Adirondack scenes from this past weekend

I pass this small farm field at the base of the mountains in Keene, NY on every trip up to the farm. I'm not sure where they're coming from, but whoever owns the field seems to be populating it with horses and ponies, with new animals added each time I pass by. They seem healthy, happy and friendly. I had to snap a photo of them as I headed north.

Above is a shot of Mountain Pond, the trout fishing pond on which I took a video of the loons on a previous trip. This time, I followed the tiny road farther around the pond for a look from a different angle.

And here's a different angle from which to see Mountain Pond, looking through a clump of Blue Flag, Iris sp., toward the small mountain on the other shore. Blue Flag is our native wild Iris. There were no loons on the pond this time.

And of course the dogs had to get out, stretch their legs and empty their bladders. I think these pooches live a pretty nice life.

I stopped briefly at the site of an old motel, where nothing is left but the parking lot and the sign. I'd earlier noticed a tiny road there leading into the woods and wondered where it went. It led to these beautiful little flowers: Bunchberry, Cornus canadensis. I'd previously seen them only on the tops of the highest Adirondack peaks. Look at the flower bracts and the parallel veins on the leaves. Yes indeed, this is a close relative of the dogwood tree. In fact, it is in the same genus.

Bunchberry grows only a few inches tall and is quite remarkable. It always seems to grow in patches as if crowded together for company and mutual support. A true mountain plant, native to the Adirondack high peaks.

Scattered through grassy areas along roads through the Adirondacks was this bright orange flower resembling Dandelion. It is Orange Hawkweed, Hieracium aurantiacum. A field full of them is truly a sight to behold. It's a native plant, not an alien introduced species.

I also saw this strange plant, growing in a clump near the Bunchberries. It is Spiderwort, Tradescantia virginiana, a native plant unlike most anything else I've ever seen.

It rained as I drove home on Monday but quit about the time I stopped at the High Peaks rest area. The time following a rain is a glorious time to be in the mountains. You can see why in the photo from the rest area above.

And above.

And above.

And finally, a shot taken from the highway on my way back to Albany, looking out over a lake to the mountains beyond. This kind of scenery is one of the reasons people love the Adirondacks.