Pre Thanksgiving Outing

The Wednesday before Thanksgiving, I had the privilege to take a look around a small bit of private property in Western Indiana. Temperature was pleasant, with a light jacket very  comfortable. Getting to the property we drove through fog, about as thick as you want to attempt driving through, making for a bit slower drive; but excellent for conversation.

Within an hour, the fog had cleared away, leaving just a pleasant haze in the woods.

Most leaves are now off the trees here, with the exception of a few hardwoods that stubbornly hang to their leaves till the new buds begin forming in the spring.

There were numerous Beech trees on the property; those being of the variety that do not drop their leaves in the fall. The large mature Beech trees, with their smooth bark, seem to draw people to them to carve in their initials. First pic is one taken this day....the second pic is of a tree elsewhere covered with carving.

 ....as I said, from a different outing...but an example of what is not uncommon to find on mature Beech trees. Do you suppose that Dean and Jackie are still together after all these years? It would be interesting to know.

Looking down a steep ravine. Notice the green patch of ferns. Those very hardy plants will stay green even with snow cover.

Typical ...what I call Shelf Mushroom..not sure of correct name. I have been told these are edible, but not very flavorful. I have never tried those so cannot verify that.

Here is a Blackberry leaf, in late season color. I find the leaves at this stage, after a freeze, and the chrlophyl is gone, make a very nice tea. I gather these, dry, crush, store in a tin tea can and use them all winter. On another outing yesterday, I was able to gather a nice supply of these.

And just a final bit of color...I believe this is a small Chokecherry sapling that still has leaves remaining.

Hope things are well with all who stop by...please stop again...and as always, I welcome any commentary or corrections to any misinformation I may have passed along.

Early November Fall Weekend

Weather today; began with rain mixed with snow...stayed in mid 30s...weather for this past weekend (just two days previous); above normal temps into low 70s, sunshine, and windy. I took full advantage of the nice weather to get out and roam about twice over the weekend...but most likey would have gotten out even if today's weather had been with us over the weekend. An advantage to less than desirable weather, is that you most often have any area you choose to yourself.

Most trees in my area have now lost their leaves; leaving the forest bare, but with a beauty of it's own and a clear view not available when leaves are present.

If you look closely, there are still a few plants sporting fall colors. These Gooseberry leaves caught my eye, with their soft colors.

Sycamore trees, with their white bark, and spreading limbs; provide a nice contrast in amoungst the other trees.

As usual, my pal Emma was along. She ranges all about the areas that we pass through, checking back occasionally to find me; and is quite adept at following my trail if I have moved on. She climbed up this tree leaning over the water, smelling whatever had been up the tree before we came along. Shortly after this picture, she climbed a bit higher...lost her footing..and fell to the ground. I was somewhat alarmed, but she continued on with no apparent harm.

Continueing along, I passed through the Native American mound site (mentioned in at least one earlier post here). It is a very interesting area, that many local people do not know about; and is in an area that is not that easy to get to. From there it is a short distance to where the river makes a sharp turn to the east. I stopped there for a rest and had a brief visit with a guy that was kayaking downstream.



From this point, I turned west and followed the river downstream, heading back to my vehicle. I encountered a couple of groups of horseback riders along the way....and thankfully my dog did not chase the horses! When I got back to the car and driving away, I saw this pheasant wander out into the open, and was quite surprised that it cooperated long enough for a few pictures.

Sunday, I decided to visit one of our local marsh areas. The weather was still very nice, but the wind continued to grow stronger most of the day. I had chosen to bring along a flannel shirt and was quite comfortable wearing it.

I decided to make another visit to the same marsh that is featured in an earlier post here. I wish that I had taken a picture of the open water area for comparison, because it is quite low now, because of the drought we experienced this summer.

Looking out across the cattails and over the marsh land. Do you see the lone narrow tree, somewhat to the right of center? It will be featured shortly....

I spent a couple of hours here; with over half of that time spent sitting or standing quietly watching and observing. Emma wandered about, checking in with me from time to time. During one of the periods she was away; there was suddenly what seemed a quite loud crashing noise in the cattails near me; apparently an animal that had nearly walked up to me, realized I was there and departed quickly through the very thick growth of cattails. Emma showed up just afterwards. I got her to head into that area to see if she could pick up a trail. You do remember the tree I mentioned above I assume. Soon after I sent Emma to see what she could find; I caught motion on a lone tree in the middle of the cattails. A raccoon was climbing up it to safety...apparently what had made the loud racket that I had heard as it panicked and scampered away. I got several pictures, but it kept it's head pretty well hidden most of the time.

After a few pictures, I left to let the raccoon continue with it's day.

Taking my time and looking about, I found numerous things of interest to me.

Cattails.........

Goldenrod.....

....unkown plant....if you know the identity....please let me know!

Again, another group of unkown plants to me. The whispy heads were probably from 5 to 8 feet tall.

A bright splash of color....

A late season butterfly....

Moving along the edge of the cattails, I began picking up that old familiar odor; that told me there was something dead nearby. I kept searching about, moved further into the cattails and came upon this area trampled down by predators, probably coyotes, around the carcass of a large 8 point buck. My assumption was that he had been wounded by an arrow, but I could see no wound on the exposed side.

**a couple of graphic pictures follow...**

...and so concluded my weekend outings. A great time....with well over 200 pictures taken. Now spending time, sorting, editing, and deleting pictures.

...thanks for stopping by my blog...

Fall Afternoon

Archery deer season has begun here. I am not a deer hunter; but please do not read that as an anti-hunting statement. I enjoy venison and wish the hunters success. If any of my hunting friends need help setting up, finding a good spot, or any assistance with a deer, I am willing to help. I just have not gotten the "fire and desire" to give it a worthwhile try and at my age, will probably forgo that.

To provide as little disruption as possible to hunters, I chose to go for a hike early last Saturday afternoon, hoping to be out between their normal morning and late afternoon hunting times. I headed out to the closest area; walked  through a grown up old pasture area, back to a wooded area, where there is marsh. Along the way, I passed a tree stand.

We are getting some very nice Fall colors now, better than I had expected following our severe drought and very hot summer.

The marsh areas are a bit low, from the dry summer, but still back into some of the wooded areas a bit.

Looking across the very upper end of the marsh, where it blends into a very small feeder stream that is hidden away in the tall grass.

Looking out over the main body of the marsh. The marsh areas have been created by the county park management; to duplicate what was once very common in my area, until the early settlers drained the marsh land for farm land.

A hornets nest hanging in a tree over a small stream.

Once again; that old familiar odor was filling my nostrils...that of a dead deer. I knew it was very near and was determined to find it. Another clue was that there was a large number of Turkey Vultures in the trees and flying about that I had disturbed from feeding.

After searching about, I finally found the carcass. It was on the other side of a small finger of the marsh from where I first got it's scent. My dog found it before me, and was eating some of the VERY rotten and maggot infested meat. It was a small 8 point buck, and I assume another victim of the virus that was so rough on our deer population this year.

On the way back to my vehicle, I found that a hunter was in the stand that I had passed. I stopped and had a nice visit with him. He was very understanding about me passing through the area, especially since he had chosen a spot that is close to the road and easily accesible.

Thanks for stopping by!

Railroad Trestle Evening Hike

Today, I changed up my routine a bit and took off for a hike and photo expedition late in the afternoon. My normal routine gets me out there early, usually before others are there.

This abandoned railroad trestle is located northeast of Collison, Illinois (a very small village in Vemilion County); over the Middlefork River. This section of the river is fun to wade with light spinning tackle and is a good place to catch Smallmouth Bass. We have also caught Rock Bass in the weed beds along the sandbars.

The Sumac really shows up well now, with their bright color. I noticed that there are very few fruit clusters on the Sumac...probably a result of our summer drought. A drink can be made from the fruit clusters; that can be consumed either hot or cold.

Some of the Poison Ivy shows up very well right now. The type that grows taller is bright red, while the plants lower to the ground have a more subdued color.

Once again, I came across a deer carcass. This one was not far from a road, and I believe it must have died as the result of a collision with a vehicle. It appeared to have been a healthy 10 point buck.

With the sun getting low, it was time to head home.

Thanks for stopping by.

Lost Walking Stick Search

When I take off for an outing; an essential piece of equipment for me is my walking stick. I prefer a nice sturdy stick, about waist high and comfortable in the hand. I know some people prefer a longer staff or some of those high tech new walking sticks....but not for me. In my area, the landscape would be thought of as flat farmland, but when you get out along the rivers and their tributaries; there can be some quite rugged terrain with very steep hills. My style walking stick is a great aid when climing a steep hill, providing a means to pull yourself up; or also helps when descending the hills, by providing a means to dig in and control your descent. That length is also very useful for knocking brush and weeds out of the way....and is also sturdy enough that it could be a defensive weapon, if for some extreme circumstance that need arose.

My walking sticks all become more and more comfortable in the hand the more I carry them and they become fitted to my hand...and I have certainly had my favorites over the years; which brings me to my sad story. Earlier this year I lost one of my very favorite sticks. I had made it from a walnut sapling that I cut out from along the driveway. When taking pictures and changing the camera lens; I laid it down and did not miss it till about 100 yards away. I searched quite a long time without finding it. Yesterday morning I went to the same area...a very interesting site with Native American ceremonial mounds about 1,000 years old....oriented for the summer and winter solstices....but to continue; once again I searched and have finally given up. (I believe I have pictures of some of the mounds mentioned above in an earlier post.)

The walking stick I carry now, is made from the same sapling which comes back big enough about every 2 years about the right size to cut and trim.

To continue.....It is a great time to get outdoors. Fall colors are showing up here. The experts say that the colors will be more subdued this year because of the drought, perhaps so, but still showing some nice color in my opinion.

The date is wrong on this as well as a couple of others..but I am not going to change them now.

My dog Emma was in the river, just outside the picture to the left and provided those nice ripples.

Emma was in a hunting mood. Something of great interest to her had been on these logs. She investigated quite some time.

I had about a 3/4 mile hike back to the car yesterday. Along the way, I saw three groups of people riding horses on the other side of the river. I was glad they were over there, as Emma might not have given them the best welcome. About halfway back, I came upon two young guys sitting on a log fishing and stopped for a brief visit.

I came upon this nice clump of mushrooms. With a bit of research, I could probably identify these. My guess is that they are edible, but not certain.

I got back home a bit later than planned, but it was a good outing...as they all are....

Thanks for stopping by...