Looking back...October

I guess I didn't post the rest of Fall, after the important event of my birthday.  There really was more to the month:

 Storytelling.. in Indianapolis, at the Crown Hill Cemetery, to start the spooky story season.

 Cousins going on the artist studio tour in Brown County,

finding interesting and original places as well as art. 

 Hiking, admiring the leaves,

 and their reflections in the still lake.

 Happy to have family together.

 Then, the more mundane aspects of the month:

the house being painted,

 days downtown at work.

More storytelling, then--

Halloween.

a full October. 

Wetland Walking

A visit to the Bloomingtonauts invariably involves interesting walks.

 There is a near-by park

 where our knowledgeable guide

 introduces us to the disappearing Lake Jackson.

There are birds and frogs and turtles and alligators 

and the morning is full of songs and calls.

 Another morning we walk through a swamp

 where trees grow straight out of the water

 and from our elevated walkway we can spot sleeping bears...

and panthers and wolves and foxes,

 and even more exotic characters.

 When it rains, we find a wet walk inside

at the Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratory.

Here one can plunge a hand into a tank and touch weird life forms

although some are marked "Do Not Touch".

 The Bloomingtonauts have given us a view of a fantastically

different ecosystem from our Indiana home.

Somehow the spring turtles in the water retention pond at the retirement home 

aren't quite as exciting as they used to be.

Another Year Older

If it's October, it's time for a picnic with Mimi.

This year we went to Lake Monroe, and there really was more on that table than you see in this picture!

Only the first leaves were turning and falling, but it felt like fall anyway.

If it's October, it's time for a get-together with Hoosier Kitty -

(there was a sumptious breakfast involved but not pictured)

If it's October, it's time to visit the lake

and hike with a friend, even if it was pouring down rain.

If it's October, it's time for the Romantic Man 

to bring roses and take me out to dinner.

If it's October, it's time for a few unexpected treats --

flowers, visits, phone calls..

If it's October, it must be time for my birthday!

Down dog

"Walking?" says the Boston Gentleman, "There's walking and then there's walking."

"I don't mind a stroll up a nice shady path.

Especially when there are nice smells

and those little drops of bunny candy to snuffle up.

But this stuff about exercise -

I don't think so.

I'm just going to lie down here.

Even if we are miles from the house.

Maybe I'll roll around a little.

Not going to walk any more.

You go on without me."

The Hiking Club convenes

Back in Tallahassee this Bloomingtonaut regularly hikes with a group of friends.  Didn't want her to miss out while visiting, so we took a few Indiana hikes.

One morning we re-visited a familiar trail by Griffy Lake.

You remember that the lake was drained for repairs last year?  Now the water is coming back, and the early morning sun reflected off the ice creeping up the shore. 

The creek feeding into the lake was full and flowing enough to have some open water, so I have great hopes of seeing the lake restored by summer.

Another morning we hiked through Leonard Springs -- a hike that begins with stairs going down the steep hillside.

Down, and down, with the waterfalls tumbling beside us, down to the very bottom of the steep valley that holds the park.

With all that water and a rare day above freezing we soon had giant glomps of mud covering our boots.

 

There were mallards peacefully paddling in the beaver pond.

           Love these quiet hidden places so close to home.

                                    
It was not so quiet in the University Arboretum where we hiked down to admire this colorful bush.  Besides the traffic zipping by, there was a mockingbird who fearlessly warned us off:  "No eating the berries! My berries!"

One day as a special treat for a Florida hiker, the woods filled with sparkly snow.

Every limb and branch and tiny twig outlined in white --wish I could get a picture that captured the incredible complexity and beauty of these winter woods.

Now my nose is cold and my toes are cold, and it is time to go back inside!

Walking on Ice

Actually, literally, walking on ice...

there had been a flood before Christmas.  The water had covered the path at Bean Blossom Bottoms.  By the time we went out to hike, everything had frozen solid.  That path?  Scary slippery.
We kept hearing crashing off in the frozen meadows and woods.  Some big animal, it sounded like, maybe a bear or a woolly mammoth.  Every time I'd jump and look --nothing there.  Crack, crash, crack, crash.  It was the flood, you know, it had inundated the low lying areas up to two or three feet, then the surface froze.  And then the water under the ice cover drained away --and there was a sheet of unsupported ice, just ready to crack and crash when the winter sun warmed the surface.  We listened to the ice, to a full murder of crows, and to the silence of the marsh morning.
Took my new scope to look for birds.  A downy woodpecker here, a flock of sparrows there... not too exciting.  I packed the scope away and just as we were ready to leave...

something moved on the old eagle's nest in the distance.  Grab the binoculars, unpack the scope -- it's an eagle!  Warming up in the morning sun, turning this way, turning that way, giving us great views --and then flying away into the woods with great sweeps of its huge wings.

Worth walking on ice for!

Wrapping up November

Despite Granddad's difficulties, we proceeded with Thanksgiving. Got to keep Tradition going,right?

 

 I was able to combine staying up Wednesday night to listen for Granddad with assembling casseroles, all the while feeling as if I were one of the cooks in The Night Kitchen.  The Man Who Cooks assisted with the Thursday day preparation, and by dinnertime we had a feast ready.
HoosierKitty brought fantastically rich creamed potatoes and not one, but three pies.  (And that should answer the question of "What's for breakfast?" for the whole coming week.)
Mimi showed up with a pot and a sack of cranberries and good intentions but luckily I had already cooked cranberries and so we didn't need to do a last minute sauce.
Granddad actually got out of bed and cleaned his plate.

It was a select group, gathered to be thankful for each other and to drink a toast to all of you far away folks.

On Friday, instead of heading out to the stores we navigated our way out to two wildlife preserves.

At Stillwater Marsh we tried out my new bird scope and admired the quiet woods.

The marsh was frozen fast so there wasn't much bird activity.

We decided to go on to Bean Blossom Bottoms.  (Isn't that a great name?)

We set off down the boardwalk and found this wetlands full of birds.

Red-headed woodpeckers and bluebirds kept us company as we hiked.

  

We soaked up enough sunshine, fresh air, and quiet to sustain us for a while.

Decided to make this Friday-after-Thanksgiving outing a new Tradition, so if you join us next year for the Thanksgiving weekend, expect to spent some time outdoors!