I'm not ready to be

nice yet.

After the circus came, I was tired. I was exhausted and woke up with what felt like fire and glass in my throat.
Imagine that? For 3 days my throat raged against me with intense pain. I put on a mask and drank tea to help calm the shards of glass in my throat.

I spent most of the day napping in the upstairs bedroom. I napped and I read. I did chores and made meals but tried to stay away from the other half.

I had no fever, no cough, and only a slightly stuffed up nose. 

By yesterday, I felt un-tired enough to get some groceries and take Charlie to his vet appointment. I was nice at the vet's office. Charlie had some blood drawn and his toenails clipped [I hate that job!]. 

I warned them that he would be vocal about the whole thing.

Oh and he was vocal, he has a yodel-ish voice to express his displeasure when he is removed from the same room I am in. For such a tiny dog, he has a big voice.

The vet brought him me and told me that the whole time they were with him, he was wagging his tail [I think she thought I may have worried about all the noise he made]. 

I laughed and explained that he got like that when I stop and get out of the car to fill it with gas. Usually, it only lasted about two minutes. I imagine it is a separation thing?

Charlie is now considered to be a late middle aged dog who is in great physical shape. Doc told me he was nicely muscled up!

I'm coming out of the Grumpy -- I feel Icky Stage and becoming more human again. Just in time for another group of visitors for this weekend. 
I don't know if they will come tomorrow or not. As usual, we haven't heard a word about their plans.

Me as a Grumpy Person:

Good news also. We've been seeing a lot of bluebirds!

This morning we woke up to the predicted snow fall. We may have gotten about two inches so far so we are happy with the moisture and happy it isn't a blizzard.

I'm going to work more on my being nice. I can't walk around with a fierce Grumpy Face too long. My mom once told me, my face would freeze like that if I did it too long.....

Just stuff

This is our Mini horse crop out. We purchased him from a friend many years ago. His job while we were still breeding for mules was to tease the mare and get her ready.

He is an expert an not getting wrapped up in the tie out line. I've dubbed him my self propelled mower who also does fertilizing at the same time.

He may as well be out in the yard instead of his winter pen. You'd think after doing nearly 20 years of yard work, he'd pick up the pinecones for me and pile up the sticks.

Lazy pony! He just does his thing.

I took a short walk in the woods on the way to go pick up my mail. I'd ordered a skort to try out this summer. A skort is a skirt with shorts in them. My son's wife wears them and says they are super comfortable. I thought I'd give them a whirl.

I also ordered a new t shirt for myself. I thought the graphic was appropriate for me. The shirt features a compass with the words below it: "All who wander are not lost..." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

My youngest son and crew made a date to come and visit this weekend. Hmmm. More about that later or not. My eldest son predicted a Circus. He was right but I'd call it a Circus of Drama. It was not beautiful like the Cirque du Soleil but a train wreck of consequences.

It will be a very long time before I decide he and his crew can visit again.

'Nuff said.

We did take a hike and I got to see the wonderful Swans! They were so beautiful. I didn't bring my long long lens because I was herding kids like cats. But I did catch one pretty decent shot of the Swans.

A couple of my younger grand kids enjoyed floating a rubber ducky in a lazy little stream we found.

When the Duckie got stuck, they'd push him along with sticks.

The shot below is a photo of my second oldest grand daughter, Lily. She is carrying her puppy named Oakley in her jacket as he was tired and cold.

The kids enjoyed the hiking and adventures. 

Well. In other news, the weather turned frigid on Sunday and will warm up once again through Tuesday and then we are back to winter with a freezing mixture which is typical for March.

I have a 'date' to go hiking with another 19 yr old tomorrow. She was my neighbor for a few years. I've known her and her siblings and mom since she was 9 years old. I'm looking forward to that.

First I have to take some naps to get back to feeling human again after the circus came.

How to make friends at...

the dealership when having a car serviced.

Bring a cute dog.

Subaru has a kids play room and a doggy play yard at the dealership. Charlie enjoys going to the dealer when we do oil changes and tire rotations. 

He makes good use of the yard and then we tour the show floor while I pretend that he is picking out his next Subaru. Over the years, he has posed with sales people in front of some of the displays. 

Everyone at the Service Desk had to say hello to him and pet him. He was a bundle of wagging little joy. The Service Manager said that he'd like to keep Charlie as a greeter. Oh, they would take GOOD care of him!

This time other patrons waiting asked about Charlie and the doggy amenities. They thought it was great that I'd brought a pet to bide my time. I told them that the dealership loved having pets visit. 

They all wanted to know what kind of dog Charlie was. Well, he is a mutt. His dad was a miniature dachshund and mom was a Pekinese dog.

The conversations all revolved around pets and soon I was peering at smart phone photos from all sorts of customers who were telling me what kind of dog or cat they had. Eventually we had about 7 people all in a circle talking about their pets.

One little old lady sat next to me and shared her stories of her dog who was gone. Then she showed me photos of her grandson's cats. She was now living with her grandson and he had cats. She had 8 grandchildren grown up and something like 8 or 9 great grandchildren and they all lived close.

I learned where she traveled and that she had a home on the West Coast on a beach. Another couple told me about their dog and their daughters, in that order. I learned all about their families just by listening. 

It was fun, another gent shared his thoughts about his son's Miniture Pinchers aka Minpins. He asked my advice on their crazy dogs. [Apparently he thought I was a dog mystic or something!] 

He then told me about his family -- after showing me photos of his dog. A person can learn a lot by just looking interested and curious. But I think Charlie was the ice breaker.

As their cars were ready, the patrons who visited thanked me for bringing Charlie because it was fun to converse with others rather than sit and stare at the large TV in the waiting area. They said it passed the time quickly.

As for Charlie? He was so tired from being such a good little dog that he slept the whole way home.

Surprises on another spring walk

Wednesday was going to be incredibly beautiful for the middle of March. Charlie and I took off for the Reserve again to check out some different ponds of water for wildlife.

Actually, we just wanted to get out and enjoy some sunshine and fresh air. I should have stayed home and raked the yard.

Hmmm. I think we took the better choice.

I figured to get some chill out time alone as the next 3 weekends are booked with visitors. I hope my son and his crew are up for taking the kids hiking at the Reserve with me if it isn't raining. It will wear out the kids and being outdoors is easier than being inside our little house.

I'm still in the bird 'hunting' mode. 

We came up on campsite C which a few years ago had some great views of one of the ponds. Unfortunately, the briars have grown back in and I didn't have the means to cut them down. But the Canada Geese were there in droves.

I shot this through the brush so it gives it an interesting look.

I liked the reflections of the clumps of grass on the pond water, so I took this shot which is not impressive at all. Well, what I didn't see through the brush were the turtles at the bottom of the photo!
I was tickled to see turtles here as I don't recall ever seeing them before on my spring hikes. I'm sure they live there, I just never thought about it.

Those clumps of grass remind me of Cousin It on the Munsters. 👀

I promised myself to come back to that one spot and clear out the 10 briars that kept me from sitting close to the shore to watch the birds.

I was looking for more Sandhill Cranes, I heard them at the pond that was south of where I was. So maybe this pond is too crowded with Canada Geese for them to want to share?

This is a large meandering pond but this one spot was crowded with geese.

On the other side of the Old 131 trail is another pond. This one has a floating dock with a bench for folks to sit on and watch the pond.

Nothing terribly interesting was happening there. However my Lego Friends decided they'd like to use the dock to do some bird watching themselves.

I took a side trip down a trail that used to have a campsite on the river shore and was since moved. Charlie and I walked down to the river.

The other side of the river is where the Little Canada Trail is. The river is quite low now due to the lack of rain. I am standing on an old campsite that got washed away in a few floods. Across the river one of those pines used to have a rope in it. 
Campers and Canoers would beach their canoes and take time to climb the bluff and swing out over the river and drop into the deeper waters for a swim. 

That tree was swept away in the 2018 flood.

 

I decided to take Willow Trail back to where we parked so we didn't have to backtrack.

I was stopped by a familiar bird song. I could hear it but couldn't tell where it was coming from. I just stood still for a while and finally a little brown bird flew into a nearby bush.

I hear this bird every spring and summer and delight in its song. You would think I could recall that it is a song sparrow.

I let her serenade me for a while before we returned to the car and went home.

Charlie was warm and tired and eager to lay in his crate in the car.

I felt relaxed and happy.

Sunrises

When Charlie and I went for a morning walk we got to the top of the driveway and looked over into the corn field and saw these deer. They spotted us [we were actually pretty far away] and in a flash, they were gone into the dark woods.

 I wonder if they could hear Charlie's tags jingling or was it the movement from so far away that they detected?

We walked down the dead end road and across the soy bean field which is beyond where the deer were. 

I do like the predawn hour. It can be so colorful. In order to see the horizon, I have to walk 1/2 mile to the ridgetop and field edges to see the sun come up. The sun appears two hours later in our hollow.

Last year's 
Queen Anne's Lace

We wandered around for a bit while I was looking for anything neat to shoot with the sunrise. There was a lone tree that I always like in my photos for the past few years. It appears that the tree died over summer and was knocked over by a tractor or combine.

I thought it would be cool to see the sun come up through the broken little tree.

We waited for the sun and then headed back home. 

What a beautiful day it turned out to be. I didn't take any more photos all day, I was busy with counselors and social workers along with doing a spring hair chop.

I'm a person who loves to get up early, so sunrise walks are my favorite thing to do when it isn't too terribly cold.

What a difference a year makes and strange weather.
Last year I was waiting to get plowed out from a significant snowfall.

That time of the year?

 

With the arrival of Robins and Redwinged Black Birds, I get into the bird hunting mode. I blame Aurora over at equine expressions for that.

Saturday morning I did my 'duties' around the farm and because we have - had earlier daylight, I was finished and headed out to the Reserve to go birdwatching or at least walk around and pretend I was a Birder.

I did hear the Sandhill Cranes and the Canada Geese down at the ponds as soon as I stepped out of the car. I also realized that I had underdressed for the weather. I was instantly cold in my spring lightweight jacket and I had to pull up my hood to cover my ears.

I decided not to let the cold temps and wind stop me, so I went on down to the Big Pond to look around.

The Geese were noisy. I found a spot to use my long lens as binoculars and scout the opposite shore where the majority of the birds were hanging out.

There was a scuffle going on and so I took some shots and then looked at the shots I took. I found ducks!  I found what I think may be Mallards.
I don't know if March 9th is the early for them or not, but it was a first for me.

...and another scuffle which included
Canada Geese.
I shot through some brush, but still

managed to get some action.

Right then I got the urge to drive over to the Mississippi River and do some exploring. But I have time constraints and decided to just settle with what I could see in the immediate area.

That turned into a 2+ mile walk around the backwaters of the Kickapoo River.

It seemed that I was only going to see the Geese on this trip out. I could hear some black birds and many sparrows. Twice I almost got a shot of Chickadees, but they were so fast! Catching them near the bird feeder at home is easier, but there is a certain challenge of trying to get them out 'in the wild' so to speak.

I finally heard the Sandhill Cranes and saw them circling overhead and managed to catch a couple of shots. They didn't turn out the best, but there they were! The darn things kept fling low and through trees!

I did catch up with them after they landed though. I had to stand still behind some thick brush and look down onto the marshy area next to the river.

I came out next to Star Valley and decided to head back to the car. I stopped to pull down my hood and turned to see this:

These are steps that once led to a house on old Highway 131. I am standing on the old road that was the original highway and looking at steps for a home that was torn down.

I was really surprised as I must have walked past this spot hundreds of times. It made me wonder what it was like to live along this river and  road many years ago before the Government decided to take this land and turn it into a reservoir and dam to hold back flood waters.

None of that happened and many years later the Kickapoo Valley Reserve came to be in existance.

I was getting ready to put away my camera when I heard a bird call that I thought I recognized.

I kept turning around and looking for the source of the call. A flash of blue caught my eye and I took this shot which is again...NOT very good.

But there it was, a Kingfisher!!!

I did a little happy dance. Three years in a row I have been able to find a Kingfisher in this particular area. I call it dumb luck, but maybe it isn't.

It was worth getting cold through and through to see this just before I walked up to the parking area.

I am grateful that my Subaru has heated seats. When I got in, I turned the heater on full.

What a success. It was worth getting half frozen.

It must be that time of year!

Bushes, Trees, and Birds

 I was out on Thursday determined to find some birds or something exciting to look at.

Most of what I found was a bit dull and boring.

I was looking for any sign of birds at first. But then I noticed some things about the bushes and the trees.

I did find birds.

I mean, who cannot find crows? They are all over the place!

I heard the Redwinged Black Birds, I did! I crept around a large field edge to see if I could get a glimpse of one. 

And there he/she was. In a thicket of Prickly Ash. There was no predator that could bust through that thorny bush.

I knew from hiking here over the years, that I always heard them in the brush but never paid particular attention. Now I see why they would love this area as a nesting spot.

I decided to sit quietly in the field and see if one would eventually come out. That paid off.

There were several sparrows flitting around inside that area too. I couldn't get any decent shots of them to ID them. But they were all very talkative.

I ended up on the road where I'd seen the Bluebirds a few weeks ago and started walking along my neighbor's land. His big old birch trees grabbed my attention, their branches looked like they were pussy willows.

The photo is of lower feeder branches coming out from the tree itself.

Further down the road I saw these above me. More Birch trees, but I don't know exactly what kind.

I know that there are several types of birch, so this shouldn't have surprised me. Of course, I first thought that all birch trees should show their catkins in the same manner. But different varieties, just like different varieties of flowers will appear different.

Each year, I learn a little bit more about trees.

So this Hophornbeam gave me a bit of a brain tease.
My neighbor ID'd it as a Hophornbeam.

He ID'd this tree below as a Hophornbeam also. But they present differently.

So this confused me. But since I am not a botany person, I am going to leave these two trees as Hophornbeams of different varieties?

This tree keeps its leaves but doesn't have the 'chicken foot' winter catkins.

The leaves stick around and only fall off when the buds push them off.

See the tiny bud?

Tiny bud.....  ----->

So the more I 'investigate' these trees, the more questions I come up with.

These trees are grouped under the name of Ironwood Trees and there is apparently several kinds of them.

Hop Hornbeam, Hornbeam, Ironwood, and Musclewood are names given to these trees because of their hard wood. 

Let's not forget that these trees in the summer look like elm trees.

How confusing can that be????

Then there was evidence that the Gooseberry bushes were coming alive in the forest. I have a love hate relationship with these thorny guys. However, their flowers are cute and their berries can be picked and eaten when ripe. 
I've never tried it.

Even the invasive and horrible Multiflora Rose is trying to wake up.

In the shot below there are leaves that had budded out a few weeks ago during an intense warm spell. Those leaves dried up and now I can see new bright red ones peeking out.

The flowers to these bushes are pretty, but man those thorns are tough to get around. 

I may tie a ribbon or something around those two different Hop-Hornbeam trees and see what happens through the year. 

Seems that I enjoy watching some of the least popular trees and bushes there are.