Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
Fall Hiking, The Upside.
Good afternoon on this mostly sunny, except for the cloudy afternoon which has now given way to sunny skies once again, day in the last half of October and really quite a nice day compared to what we have been experiencing although yesterday was out nicest day in about a month with a temp of 59F which for us is beautiful for this time of year and, okay, I wasn’t planning on a long opening sentence today. Sigh. One of those days. But yesterday was very nice. And sunny.
Today had a rather cool wind. So it wasn’t quite so nice today. But it was still in the 40s, so not bad. Our snow has melted. Really wasn’t sure it would. But it did finish our beautiful fall colors before they really got fully colored. Sigh. Fall is just too short some years. And, oh wait, I’m supposed to finish our fall hiking series. Wasn’t really planning 5 posts on this. Sigh. It’s been one of those days. And, wait, there I go again. Starting to get off track. Anyway, Dad and I started off up that hill. It really was a somewhat large hill. And not that easy getting up. Especially with all that rain. That hill was all rock. Granite actually. With some trees. And a lot of moss. Which was now wet. Wet moss is very slippery. I looked over to my right and pointed to Dad. There was that pileated woodpecker again about 20 feet away from us, pounding away at the base of an old birch. He wasn’t paying attention to us at all. They are a beautiful bird, about the size of a crow, large bright red crest and this one had red ‘whiskers’ showing him to be a male. Just a little farther we were met by 3 gray jays looking for some food. They are one of the tamest wild birds in the north woods. I just had to stop and give them some of my leftover sandwich. One landed on my hand to get his meal, the other two were not quite so brave but did come close. I think Dad was getting a little impatient. Get going, he said, can’t you see it’s raining? We are already soaked, I said, can’t possibly get any wetter. Off we went. Everything was going good until my foot hit some loose moss. At least it was loose after I stepped on it. I slipped. And slid down. Poor Dad. He tried to get out of the way. And did jump off to the side. But I also tried to miss Dad so moved to the same side as I was sliding. Whump! Oooo! Seems my foot collided with Dad’s stomach. He sat down. Tired?, I asked. Dad just looked. After he relaxed for a bit we continued our climb. I’ll go first, said Dad. That’s odd I thought. He always wanted me to go first. Oh well. About 2 thirds of the way Dad suddenly stops. I didn’t notice that. I bumped into him just slightly. He sat down again. Tired?, I asked. Dad just looked. It’s okay, we can stop for a while, I continued. Dad said shhh. Why?, I asked. Dad pointed up the hill. There was a black bear just starting to come down, heading our way. I moved a bit to get a better look. Stepped on a loose rock. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!, yelled Dad. The bear stopped, then took off running. That got him running, I said. BONEHEAD!, said Dad. Strange that he would be enjoying this. You stepped on my ankle, he said. Oh, I said, I thought it was a loose rock. Someone has a loose rock, said Dad. Not sure what he meant by that. There was several chickadees in the pines above us. And a little red-breasted nuthatch walking upside down on one of the branches. They always like being upside down. Cute little birds.
Chickadees are one of my favorite birds. Such cheerful little critters. Anyway, we kept on going. Finally we made it to the top. No sign of the bear. Which was nice. The rain stopped. We still had some thick undergrowth to walk through. Dad said for me to go first. Odd. He was a long way behind me so I stopped to let him catch up. He was probably tired by now. Once he was close I continued. Whack! AAAAA!!! Seems Dad lost his hat. And glasses. He is always dropping his glasses. Let me help, I said. Stay back, said Dad. He claimed I hit him with a branch. That’s why he stayed so far behind. Dad was just accident prone and didn’t like to admit it. Back at the car Dad was definitely tired. The sun was shining again. Hardly a cloud in sight. Hey, we should go back, I said. BONEHEAD! That was all Dad said. Nice to know he enjoyed the trip. We did go back another time. But not that year. Oh well. I hope you all enjoy your weekend and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
Fall Hiking, Heading Back.
Good morning everyone on this Monday right in the middle of October with all it’s beauty of brilliant colors and warm sunny days! Sigh. Only in my dreams this fall. There is still snow on the ground. Some has melted. We did have quite a bit of rain on Saturday. But the ground is still very white. And frozen. Though the grass does show through in places. The deer are enjoying that. Major has been around nearly every day since our snow arrived. For my newer readers, Major is a deer. A buck. Ten pointer. Nice size critter. He still remembers me though he was a bit cautious about coming too close when I called him over. Actually haven’t seen him since last January. So how do I know it’s the same deer? How many deer are named Major? Sigh. It’s still cold. And snowing once again. Though it is supposed to be in the 50s on Thursday. With sunshine. Right. But it is also going to cool off again by the weekend. Sigh. I think all this cloudiness is getting to me. Reminds me of Cabin Fever! But it’s too early for that! I think. Sometimes anyway. I did today for awhile. Gave me a headache. My chipmunks appear to be gone now. Sigh. Smart critters though.
They spend their winters indoors sleeping and eating. People go outside. When it’s -40. Crazy. Enough of winter. Back to a nice fall day with brilliant sunshine and blue skies. Dad and I had finished our little lunch and started walking along the tracks and amazingly enough that old town site was just a little ways from where we had enjoyed our COFFEE! At least one of us did. Most of the area was just long grass with foundations of a few buildings. One area was grown over a bit with small aspens. We were not doing too well locating the old garbage dumps however. I was really hoping to find some nice old bottles at this spot. Dad came over to where I was poking around. Notice anything different? I looked around. What do you mean? Look, said Dad. I was looking but I couldn’t see anything out of place. Look up, said Dad. I did. What am I supposed to see?, I asked. The sky, said Dad. All I see are clouds, said I. Exactly, said Dad. Dark clouds. And a few rain drops started falling. We better head back before it starts raining too much or it will be hard getting back up that hill, explained Dad. Hmm, he might be right. Off we went. We can always come back. By the time we made it back to the creek it was raining harder. Might get wet, I said. We’re already wet, said Dad. Only a little, said I. We came to the log we had used to cross before. It will likely be slippery now, said Dad, so be careful. Thanks. I looked around. Hey, a nice long branch, that will make it easier to cross, I said. Right, said Dad. Really, just use it like a cane, stick it in the creek as we walk across, said I. Off I went. The log was very slippery but the branch did help. Here, I said as I tossed it back to Dad. The branch hit the side of the creek in some wet mud and splattered the mud onto Dad. My glasses, he shouted, they’re covered in mud. Wash them in the creek, I called back. He bent over to do so. And slipped on the mud. Dad yelled. He just kind of slowly went down into the creek. Right up to his waist. That was too much. The look of terror on Dad’s face. Priceless. BONEHEAD!, he called out. How could he be enjoying that? Dad decided to walk across the creek. He figured he was wet anyway, so why not? Makes sense, I guess. Now that hill. We looked for a better way up than the way we came down. That wasn’t easy. But we found a spot. Rain had almost stopped. Good, I said, now maybe we won’t get so wet. Dad just looked. That was it. I couldn’t hold back any longer. I burst out laughing. Think I laughed most of the way up that hill. You go up first, said Dad. Naturally. Suddenly it started to rain hard. Right now the rain is very white looking. Only 6 pm and it’s dark in here. Still some birds out there looking for food. There are dozens and dozens of little birds, juncos, white-throated sparrows, one lone clay-colored sparrow.
They all got trapped here by that snow storm last week. Even Rickie, my ring-billed gull has come by a couple of times. Plus all the other birds, there is a lot right now. Hmm, almost finished that fall hiking series. I’ll finish next time. Honest. Some people say my posts are too long. Perhaps. Sigh. Until next time, enjoy your week (hope it’s warmer than mine) and God bless!
Steve and Muffin, who is sleeping again.
Steve`s Country 