The Hike To Duck Pond, Part 4

I'd given up on finding Duck Pond but was unsure what I'd done wrong. Well, the best thing was to enjoy the hike and scenery at hand as the dogs and I returned to the trail head. When I again passed the beaver pond, I decided I had plenty of time for a closer look. It was clear that beavers were still active there:

So I threaded my way downhill through the trees and the brush toward the beaver pond. I think I was following a beaver trail, not a deer path, for it was clear only up to about two feet and then the tree branches were undamaged and fully obstructing my passage:

Seamus jumped right into the water the moment we arrived but pushing through the tree branches delayed me and he was back out of the water by the time I arrived. I was too late to take any pictures of his swim:

And to quote Robert Frost, "The woods were lovely, dark and deep:"

Fergus was interested in the water, but would only get his paws wet and take a drink:

And again I encountered a pile of Norway Spruce cones. Did they fall here in a mass because one productive tree was just above? Or did some enterprising animal collect them here? I don't know the answer:

And more scat (it was everywhere!), this time showing signs of a more varied diet. Again, I suspected it was from coyotes:

Daphne and Fergus along the trail. I don't know why this totally imperfect picture strikes me as being so wonderful except that perhaps it's because both dogs look so much as I know and love them:

The Tamaracks provided just about the only bursts of color in the forest and I was happy to see them. Though the primary forest was Spruce, I also saw a lot young Balsam Firs getting started along the roadside. I've always thought of Balsam Firs as a deep woods species, but they apparently are a pioneer species and like to populate open spaces where they can get a bit of sunlight.

We were almost back to the trail head. But I'll post more tomorrow: