Steve`s Country
For a smile as wide as a country sunrise
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.
Fall Hiking And COFFEE! In The Winter?
Good morning everyone! Well, here we are. Continuing our fall hiking series. Then why the winter pic above you ask? Because it is. Winter.
You see, we really didn’t get fall here this year. It was summer. Now it’s winter. In between there was a month of very cool, I mean waaaay below normal, temps. And rain. Lots of rain. And it was very cool. And rainy. Then it changed. To cold. And snowy. On October 10 it snowed. We got 9 1/4 inches of snow. Sigh. And today the temp jumped all the way up to 32F. Almost started to melt in places. But when I went outside to feed the birds at noon I felt something on my foot. Looked down to see Sylvester. One of my chipmunk friends. Hard to believe. So I stayed outside and gave him peanuts for awhile. Later Checker, another chipmunk, also showed up. Very odd to see chipmunks with snow on the ground. But these two had a late start gathering peanuts from me so I guess they figured they just didn’t have enough food to last through an extra long winter. So I made sure they got lots today. Was nice to see them even if it was cold. That deer above is Mama D. She remembered me. She was busy getting as many green leaves as possible before they fell off the bushes. This early snow means the colors won’t be so nice this year. The leaves are just dropping off the trees. Sigh. Sorry, but winter is just not my favorite season. You might disagree. That’s fine. Even the blue jays didn’t seem to be overjoyed.
This snow might melt. But that won’t last long before more snow arrives. Sigh. However, back to nicer fall days. Dad and I had made it to a nice sunny hill where we decided to have our lunch. And COFFEE! COFFEE outdoors really tastes so much better. If that’s possible. And it is. Really. Dad chose to sit on an old tree stump. Are you sure that’s wise?, I asked. Certainly, said Dad as he kicked it, nice and solid. And he sat down. Amazing how fast he stood up again. Then he yelled and started waving his arms. Then he ran. For a big man he could run fast when he wanted. And here I thought he was tired from our little hike. He disappeared from view down the other side of the hill. He came back after awhile. Working up an appetite?, I asked. HAHA, said Dad. He chose a rock to sit on this time. Apparently when he kicked that tree stump it disturbed some wasps who were living there. I tried very hard not to laugh. I can see that smile, said Dad, just toss me my sandwiches. Gently, he added. So I did. What’s this?, asked Dad. Your sandwiches, said I. When you hit that tree you also flattened your sandwiches. What about the other one?, inquired Dad. That is both of them, I said. Dad just looked at them. Look at the bright side, I said, it won’t take you as long to eat them. At that point I couldn’t hold back any longer. I laughed. Loud and long. Dad roared with a kind of loud fake laugh. I couldn’t believe what happened next. He got up, took my second sandwich and rolled it into a ball! Can you believe it? Then he gave that roaring fake laugh again. HAHA, said I. Then I threw it at him. But missed. Instead it landed in his cup of COFFEE! I laughed loud and long again. Dad dumped his COFFEE. I could tell what he was thinking. But surprisingly he didn’t do anything. Odd. It was beautiful looking out over the area from that hill. The colors were brilliant. It had warmed up considerably from our frosty start this morning. There was a lot of sparrows scuffling through the grass. An eagle was soaring high above us. A flock of Canada geese was heading south against that beautiful blue sky. There was some chickadees calling back and forth in the pines behind us. I was sharing part of my sandwich with a little chipmunk that had come over to us. He seemed quite happy as he scampered away with each piece. And there was that pileated woodpecker again, pounding away on yet another tree. I suppose it could have been a different bird, but not likely. They do have quite large territories. Should just be a little ways down the tracks to that old town, I said. I sure hope it’s not far, said Dad. Some clouds are moving in again. Supposed to be more snow tonight. Sigh. And possibly rain tomorrow. Hopefully it will be warmer, or it will get icy. Muffin is sleeping. She doesn’t like winter either. Not much activity outside at night in winter. And she likes watching out the window at night. She just sighed. Amazing. Hope you all enjoy your weekend and God bless!
Steve and Muffin.
Steve`s Country 