a whole post about a single pond

post #266
      Greetings from southeastern Kentucky, in McCreary County, where I am visiting my friend, Peg, for a few days. She lives surrounded by forest and by her farm, which is also the location of her B & B, Farm House Inn.  Friday she drove me around in her "Mule", a very handy mode of transportation on forest trails. It can hold at least three people or instead one person and several big dogs.... 

       I had intended today to show a variety of photos from my stay, like I have done after other visits here, but this time we came across some unexpected misty magic! I am not sure photos can capture the wonder of it, but it is worth a try. Video might have been better suited for sharing what we were seeing, but I wasn't equipped to do that. So here is our first view of the pond, unexpectedly covered with mist:

        We were not there long, and the mist kept shifting the whole time, revealing sections of ice and levels of mist. All this was happening around 5 p.m. after a relatively warm day. Peg doesn't think the pond was "turning over", a term I had to look up, yet she had never before happened to see her beloved pond acting like this. I will post the following photos in mostly chronological order, and I tried out two in black and white to catch the ice patterns. As usual, I don't even know how to do some of the fancy stuff, and I don't usually do anything anyway for the blog photos I show.

      Once we decided our time had run out and we had to return to the house, I made one last photo farther along the pond's edge, with its different feel of the place.

 
       I was moved by seeing this pond, and, as usual, I feel even more connected to what I am seeing if I use my camera.  The photos feel imperfect for the occasion, but I share them in any case to honor our being at that place at that time. The wild things we don't always get to experiece are so very much needed in our world and always have been.

a hemp preview

post #236
        A friend with a farm, in McCreary County, applied to be one of Kentucky's 100 farmers approved this year for growing hemp. It is a new program, long overdue.  
       She has dogs living with her, and a horse, a donkey, a goat -- these three returned here after life experiences other places -- and some chickens, two cats, and some cattle. 
       She also runs a B and B there, Farm House Inn Bed and Breakfast, which does well, even though the place is not the easiest to find! Hint: It is near Cumberland Falls State Park. I visited her Monday, which I don't often get to do since she lives four hours away, in the southern part of the state.
       Here are some of the photos I took connected to the hemp project:

extra hemp seeds, after the field was planted

 

trying to be very clear that this is 1) legal, 2) really hemp, and 3) new to the agricultural scene

early plants, waiting for the cultivator to be fixed and up and running

another attempt to be clear about what is going on and what they are hoping to learn this year

These parts are to show what the plant will offer after growing fully instead of how they look today.

 

Peg kindly models her HEMP HAT, all made from hemp, including the woven band.

         Now here are some photos of the dogs, cats, chickens, and cattle who live with her.  The legs at the top of this first photo belong to the goat in the second....

the rooster, ruler of the roost....

   

        I might as well go whole hog here, despite there not being any hogs, and show portraits of each of four dogs, one of the cats, and the donkey with his horse mentor.  Very apparent is the fact that life is pretty good down on this farm!

 

       Thanks, Peg, for your hospitality and friendship and your stewardship. So many of us in Kentucky hope this hemp undertaking will prove successful for our state!  It once was good for Kentucky, and it could be good once again. 

new stuff, post started on Sunday, finished on Monday

post #184
       Greetings [on Sunday] from the parking lot of a McDonald's on my way back from 48 hours off the grid.  I was with a very good group in an enchanted forest  -- which means we were within a healthy forested place in an area of southeastern Kentucky where there are plenty of stripped hillsides, abandoned logged areas and multiple coal tipples.  The actual enchantment comes without phones or internet, however!  Just the beauty of those early spring flowers that bloom and go before the formation of the canopy of those trees will soon make.  I will be sharing some photos from this special place next week.
     
PART B - written on Monday, April 7, 2014, happy birthday to Ed if you ever read this!

        I am now home, plugged in, with some recent photos to share, after five weeks of posting milkweeds, milkweeds and more milkweeds!   Actually, I look forward to finding new milkweed seedlings and watching them grow.  That way by late June I will finish a full year of observation.
        SO, first there are images from our last gasp snow.  It came from the northwest and plastered the sides of even the skinniest of trees -- on their northwest side.  It was actually beautiful, an "of the amazing moment" event.

driving back from town along the ridge, right after the storm

       

These cattle are on the right,

as I drive farther along the ridge.  I like the one yellow sign, that may not show up on small screens.

It also snowed at home, of course, and this is the view out the window.

another small yellow sign, this time a sign of hope, from the penultimate storm

I welcome the beauty of this new season:

Oh my goodness, I'll need to spell FORSYTHIA!  (Note: I had spelled it correctly! I also learned this bush is a member of the Olive family.  I didn't know.)

Coming from behind

but paying attention!

A neighbor left his or her calling card....

In the coming weeks I am building a collection of photos of a nearby road that is stated to be drastically changed.  I don't know if this barn will survive the surveyors or not, so I plan to appreciate this artistry while I can.  

I am so proud of the folk artists in my area.

   Many of us hope the Route 32 road project is scaled back to do a better job of honoring the rich heritage of this area.  I am talking both about the communities along the way and about the flora and fauna and especially the pristine creeks around here.  Anyway, more on that soon.