Hiking After the Rains

I must confess, this blog post was written a few weeks ago and I forgot to post it.  I just discovered it sitting in my "draft" files.  So, here is my post....a little late.

We experienced a lot, and I mean A LOT of rain over a 24 hour period recently.  I figured the trail would be muddy, but I didn't think it would be as bad as it was.

The rain came down in such torrents, the force of the rain really left the trail a mess.  There were ditches filled with rocks, stones, and sand.  It really tore up the trail itself.  Luckily, I didn't take my dog Finn with me.  It was difficult to walk without twisting knees, ankles etc.  So I took my time.

I took a few pictures of the trail, but the depth of what the rains left behind didn't really show up well in the pictures.  Believe me it was, and still is a very torn up trail.

I finally made it through the bad stuff down to the bottom of the first hill, and this is what I found.

At the bottom of this hill, you can see a sign indicating "long trail" and "short trail".  I usually do the long trail, up that muddy hill beside the steps.  I don't use the steps because they break my stride.  I'd rather climb up the hill itself.  The long trail circles around and comes down a hill on the right of this picture.  Then I cross over to the short trail and go up the short trail hill until it circles around to where I started. 

Here is a close up of the same area...it will be awhile before it will dry up, I'm sure.

I turned around at this point, I didn't feel like swimming. Walked back up the hill, through the torn up portion of the trail and headed down and around the backend of the "short trail" until I was stopped again by water.

It was kind of nice walking through all that...no one else was on the trail. Of course, I had to turn around again and retrace my steps again back to the entrance of the trail.   Here are a few more pictures of the high water.

This next picture shows the lake in the background.  I sometimes see a Great Blue Heron flying low over the water.  So pretty to see...unfortunately, I'm never quick enough to get a photo.

A Great Day on the Trail

I gain so much from hiking.  The exercise, of course.  The fresh air that clears your mind and puts some energy in your step.  Seeing the wildlife and the trees and the rest of nature is the best part of it all.

I love taking pictures, because I miss so much of what I'm seeing with my tired old eyes.  Photographs give me a chance to see things closer and see what I've missed.

When I took this picture, I thought there were two deer in the picture, but as you can see there are four!  So sweet!

This is a far shot of a deer way off in the distance in the middle of the photo.  I don't know if you can see it.

Here he is after I cropped the photo a bit.  He's in the right of the photo.

And, again, a bit closer.

The reason I include all three photos is to include the rest of the surroundings that are so beautiful.

Finally, a video.  Just love to watch them move through the forest.

Walking Through the Mist

Hiking the first thing in the morning accomplishes so much for me.  It gets me moving early, even if I don't want to move.  It works out all the kinks and stiffness pretty quickly.  I may be moving slow when I first start out, but as the hike progresses every part of me moves easier and quicker.

This picture is just as Finn and I came out of the parking lot to head down the path towards the trail.  What a beautiful early morning welcome for us.  I love the sun shining through the mist!

On the way home I spotted something at the bottom of a hill as we drove through the park.  I pulled over and made my way down this steep hill.  The park district left it unmowed and left natural.  As I started to make my way down I realized it was a pretty risky move on my part.  I certainly didn't want to fall on my new knee.  The ground was soft and lumpy and the grasses were high where you couldn't see what you were walking through.  I felt like the littlest daughter on Little House on the Prairie who was running down the hill and eventually tumbled down the hill.  Luckily, I didn't fall.  These pictures of the fungi are actually too bright.  But what a lovely find spilling out of the tree.

I was going to take a picture of the grassy area I had just plodded through because it had some pretty wildflowers mixed in, but I found a safer way to climb back up.  It was still steep but the grass wasn't as high.

The next two pictures are of an afghan project I just completed.  I saw the Whistling Duck on someone else's blog and I thought it's colors were so pretty.  His feet are orange.  So, I chose his colors to make an afghan: gray, tan, black, pink and orange.

I think my next project will be to make an afghan out of all of the left over yarn I have.  It will take me some time to plot out all of the color placement.  It will make me happy to use up some of the yarn in my leftover stash.

Pretty Quilts

Today's post will be mostly pictures.  There is an annual quilt show at one of our county parks.  The quilts are not full sized quilts, but various sized panels.  They depict art by Charley Harper,a Cincinnati based American Modernist artist.  He was best known for his highly stylized wildlife prints, posters, and book illustrations.  These were some of my favorites.  Anyone who attended could vote for their favorite.

 The eyes of the foxes were green rhinestones that really sparkled.

These last two were my favorites from another category that were non-Harper entries.  The tails on the squirrels were fluffy...I'm pretty sure they weren't real.  Haha

The raccoon's face was felted.  I was tempted to touch even though there were plenty of signs that said "Do Not Touch".

What a Great Hike!

I love when I get to see a deer or two along the trails when I hike.  On this particular hike I saw at least 10 deer!  I was so glad I didn't take Finn with me on this day because I'm pretty sure I either wouldn't have seen them all or if I did, I wouldn't have gotten any pictures of them.  I took over 23 pictures, however I've eliminated a few that are not that great.  I hope you like pictures of deer!

This is the first group of 4 I came across as I was moving up one of the hills.  You can see the tails of the first two, with two more following along the side.

Here they stopped to give me a look.

I heard a weird sound as I continued my hike.  I thought at first it was a bird that I had never heard before.  I turned around to see if I could spot it, and this is what I saw behind me!

The sound continued and then I realized it must have been his mama calling him.  He trotted off behind me looking for his mama.  Soon after, I didn't hear her anymore.  I guess they were reunited.

Another spotting along the trail.

There are 2 in this picture, can you see their faces?

 Making my way up another hill...here they come again.  Same ones? Or different?  The following are all the same deer, I just couldn't decide which ones to post, so I posted them all.

I finally made it to the top of the last hill, and I saw this last one bidding me farewell!

All Varieties of Nature

Today's post has a variety of things I've spotted over the last week on my hikes and in our yard.  It's been a fun week.

The weather has gotten a little cooler so I've really enjoyed the hikes.  Since I've written about the problematic dogs I've encountered during my hikes, I've met them 3 more times.  They really aren't bad dogs, just the owner doesn't control them.  Once the ranger drove by and mentioned to me and another lady to keep our dogs leashed because they've been receiving complaints.   So I know they're on the watch.  Funny thing, the lady showed up again just a few minutes after he left.  Darn!

I love these next two shots.  From the side, it looks like a little alabaster bird bath.  So pretty in form.

I didn't bother to look up what kind of flowers these are and unfortunately their pretty blue color doesn't show up in this photo.  They were nice to see along the trail.

My daughter came over on Saturday to collect some wood for their upcoming family Halloween Campout.  When she picked up the logs, she found this little critter.  He is a harmless Eastern Garter Snake.  Finn didn't pay any attention to him, so I think he's safe in our yard.  I wouldn't want a snake in my house, but I'm not freaked out about them as long as I know they're harmless.  I love his pretty colors and his eyes.

As Emily was loading up her car with the logs, she passed by one of our cars that we don't use very often and she found this pretty (?) little guy.This is a black and yellow garden spider, they are harmless and eat lots of pests like flies and mosquitoes etc.This one is a male..they weave the zig zag webs.

It's All About Dogs

People love to hike with their dogs, but some people take advantage of the trails in ways they shouldn't.  Our county parks allow dogs to be in the park but they must be leashed at all times.  Some people think that rule is only for others, and not themselves.

A facebook friend of mine recently encountered some unleashed dogs while she was walking, she reported them to the rangers.  I don't know if they were ticketed or not, but I ran into that same dog walker this morning while on my hike.

I could hear her calling her dogs, and by the time she approached me, they were leashed.  After posting this on facebook with the description of the person and her dogs, I found out that these dogs possibly killed some chickens at the park's little farm they have for visitors.  Apparently, this person has become a real problem for the park.  It's sad and unfortunate people don't realize how nice they have it. I go to other parks, that don't allow dogs at all.  They don't allow for the safety of the wildlife there....and I'm sure the stupidity of some owners.. END OF RANT.

Since this post is about dogs, I thought I'd post some pictures of two 4 month old puppies who belong to my granddaughter and my daughter's friend.  They stopped by to visit with Finn one day.

This is Aki.  She is an akita.  I love the way she has her paw in the bowl.  I also love the wrinkles on head between her ears.

 

This is Bernie.  He is a Victorian Bulldog.  OK.  I never heard of this breed either.  I was told this breed was developed with an English Bulldog and an American Bulldog.  Bernie has longer legs than an English Bulldog.  I have to admit, this little guy was so cute.  My other granddaughter calls him Meatball. 

Neither dog was aggressive with Finn.  They were all interested in each other and ran around like they weren't sure what to do with each other.  Finn was a little apprehensive with Bernie, but Bernie was more "Hi! I'm Bernie!" in your face.  They all wore each other out.  A fun day all around!