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.

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...