Gettin' the Itch

I don't know why but every once in a while I get this intense desire to go somewhere and discover something.

I would like to do some traveling and 'seeing'.  I've been thinking about making a journey to see the south shore of Lake Superior and taking in a trip to see the multitude of state parks and waterfalls of northern Wisconsin.

I've even found my mind wandering about and looking at maps to the point where I use Google Maps to find out how long of a drive it is between places I want to see.

I sort of imagine myself going alone. Or perhaps with Morris. Although some parks and trails don't welcome dogs. Alone then would be the choice because then I wouldn't have to worry about him.
Then I wonder if going alone would be fun. Perhaps I'd like to travel and explore with someone else. I thought of my two grand daughters as travel companions. 

When I took a trip to 'shoot' my youngest son's wedding, I booked a room checked the route to drive [no GPS then] used a printed map from Google [have since purchased a good paper map] and plotted my little trip.

I enjoyed myself immensley. The drive was pretty nice even if I missed the motel and had to stop and ask for directions.

But staying on a Lake and having moments of peace and quiet to myself, was priceless.

And it felt good.

I've armed myself with a Garmin now and a good paper map of course. I've upgraded to a 'Smartie-Phone' and have a decent vehicle that begs for travel.

Last year Rich had cancer and my entire year was taken up with caring for him. That was a good thing, I found that I could handle taking care of someone and being there for them. It was an act of devotion and love.

This year we are remodeling the house. The contractor's work is finished and my thoughts keep going back to wandering.

I've started to compile a list of places I'd like to see. And I've discovered that these parks are also open in the winter which gives me a new thought.
I love winter, I love hiking and snowshoeing. I love winter photography.

What if?
I do some winter traveling?

Weather would be a big concern. But...but, the open road still calls.

Pack up your cameras and a light travel bag.

There are things and places out there just waiting to be seen and photographed.

I know.
I can hear the Siren Call.

And the trails are calling to me...

I'm getting itchy feet.

Busy Day

Thor says....

Thor always has something to say when you walk past his area. He is one of the most vocal donkeys I've ever known!

Yesterday Mr. Morris and I went back into the valley to see exactly how much water moved around in the creek bottom.
We were pleasantly surprised at how many weeds got washed out and flattened.

These shots compared to a week or so ago, when we tried to go through the area...

Before:

After:

We walked down the valley to the snowmobile trail.

It looks like the folks who maintain this trail will have their work cut out for them.

The culvert they put across the little mild mannered creek is no longer working, the creek has moved its flow.
However it may go back to going through the tube once the water goes down.
That is unless we have another gully washer.

The trail is here somewhere, but no one has even driven a 4 wheeler down this trail this year.

Two years ago, the owners of this property have stopped mowing areas for picnicking and campfires. It seems that they aren't even willing to fence it and rent it out as pasture.

Being city folks and the fact that they inherited the land, I suppose they really don't care. I don't find hiking through 10 foot tall wild parsnips that much fun.

I do still have some trails that I have maintained and can follow, but walking through this valley will be reserved for this fall and after the first heavy snowfall.

Morris was a trooper, he struggled through the tall stuff after we left the creek.
We took the 'camp' road up and out of the valley instead of backtracking.

Both of us were hot. I wanted to walk to the end of the valley and take a look around. But Morris was panting and I felt I needed some more time to bush whack my way down the valley.

Morris was wearing his tags so I could hear him. Sometimes he is so quiet I lose track of him in the weeds.

Once we got on the ridge, it was much cooler and we hiked along the edge of the crop fields as the ridge road was overgrown.

Had I been riding Siera, I think my head would have been above the weeds.

The view from the top was absolutely stunning and made the rest of the hike worth it.

Surprisingly enough, I took this with my new Smartie-Phone.
I put it in HDR mode and took a pretty blind shot as the sun was so bright I couldn't see the screen.

Once we hit the 'driveway' Morris took off towards home, but kept stopping and looking at me as if to say...Hurry UP!

Even the driveway is showing a real lack of care. The brother of the owners who lives there used to keep it graded.

Now it is over grown and washed. 
I wonder what the future will bring.

When we arrived home, Morris immediately jumped up on the couch after we moved it. He went sound asleep.

Hubby and I began to pull the bricks off from the wall of the living room.

Part II of the remodeling begins!

Gone to the Goats.

Goats.
You either love or hate them.
I love them.
Especially since they are the neighbor's goats now. That means I can go play with them.

Although once upon a time we had goats also.

This from when my kids were little, quite a few years ago.

This from yesterday evening.

Let's just say, it brought back fond memories.

Big Rain and Lots of Fun

I looked at the weather on the radar, we were supposed to have a chance of rain and then it would move on.

Oh boy was the weather service wrong! After the first inch of downpour, I checked the weather again. NOAA had said that a line of thunderstorms had developed and stalled.

The expected rainfall could be anywhere from 2 inches to 4 before it moved on.

I stepped out on the porch and watched the rain come down in sheets. After that first downpour water started running across the yard and through my garden.

The water ran across the edge of the yard and right into the garden.

The damage was minimal after the waters receded. I went out to look at the garden and water still trickled through. 
Our ground is super saturated.

Just after the rain stopped I checked the radar and put on my chore boots. It was time to go see how the waters were running.

It came down from our neighbor's cattle pasture and had rushed to the spot where our little creek begins.

And from there the volume increased.

I stayed up on the bank for the most part because the water was still flowing too hard and too fast even though it had subsided from flash flood stage.

After the waters subsided a bit more, I did use this deer trail to get down into the creek and take some shots near the big rock.

Yep, worth the mud on the hands and the seat of my pants. However, climbing back out was interesting. Walking along the stream was not an option.

I went down to the last dry run we have before the creek goes into the neighbor's land.

The water had subsided, but the run off was still very impressive.

I decided to end my exploration there and not continue downstream.
The water would only be faster, deeper, and wider there. It could wait a day for me to go check it out.

I guess I am just a freak for mud, water, and fun in the rain.

I'm going to go search for my rain duster and check it out again today or tomorrow.

Really. I am not crazy. 
Perhaps I can find some cool fungi and mushrooms!

Busy as a bee ... I think.

The Garden is going crazy!
Of course 4 inches of rain last week probably contributed to that aspect.

It appears that I'll have a good crop of squash again this year...that is Winter Squash.
I have been picking an ice cream bucket full of green beans almost everyother day now.

The sun and heat last week between the rains burned the lettuce and a few other plants in the garden.
The cosmos is growing tall above the Squash plants.  The sweet corn? I don't know, this is my first time at doing that. I am told by a neighbor who fences his in and electrifies his patch that I should expect the ravages of raccoon.

We'll see what happens right?

Yesterday we had the farrier came and worked on the donkeys. We put everyone in a nice shady area so he and his son would not be in the hot sun.

The donkeys were extremely good and that pleased the farriers to no end.

This morning I was up very early. I decided to brave the fog and make a trip to Black Bottom Creek and take a few shots.

And I stopped at an oat field on my way back home.
The oats are ripe!

Saga of the Escapees

"Is that your animals over there?" Asked our neighbor.

Not the words I wanted to hear. Not the mules I wanted to see on the wrong side of the fence!
Oh no! 

Over there was nearly 200 acres of woods and cropland that belong to my west side neighbors. Willy, Pedro, and the crazy mule, Mr. Red, were out. I thanked my 'up the hill' neighbor and trotted down into the pasture to see where the other mules were.
I found LeRoy running back and forth braying.

Breakout! I found the place where they'd gone through. The old line fence of barbed wire was still somewhat up. The hot electric fence that we'd put up on this side of the old fence was laying across and into our west neighbor's beef pasture.

The weeds had shorted the hot wire, and the fence looked pretty frayed too. 

I'd like to blame it all on fence failure, but I couldn't. I should have remembered to come down to this area and check the fencing. But I didn't because we'd been busy with the house remodel and I didn't think about it.

Rich and I did some quick fixes to the fence and I went to get some grain in a bucket to get the wayward mules home.

They were no longer in sight. Crap. And a few other unsavory words.
It looked like I was going to have to hike to go find them.

I went to the house so I could call my west neighbor to let them know we had 3 mules on the loose.
My phone was wringing.
It was the neighbor.

She laughed and asked me if I was missing something. I said "YES!"
"Come on over, perhaps we can herd them into a paddock here."

We eventually moved them into Gary's holding pen for his cattle and decided since it was so late we'd come back with the horse trailer the next morning and haul them home.

I went at the weeds that were impeding the fence with my very friendly and useful machete.

I soon discovered that the best bet would be to replace the hot wires, they were old and worn out.

So Rich and I got up early and went to stringing new fencing. The old braided rope we had up had been in place for nearly 15 years. 
That fencing is guaranteed for almost 10 years. 
We use Premier 1 1/4" rope fencing. And yes, it is worth the price.
The old fence still held a charge, but was stiff with age.
Another line was frayed and had been retied too many times...

So we restrung hot wire and tested it. A few other places along the fence got some repairs also. It was a fencing type of morning.

Just before noon we backed up the trailer to the neighbor's cattle pen. The mules loaded and we headed home.
We released them into the mare's winter pasture which had a nice new growth of grass.
Plus the escapees wouldn't go down to the place where they broke out and try it again.

At first they were wild and ran willy nilly.

After a bit they settled down.

Thus the mule escapee Saga has ended.

Hmmm, that was our second escape this summer! Lil' Richard's tie out broke a couple of weeks ago.
He never fails to go directly to Linda's farm and stand in her barn.
We go retrieve him with a lead rope and lead him out the vehicle window to return home.
He hasn't had an equipment failure for two years!

Life on the farm, at least it isn't dull.

HOT~and Humid.

I like summer, truly I do. But sometimes we get these streaks of Hot & Humid weather and I decide that I am not going outside again until...

It cools off a bit!

Morris and I did go for a walk the day before the heat wave struck. It had been so long since I'd gone exploring at the creek.

We crossed the fence into the neighbors pasture as our woods were so thick with growth past the mule's fence-line.
Note to self. When fall arrives we need to repair that one section!

We followed the creek and climbed rocks down into our bottom.
I had expected that the recent hard rains would have washed some of the weeds that are crowding the creek away. 

There is water under these plants! The bottom was covered in Jewel Weed. A quick word about Jewel Weed, the soap made from this plant will put a stop to most any kind of itch and is wonderful to use on bug bites too.

This is how the larger sections of the little creek looked.

And this is how it looks after some cold weather.

Morris and I got quite warm and decided to go home rather than explore anymore in the creek bottom. There was simply no air movement at all and we both were quite hot.

The only good thing I can say about all of this hot and humid weather [and the rain] is that cool fungi will be popping up in the woods here and there and it is rather fun to go hunting them with the camera.

However, our little 'hot' trip was not in vain.

Morris and I found dozens of places where Indian Pipes were coming up out of the ground.

I usually don't look for them until the second week in August, but there they were!

Hopefully the weather will cool off enough so that I can go out this weekend and find some more!

So today, after chores, it looks like another day of working inside on pulling down the old dark paneling in the living room.

The animals all have nice cool shady spots to get into and plenty of fresh cool water.