Last Hike?

  We have had snow this week, lots of drizzly and dark skies and a 3 inch snowfall.  Even so, I have made it out for my daily walk most days. But the days of long hikes are about over until I get my snowshoes out.  I'm wondering if this was my last hike "in color" (as opposed to the black-and-white color scheme of winter).
  

It was a gorgeous day and a beautiful drive past some Amish farms to the area I wanted to explore.  Many were out in the fields and yards doing the things that need to be done before the snow flies.

 

  The first part of the trail was just above the Mississippi River, through an abandoned dairy farm. 

The stanchions are still intact in the milking parlor, but all the equipment is gone from the milk room. A cold wind was blowing through the broken windows, and I thought of the farmer and the cows who came together here at 4 o'clock every morning and afternoon, rain or shine, sickness or health.  A way of life, forever gone.

 

Corn crib on the left, machine shed on the right.

 



   Off through the countryside again ... I smell sheep.

And there they are, as curious about me as I am about them.  These fine ladies with their pretty black faces are Suffolks.  They are mainly raised for meat, but this farm was advertising their wool.

Time for lunch, along a bubbling stream, as clear as glass right down to the bottom.  How lovely someone placed a picnic table right here!  Lunch is almonds, cheese I stopped at a creamery to purchase, and a chocolate truffle I found at the bottom of my backpack, only slightly stale.

 

Another great activity for a sunny afternoon in the country.

I ended my walk at a business where I had parked my car.  I'm not sure what to call it, because it is a combination store/gas station/bank/restaurant and as you can see here, it wears one more hat: game registration station.  It was bow hunting season for deer and I saw hunters everywhere.  I hadn't worn orange, so I tried to stay out of the woods and along roads so as to not be mistaken for a deer.

 

I leave  this quote from my Inspirations notebook book for you:

 

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.  Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.  The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.            --John Muir

 

It's so true!

 

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