Dawn Breaks At The Farm

I woke up early, many hours before daybreak. But once the sun was shining I was pleased to note that almost all the snow had melted:

There would be no real hiking on this trip as all the trail heads were snowed in (despite the lack of snow in this field, it lingered in the forests and mountains). But that didn't mean total sloth on my part. I took the four younger dogs for a mini-hike across the north hay field:

Looking back towards the house and barn provided a rather sad look at the decrepit old sheds still (barely) standing in the field and attached to the barn. They'll surely have to be removed some day:

But the dogs were having a grand time running and playing. We reached the end of the field and stopped at the woods:

But then plunged right through the tall grass and entered the woods:

Seamus and Daphne stopped for a cold drink of water at Sunset Brook:

And Daphne, being an agile little sprite, did a bit of rock hopping:

We passed through the woods into a hidden hay field completely surrounded by trees. I own only a small corner of this field:

A bit more romping (notice Clover in mid-leap) and we began to return the way we came:

Fergus took his turn at the brook:

Seamus led the way through the briers as we climbed back up to the north hay field:

We crossed the field once again as we headed for home. That's all the "hiking" we'd get for this trip and I had other plans for the day. But I'll post more about that tomorrow: