Into the Woods

The day dawned cloudy and cool. Unlike yesterday when everyone was up and out of the cabin early, most slept in today.  Duke and I were left alone to enjoy the quiet.  It probably goes without saying that it's quiet up here - unlike our home in Roseville, where the hum of Highway 36 is ever-present.  The quiet here is overwhelming.  Standing outside with Duke, the lack of noise overwhelms me.  All that remains is the ringing in my ears (tinnitus).

Yesterday's run/walk of the Looney Daze race went well, with the Dude and finishing 40:02 and 40:03 - he beat me at the end with a sprint.

Today, rather than running, we went for a walk in the woods behind the farm.  We had not ventured out back for several years - the Dude remembers the last time and thinks he was 5 years old.  Sounds right. 

After walking across the alfalfa fields, and beside the corn field, we came to the spot where we thought the trail into the woods should be.  The trail was overgrown and hard to locate, but we we eventually found our way and spent some time alongside the swamps located back in the woods.

There's lots of water this year, though you could tell it had been higher.  The shoreline was walkable but damp where the water had recently receded.

Here we see the Dude and Grandma-ma oberving the shoreline.  There were a variety of waterfowl - not the usual ones (Canada Geese and Mallards).  I did not bring my binoculars but I believe there were a number of blue winged teal, along with some wood ducks.  We also saw phoebes who perched in trees near the swamp and flew out to gather insects hovering over the water.

On the walk back to the farm we took the scenic route so Grandma-ma could show us the deer stand.  Both the Dude and I climbed up (and I took the picture below).  There were a number of bees circling around us in the stand.  Recalling Winnie-the-Pooh (and my bee sting allergies), we thought it best to climb down before they attacked.

Soon I'm off for home.  The Dude remains at the cabin.  Shana is driving up later today.  Maria was stuck at at home all weekend.  Her busy schedule did not allow her to make this weekend's cabin trip.  Everyone will be together at home by Tuesday night.