Saturday, February 16, 2008

Winter Walk

It was such a gorgeous winter morning we couldn't wait to get out to the park for our walk. However when we came to the road we usually take to get to the park we realized that it might be something of an adventure. The Wabash river is very high now. It had been over the county road. The field was flooded and frozen. Up the road a little further you can see that the river is into some of the nice cabins that line this side of the Wabash. This is not an unusual occurance but it is for this time of year.
At this cross over for the farmers to get to their field you can see that the geeese and a few mallards took advantage of what the receding waters had deposited in the field.
At the park it wasn't any better. This road had been covered by water. The little creek that runs through here has been turned into an oxbow. Luna just couldn't figure out why we weren't going on the usual path. The ice was cracking and popping as the water was receding making her very curious as to what was happening. After all she couldn't see anything. I probablylooked just like her when I was listening to the glacier move. Such an eerie sound. Of course this popping and cracking was not near as loud and mournful as the glacier. The glaciers sound sad. The river on the other hand sounds happy and energetic.
Oh yes Mom, I see why we can't go on our ususal path. The bridge is under water. We call this bridge the Phoebe bridge. An Eastern Phoebe nests under here every spring. I hope the river gets this out of its system before the Phoebe returns. The spring rains can almost be as cruel.
That's ok Mom, I don't mind taking the high path for a change. This park has several trails that lead around the rolling hills.
I can't help but to think of the song 'Stairway to heaven' when we come to these steps. They are quite steep and with the sun shining so bright this morning it surely seemed so. I hope you all are enjoying this weekend. We sure are.
I want to thank my DB for taking so many pictures today. I didn't use them all but could have. We also saw the first leaves of Spring Beauties Claytonia virginica and Rue-Anemone Anemonella thalictroides. Not quite worth a picture but it made me feel good to see them because it made me think spring can't be so far away.

24 comments:

  1. Wow - wouldn't want to be the owner of that cabin. Hadn't realised Indiana was so far north (I admit to a lousy knowledge of US geography - had to check on Google!)
    Sue

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  2. Beautiful photographs....want to take that stairway.....love your dog, I love white dogs.
    So interesting to see what is going on in your part of the world.

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  3. I agree, beautiful photographs! Could have been some place in Sweden right now - I actually had to check your profile to see where you come from. (My knowledge of US geography is even worse than Sue Swift's, but I hope I've a license for it, being swedish and all :-)) )

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  4. Hi Sue, Indiana is in the middle of the country. We do get some cold weather.

    Glad you could stop by Cheryl.

    You can certainly be excused for not knowing where Indiana is located Rosengeranium. I would have to look to see where Sweden is too. At least I have heard of Sweden you might not have even heard of Indiana.

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  5. Dear Lisa,
    Lovely winter morning walk. Thank you for posting it. The river does look as if it is far out of its banks. The ice says it all. I am inside snuggled up, waiting for another storm to come.
    Glad you were able to see spring is not too far away. I am waiting for her too.
    Sherry

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  6. You have to be given credit for getting out in floods and ice, maybe Luna talked you into it? Loved the stairway to heaven!

    Frances at Faire Garden

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  7. Holy smokes, it looks beautiful and dangerous all at the same time. I am beginning to love your dog, he looks so much a part of the family and so interested in everything...couldn't be the perfect words you put in his mouth :)

    Hubby did a great job on the photos.

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  8. You sure do have a lot of water there! Luna loves those walks, doesn't she? She's a beauty :)
    Thanks for sharing these lovely pictures of your surroundings. Looks like you have a great place to walk.
    I hope the Phoebe is able to build her nest under the bridge in the spring. Looks a bit precarious though.

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  9. Lisa, Blogger just blew up my comments ... if this is a duplicate, please just delete one of them ... I'll try to remember what I wrote:

    I enjoyed this post and felt as though I was right along with you on this walk. I reminds me of the lovely week I just spent on Vancouver Island -- so nice to walk about where it's not minus 30 below and colder. Good thing the flooding is temporary.

    I loved the photo of the stairway. I think it would be a great starting point or inspiration for the opening of a novel or interesting short story.

    Diane
    Alberta Postcards
    Diane's Flickr photos

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  10. Lisa, hope this nezt front doesn't drown you even more. We are under a flood watch for tonight til tomorrow afternoon Supposed to get 2" again. At least it won't be 20" of snow!

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  11. Wow Lisa... that's spooky seeing the water so high. I do hope it does recede soon. Glad you all still had a lovely day. Luna is such a beautiful girl.

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  12. Hi Q, It is overcast here now. I think that storm is supposed to get here tomorrow. Stay warm.

    Yes Frances, that Luna gets us out regularly. She doesn't ask for much.

    Hi Teri, it could be dangerous. The road had been closed but since the flood water receeded it wasn't so bad.

    Luna tells me what to say. She is a very smart dog, when she wants to be.

    Kerri, Luna indeed loves her walks. She likes for us to go along so she has someone to lead around. She likes to have someone to tell if she sees deer, squirrels or other living creatures.

    Yes, the Phoebe gets washed out occasionally. It seems it is lucky enough to pick the time to nest right after the spring floods.

    Diane, don't you just hate that when Blogger does that. I am glad you took time to rewrite your comment. I do appreciate every comment even if I don't always get a response written.

    Yes, the stairs could also be a lead in to a poem. Spooky, difficult.

    Beckie it is a good thing we went to the park today instead of tomorrow. Might not be able to get out there tomorrow if it rains a lot.

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  13. I feel as though I just took that walk with you! Thank you. :-)

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  14. What a nice post, Lisa. I continue to have issues with Blogger not wanting me to leave comments, but hopefully this one will work. Luna is such a sweet looking dog...even the catchildren agree she's lovely--for a dog, that is--There was some flooding in New Brunswick (province next door to Nova Scotia) in the past few days after all that rain, but now it's just frozen cold again. Never a dull moment for us northern gardeners, is it?

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  15. What beautiful pictures (as always!) You're fortunate to live so near such a beautiful park, but man, that river rising like that would give me nightmares!

    It looks so cold...brrr....

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  16. Shady Gardener, I am glad you could join us on our walk.

    Jodi, I too have trouble with Blogger when trying to leave comments. The silly program just dumps them occasionally. Grrrrrrr

    I am glad the catchildren approve of Luna. She likes cats..to chase. teehee I don't know what she would do if she caught one. I think she just likes the chase. It is the shepherd in her. She likes for them to be where they are supposed to be...not in her garden.

    Sherry you are right, it is cold. All that ice was interesting. I wish I had vidoe of Luna trying to walk on the ice.

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  17. wasn't it a wonderful day to be out on a winter hike? Love your photos!

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  18. Thanks for the nice winter walk photos, especially with Luna. She's so pretty, and you can tell she was very happy to go on an outing -- even in the cold with her path frozen over. You're a good dog-mom.

    We hear from our family in IN that they are expecting more rain tomorrow, and they certainly don't need it either (they farm corn and soybeans).

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  19. You are already seeing the leaves of the Spring Beauties and Rue-Anemones? That does give us hope!

    Carol, May Dreams Gardens

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  20. Monarch, You bet it was a nice day.

    Diana, yep, it is raining as I write this comment. It will take some time for all this to dry out.

    Carol, just a few leaves. Just a hint of spring

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  21. We have a Phoebe bridge too, or more accurately, a Phoebe culvert I suppose. Last spring it was dry, but normally I'm sure they take quite a chance on being flooded out.

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  22. Those are some lovely winter scenes. They ALMOST make me want to go outside and take a walk. But not quite. I love the scenery but hate the cold.

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  23. Frozen flood waters--not a good combination. I'm glad you're seeing a few signs of spring though.

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  24. Beautiful pics ... lovely to look at when it's hot summer here!
    Britt :-)

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