Mile Hill Lake & Glenwood Preserve~

I admit, I'm going a bit winter batty...  Today, we have slop & I do mean slop!  With a temperature of 53 degrees, I convinced Butch that we needed to take Nika & go to Mile Hill Lake for a hike.  We'd never been there & had no idea what the trails were like.

Far end of the lake & fog~

We were really surprised to see ice fishermen out on the lake.  It was so warm & everything was melting fast.  They looked very experienced.  It was a little sad though to have to listen to the gas powered auger as they drilled holes through the slushy ice.  Tricky too, since it was so thin.

Auguring holes in the ice~

We followed the signs to the trails. It was incredibly slippery going. The ground that was exposed by the melting snow, was so saturated that it became mud as we stepped. We stayed on the snow to keep from eroding the trail. Even on the graveled section - we sunk in with every step.

Nika & Butch

Nika had absolutely no problems & loved every minute.  We managed to get up this hill without falling on our faces, but about half-way up the next, we gave it up.  After all, what goes up, must come down & we didn't have a sled with us!

Back down & across the dam~

Butch was right - the downhill was slippery business. I can't think of any kind of foot-gear that would work in the combination of slushy snow & mud.

Our route~

As you can tell from the Google Earth image above, there are a lot of trails here & we're looking forward to exploring them when things dry out!

Next, I thought of the Glenwood Preserve. We'd been there our first year here, but not since. The trail is paved & that seemed the better option for our walk.

Nika & Butch

Nika had just gotten in trouble for pulling, so was not happy. I'm still trying to teach her to pose for photos.

Looking down~

The trail was much nicer - we didn't have to watch every step. Taking the loop, the surrounding areas were as wet as everywhere else, but the paving was exposed most of the way.  I'm looking forward to seeing the wildflowers this spring.

Green-briar or Cat-briar~

Areas of the park are overrun with this noxious weed. I'm working diligently in our timber & even in the backyard of the abandoned house to our east to eradicate it.

Close up~

These vines will climb forever in the trees, over shrubs & take over in a very short time. Sometimes even hard to see, when you feel a thorn through your gloves, you know it!

The way back~

We walked the elongated loop. The sun tried to break through the clouds once, without much success. We didn't see or hear anything, not even a bird.

Our route~

Both of us are so used to being able to work outside almost year-round - that we're looking for ways to expend some energy. I can't imagine how hard it must be to maintain an acreage with the weather conditions we've had this winter & I'm glad we don't have to!