A Walk Across The North Hay Field

Well, I'd toured the lawn and gardens and everything was perfectly groomed. I then went into my apartment and put out food and water for the dogs. Wally, Wren and Winky were tired, so I left them inside and went for a walk across the north hay field with Seamus, Fergus and Daphne. The grasses in the hay field were lush and growing rapidly, but for Daphne and Fergus the field was primarily a giant playground:

We walked all the way across the field and approached the woods. I decided it'd be nice to walk down to Sunset Brook so we hiked downhill into the trees and brambles:

But the brambles were so thick that I couldn't push through them without ruining my clothes. So I explored a new route through the woods, discovering as I did how very wet and soggy the ground was. In a gooey, marshy spot I spied these yellow flowers. They were Marsh Marigolds, or Cowslips, Caltha palustris:

We walked through the woods and up into a large hayfield completely bordered by trees. I own only a tiny portion of this field, the part in which I was standing when I shot this photo. The rest of it belongs to someone else:

The dogs sniffed all over the field as if some very interesting animal had recently walked through there:

It's difficult to see in this picture (though easier if you enlarge it), but that's my barn and farm house seen through the tops of the trees:

With one last look at the hidden hay field, we slipped back down into the woods and headed home:

And encountered these strange plants. I thought they might be either Skunk Cabbage or Solomon's Seal, but upon looking it up when I got home, decided I simply have no idea what it is. I'll have to wait until it flowers - unless, of course, you know what it is. If so, please let me know:

And we climbed up out of the woods and back into the hay field where the dogs played once again as we made our way back to the farm house:

As we walked across the hay field, the farm was directly in front of us. But notice that spectacular sky. I was once going to name the farm "Windswept," but am currently reconsidering and instead thinking perhaps I'll name it "Flying Cloud" or "Big Sky" Farm. In fact, Daphne's AKC registration names her Flying Cloud Daphne: