm decorating my woods.
This is what the hunter will see on MY side of the fence.
Not to mention the other Halloween Decorations I am putting up. Actually, I go back there nearly everyday as part of my walk with Charlie.
I like to do Still Life photography in this part of the woods.
The rocks and canopy make for a perfect place to practice outdoor Still Life.
I guess I will just continue my daily walks back there with cups, toys, saucers, necklaces and other things for some fun still life photography.
Maybe I'll add my creepy baby dolls to the decorations and take back the little blue chair that I have for reading while down at the creek. I could put my stuffed Woods Bears in kids chairs in a little circle that would look like they are camping there...
I've always thought that that part of the woods would make a wonderful campsite. Hmmmm. I have a blind I could take out too!
Stay tuned.
All in all, I really should just let it go and stop being nitpicky.
This could be an immature eagle...but since my old trail camera no longer shoots in color...I can't tell.
I enjoyed getting a good look at this fella. I've seen him before and failed miserably with my regular camera.
Good thing I have a trail cam!
Yesterday Charlie and I worked up a surprise for the fella that put his tree stand on the edge of our land so he can shoot into my woods. Nothing drastic.
This fella has 200 acres of his own land and 'leases' another 100 acres, but is compelled to sit on top of my fence.
Tsk Tsk.
A distraction from the news would be a good thing. So I set up supper, made a red velvet cake [his favorite] for Rich and then walked out to the pasture with a lead rope.
[And for anyone who knows me...I really dislike baking and this is the second cake in like forever. However, it wasn't so bad and maybe I'll make more this year?]
Sunshine walked up to me. My little red mule. I last rode her in June and July when I had a friend who was going to come over and ride with me. Then I got busy with the yard work and garden and it seemed my riding time always got put off.
Off we went. There won't be any photos of us on the trails in the woods or of us sliding down creek banks to cross the valley. Those moments demand attention to detail. And the trails are steep except for those on the ridge and the one that is mowed around the large corn field.
So I'm sure this Election Day will be well remembered.
What did you do? I'd voted already, voted early. My goal for the day was to mix up Chicken soup, make bread, and head out to the woods to do battle with more Buckthorn trees.
I'm doing the easy route first before I go tackle the harder stuff. I'd cleared 8 trees from one area that I've been working on. I didn't use the Black Bag method, but I did saw them down with a hand saw, then applied brush killer to the stumps [per instructions from DNR videos and foresting videos]. I then wrapped them in white bags and painted other stumps yellow so I can see if they sprout this coming spring.
The Black Bag method is supposed to deprive the stump and roots from getting sunlight and nutrition. I thought since I didn't have the bags, I'd brush the killer on the stump and wrap it in a plastic bag to deprive it of...I don't know...water? If nothing else, it will keep me from tripping over them for a while.
I've let the trees sit for three weeks to dry out a bit. Then I've chopped them up and put them in a small pile to burn. I make a small fire and just add to it.
That little job took me all morning. But the trees were burned and the coals raked out. I moved west to work on another section of pasture. Rich had cleared things with his skid steer quite a few years ago. I personally think that all that disturbed soil let in more Buckthorn Trees and nasty weeds.
Below are more piles I've made by clearing out multiflora rose bushes and Elderberry trees that have choked the area. In the spring I can pull most of those plant stumps up right out of the ground. But here I have won the battle of against the burdock!
