Me and My Feet in October

My feet and I made friends with a tarantula.

 Found Beggar Lice seeds

Did a little fishing

 Got down and dirty in the mud

and washed my feet in cool spring water.

My days with my flip flops are growing shorter..

Getting Down and Dirty

This is the spring pond the spring branch flows through on its way to the creek.  Hubby had lowered the dam so we can do some cleaning.

I clipped and sawed and piled so we could reach the feeding dock and rebuild it.  I pulled old logs from mud and clipped new limbs for my brush pile.

The brush pile, left for wildlife habitat, grew

 as the area began to be cleared.

Hubby showed up FINALLY with the big equipment but I couldn't watch.  The bank is small with a drop off on one side and water on the other.  He certainly made a bigger showing than I did.

Removing these dead limbs and logs along the drained edge

got me bogged down a few times.

These boots were tired when we stopped for the day.

Next comes muck removal, feeder repair, and rebuilding the dam.

The fun has just begun.

Me and My Feet

After my feet and I had burned a brush pile and grass burrs I'd picked, we took a Gator ride to deliver Tractor Man to his tractor in the New Ground fields.  

It was warm for a run up the hill. I'm a softie so old lady Lil and Lizzy got to ride in the Gator seat with me. They'd run along with us and were so hot.  We stopped at the creek.  My shoes were quickly discarded.

 We walked in together, the dogs, my feet and I.

The water was cool

It was clear when we entered.

Clear didn't last long.

The dogs made quite a splash and stirred up the mud.

The cow flies, mosquitoes and deer flies were feeding on us as we cooled.

Even though the water was low there were some good pools to chill in.

We even liked the mud.

My self portrait and the dogs were cool and happy as we reflected.

In My Yard

We have a promise of rain.

Sweet Williams flowers are almost gone.

a Marigold

Hibiscus seed pods 

Blackberry Lily seeds. 

Water garden needs a fall cleaning.

 The rain clouds kept their promise.

We had enough rain to make the road muddy.

We are blessed.

Big Foot Sighting...

"The proof is in the pudding" but here the proof was in the sand and the mud.  After two warm days the frozen ground is thawing and takes prints very well.

It was easy to see something had walked through here leaving clear proof of the direction the being was headed. 

Then I found this!

I can't track it.

Which way did it go?

I found this clue...

Human shoes

Someone trying to push winter away by playing bare foot in the mud looking for artifacts.  Looking for ROCKS, can you believe that?  I soon discovered although the temps were in the high fifties, that the mud was cold

and the spring water from the faucet was ice cold, too.

Almost clean enough for inside.

Oh, man, what a beautiful day to play.

Footwear...

is as varied as my hats

My, oh, S**t, the valley's flooding boots

My Ariats going to build a tree stand with Hubby

Also known as my

"what the hell am I doing on the roof?" boots

My new boots testing the creek

My bare feet

after I gave up on these.

Socks and flip flops...I think it was winter

My long-lived boots with repairs

My retired boots

Extra new boots just in case

Fixing culvert boots

Snow boots.

My footwear varies job to job, not always appropriate for the job but they work as we continue to work At The Farm.

I Tried...

to take a walk to my favorite spots.  It did not take long for the wind and the temps to discourage me.

Here is our main spring deceptively looking shallow.  The water is "boiling" up from underground where the white sand is.  Yes, this is our drinking water and supplies two households with no strain.  This water is better tasting and cleaner than most treated water in municipalities.

The rocks you see surround where the pump is.  We must clear the extra sand twice a year.  The first spring surround was a barrel.  No one knows who placed the barrel. When cleaning I found remains of old iron rings. Grandpa laid rocks and Dad added a ridge to walk around.

From here the spring flows down a stream into a pond.  From there it joins the creek.  We are the head waters of  Lunenburg Creek.

I continued my walk to a clear spot after collecting Beggar's Lice...the small seeds you see clinging to my pants.  This plant is a favorite for the deer to eat.

Had some trouble with my shoes so I left them and continued bare foot.  Part of this was still frozen and the rest was very liquid.  No arrow heads today but very cold feet.

Washing my shoes and feet in icy water from the outside faucet finished me off for a taste of the outdoors.

I've got to find some rubber boots!