...And Then There Was One

Poor Sick Chick died last night. She was a lovely old ex-battery hen, the most vocal, and gentle, of the original four. She liked nothing better than to scratch around and chatter to us as we worked. We shall miss her, so will Little Red Hen.
She lies buried in the middle of Owl Wood.
I realise that to non-hen people this is a fuss about nothing. Our rescued, rescue hens were great little characters who showed us that big personalities can also come in small, feathery packages.A hen is not 'just a hen'.

Altitude Sickness?

I think I have some altitude sickness, Since arriving in West Yellowstone Tuesday, I have been at over 6000 ft. Each day I call it a quit a little earlier. Tired, short of breath, constant light headache. Even with my walking stick, I was not doing well..

Anyway - this morning, I hightailed it to Canyon. Along the way there, I detoured through the one-way drive to take better photos of Virginia Cascades. Success - was able to stop on the road (nobody coming) and get the photos.

Today's tour was the South loop of the park.

First big photo shoot area this morning was Yellowstone Falls and the Canyon the the Yellowstone. checked out and took photos on both sides of the river. Got some good photos. (see here)

Stopped at Mud Volcano. Took a couple photos of the thermal action there. There are fires in this area of the park. Another driver told me that all turn-outs South to Fishing Bridge was closed because of the fire.

By the time I got to Yellowstone Lake, it was past breakfast time. Just got under the wire as breakfast at the Lake Lodge cafeteria closed at 10am. Already, my knee and short of breath was getting to me

Debated, but eventually got out of the car and did a short walk (with my walking stick) at West Thumb Geyser Basin. Thinking that I might walk more there tomorrow when I head South.

Stopped at Kepler Cascades. It was right along the road near Old Faithful. Speaking of Old Faithful, I was planning to stop there for photos and a walk. But, by the time I was there, I would have parked a long way away from the geyser basin.

There were a couple other of other places I wad thought about stopping - but they were busy, too. Guess these will be other places to visit when I head south to the Grand Tetons and Jackson.

Processed all of the photos taken today. Heath Blizzard this afternoon. No getting ready to pack up for being on the road in the morning.

Things I did ths week

1. Tasted Honeysuckle nectar.
I know that I am on the board of the South Carolina Exotic Plant Pest Council but I can't help loving this plant when it flowers! That scent signals the onset of summer for me. Bare feet, windows down, lightning bugs, screen doors. This is my time of year.2. Found 10 Killdeer Eggs.
Three nests and three shrieking momma birds. These birds love the gravel roadways of nurseries and they lay their eggs directly on the ground. You know that you are near a Killdeer nest because the mother will try to distract you by running from the nest dragging her wing. They are good actresses, playing the role of an injured bird.
3. Scouted a few nurseries.
This is best time of year to do what I do. Plants are flowering, trucks are being loaded and shipped to the garden centers and the weather is perfect. This wasn't one of the nurseries I scouted this week, but I love the way the different types of plants created a floral quilt across the hillside in this picture.
So, wow, I'm not that exciting!
But I'll take it.

A Hat Trick

Three snow rides at Lake Manawa in as many days! Had to take advantage of the new snow and nice weather.
Yesterday was the best riding conditions. Martin and I were both out riding at Manawa. He stopped, checked my tires and let more air out of my tires. That made a BIG different - much better handling. Checked the pressure when I finished - about 23#.
Martin blazed the trail around Long's Loop. My lap was the 2nd or 3rd track. That did my legs in - still got in over 8 miles.
Back today for more. I just could not get my groove. Lots of problems staying on the trail. I was steering like I was new to riding! Still got in over 5 miles. The trail is starting to show bare ground and icing over from packing.
I was not the only one on the trail - a four legged trail user.

Land Between the Lakes

Land Between the Lakes located between Tenessee and Kentucky. Had planned to overnight at a campgound here but after driving over the river and seeing telephone phones in the middle of it, I called to the campground to see if it was open - found out it was under water so we opted just to visit for the day and continue on.



Spend the day at the Home Place with a period farm and buildings.













Take the Driving Tour to see Buffalo and Elk:

MEET OUR NEAREST NEIGHBOURS

I thought I would let you meet our nearest neighbours. They live right across the road.













This pond was only created a couple of years ago, but already it is beginning to look pretty settled.



Normally the pond is busy with ducks, geese, herons, even swans drop by occasionally.





The little river is called 'Great Eau' and it runs through the trout farm nearby and then on to the beautiful Claythorpe Watermill, before meandering away.

It has lots of fish in it - although none were visible today.





Obviously I had remembered to take my camera today - when I arrived there was just one pair of ducks. By the time I had sorted out the camera they had flown off! Camera shy, I suppose.





Toby and I met one of our other close neighbours - John, from next-door-but-one. He is probably in his 90's, very recently widowered, and a nice man to chat with.





He was in the field when we got there, taking photographs and admiring the colour of the tree foliage. The number of sheep in the field was 41. I know this because John told me.





He has worked on farms since the late 1930's, working with animals. He spent many years as a farm manager, with a dairy herd of 150, as well as a flock of sheep. He says it is second nature to count any stock when he sees them in a field!





He's lovely, so was his late wife Hazel. She used to teach all the local children to ride and was a stalwart of the village hall events.

Sea traffic

Nosing into Rosemarkie Bay after the dolphins came this sailing ship, which I think may be a barque but I'm happy to be better informed.
And after that came the sea kayaks, bobbing along in front of the ramparts of Fort George. I daresay in its heyday the fort didn't have health-and-safety-approved orange street lights on its ramparts.

I'm taking a break for a few days now, to catch the summer while I can.