June 25, 2011 Early Morning

This morning I headed out to the woodland/prairie areas for some hiking and photography. I arrived about 6:30 A.M.; when it was still a bit dark in the heavily wooded areas...as can be seen below. That is a small stream that I cross when going to the area I chose today. When the stream is higher, I walk across on the tree that is laying over the stream (just visible in the darkness downstream); but today the stream was low enough, I just jumped over.

I came out into a field planted in sunflowers in the river bottom and hiked along the edge of it for a few hundred yards.

At the field's edge, I spotted these very delicate mushooms. I do not know the species. They appeared to be almost paper thin and looked as if just a brush with my hand would have knocked them over.

I later came across several of these pick mushrooms......and again do not know the species.

Multiflora roses were located in several locations, at the transitional areas between the fields and the wooded areas. These are very pretty when in blossom, but are considered a nuisance plant and not native to our area. They were introdued from the orient as ornamentals and in our area, during the 1930s were promoted as useful living hedges; and as a result are now very common.

A group of milkweed plants. If you look closely at the plant on the right (or click it so that it enlarges) you will see an insect that is about to have a close up photo taken.....per the second milkweed picture..........and I do not know what species it is. Milkweed plants were very useful to the primitive people. In the early spring, the young plant may be eaten. The pods that will form a bit later may also be eaten when they new. The fiber from the stalk can be twisted into string or twine.

I found several ripe berries today. The first shown is dewberries; similar to blackberries that ripen later; but these grow close to the ground, and in my opinion are not as sweet as blackberries. The second shown is black raspberries. I picked and ate those all morning. The third is gooseberries. It is a bit early for those and I was surprised to see a few that were ripe. If you eat one that is not quite ripe; you will know immediately....very sour and tart.

An intersting patch of what I believe is some type of moss that was catching the early morning sun.

Just a dragonfly perched on a plant.

A 13 Year Cicada catching the early morning sun. If you click the picture to enlarge it, you can see that the morning dew is still on the plants. I was surprised to see these this morning and was finally able to catch one in a spot for a picture. I did not know we had any in this area. I know that south of here, they are out by the millions. You can tell these from the variety that appear each year, because these are smaller, darker, and with red eyes.

A few flowers that I saw throughout the morning.

A mullein plant beginning to blossom.

It was a fun morning and good to get out in that area again. I may head out again tomorrow, if it is not raining.

As always........thanks for stopping by!

Mushroom Hunting Time

It is now time to get out in the woods and pick some mushrooms. During the few weeks that cover the mushroom season; there are probably more people in the woods on a given day; than any other time of year, including hunting season. Over the weekend, every parking area bordering the public land, had at least one vehicle there.

The word is that this season is a good one for the mushrooms; and from what I have personally picked; and from speaking with other mushroom hunters, believe that is true.

I normally take pictures when out, as can be seen from previous posts; but have a problem with the camera. Following are a few pictures of mushrooms from past years.

If you have not gotten out yet, you need to do so soon; before the season ends.


From 2008....

From May 5, 2007.......(an important date to one of the blog readers.....)

Early Spring Hike

A couple of weeks ago, I decided it was time to get back outdoors again. I took the dogs and headed out to the woods and the bluffs along the river. It was about 25 degrees when I started, but when the morning sun got a bit higher, it was comfortable enough.

The woods are still just about as bare as in the winter, but if you look closely there are signs of Spring.

A few plants are beginning to grow.

This is Mullein, a quite hardy plant. Herbal books list a number of medicinal uses for it.

New Stinging Nettle. This is quite unpleasant stuff to walk through later in the year. I have read that at this stage it is edible, but have never tried it.

Wild Onions. I have eaten these; and they are very strong and hot. On a campout once, I used them as a mixture with potatoes and mushrooms that I had picked that day.

I hiked along through the prairie grass.....

entered the wooded area; and stopped for a while to enjoy this view. This is one of my favorite spots along the river. If you click the picture, you get a better idea of the spectacular view from here. (Just use your "back" arrow to then get back to blog.)

From here, I headed back North (to the right in the picture); worked my way down a very steep wooded hill to the field that is visible down along the river. As I was leaving the wooded border area at the field's edge, I stopped to just survey the open area before stepping out. I could see a dark shape moving near the other side of the field. With my binoculars, I could just make out that it was a turkey. I watched him for about 20 minutes, did my best imitation of a gobble finally...........which got his immediate atttention.....tail fanned out and he started running in my directions...stopping after a bit...still far across the field. I finally moved slowly toward him when I could. He finally got nervous enough that he went running to the woods. He was too far away for my camera to get an image.

Along the river, the beaver have been quite busy as is normal.

Near the beginning of the hike, I spotted a rock that caught my attention.......as always, I was scanning the ground as I went looking for arrowheads, stone knives, scrapers, etc. I picked it up; looked it over...was about to drop it and move on...but the more I studied it, the more convinced I became that it was a quite old hand axe. It is worked to a symetrical wedge at one end; and the other is rounded.........and as is very typical with the old stone implements I find........is worked so that it fits your palm and your fingers can fit comfortably on it. I had gone far enough that I did not want to take it back; and it was heavy enough, I did not want to carry it along for the next couple of hours, so I placed it under an Autumn Olive bush and picked it up on the way back.

All for now................get out and enjoy the outdoors, whenever you can......

Winter Campout

Last weekend was the last weekend of January; and as almost always, was the Klondike Derby for the Scouts. The event itself officially starts Saturday morning and ends that afternoon. The troop I am associated with though, goes out Friday night and camps in our tents till Sunday morning. We have had temps as warm as the fifities; to another extreme of one weekend when the high temp was -5 and the low was -20.
This past weekend was ideal; with high in mid thirties and lows in low to mid twenties.

The event was at Camp Robert Drake, located just a few miles west of Catlin, Illinois; along the Salt Fork Vermilion River.

I ventured off by myself for a hike Saturday morning and a few pictures of that are also included.

Our camp

A nice hot fire is always welcome and we burnt a lot of wood.

Just a couple of more views around camp.

The official activities always conclude with the big sled race. Several heats are run and a trophy is awarded that is held till next year.

A few views overlooking the Salt Fork Vermilion River.

 

A squirrel started barking and I spotted him in a nearby tree. Squirrel season is still open until the middle of February. He provided a perfect shot if I had been hunting.

There were several areas where the deer had dug through the snow and leaves, probably foraging for acorns.

Walking down a small stream to the river.

Out to the river and onto the ice. I do not recommend walking on river ice, unless you are VERY sure of the ice conditions and are familiar with the area. I knew that this was the shallow side of the river, with a sandbar exposed here during the summer.

The ice was a well traveled area by the local inhabitants.

The deer obviously had a bit of problem with the slick conditions.

Coyote and deer tracks on the ice.

Coyote tracks

The next two pics show mink tracks. I had not had the opportunity to see a mink's tracks for a few years. They will typically walk a stream bank, looking for food. One of their favorite prey is muskrats. They are typically smaller than a muskrat, but ounce for ounce are quite a ferocious little animal. Years ago when I ran a trapline, I had a couple of instances where a mink had come upon a muskrat I had caught and killed it.

Raccoon tracks

 These are mouse tracks, but not on the ice. They were in the woods along the trail I was following.

This is just the nicest shed antler I have ever found! I was quite surprised to look down and see it. It was located at the edge of a small stream, about 100 feet from the river.

A view of the woods as I headed back to camp.

What a great weekend it was. I had not attended the Klondike Derby for a few years. Perhaps I will join them again next January........