We Finally Got The Big Bucks!

Our Trophy!

 For the past week,  we have had a number of deer encounters on the trail.   Often times, they are too far away from us to even bother with taking their picture.   But last Sunday,   Cheryl and I spooked a Huge Buck who bolted out right in front of us.   I could see he has his territory staked out, so I have been bringing my camera along and holding it at the ready for several days now.   All in the hopes of capturing another "up close and personal" shot of this awesome animal!

But....As you might have guessed:  Nothing.  No signs what so ever!   

However,  today on the way home,  we saw another huge buck right on the outskirts of Wellman,  just before we cross the river.   He was browsing in the river shed where the sheep and goats normally graze.  I handed the camera to Cheryl and she shot away.  

It is moments like this where I wish I had a better camera.   Sure,  carrying around an expensive, fragile heavy camera seems like something only a professional would risk doing;  But I would do it if I could capture a better photo for the blog!  And I'm sure I would find other reasons to justify the expense.    Even so,   the Android phone camera is handy to have in a pinch.   And I might have missed it all together if I had to lug a huge expensive phone out on a normal run day. 

He was nice enough to hold still for us.    Something most deer, especially Bucks during Hunting season rarely do.     I told Cheryl to snap several pics in rapid succession so I could make a moving GIF of him. 

Looks like the Bigger Buck is chasing him.

And just about when we were about to leave,  another BIGGER BUCK came out after him.   We did not see if they were going to fight or just trot off together.   I have read that sometimes bucks travel together in groups.  It certainly did not look like the smaller one wanted any trouble from the big one.   they both ran into the thicker wooded area so taking any more pics would be impossible. 

I no longer hunt deer like the "Good old days" of my youth.   I really don't want to kill anything any more anyway.  Does that mean I'm getting old?   Maybe.  I know Dad used to say that all the time and I simply could not believe that.  He would tell us stories of him hunting pheasants and rabbits and deer up in northern Michigan and how he never missed a season.   But as he got older,   getting the big Buck no longer held the same desire it once had.  

Besides,   There are no licenses required to take their picture.  No processing fees if you manage to bag one.  And no Farmers are going to kick you off their land if he deer decided to jump a fence. And I probably would not know what to do with all that meat if I did manage to actually get a deer.  

I never was a very good hunter to begin with.   Sure, I woke up early,  read all I could on all the skills and tactics.  But in all those years, I managed to only get one when I was 15.  And I was convinced I missed it and it dies of fright!  But that story should be for blog post on another day.   In the mean time,   The weekend is Approaching and I can hardly believe it is here already.   Hope everyone is having a great Friday and an awesome weekend.  Thanks for stopping in. 

The Stockings Pick UP! The Tomatoes Fall Down.

Stockings are building.

 A quick post about the seasons stocking progression.   Looks like the orders are picking up as the last three days have been fairly busy.   I'm only just getting to the blog at 6 P.M.!    Any day when we do more than 10 stockings seems like a full day, even thought it is not even close to those torture days that are quickly approaching.  

In Muscatine.

And to be fair, we did visit Muscatine this morning.   It started out a chilly 29 degrees but eventually warmed up to the mid 50's.  But, of course, not until we had finished our outdoor activities.    At least the Fall color lingers in Iowa.   I'm very surprised!  

Fall colors.

Even some of the flowers are still blooming.   Granted,  this is by the Mighty Mississippi, so I'm sure the water helps regulate the temps near the river.... Possibly keeping things just above the dangerous freezing point. And the leaves are still on the trees!   Even after those two snow events.   I tried to capture Cheryl in as much as I could.  

Red sumac and pink flowers

Not Frozen yet.!

But after Breakfast Pizza and some grocery shopping,  we got to the stocking assembly.   It always seems to take longer than we want, but I still had time to change the oil and repair a hot water heater malfunction in the apartment.   ( I shut the water off until the Landlords could come repair it...  Lessening the "flooding")  

Victory!

Stocking alliteration. 

And finally,   Our tomato plants are all dead!  There are a few green tomatoes still left on them, but I don't think they will be ripening any time soon.  I ran out of time for the day, otherwise I had plans to cut them all back and clear up the garden area for next year. 

On a bright note,  the Tomatoes that we brought inside before the snow have been slowly ripening up and changing color.  All of those Heirloom varieties now are revealing their true colors. 

The Cats take over. 

I'll try to make this one short.   I had big plans today on a possible video for the stockings.  Looks like my Chi and energy have all been drained away though....  so maybe tomorrow.   We shall see.  

Leo guards the Packages.

Hope everyone is having a fine Middle-of-the-week so far.   Thanks for stopping in.

Stockings and Snow.

 The verdict is in and we kind of had a big day today.   I believe there were 25 orders but several of them were sidelined as people made special requests.   I have to wait for Cheryl to sort things out before I can show them pictures, ask them questions... yadda yadda.   So!  In the few moments I have between conversations, I figured I would post some on the blog. 

Well...  It snowed again today!  Not too much, but with the high around 29 degrees, it appears most of it is not melting as it did last time.   I think Des Moines actually had several inches last time that lasted a couple days.    Here in Wellman,  most of the snow was gone by the end of the day.. followed by a 70 degree day..  and now it is back in the 20's.   Yeah Iowa. Perhaps it will be an early/ long winter this year. 

I don't mind too much as long as the winter is mild.  Moderate.... Not too snowy, not too cold.   How about simply a "nice" winter....  one that smiles and is friendly to everyone.   Cars, cows, cats and humans..  Everyone.  The Farm Report says we need the water in these parts.    

 I can imagine they are rooting for more snow.   That is fine.. as long as it does not lead to more floods.   Gees!  I'm starting to sound like a farmer!

So it looks like Iowa has finally rubbed off onto us.  Maybe.   It certainly is not a terrible place to live, although I do complain about things from time to time.  I'm hoping that the early cold and snow will trigger a Christmas Rush earlier this year.   We could certainly use the business after a year of Pandemics and Election hype.  Fingers crossed everyone will be wanting a stocking and will NOT wait until December to order. 

By the way,  Halloween is coming soon and there has been snow on the ground twice so far this year.   I always thought that the threat of snow on Halloween was only a Minnesota thing.   Those Minnesotans would Brag about it!    Back in Michigan,  I think we never had snow on Halloween.   We could dress up as any creature, character or monster and not have to throw a huge jacket over the top.  I mean, How scary is a ghost or vampire if you see he is wearing a snowmobile suit?!?

At least we did not run today, so we could stay on top of the orders.   From the sound of Cheryl's profanity,  it sounds like we are almost done for the day.  And then we will be able to relax.... at least for a little while.  Perhaps if there is time,  I will attempt to fold something.   We shall see.   Thanks for stopping in.

Sunday Morning Long Run.

Running 14 miles. 

 14 miles today!  That is the longest distance we have ever run in one setting so far this year.   That means... basically,  So far...  2020 has SUCKED as far as distance running.  ( And other things... )  Yes, 2020 will go down in history as a major dud year.   But at least we managed to get back on the ropes again.. if only for a brief moment.

At the 7 mile mark.

So why run so long now, at this time of year.   Well....   Normally, this is the time everyone schedules their Marathons or half-marathons because the weather is cool and the winter is approaching.   Mostly it is he cooler weather.   Those summer runs are killer!  Even the short little 5ks and 10Ks.  

The Kewash Trail today. 

Chilly temps! At 
least there is no rain. 

The weather was certainly cooler this morning.   36 degrees was fairly consistent.   You know it is close to "Perfect running weather" when you can see your breath but you can not see any snow on the ground.   We ran the Kewash trail all the way to Keota from Westchester. ( 7 miles one way)   Cheryl was very happy to hit the half way point. 

10 point buck running
across the field. ( see the tail?) 

Time to turn around
and face the wind!

On the way there, We were almost run over by a 10 point buck!   We saw him two days ago around the same area.  Last time, he bolted far ahead of us and I did not have much of an opportunity to take his picture.   Today, however,  he burst out right in front of us and I fumbled with the phone trying to capture him before he got too far out into the field.  I was not fast enough,  obviously. 

A Single Shaggy Cap. 

The wind was in our face on the way back, but by that time,  we were both plenty hot and could use the refreshing breeze.   I even managed to capture a little fall color with the overcast skies providing the right lighting.  

It's fresh!  Perhaps the last 
of the year? 

In all,  14 miles!  Done.   Cheryl has scheduled a half marathon in Kansas City two weeks from now.  Every time she sees a Political Rally or "Peaceful Protest"   she wonders why she can not run a race.   I can understand.   We have been running,  but have not been able to race for all but the very beginning of the year. ( New Years Dash!  Where,  interestingly enough,  we Probably GOT the stupid Covid virus then!)   But Kansas City is having a 'Long View' lake run half marathon...  with no crazy rules or starts, or finishes, or conditions... 

 So I may have to wear a face covering, but I probably will anyway that late in the year due to the cold,  not due to the virus.  And I can avoid the crowds as a Spectator.  But Cheryl will be forced to run with "people" where Social Distancing is hard... Because everyone is Running! Usually in the same direction.  And everyone, even without a pandemic, are trying to put as much "distance" between themselves and the other runners as humanly possible.  All the while,  others are trying to catch up to them.   So you see,   All those rules don't really apply to running. 

Some fall Color. 

So the rest of the day will be spent relaxing, and trying to recover for tomorrow.  I'm sure there will be a surplus of stockings after the weekend.   And unlike last weekend,  we are not going to try to whittle down the job by doing the easy ones today.    Cheryl says we should probably take a day off from running tomorrow anyway, so that will give us a little extra time to finish everything.   We shall see how things go.   In the mean time,  Enjoy that cooler air.   They are predicting more snow mid week this coming week.   I hope it is not much so we can continue to run and bike at the trail as long as possible.  Thanks for stopping in!  And have a great weekend. 

From Hot To Cold! Ground Cherries In The Wind And Rain.

 Last night,  a cold front moved in and dropped the temps 30 degrees!  An addition, it brought a cold rain and a high, gusty wind along with it.  The combination forced us to make a command decision to limit the mileage for the run/bike this morning.  

To be fair,  we have not had a day off  for almost 2 weeks.  ( 10 days!)  And Cheryl hates scheduling an "off day" on a "nice day" for running.   So it fits that we finally have a day off on a bad running weather day.  If that makes sense. 

But one of the reasons we wanted to get out there was to find more of those ground cherries.   Cheryl read that they are good for you in all of those "naturally found and foraged super foods" ways.  By the way,  the same book says that the ENTIRE PLANT is toxic...  except for the fruit hidden in the husk.  Similar to Mushrooms, I reckon. 

So,  we braved the first mile of the trail to find a few of the cherries to bring home.   There are other fruiting "things" out there that are red and yellow. ( similar to the cherries...)  But are also "toxic".  We think the yellow ones are Horse Nettle...   which is toxic, I guess.   Toxic as in "belly ache?"   or toxic as in DEATH TO ALL!"   The book is unclear. 

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At least Mushrooms have a hint in the name... Like Destroying Angel,  Death Cap, Deadly Webcap,    Names that most people might remember....

At home, I set out to separating the cherries from the husks.   Many of the cherries were either too small or too old.   Some are still green, but I think they are ripe enough to eat.   We had some yesterday and in addition to still being alive,  we found them to be quite sweet and tasty.  I'm sure Cheryl will be snacking on them later today. 

As for me,  the colder weather has triggered me into breaking out the crock pot and warming up some beef vegetable soup...  with LOTS of mushrooms mixed in.   I love having a BOUNY of mushrooms that I can freely add to just about everything we eat.   Eating hot soup on a cold day is just that much more satisfying.  Especially when you were able to add all that foraged mushroom goodness to the mix.  

Stockings are picking up and we are beginning to feel the heat a little.  9 stockings today and a number of "Show and Tells" to potential customers.   I finally am done with the work that pays the bills and can now begin on the work that costs me money to do....  i.e Hobbies!   I'm not sure which hobby I should waste my time and money on now that chalk drawing is off the table.  Perhaps I will try to fold something.    Sometimes I miss the paper folding, but I still have a bag full of origami I am unable to find homes for.   Perhaps I will find something else to distract me this afternoon.   We shall see.   Thanks for stopping in.