A Bubbling, Gurgling Adirondack Brook

I was once again driving north through the Adirondack Mountains with all six dogs on my way to the farm. This time I planned to stay for two nights instead of one and really get some work done. On a whim, I turned off the highway at Exit 26 and headed up through the towns of Pottersille, Olmsteadville and Minerva to scenic State Route 28N. When I saw a place to pull off the road, I did so:

I saw no other cars passing by, but my car was well off the road if any traffic should appear. So I let all the dogs out of the car and we trooped down an embankment into the forest. There we discovered a burbling brook flowing through the mosses, ferns and balsam firs. Wally was reluctant, but finally crossed the water:

Fergus, being young and athletic, was bold and adventurous, running ahead and then looking back to encourage us to hurry and catch up to him:

Little Clover, fast as a rabbit and fearless as a wolf, boldly explored on her own, glancing back now and then to make sure the rest of us hadn't turned off in some other direction:

Seamus, Daphne and Wally explored calmly, mostly staying with me:

Winky, however, is old, slow and exceedingly stubborn. Encouraging him to keep up with us was a constant necessity:

The three youngsters, with all their excess energy, ran and jumped and explored every smell and hidey-hole:

My most vivid memory is the smell of the mosses which brought back to mind happy days in my youth exploring the Douglas Fir forests of western Oregon. Fern fiddleheads were growing everywhere:

The two Papillon puppies were not hesitant to jump across the water. Seamus just waded right through it. But old Wally was unsure of himself and needed much encouragement:

But this was only a rest stop and we had many miles yet to go. So I collected the dogs and called them back toward the car:

Once all the dogs were loaded up in the car, I was ready to resume my journey. I took a couple of videos of the dogs exploring that little brook which I'll post tomorrow: