Under the Clouds~

 Butch had come home late the afternoon of the fifth & managed to do his 34-hour reset here!  He had two nights & one entire day at home.  He left on Friday, the weekend loomed large without him.  When I woke to cloud cover on Sat. & cool temperatures, a ride sounded perfect.

Tree canopy~

 On the first, I'd been mowing, decided to toss a long section of hose out of my way & managed to swing the brass fitting on the end right into the side of my right knee!  The pain was no fun & the knee has a good bruise & a egg size swelled spot.  

I left from Silver City & was soon engulfed in green. My theory was that pedaling would probably help my knee feel better.  At least it didn't hurt any worse.  On a Saturday, I expected more people on the trail, but was happy when I had it almost to myself.

Wild Carrot, in bloom behind Shadow~

The wild carrot is taking over along the sides of the trail.  It's huge & in bloom.  It does have a fernlike quality to the leaves & the blooms are pretty, but it can be toxic to some people. (This is the same plant I worked to cut out of Farah's pasture years ago.)

Fields turning green~

The days of high cloud cover are my favorite.  A respite from the bright sunshine & glare that comes with it.  The light green of growing corn has changed the look of the fields from winter's brown.

Silver Creek, lots of silt~

I took it easy today & stopped for a while on the trestle.  With the filtered light, the black decking didn't radiate the heat it had my last visit.  The creek though is still carrying a lot of silt, thanks to the recent rains.

Boehner Pond~

At the pond, it's so nice to see the water level somewhat recovered.  Only a few people were camping.  Besides a couple people fishing, all was quiet.  I tried to call Butch, but there was no answer, which is unusual.  I didn't stay too long before starting back.  The clouds were actually getting heavier, but rain wasn't in the forecast.

Mulberry Season!

I did - stop - several times to pick Mulberries!  They were so big & sweet & good!  For every ripe one that made it to my mouth, others would just fall off the branch.  It's easy to spot where the trees are, on the concrete sections especially.  Even on the limestone, you can't miss their locations.

Shadow on the Trestle~

I stopped again on the Trestle & this time when I called Butch, he answered!  He'd been driving through Chicago & hadn't heard the phone ring.  Thankfully, he was on the far side of the traffic & glad to be through the city. 

Gray Dogwood~

The above blooms caught my eye on the ride back.  I asked for help identifying them on the Iowa Native Plant FB page.  I'd like to find starts for this shrub & try them in our woods.  By the time I was close to Silver City, I could smell rain in the air. 

Back at the Explorer, I'd just finished loading Shadow when the rain started.  I drove through a decent drizzle most of the way home.  As I passed the new Runza in town, there wasn't the usual line at the drive through, so I pulled in.  I bought one for me & one for Doris, who was watching Finnigan.  As I pulled in her driveway, I could see Finn at the storm door.  Doris said she thinks he could hear the Explorer as I got nearer & was waiting for me.  Such a good boy!  

It was one of my favorite rides so far this year.  With summer around the corner & the heat/humidity that comes with it, I doubt I'll be enjoying more days like this for a while!

The Heat is On~

Friday, when I usually am looking forward to the weekend & having Butch home, I was in a grumpy mood...  There are those days - I miss my horse friends more than others.  I miss talking horse, smelling horse & riding...  Still... Always...

Farah & I did this bridge a couple times illegally.  She never liked it & was cautious going over.  I think it was the slanted boards.)

The day was to be hot, but the humidity not as high as it will be this coming week.  I decided if I wanted to get in another ride, it would be a good time to see how I'd hold up to the higher temperatures.  Since I like to be out there for a while, today I decided to err on the side of caution & only ride from Mineola to Silver City & back.  A round-trip of eight miles.

Wild Carrot

The plant above starts out as a beautiful frilly, almost fern like looking plant.  Within just a couple weeks it can grow to be over ten-feet high & take over a field!  It has taken over sections of the trail!  The blooms are pretty, but do not smell good.

A high spot on the trail~

I look back at how difficult I used to think this section of the trail was.  Now, I'm just cruising over it.  In Silver City I decided to stop at the little Happy Trails bike shop.  We'd seen the owners sitting out earlier this week.

What a great shop!   All kinds of things people riding the trail might need.  From tubes, to snacks, ice cream, bug spray, bike bags, etc.  Mari Jo introduced herself & we ended up having a nice conversation about biking & bikes.  Not the same as horses, but still, fun.  Mari Jo has been riding bikes for as long as I've been riding horses & was a wealth of information.   She has a book on the counter where customers can sign their name & where they're from.  People from all over the world have visited this tiny town on a limestone, rural trail.

Sheer cuteness!

She said she's had many offers from people wishing to purchase the bike above!  It was loaded!  I'm sure some little girl had an amazing time riding it!

I had plenty of time & decided to stretch my personal envelope & continue for a couple miles further toward Malvern.  Hardly any wind today & with the shade of the trail, it was probably five degrees cooler than out in the blazing sun.  I stopped to take the photo below & got my first nasty bug bite on the trail.

Walnut Trees~

 Once I'd gone another two-miles I stopped for a drink.  Just as I did, a grandfather & his grandson passed me.  I let them get some distance ahead before I started back.  Before long though, I saw the grandfather stopped along the side of the trail, as his grandson peddled on.  He said;  "That kid has more energy than I do!"  I laughed!  I caught up to the boy.  We were both going the same speed - so I told him we were doing ten-miles an hour.  He asked me how I knew that?  I showed him my Garmin.

He told me they had ridden from Mineola to Malvern & now were heading home to Mineola!  That's a 24-mile round-trip!  No wonder his grandpa was tired!  Once back in town, we both parked our bikes at Happy Trails.  He - to wait for his grandpa & I bought a bottle of bug spray!  :-)

At the hill crest, downhill to Mineola~

The day had really warmed up.  My trail buddy had left & I said goodbye to Mari Jo.  The miles back to Mineola went fast.  Happy with myself for saddling up, getting in a fun ride & meeting some nice people!

Farah's Pasture - A Day Away~

Saturday was a total gift!  A cool day without the high humidity & a nice breeze.  We were determined to get the fence done at the farm!

Overgrown!

It was pretty disheartening to see how the weeds had taken over the pasture area.  With all the strong storms, a large Willow had come down & fallen right on the fence.

Willow down~

When we first walked the area, we knew that the trees would be an issue.  We went back for the chain saw.  Butch said it will probably be the first of the many that we'll have to clear as time goes on...

Wild Carrot~

I started in on the weeds...  Higher than my head & interspersed with Stinging Nettles, it was a jungle, full of bugs.  Water vascular - so very easy to cut down, even when the stems are a couple inches around.

Farah watches :-)

Butch had the weedwhacker & hacked his way up the walkway to the barn.  The west side still needed to have the wire put up.  The problem with all the fast growing vegetation is not only that it blocks the breezes, but also harbors every kind of biting bug.  Now that farmers are not supposed to disk the fields, pests like the Japanese Beetle, who lay their eggs in the dirt, flourish.  Last year they were bad, this year I think they are worse...

Farah on her ground tie

I brought Farah over to enjoy the seed heads on the Brome grass.  Since the Wild Carrot shade so much of the soil, there was very little grass.  Now that it's down, we hope to get it sprayed & allow the Brome to grow.  The vegetation on the outside of the fence will have to be knocked down too.  I think it could get heavy enough take the fence down over time.

Dean & the Tractor

Covered from top to bottom with bug spray - I was hacking away at the Wild Carrot & about half-way across the pasture, when I heard the tractor!  Dean to the rescue!  He'd driven by earlier, saying something about; "Too much work." That mowing blade made quick work of the rest of the field! With the sweat dripping into my eyes, even with my headband - I was more than ready to watch as it all went down!  I wish I'd know enough about the weeds here, to realize what a huge problem they would create.

I wanted to leave some of the Brome, but the guys said it would all grow back in no time!  Not the weeds! Please! One more day's work & the mare will have her pasture!