Manus Manum Lavat

This family of eagles with two juveniles and two baldies are still hanging out around our place. I guess I don't mind at all because they are such incredible looking birds.

I have to scan the trees each day before Charlie gets to go out and do his thing. 

Mica has improved immensely with her diaper padded/booted foot. She was trotting around in the farthest part of the pasture at feeding time last night. It doesn't seem to me that there is an abscess, but what exactly do I know? Perhaps she bruised her foot or something. All I know is that it makes me happy to see the old girl happy again.

I got Rich in for an eye appointment finally! He normally goes to the VA for his eye appointments, but getting anything done through their vision department is at best a bit difficult. I imagine it relates to staffing shortages. And who wants to drive 5 hours for an eye exam anyway? [Especially since I have limited distance vision now!]

Today is my consult with the cataract surgeon. While at the appointment yesterday for Rich I asked if they would be dilating my eyes at the consult/exam. The answer was yes. 

Oh. Crap.
When Olive came over to help me with Mica and do a quick walk before she went to pick up her son, she decided that she would drive me to the appointment. I was shocked but pleased at her offer.

I figured I'd have to sit in the waiting room for hours to get some eyesight back from being dilated.

I told her I wouldn't want to impose on her. She laughed. Of course just this week she announced that she was pregnant and I offered my services to help out with anything she might need. Someone to play with her 2 year old if she was tired, or whatever I could do.

She quipped, "Don't worry! There will be times I call on you to come keep an eye on Aiden while we go for baby scans!"

Yep, that sure sounds reasonable!

I got a text from my neighbors at the top of the hill. Would I feed and walk their dogs this weekend when they went out of town? They hated to impose...but they would compensate me.
I replied that there would be no compensation, I'd be thrilled to do it.

There is an old Latin saying that I learned in my first year of  High School Latin.

Manus Manum lavat.
"One hand washes the other."

It certainly works in rural areas with good neighbors.

I have to change her diaper...

Me: Oh Jeeze Louise...look at Mica, she is gimping on her hind leg!

Hubby: Go check it out.

I came back in and made the report after cleaning her feet and checking her legs.

She had a fairly deep crack in the heel area of her frog. She was trying to walk on her toe with that foot.

I felt the frog and the heel area...and noted that it was a bit warm and slightly swollen.

I copied these images from the internet and texted the farrier that comes out to our place. He good at what he does. I know he is one of the guys that the local vets call in for problems they need help with. IF I knew half of what this guy has forgotten I'd be a genius with horse anatomy.

He is also a traveling farrier. He did text back saying he was trying to get his son out to our place to look at her. His son has been working with his dad for over 10 years and now does his own work along with a full time job and he creates some incredible blacksmith work. 

I got a call later from Dan and we had a long conversation while he asked several questions. 

"Mica is the one with the string halt issue in her back legs right? So getting her to stand and soak her foot is not going to work." 

Stringhalt sample...Mica never did this while under saddle. String halt is considered an idiopathic condition and shows up at a walk. It is called equine reflex hypertonia. It is not painful, it is just there. Obviously there is more to it than just this, however as she ages it is more pronounced.

Mica, 25 yrs old, is retired after a long career of heeling, roping, and gymkhana along with trail riding. She can sit and spin like a top. However, her days of that work are long behind her and she enjoys eating and pooping. More about Mica here in Meet Mica.

So Dan asked me if I had sugar and betadine and access to a diaper. He instructed me to clean her foot and flush out the crack then pack it with a sugardine mix. Wrap the hoof in the diaper for cushion and vet wrap it to keep it dry.

He'd call as soon as he got home to see how she was doing.

I called Olive and she trotted down with two diapers and we proceeded to treat Mica. 

In 24 hours after making a 'boot' out of a diaper and using sugardine, she was walking nearly normal. After 48 hours, the heat was gone out of her heal bulb.

Mica's diaper boot:

I didn't have Vet wrap so we made a duct tape hoof boot to keep her frog dry.

She is totally happy with it.

Yesterday she had no heat in her pastern or heel bulb. I hope we licked whatever was bothering her. 

Today I need to change her diaper and retape her for another two days.

I noticed she pushed around the other mules at feeding time so she is feeling more herself.

Dan will be out to check her out, so we know if we are dealing with an infection, and abscess, or bruise.

For now? Color me happy. 

The diaper and duct tape are great ways to make a medicine boot that won't fall off. 

Annual hike Gone to the Dogs....

I met Jason and his dog Piper last year on New Year's Eve. We hiked together for the first time during the Kickapoo Winter Festival in 2022. We hiked together a couple of time sense then. Saturday we met up again to hike at the Weister Creek ice cave trail.

Jason had adopted Felix just weeks ago. There is a lot of unknown about Felix as he is an older dog who supposedly lived on the streets. 

Felix is in the red coat. Charlie is trying to help Jason do something or get in his car.

Here Piper is running back towards us on the trail. Piper wears a coat and also has Paw Balm on her feet to help protect her feet.

She seems to have boundless energy.

Both of Jason's dogs are adopted rescues and he absolutely adores his dogs. Charlie adores Jason too because he has the greatest dog treats.

Jason explained that he wanted to see how Felix would do on a hike that was a bit longer than 30 minutes. He planned on taking his dogs with him to Superior next month to visit the Ice Caves along the lake.

Charlie didn't wear his coat, I'm still trying to find something that will allow his tiny legs free movement when negotiating deeper snow and jumping logs. However, the weather didn't bother him one bit.

His orange reflective vest is great for visibility as long as we are on a groomed trail.

Photo by Jason:

Piper, chillin' out:

We got to the Ice Caves fairly quickly.

Piper lead the way and then waited for us.

Ahhhh hah!

We can see who the dogs prefer!

Felix inside the ice cave doing his own thing.

We spent a long time exploring the ice formations and Felix started to get a bit grumpy and began to shake. We figured he was cold and decided to head off the bluff we were on.

By the time we got down into the valley, Felix was himself again and walked sedately behind me or Jason. Charlie often walked shoulder to shoulder with Felix. [Hey! A new friend for Charlie that doesn't try to roll him over like a ball!]

Piper kept bounding around us and trying to get Charlie to play. Charlie decided that Felix was more his speed. All was good in the doggy hiking world.

We met up with two large groups of people. Felix just walked by them and ignored them with no more than a sniff. Piper sat out of their reach and waited for them to pass. She is good with one or two people, but shy of crowds.

I had leashed up Charlie because he is a greeter and adores humans of all kinds. They asked if they could pet Charlie and I said sure. I let him off leash and he did his Charlie thing. He squeaked and grunted with pleasure, his tail doing wild wags.

One lady asked how did Charlie get through all this snow? Charlie showed off by jumping a log and diving through the snow to circle around her with glee.

My answer: He Loves Snow!

We got to the end of the ice formations near where the old Beaver Dam used to be. Jason climbed out on a boulder next the the very cold and very swift Weister Creek where he wanted his photo taken.

It was pretty funny that Charlie whined and fussed all the time Jason was up there. I kept him with me as I am sure the little stinker wanted to try and jump over the water to get out there.

Our hike back was rather quiet and unexciting. We talked about meeting up again this winter for another outing. I think I'll take him to an off the map place to see some bluffs and ice.

Hopefully, it will all work out. And...Felix did fine on a 2 hour hike! We didn't hike fast but kept it to his pace.

Charlie was exhausted from his outing.

Another good hike in the books for the start of 2023!

Birdy Birdy

Hey you in the house!
Fill the feeders!

Eagles just hanging out.

At first there were two....

And after I got done putting sand, grit, and hay chaff on the driveway and up the hill...

There were three!
[Two were close together]

I sent Charlie into the house. He'd be just a nice snack for these beauties.
They stayed for a couple of hours and then flew off. 

I was pretty happy.

Earlier last week I went to the creek for a walk and saw dozens of Cedar Waxwings eating on what I think were either dried up cherries or Buckthorn berries.

What an incredible site they were!

Yesterday while spreading some chaff near the house [due to the icy driveway], I heard a Robin! I wonder if he/she were lost. 

Two winters ago I did spot a small flock of them in the valley where I found the Cedar Waxwings. 

I had one of these guys land on my mitten and grab feed. It took me about 20 minutes of standing absolutely still with a mitten full of birdseed before they came. Twice a Tufted Titmouse landed on me and took feed.

Hubby got to watch from inside the house. He though it was pretty cool.

New Year Word

I've seen people using a word for their New Year. I had to look up what that was all about. 

Instead of a rigid resolution -- pick a word to focus on, a word to guide you through the year with focus and intent. A word that helps you make decisions. 

Our gym always ask its members for a Goal for the year too.
Some folks answer with goals such as: I will make classes 5 days a week!

Meh. I know better. If I can get in twice a week, I'm doing good. 

I'm going to get in shape! Meh. I tried that as a teen and got seriously distracted.
I'm going to lose weight! Meh. We all know how those goals go.
I'm going to ... well you fill it in. 

I skip resolutions and I skip Big Goals. I tend to think day by day.

Some sites call it a Nudge Word others call it a Motivational Word

So to choose a word: 

1. List things you want to focus on.
2. Determine common themes on your list
3. List some words that might work
4. Decide which words are most motivational [or Nudgie?]

I looked up some motivational nudge words.
Dream, Courage, Harmony, Inspire, Compassion, Growth, .... 👎

Last year I did set a goal when they asked me at the gym. I did say that I wanted to complete the Kickapoo Valley Trail Challenge which meant hiking over 59 miles of their trails. I did achieve that goal. I will make a plug for the gym folks, IF I didn't come and do Mobility and Strengthening exercises, I wouldn't have felt as good as I did to complete those trails. 

So where does this rambling bunch of words lead me to?

What are my interests? What keeps me sane?

What are my key words?
Explore.
Discover.
Curiosity.
Imagine.

Certainly not the words that I looked up [and there were a lot of them!]:

Truth, Determination, Challenge, Perseverance, Mindful, ....
They are great words, but they don't fit me well.

I think I'll choose...

Explore

It fits.

So many trails out there, so many things to see, so many things to Explore.
The challenge is to work it all in with life as a 24/7 Caregiver.

I like ice

Not Ice Cubes, or Ice Storms, or Icy roads but natural ice formations. 

I like ice caves or actually ice formations. I like those rock shelters that have water seeping over and through them. In the winter they form exotic and beautiful ice curtains. The colors of the ice can be stunning depending on what the seepage picks up. I've seen hues of greens, blues, and yellows.

It all has to do with absorption of light and reflection of light. But I just admire it for what it is.

I'd planned on this hike for over a week so I packed my things and set off.

It is one of the winter attractions at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve. Getting to this valley is described in the brochure as "Trails into and around the ice flows are steep, slippery, and strenuous travel. Walkers are are advised to use caution as the trails are strenuous back country winter hiking."

This is true. The trails are there and sometimes even easy to follow late in the year by all the frozen foot prints in the snow. The trails are not maintained and sometimes marked with blue strips of ribbon on trees.

I hadn't done a proper exploration of the Valley of Ice last year, just a hurried walk through when I met my Geologist friend Jason and his dog Piper.

This time I wanted to take my time and explore.

So I did. I found the first ice cave after taking the trail from the maintenance building along the snowmobile trail. The 40+ degree weather had melted the packed snow into ice and the light skiff of snow and sleet we had the night before made that trail just plain treacherous. I trudged through the snow on the side of the packed trail. 

The first cave wasn't too impressive and many more large trees have fallen over the past year. Climbing through the mess wasn't my what I intended to do first thing so I followed a run off along the valley floor. 

In a way it was a happy accident because it took me far out off the trails and to where I wanted to explore last spring. 

Charlie and I crossed the backwater marsh on the eastern side of the river and gazed across towards the Valley of Ice on March 11th in the blog titled Time Out.

I ended up where the arrow is in the next photo.

I sort of rejoiced in the discovery and then turned towards the steep hillside behind me and get back to the trail.

According to the contour map of the area, I had to climb 100 feet up from the valley floor back to find the trail.

I did. And I enjoyed every bit of it. At times I sat on an old pine tree's roots and stared down into the valley and the ice covered river. 
I was feeling every second of being alive. 

I took off my coat when I reached the trail on top and carried it as I hiked along the trail back towards where the ice caves were. I did a face palm as soon as I realized that the trail would take me around the top of all these valleys and that I'd be going at least an extra mile. I secretly was glad no one else had gone with me. However, doing all of the trails last year was a real bonus. As I immediately knew where I was and how far I had to go.

In good time I found the right valley and the first of the Ice Caves. I made my way down into the run off below the cave.

It looks as though you can walk right on into it. Well, it takes some scrambling and some grit. Here is the view from where I was sitting inside on the left part of the cave.

I scrambled around to the other side. Having good insulated and water resistant pants is a good thing here. I sat inside for quite a few minutes and listened to the water dripping. It was peaceful.

View of the Ice Curtain across the front from the inside.

As the noon whistle went off in LaFarge, I was halfway back to the parking area. 

I passed up a father and son who asked me about the ice and then a couple with their dogs. A pit bull and a mini Doxxie. It seemed that a  few people were taking advantage of a nice sunny Holiday to get out and walk.

When I got to the parking area I had to laugh. It seems Subarus like to park near each other. 

I can't wait to go back and explore some more.

Valley of the Ice

The year changed

I used to get really excited about staying up until midnight and watching Dick Clark's count down. 

I don't anymore. The new year is another way of starting January all over. I know that sounds pretty dumb and stupid. But for some people, the holidays are bummers. The expectations that on January 1st things are suddenly going to change is well,

stupid.

January can be a contentious month for winter weather. It can be awful or fun depending on where you live and how you like or dislike winter.  

I woke up early and thought to self. Hey Self, have a cuppa coffee and walk to the ridge with Charlie. It isn't too wickedly cold and perhaps the sunrise will be beautiful for the first day of 2023.

And we did.

I walked across the cropland to the eastern edge where the land is highest and waited. Charlie wandered around the corn stubble smelling deer and searching for mice or voles.

Maybe there wasn't much that was incredible about changing a number from 22 to 23. But the feeling of standing there in the still morning air watching the light change felt pretty incredible.

As it rose the predicted fog/haze from the high humidity of the previous day started to work its magic on the land.

I stayed longer than I intended too. Rich's coffee was made and I hadn't left a note but I figured he'd know that I walked up to the ridge as it is my usual routine.

I stayed a bit longer. I like this little tree. In the summer it gets lost with all the weeds and crops growing up on each side of it.

I walked home.

2023 officially had begun.

Let the adventures begin...