MORNING HIKES

Farmyard from June's field

It has cooled considerably – the temperature, I mean – and the coolness feels good. Initially, it felt so good that I didn’t even trade my summer clothes for warmer wear. I’m layering my clothes now because afternoons can be quite warm.

Plank's Pitch

Now that the fields are harvested, we have enjoyed hiking, both our place and the neighbors’. I have donned jeans and boots and joined Mike and Bess for the morning hikes.

Smoke in the canyon

This morning it was just Bess and me on the hike because Mike is riding with friends into Joseph Plain. In the spring, Bess was reticent to go with me if Mike wasn’t along, but this morning she readily led the way. We walked beyond the pond, up June’s field, and then across the top. We have lots of trails left by the harvesters, but as I walked north, I overshot the main arterial. We had to double back, but we didn’t mind.

Thursday morning I looked out the window to see a big heron sitting on the barn roof. I was lucky to get this shot through the window. And on a recent evening, we saw two deer in the yard between the house and barn. Mike opened the front door, and the stare down commenced. They are quite bold.

Interesting pine tree in the north gulley

We had a brief storm Thursday evening – wind, lightning, rain – but really very little rain. That seems to be the pattern these days – a quick, ferocious storm with very little moisture. 

A curious deer pauses to look us over

Friday was dark and dreary. We didn’t see it rain, but Saturday morning our boots became caked with mud during the hike, so we figured it must have rained a little during the night. The sun is still hot, so the world dried out quickly. It’s still hazy, but visibility has improved noticeably. Field burning has resumed. This morning, we noticed dew. Remember dew?

Photos here are a selection taken during our hikes. KW