Harvey Mountain Blueberries - Part 4

This is post number 4 of our Harvey Mountain hike. I was walking (hiking seems to be the wrong word for this easy trek) up to the summit with four of my dogs and hoping that I'd find lots of ripe Lowbush Blueberries. I wasn't disappointed and had snacked on wild blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. But it was a very hot day and the trail led from the blueberry fields into the cool, shady woods, so that's where we headed next:

Baby Clover was by now tired enough to be more obedient and had been relieved of her leash. She was having a grand time leading us all into the woods. She considers herself the Big Boss Lady and, I suppose, always will. I only require that she not be unkind to any other animal and that she obey me. She is very sweet, cuddly and loving, but deep down in her soul, she KNOWS that she's been divinely ordained to be Queen Clover:

The forest was indeed cooler and more pleasant - except for the gnats which, though they didn't bite, were so pesky that they were getting stuck under my eyelids every time I blinked. Off to the side of the trail, I saw a marker:

It designated the Massachusetts/New York state line. I've read that some (New York) locals hike this trail just to come to this spot and pee across the line onto Massachusetts, a good natured jab at our New England neighbors. As for the dogs and me, I'm afraid we'd already emptied our bladders and had to be content just to gaze across the line:

I did, however, set up a happy photo op with me on the Massachusetts side and the dogs still in New York. Don't they look happy? Clover was too busy sniffing out the woodlands to join us:

Seamus needed a rest, but Fergus led the two Papillon puppies on an exploration of an old stone wall:

Fergus seems to love to walk atop these old stone fences and both Clover and Daphne seemed to enjoy it also:

We hiked a bit farther into Massachusetts, but the gnats in my eyes eventually persuaded me to turn back towards New York and the blueberry fields. Clover was quite happy to lead the way:

Papillon puppies in the forest. They seemed right at home. Just as I'd read about the breed, they are not shy, limp-wristed toys, but adventurous and active dogs in small bodies:

This is one of my favorite pictures. It's Fergus emerging from the forest back into the blueberry meadows. The magical contrast of shade and light with the sense of a fairy tale adventure is very true to life. This sort of scene seldom looks the same in a photo, but this time the camera seemed to capture the magic. Well, our hike was not finished yet. I'll post more in the days to come: