11.30.2021

closing out november ~ 1 of 2

It has been a month. Full of ups and downs. Mostly ups, I focus on those.

I love November! When I was a kid it meant the start of Winter, and we had SNOW. Lot's of snow. I love snow! These days, November is a rollercoaster transitional month. It prepares us for what is yet to come. It is a bit of a tease. We have a high of 53F predicted this week. By then it will be December. I find it odd, but you can bet I will thoroughly enjoy the warmer weather!!

Some years November brings flurries, other years it brings: 

my "mountains" in the distance highlighted in amber
11/1/21



you want to start wearing a hat
11/2/21


"big-n-little"

natures compositions become less vibrant


Leo says the colors are still here
just different shades



wood needs to be split and stacked



clouds turn into powder puffs that almost touch the treetops
(back of the arena)


some of our oaks turned a beautiful shade of red
first time since 2016


I marked some of the smaller red oaks
for saving/relocating

I look forward to working on the paths and tree lines, some day


warm air meets cool ground, producing beautiful morning fog
11/3/21



overnight some type of tree in our woods drops all it's green leaves
(might be a Hackberry?)



horses coming in
(Cierra, Koda, Nemo & Harmony)
11/6/21


November produces amazing colorful skies
11/7/21



crescent moon and one of the planets


Leo hoping I will pick him up on one of our many walks
11/9/21


Remi needs breaks too
11/10/21


Apparently Cierra drew the short straw

Koda, Cierra, Harmony and Nemo, all facing different directions



walked past the window 2 minutes later, the herd was snoozing closer



my Golden Nugget turned a fluorescent salmon color
11/11/21

I hope it makes it through the Winter!!


stumps glow in the sunlight
11/12/21


gardening season is over
I am ready for a break


love the sound of crunching leaves



Tank waiting with his ball


the season of many branches
11/13/21


sooo many long branches



tiny things continue growing in the woods
11/15/21

Too many November photo's, so I split my post into two.
Second half to come.


Thanks for scrolling along! Enjoy the last day of November.
Make it a good one!!



















11.28.2021

sunday stills ~ fresh

Fresh.

Like the scent of a paper white bloom.




A living gift from All Souls Day remembrance mass.

see more sunday stills


11.21.2021

sunday stills ~ you

I took a couple photos for this weeks theme, you. Actually, the photos I am sharing are of me.

It would be kinda hard to take photos of you, but that would be way more fun than taking selfies of me!! I stink at selfies, and like many people dislike photos of me. However, I do try to take a photo of me once in a while. Or in this case, you. Haa ha, you get the picture.

My version of "dressed up" is without glasses (wearing contacts) and two seconds of eye makeup applied. Casual comfortable clothes required. Taken 
earlier this month, on a special night out:



11.6.2021

Enjoying our pine woods, on the Spooky Tree trail we created with help from the white tails:

11.17.2021

Babysitting my three grandkids, at their house. Aurora Lee wanted to read "dis one" (and dis one, and dis one and...lol):



11.19.2021



11.17.2021

hearts

During the month of August, I kept seeing hearts. I rarely find heart shaped things in nature. I can't help but wonder, why. So many, close together and at this particular time.


heart shape mushroom on our bug path
August 12, 2021

I was floating both my mind and body, when I glanced over the pool edge and saw a tiny heart on the patio. Just a short distance from my cowgirl pool. I instantly got out of the pool, and picked the rock up.

The odd thing about this little heart is, when I picked it up I could no longer see a heart. I rolled it around in my fingers, turning it around. Where did the heart shape go? I looked hard. It had a bump and did not vaguely look like a heart. I placed the rock back down, and once again it looked like a heart. Hmmm. I did this twice, same result. I shrugged my shoulders, left the heart where I found it and got back in the pool to finish soaking up thoughts. 



a tiny rock heart
August 17, 2021

A couple days later I found another rock heart on our patio. This one was significantly larger and caught my eye while walking past our basement windows. I picked it up, same thing. If I held it, I could no longer see a heart.

I still don't understand.

rock heart
August 19, 2021

Today, I googled "what does it mean if you keep seeing hearts". I read the first search result, of which I am sure there are many. The reasons listed that could most likely apply to me are:

Someone is Watching Over You, which is possible. You have a Need of Love and Caring, very true when a person is going through something difficult. Also Spiritual Awakening, as in realizing what is really important in life. 


I will never really know.



heart cloud over our barn
August 29, 2021


Thank you to those who reached out.
Those who asked and listen/ed, and are still listening.




I heart you.






11.16.2021

toad-ily safe

I continue to wonder, how do we have toads and frogs on our ranch? We live in sand country. I thought they needed water to survive and reproduce. I finally googled to learn that Wisconsin has twelve varieties of toads/frogs. Not all of them require bodies of water to survive. Our land continues to be very interesting, and different. It makes this nature girl happy to learn about variables!

If you wondering why these warmer weather critters are still on my mind, it is because we have toads living in our barn. 

Doesn't everyone have barn toads as pets??

The toads are fun to watch. They can be found seasonally in various sizes in our yard, on our driveway and many other places. The cats really love playing with them in the barn, especially Purr.


The cats don't seem to hurt the toads. I think they have an understanding. Not sure, I don't speak toad or cat for that matter. Their understanding is likely due to the fact that toads don't taste good. They are poisonous.

We keep a watchful eye on our dogs when they get interested. Dogs don't seem as selective with wild food. However, our cats have it figured out.

This is the first year we noticed toads taking residence in our aisle drain. We thought they were coming in/out of the long drain pipe, but they seem to be coming in from the arena doors. Maybe both.

We have at least two toads, one is greener than the other. Both are about the same size. Big. There was a smaller one, but I haven't seen that one for a while. I wonder if our toads will stay inside the barn all Winter?

I saw the brown 
American Toad hopping around the barn aisle a couple days ago. I saved him from being batted around, not that he needed it. They take cover under the stall doors, until the cats get tired of waiting. After watching him get batted once and drop his head to the floor as if to play dead, I scooped my toad friend up and placed him near the drain. Wondering how on earth he was going to fit. He did. Head first, back feet in the air. Wiggle, wiggle, PLOP!! He was toadily safe!



green toad


brown toad

A few different kinds of toads/frogs have found me to date on our property, mostly during warmer months. One overly friendly water lovin' guy thought we set my cowgirl pool up just for him. I wasn't sharing and he had to be removed more than once.

I can't help but wonder, how do they know/find water??


At first I thought my pool friend was a young Bullfrog that ventured away from the creek down the road. We used to have them in our pond. I do remember thinking he was smoother, like a frog. 
Hard to tell from the photos I took. I don't see the classic bullfrog ridge, and therefore think the pool lover was a green younger American Toad.  


This frog was spotted in July:



These little green guys are sooo cute!

They are small and can be found hanging out literally anywhere. I have found them on plants, doorknobs and as seen above on siding. I am pretty sure this frog is a Copes Gray Tree frog although, he is um very vibrant green! I learned their color can change to adapt to surroundings. This siding is behind my barn garden, with a lot of green.  


I was sitting in front of the barn chatting with Brad e
arly October, when a very loud sound came from over by my shade planter. I believe it was followed by a "what the h-e-double-toothpick was THAT"??!!

I found this white-ish tiny guy looking at me as if to say "whaaaat". He didn't move and I don't like to disturb nature. I left him alone and went back to my conversation. 



Look at those cute little webbed toes! 


This post has been swirling around in my head. I can cross it off my list, now I toad you so 😂


11.15.2021

sunday stills ~ upside down



Tinkerbell spends a lot of time upside down.

She stops, drops and rolls at any given moment.

Her favorite upside down place in the barn is what we call the cat throne.


upside down leaves from yesterday's walk


more sunday stills 




 

11.10.2021

ohhhh, look

Changing weather tends to make horse eating monsters more active. You know, the ones that lurk in the woods and ride a wild cool breeze. Horses catch wind of them, and shenanigans follow.

If I am outside, I hear thundering hooves and often say "well, ya know there is a geomagnetic storm brewing". I promptly either get an eye roll or a "yesss, dear". Or both.

If I am inside, I notice our horses running while walking past our windows. "Ohhhh, look the horses are running". I stop whatever I am doing, and watch them full of curiosity and awe at their powerful beauty. Always followed up by "I wonder why they are running?". More often than not, the action stops as fast as it starts, and I continue whatever I was doing.

Sometimes, I grab my camera. Sigh, and end up putting it away without a single photo taken. Other times, I am really really glad I grabbed my camera!! The best action is always in the beginning, but when antics linger in our pastures they look something like this:


99% of the time the running/play is started by Nemo



he tries to stir everyone up, and usually succeeds



Koda & Cierra frequently hang together on high alert



Koda's long thick locks make every move look dramatic


Nemo keeps Cierra in check, always 

She is after all Brad's other horse.

 If you think horses don't care, you haven't met Nemo.


Cierra tries to stay out of Nemo's radar

She could kick all their butt's if she wanted to, but it isn't in her sweet nature



I've noticed these two are frequently sent out to survey the scene
(Cierra left, Koda right)

I thought all the fun was over. Nope.


tail raising begins again



Harmony gets in on the action



Harmony & Cierra



Harmony heading back up to the shed area by Nemo

(she is very attached to him)




Cierra & Koda making a move



no clue what herd messages are being given behind the shed

I just watch for the horses to reappear into my field of vision.




Nemo running his herd



Nemo & Harmony making the rounds



Harmony on alert




these two, are sooo sweet together

I missed a shot of Cierra resting her head on Koda's back


The silly play ended and the herd settled back into grazing. Guess the wild breeze died down and the lurking monsters moved on.