I like Lichen

The winter doldrums are sometimes hard to shake and after days of being stuck inside, I've been getting out again.

Whew. Yesterday's excursion was just an amble through the woods and valley to see 'stuff'. I wanted to go explore Lichen.
The book I got said it can be found in the winter rather easily. 

I really like this book and could call it Lichen for Dummies. It is separated by where you can find certain Lichen. Trees, ground, rocks, for example.

So I headed out to the woods on snowshoes which was a good choice. 

And I stopped by one of the first trees I saw.

Next, I need to learn how to identify trees much better. I pretty much am clueless unless I have hubby with me. He can glance at a tree and tell you what it is just by looking at the bark and the shape. 

The moss book is much more difficult. I think the writer assumes that the reader already understands all of the biology and taxonomy behind plants. I don't, but I can learn.

I was pretty excited to try something new. 

Foliose Lichen. [Lichen having lobed leaf like shape]

I didn't know that Lichen is not a singular plant. It is composed of two dissimilar organisms. Lichen is a unique form of Fungus and Algae. The two organisms work together. Tree Dwelling Lichens.
There are between 14 thousand and 20 thousand species. So uffdah! I will only look for general ones!

Lichens don't hurt trees. They can grow on the ground and grow on rocks. I can't wait to get back to Black Hawk Rock in the KVR and study all the lichens I've seen there.

Do I know what I am looking at yet? Nope. Just delving into it. 

Tree trunk with a crack in it and lichens of different kinds growing on it. I recognize the 'leaf' pattern of the most common type of lichen. 

White lichen and moss below. Did the lichen 'eat' the moss? Or is this just dried up?
I don't know.

So much to learn!

Cropped for a closer look.

When I got to the creek to search for mosses and more lichen, I got sidetracked.

Guess who? The Robin crowd!

I crept up on them and they flew off. So I squatted down on my snowshoes and waited. The Robins came back and busied themselves along the edges of the creek.

I really think this bunch has wintered here in the valley. 

I realized my hands were getting cold and I'd dropped my mittens somewhere along the way. 

I found the mittens at the second tree I'd stopped to look at. What a duh moment!

But the mitten retrieval took me past an old oak tree that had been blown down about 3 years ago. It was covered in exciting 'stuff'.

I put the mittens in my pocket and pulled out the Oly Tough camera with the super macro mode [this is what I used on the other photos]. I should have taken those shots with the auto focus stack, they would have been clearer. [Live and learn right?]

Cool white black lichen. I can classify it as a Crustose Lichen:

Very odd looking. I just thought it was some sort of slime moldy thing. Did you know that slime mold falls into the fungi category? Nah, me neither, but it does.

Last but not least. I think this is some sort of fungi growing on the lichen. 

They look like creepy little turds or something. They are less than 2cm across so you can have an idea just how small they are.

And for the last of the discoveries.

Unidentified orange 'stuff'.

This was growing in small cracks in the wood. So I may assume it is dead lichen or dead fungi of some sort.

I do love mysteries like this to solve. Tiny things in the woods that we don't even notice because we are always looking for the Big Picture.

I can't wait to get out and find some more curious things. 

Serendipity

I took a class in photography about 10 years ago. I wanted to learn more. And I did, but often I was chastised by the instructor for something he called 'Serendipity'.

He often said I was an okay photographer but I was missing out by just catching the moment. I would never be a great photographer because I didn't plan hard enough.

His complaint is that I let nature run its course and if I went somewhere I didn't plan in advance enough. 
Time, temperature, forecast, ... get an app on your smart phone to tell you the angle of the light in any location at any time... Sunset, golden hour, blue hour...

Plan
Plan
Plan

In a way I do plan. Heavy dew in the morning? Fog? Low lying fog? Hoar frost? Rime frost? I do get out to try and see it through my lens. 

A pro photographer? Nope I am not. So I am the casual for fun photographer. I am Not going to make money at it. My husband used to nag me about it. I've done weddings for friends [dislike] and thought of senior photos, but I am not clever with what I see in today's standards. I leave that to those pros who have studied portraiture. I suck at people photos. 

Besides why would I take something that is my stress reliever and creative outlet and turn it into a JOB? Ewww. No thank you.

My instructor kept at me. I used serendipity. I let things happen and just happened to be there. I would never be 'good'. I understood the push and I learned quite a bit from the 6 month course. What I learned most was the world of pro was not for me. And truthfully in these times, I am glad I do not count on photography as a source of income.

Well. I certainly went off on a rant didn't I?

What started me thinking along these lines was this shot I took yesterday. Totally unplanned. Charlie had freaked out over the coyote and was literally pawing at my coveralls. I thought he might be cold so I sat on a boulder in the creek. I was sweating and my glasses had steamed up under the goggles, so I needed to cool off and give Charlie a break.

I turned around while we were sitting there and thought I'd take out the Olympus I'd just had altered into a Full Spectrum camera and shoot it without an IR filter. 

I was using live view because I had a dog still in my lap. The glare of the bright sunlight made it hard to see, but I had an idea of looking down and seeing up in the still water.

I was really intrigued by the frosty formations on top of the ice formations that I could see with the naked eye. Any time I knelt to look at them, Charlie was climbing into my face and looking for a lift.

I gave up on taking anything interesting and hiked with dog in arms back up the steep hill to home. 

Last night I opened the files and looked at the shots I'd take with purpose. They were okay. But they kind of were just okay. 

The one I took nearly blind with dog in the way ... I really liked.

Serendipity. I wouldn't have taken it if all those crazy events hadn't happened. If I'd planned it all out I'd have missed my Upside Down shot.

I believe in Serendipity!

Sunset [with the full spectrum camera] on Monday night:

Face to Face

Charlie begged me to go as I tossed on my coveralls. I knew I should wear snowshoes but...

I knew Charlie should stay home
but...

I'm not always smart, see? I thought I would just take a short hike and walk in my tracks from last week. Charlie would be fine. Really he would. I pointed at him with a mittened hand. "I am not carrying you! So don't ask. You can do this right?"

He gave me that adorable look that I cannot refuse. 

Of course!

We made it to the creek bank and just as we were going to drop down about 20 feet into the creek, Charlie started to shake like a leaf and he tried to climb my coveralls. I reached down and scooped him up. 

I looked over to the fenceline that marks the end of my land and the start of Gary's land. Both ponds and the tiny falls were frozen solid. I wanted to climb down there and take a look.

Around the huge roots of the old cottonwood tree and rocks came a large coyote. He/she stood and stared at me. 
Well now. I knew it was breeding season and I know coyotes will grab a dog in their territory. They are much more aggressive towards dogs during their mating season. 

In the blink of an eye the 'yote turned and disappeared upstream. Of course, it made sense. The snow is less deep along the creek the frozen water makes for a great trail.

I fired a warning shot with my pistol and saw the 'yote bound eastward and up through the woods.

I set Charlie down and he had none of it. Nope. He was going to climb up my leg no matter what. 

Coyotes and Gunshots! Are You Kidding Me?

"Charlie, you chose to come along. I told you that you would be snow swimming." 

I watched for a bit and then we dropped into the creek. I hobbled along with a long dog clutched in my arms and trudged through the snow. I berated myself a bit in not wearing snowshoes and bringing Charlie. However the poor guy hadn't gone on a walk for nearly a week. 

I put him down again so he could follow my tracks over the ice and snow while I negotiated some tricky footing.

"No Charlie, you said you'd be good. Oh poor Charlie, you are shaking!"

Well, at least this time he wasn't off and running trying to find every smell and dig out any suspect voles under the snow. He was a cling-on. 

Our hike was extremely slow with me picking him up whenever the footing was good. 

I sat for a bit on a boulder and pulled dog treats out of my pocket. Poor fella was still pretty nervous. Dog treats always make things better. 

We made the trek to the other end of the creek and headed up the forest trail. I kept carrying Charlie and plunging through the deep snow. Each step reminded me of why I should have put on my snowshoes and why I should have left my dog at home.

"Cardio work out Charlie!" I said as we climbed the steep hill. "This is a good one!" It was hard. 

We got to the meadow and Charlie found a well trodden deer trail. He raced ahead while I admired the wispy clouds in the sky.

We approached the house and Charlie raced like the dickens to the porch and sat at the door until I arrived. I cracked open the door. Charlie sped through without a backward glance leapt onto the couch, and promptly laid down with a sigh.

Dismissed, human.

Soulmates

The horse that started it all. Her name was Cheyanne and I purchased her for about $400 green broke. I was green broke too. She taught me so much about equine. She was super sensitive to human attitudes. 
Her awareness of her rider's mental state was hypersensitive.

She did a stint in 4 H with Horseless Horse riders and went to state with a rider. 

Unfortunately that atmosphere was not her forte. She did well but stressed out so badly especially when her rider came out of the arena and started to slap Chey because she didn't get first place. 
The rider blamed Cheyanne. Interestingly enough the rider's mother came up to me and complained that I should have made them do better and they would win next year.

I asked the rider to dismount and told mom that her daughter would never touch my horse again.

I ended up moving from the Kenosha area out to the western part of the state. 

I started riding mules and Cheyanne was bred to our Jack. Her first daughter, Sunshine has that floating trot that Chey had. Cheyanne was 1/2 Arab and 1/2 Quarter horse. We never were quite sure which breed would show up while riding her. If we had really tough trails, she would be calm. If it was boring, she would look for monsters. That was Chey.

Rich purchased a big tall lanky mule for me in Missouri out of our Jack. His name was Badger. If ever I had a soulmate in equine form, Badger was it.

I had to finish 'training' him and by doing that, I learned so much more about mules and their loyalties. We showed in Western Pleasure, played at Gymkhana, and explored wild woods nearly every day together.

The man who 'started' Badger under saddle said he was worthless and no good. He didn't have heart and sulled out all of the time. 

Badger was 15 hands and thought he was tiny. For the rest of his life he did not tolerate big male people. 

He even tried Endurance Riding with me. We never won anything, but we always passed vet checks with a great score card.

He adored little people.

We lost Badger in 2012 and I struggled to find another soul mate. 

Sunshine is Badger's half sister out of Cheyanne without the Cheyanne attitude. We also had Siera a Peruvian Paso mule with an amazing attitude. 

Sunshine is steady. She has had her moments, but has turned into one of the best wild wood mounts I've ever had. She is small enough to go morel hunting with, easy on and off, and confident in solo riding.

Siera is an amazing ride. On the flat she can gait out like nothing I've ever ridden. She is calm when she has company and a bit nervous solo. She rarely gets bothered if her rider doesn't understand what they are doing. She just stops what she is doing and waits.
Best thing of all, when she is frightened she just stands there. Siera is the ultimate in lazy.

At first I thought Siera would be my next pure mule soulmate. 

The more I interact with my mules, the more I have discovered that Sunshine, that little red mule that everyone laughed at...has become my little darling. 

Every day at chore time. She comes and stands before me and waits for me. She is kind and attentively listens to my daily troubles and offers only her friendship.

She never runs away from me when I have a halter.

She is like her half brother. True through and through. 

My beautiful redhead.

There I go ... Memory Lane. Mules, horses, life, and love.

I can't wait to go riding again!

I may have take Siera or Sunshine out when the weather warms up and do some snow play.

Have a great day.

More Stuck In..side

 -18

The mules are officially out of water and today will be the high of zero, dammit.
I'll get it done though. I will carry them water this morning and put it in pans and this afternoon when the temps rise, I'll fill the large tank. Where there is a will, there is a way.

Yesterday I 'played' with the converted Full Spectrum camera. I found that I can get interesting colors that are slightly strange if I use the camera without the Infrared Spectrum filters. 

I did this photo with a 665nm Filter.

The shot below is where I took all the photos using just the light from the back door which faces north.

Behold the mess. Old antique boxes stacked with a piece of plywood and a lid to an antique box for the back stop. Paper for any textured back grounds.

My dear friend from Alabama sent me some darling little toys via Amazon. I can't wait to take them to the woods for some adventures. Charlie is perplexed with the wind up toys and will take his nose and tip them over while they are walking.

The shot below is with no filter on it. 

Okay. When converting a camera a clear filter replaces the one inside your camera that blocks IR light. A camera converted this way is also used often in Astrophotography as it picks up light differently. No, I haven't tried that yet, but I may  try it when the temperatures are much nicer outside!

The tiny fake flower in the little brown bottle is actually bright red and the colors in the paper below should be a bit more orange. If I put the 'hot' filter on the lens, the camera would see the light as any normal camera would.

Next up, my wooden toys sent to me by a childhood friend. 

The marbles in back are actually clear and the paper is black with white grunge markings on it.

Bored yet?

Infrared is considered an artsy, non traditional, and way out there type of photography. The scenes that can be shot are pretty neat. However there is a lot more work to the final product depending on how a person wants it to appear. Post processing can be hard. Everyone argues over white balances and RAW files along with how to channel swap...or not to. 
My take away is this. I consider Infrared to be a license to do odd and beautifully strange photography. 

This is a place I am comfortable with. I have so many trials and errors that I am grateful that I have a digital camera and not film.

On a good note. Tomorrow we are supposed to get UP to 12 degrees! I'm considering putting on shorts and flip flops.
Yeah.

I may even start the Subaru and go to town for some groceries. Meanwhile, stay warm and safe. 

~~~ 

Late afternoon Update: I laid out the hose on top of the snow and used the sled to transport about 50 gallons out to the tank. What a workout! 

Be Chilled My Heart

I don't do Valentine's Day. But that is okay, I don't have a grudge against it, I just don't buy into it anymore.

So everyone loves to talk about weather. -15F translates into -26C? I never understood why we don't all use the same measurements. But that is for another day.
I know others are much colder. And I looked at the forecast for us. -17 tonight and Monday? Oh bother.

I measured the temp in the shed yesterday, because it actually felt a bit colder. It wasn't but it was out of the sun so that made it feel so much colder inside.

This is how the girls spend their afternoons. I get obsessed by worrying if they are warm enough. 
Everyone gets about twice the amount of hay during this cold spell. And thankfully, no one is showing signs of cold. 

When I had a place in the flat lands of Kenosha, I had to have a run in for my horses. There was no place for the equine to get out of the wind. 

I am literally going stir crazy inside. It is too dangerous to go hiking even if I get out of the winds. I'm wearing a mask, over the glasses goggles, and a fur lined hat. The secret of keeping warm hands?

My Grandmother's hand made knit mittens with a pair of little knit gloves underneath.

Grandma's Secret Weapon
Knit Mittens

I tried the insulated gloves that are called HotShots and every other high tech glove. Nothing. works like mittens. I've even been able to open gates with them on. If I have to put a halter on someone, I do have to pull the mitten off.

Watering has become a nightmare. The hoses work well and drain from the top of the hill at the outside hydrant. In the past, when we had these cold temps, Rich would help me drain hoses after disconnecting them. With subzero temps and one person, the draining doesn't work as well.

[Yes, one time the outdoor hydrant froze up. That was once in 30+ years. A year when we had no ground cover but subzero temps for an extended period of time.]

Mittens crossed that I don't have to fill the tank until Monday afternoon? With a high of 3 degrees, I may be able to get 'er done. 

Oh and for the curious. The mailman DID show up! His huge Jeep with knobby snow/mud tires could handle just about anything thrown at him. So now that he knows where the house is, I wonder if he'll make deliveries next time. 

I spoke with him this summer at the post office and he told me he couldn't find our house. True Story.

So for those who celebrate, Happy Valentine's Day.

For me? Just a daily outdoor chore challenge and then a day of walking about this tiny cottage waiting for a chance to get out and hike.

Stir Crazy.

Going going gone ...

 ...to the nuthouse I go.

I made this sign and placed it in the mailbox so the mail person cannot put a 'no one was home' notice inside it without pulling this dayglow sign off. I signed and dated it once more. I am expecting a package I have to sign for and if he/she refuse as usual to deliver it... I will have to wait until Tuesday to get said package. Post Office is closed on Monday.

We will see the results. I'm betting that he/she will leave a note and not come to the house. 

Anyone want to bet???

So....

I thought I'd amuse myself by trying some old editing exercises. Like turning a photo into a drawing.

Original:

Topaz Impressions:

Adobe CS2: Photo to Draw method.

I sort of like them all for different reasons. Great exercise for my brain.

Original. Tea Time:

Edited for High Key Look with a texture:

I like this version. 

I moved around the tea towel that is hanging from the clothes rack...and moved in a bit. I settled on a subtle film color adjustment after trying several. Yep, I cut the poor rabbit's ear off too. 

Well this was for experimenting and brain work.

And then since nothing I was doing excited me very much. I did this.

It sums up exactly how I felt about trying my 'still life' experiments on Saturday.