Ice Hunting part II

After breakfast, we packed our backpacks and made sure that Rich was comfortable. He said he was going to lay down and nap.

So the Gang and I + Dogs, headed towards the Kickapoo Valley Reserve. KVR had their annual Winterfest going on and we went past the building and headed out to the area that I'd explored in mid December just days before Rich's hospitalization.

Those who run the reserve have put up some signs that would help a person locate the 'Ice Caves', but if you are a person that understands how our peculiar landscape works, you'd have no trouble finding the ones that are popular and the ones that others usually don't know about.

We wore ice cleats or Yak Traks. With all the snow melt and rain we'd had earlier this week any trails would be ice packed. Extra traction really does help.

We took Scout and Charlie and they had a blast. I was amazed at how athletic Charlie really is with those short stubby legs of his.

Here is a pano shot much like one I did in December. Except there is Daryl in the middle-right of the photo for perspective.

When walking up on this place you become literally stunned by how large it is and how incredible it is.
I stood with my friends and asked them if our eyes were deceiving us like I felt it had last month.

Doesn't it look like there are floating islands of trees? I thought it was just how things looked in the camera.
But we all agreed, it was bizarre and beautiful.

We came in above the second formation. The 'caves' are large enough to stand in. The warm winter and the recent rains have melted the old ice and the recent cold snap is freezing the water that is coming through the rocks.
In the above shot, there is Daryl again to the right and to the left is Charlie...or is it Scout? I can't tell!

Well this should give you some sort of idea what it was like. In a really cold winter, this would be a wall of ice of multiple colors from all the minerals in the land and rocks.

Charlie is inspecting a cascade of ice that has fallen in the last warm up.

Below...just other cool shots.

In this area, we stopped and ate some snacks and the hot chocolate I carried in the tiny thermos was so delicious.

We traveled along the ridge top and then descended into the valley next to the creek. This was not a creek like the one in our little valley. This was a proper creek.

We stood looking around and then noticed the ice on the sandy 'bluff' of the creek.

The colors were amazing and you could see where the water had been higher during the first part of the week.

I picked up Charlie as I was afraid that he'd get out on the thin ice along the edge of the creek.
My friend Amanda snapped a shot of us.
I love this photo!

Further down the creek we spotted some odd colored ice.

I called it 'Sherbert Ice' ....really, it looked orange!

To get a proper shot of this ice, we'd have had to walk around back to the parking lot and then follow another long trail to get across the creek to see this.
It really would have been worth it.

But we headed back to the vehicle and headed home, so we could rest and eat supper.

After dark we planned on a night hike with head lamps.

I didn't get many good shots, I didn't dress warm enough for some reason. However watching the clouds and the stars above was worth the bit of chill I had.

There is nothing that beats a night hike with friends....
Here are a couple of shots... and how we set up.

My shot didn't turn out very well for this experiment. In fact it sort of came out quite ugly. However I did nab a shot of the ice wall in our creek. You can see the water slowly seeping over the ice that is already there. I had my friends use their headlamps to light up the area.

And then there is the utter failure of a shot of the creek just using a crescent moon.

All was not lost however.

I loved discovering the Orange Ice.

And in one of the ice caves I found an intriguing ice shape.

I'll leave you with my favorite shot of the weekend.

Ice Sculpture:

Ice Hunting

The Ice Hunt.

We left just as the daylight was starting to brighten the skies. It was overcast and dreary looking but we didn't mind. The cold snap earlier this week along with all of the extra moisture had created some near perfect conditions for Ice formations.

We drove out to one of the ruined bridges to get down into the stream to walk among the stream. There is public access to the stream as it is a trout stream with some beautiful deep pools.

Amanda getting close up

 and personal with the ice in 

the middle of the creek.

Below is a shot of the bridge,

it has been condemned by all the damage
done to its footings from  

the Historic Flood of

September 2016.

 The water flows fast here and

the water splashes up on the 

grasses and rocks forming 

what we like to call 

"Ice Fingers"

The flash floods created quite a mess but if one negotiates around the debri and downed trees, there is still quite a bit to find that is amazing.

We spent some time hunting ice formations and then got ready for the Kickapoo Valley Reserve.
We had another Ice Hunt planned for the afternoon.

View from the bridge looking North.

Stay tuned for Ice Hunting Part II.

Hiking with...just me.

Sometimes the outside just calls out to you. I thought it would be nice to get in a nice fast and hard hike to the back valley. I wanted to see what the snow melt, the rains, and the sudden freeze did to the ice 'cave' and other spots.
I have some friends coming to visit this weekend and they'd like to see some water, ice, and ice formations on their hikes.

They are not afraid of cool or cold weather.

Like me, they know how to dress for it and enjoy the fact that there are no bugs to contend with in the winter. There is no oppressive heat or humidity either.

And I don't have to worry about 'doing' my hair.

A fox hat works just fine and when the cold winds blow, I let down the fur flaps. I do get a kick out of feeling the fox tail wiggle around as I walk. Makes me feel as if I have a pony tail [which I don't...I keep my hair short right now].

The woods with north facing hillsides had a hard slippery crunchy snow cover. Any coyote or other wildlife could've heard me coming for a long ways.
The ridge top was wind blown and frozen with no snow on it. Not good for anyone with alfalfa fields. But there I was!

I was headed down into the back valley, where the sun doesn't shine most of the winter.

I was not disappointed!

Ice...ice, ice! Everywhere on little rocks where the water splashed and on bits of grasses and roots that hung over the side of the creek bank.

And to my delight, I had arrived at just the right time to catch the reflection of the sun on the hillside lighting up the back valley creek.

You can see where the snow is gone from the edges of the creek. That is how full the creek was on Monday when it was raining. I wouldn't have been able to cross it at all during that time.

I knew that I didn't have much light left so I hurried along the side of the creek and started the climb out of the valley. I was curious if the water had created an ice formation at 'the cave'.

I had a huge desire to go back down the side here and get a better shot. Common sense prevailed. I had no one with me and I had to get home. I could have gone back to the bottom of the run and walked up, but that would take too long and I'd have to back track.
So I hurried up the trail and crossed the ridge again dropping back down into the valley that our creek is on.

I hurried along the creek noting all of the beautiful little ice 'fingers' and formations along the way.

At the Sandy Wall, I stopped. The light was fading quickly in the creek bottom. But I just had to get a photo...of....

...more cool ice...

And I felt the temperature dropping. I looked at the compass thermometer that is attached to my backpack and it read 9 degrees.

Time to head home.

I took on look back before heading up the hill road....

The evening sun was lighting up the woods above me....

And as I crossed a field of ice, I felt joy and accomplishment in my afternoon hike. There was a self satisfaction that is hard to explain to those who don't venture out in cold weather or enjoy pushing themselves a bit. For me this was a treat better than a dinner at a fancy restaurant or night out.
I got to see mother nature in her afternoon winter's glory.

Some folks sure don't like winter.

But I love it.

With my handy dandy GPS running watch, I'd logged 4 1/2 miles of hiking. No mean feat across this landscape.

Man it was great!

Blue paint & a Saw

Adventures in fencing.

What is a perfect time to go out and see what needs to be done to make the woods above the creek usable as pasture?
A storm had destroyed most of the electric fencing down near the creek in 2007 and then again in 2012. In 2015, it was our intention to finally
clean up the barbed wire fenceline and replace sections of it for the Dexter Cattle.
2015 was the year that Throat Cancer put everything on hold.

Oh, we'd get to it 'next' year. 2016 saw us remodeling the house and I kept thinking about that pasture and how nice it would be to have the cattle or the equine in it.

2017. Rich had his stroke. Dreams of working on the pasture went to the back burner as we tended to downsizing the equine. Our dreams changed and we decided to concentrate on organizing and figuring out what came next.

Thank goodness things seemed to settle down in 2018. I started to think about those woods again.

This summer I even temporarily fenced in a small section of the woods just to see how well the mules would do clearing the underbrush.

Donkeys are much better and so are Dexter Cattle, but the donkeys had been sold and the Dexters were all sold in the fall.

The temperatures were hovering around the mid thirties and the winds promised to pick up later. I grabbed a can of blue spray paint and a saw. I was going to walk the line fence and mark the areas with paint that needed work.

I marked missing clips and X'd a few trees that could be hand sawed down. Big X's went on the large log that was laying across the barbed wire fence. I peered at it. I'd need a chain saw or an axe to clear the fence and fix it. The good news was that this was the only spot that needed barbed wire attention.
I could run a singe line on the inside of the fence that would prevent the mules from reaching through the fence.
I made it to the creek and sprayed some lines on a tree to mark where I wanted the new 'creek' gate to go.

I walked above the creek and noted that all my work last spring of clearing was still pretty good. I'd given it all up when it got too hot and nasty last summer.

I spritzed some saplings that needed to get chopped down and swiped at the berry briers that I'd have to come back and clear. I didn't want to use a killing brush spray but there were so many of them.

Again I wished I had at least a donkey or two left. They delighted in eating multiflora rose and briers.
Goats?
Hmm.

I kept walking and marking. I cut down a fair sized pile of brush and had to stop when I heard the winds overhead begin to howl.
Off across the north hillside I heard a tree crack and crash with a huge thump that shook the ground.

It was time to head back home.

I entered the house after dropping my dirty boots off on the porch. I closed the door softly as not to disturb Rich.

That pasture was doable.
Now I had a good winter project to work on.

And it sure wouldn't be sweaty and buggy.

I fell asleep on the couch for a short nap with Charlie and dreamed of spray painting blue X's on trees... and chopping down briers.

Doggone it.

It has been a bit since I felt like sitting down and doing this.
I started a blog a few times and then deleted it as there was always something else that needed doing.

Charlie and I went hunting earlier this week to find some ice caves.

We found them but with the strange weather we've been having, the formations were not exciting at all.

However, I do know where these caves are now and how to get to them should the weather begin to cooperate.
Tonight it is supposed to rain quite a bit. I suppose that is better than a snowstorm.
However, the driveway hill will become ice and well, that could be an issue for getting out and to Rich's next appointment at the VA.

Each day this week I've done a nice long walk or hike with Charlie. He loves and adores the snow.

Yesterday morning we walked out the croplands to watch the sun come up.
Charlie had more interest in deer poop and rabbit poop than the beautiful morning.

Yesterday afternoon was more dog day stuff.
Dixie joined us on a nice long walk.

Charlie was so happy to have his big gal pal to annoy.

We covered a few miles of creek and hillsides and then ended up on the porch to lounge in the sun while I got out the nail trimmers and did both dogs.

We sat in the sun and relaxed for a long time afterwards.

We listened to someone doing some squirrel hunting east of our place. The dogs were curious but decided the porch was a much nicer place to hang out.

I left my jacket on the porch when I went inside with Charlie to get some things ready for supper and chores.

Dixie pulled my jacket down and made a bed in front of the door.

Dixie was the chore helper last night. After she ate she crawled into her doghouse and went to sleep. She and Charlie will assist again this morning.

My life has gone to the dogs.
However they are good company.

And they rarely talk back to me!

I did it. Can't ... Can.

The driveway. I have a love hate relationship with it.

The driveway is steep. That makes it a challenge in the winter time when there is a heavy snow fall or an ice storm.
This shot is from part of the way up the hill.

Below is a shot from a or so ago. You can see my husband driving the skidsteer up the hill.

With the six inches of snow that fell on New Year's Eve, I was faced the next morning with how to approach the delicate subject of getting the driveway cleaned up.
My neighbor Justin had offered to do the hill and I thought I could get Rich to do the flat section.

That conversation did not go as expected.
Rich said emphatically, "No." He was not going to try and get in the skidsteer or go outside.

I asked if I could try.
"No."
Me: But could I try at least?
Him: No. You can't. You don't have the depth perception to do it.
Me: I can be very careful.
Him: No.

We sat in silence for about a half hour. I had another cup of coffee and then stood up.
Me: Well then, I guess I best go unplug your skidsteer. I know Justin will do the steep hill.
Him [not looking at me]: Whatever. Just. Okay, be careful.
Me [big breath]: Okay. I will.

Well.
It took me a long time but I got it done. I filled my face with snow a few times when I raised the bucket and the wind blew. Poof, snow face.
It wasn't as bad as I thought.
And..
I did not
run into anything
or break anything.

I considered it a success. It certainly wasn't the nicest job around, but it got done.

I never thought I could operate a skid steer and a bucket, but I did.

My Grandma used to say there is no such thing as the word *Can't*.
She might be right.

Magical....

 

This is what it looked like when I went to the ridge to get the mail. Inches of snow had fallen and more was coming down hard. I stuck my hand into the driveway to measure. The snow went from my fingertips to my palm.

In my best guess-ta-mate, that would have been about 4 inches. According to the NOAA, we should have been done. However. We weren't. It didn't really bother me that much. It was a welcome change to the constant rain/warm/ice/sleet weather we had been having.

At the mailbox I ran into my neighbors. Lauren and family had been out with their cross country skis, so had their dog Basil!

Basil was going back to the house but had enjoyed her first x-country ski adventure.

Lauren said the snow was a bit sticky but it wasn't too bad. I ran home and got my skis and was greeted by Allie and Lauren. The guys had enough and had gone into the house also.

And off the gals went on a snowy New Year's Eve ski adventure.

Allie decided that she would like to lead and take me to *The Tunnel* in the trees.
I was game and told her to go ahead.

She cautioned me that when we got into the trees I would have to crouch down and get low. It was like a secret cool place and she and her brothers had 'discovered' it.
I knew where she was going. I'd been through there before on my own but since it was her discovery, I was not going to ruin it by telling her I knew this trail already.

Besides, the snow had turned the box elders into fairy tale trees and the hush of the falling snow left only the swish swish of our skis to be heard.
And indeed....
It 
was
very
magical...

Hands down, this was one of my most enjoyable ski adventures yet.