Beginning Another Trip Up To The Farm

Hey, wasn't it only yesterday that I posted pictures from our trip back from the farm? Yes, but the contractors were beginning the barn restoration work only a week later so the dogs and I were soon on our way back up north to see the big doings. There was still snow in the Adirondacks but I was able to get off the road a bit to give the dogs a rest stop. I had to encourage Wally to come with us as he was unsure of himself with his limited eyesight:

We walked back into the forest toward the Ausable River. We never got as far as the river, though, because Wally and Winky couldn't make it. So I let the young dogs run and play while I encouraged and kept my eye on the two oldsters:

Seamus had a haircut at PetSmart that very morning before we left and they'd put a bandanna around his sizable neck:

Daphne and Clover wrestled and played. Wally and Winky tottered along at their own pace. But all the dogs were happy to be outdoors:

But this was just a rest stop so I soon called the dogs back towards the car:

The three youngsters, as always, ran far ahead and I had to keep them from going in the road - not that there was much traffic:

Wally and Winky were as slow returning to the car as they did walking away from it:

Everyone jumped back into the car except Wally. I continued to call him without showing my impatience as I knew he was making his way through the snow without benefit of eyesight. Once all the dogs were loaded into the car and I'd counted them several times, we resumed our journey through the Adirondacks toward the farm:

Happy Snow Day At Marcy Field

My trip up to the farm was over and the dogs and I were making our way home through the Adirondack mountains south to Albany. But the pooches needed a rest stop and frankly, so did I. Though there'd been too much snow to pull off the road in the mountains, I found Marcy Field in the Keene Valley to be a perfect spot. The blacktopped lanes into the field had even been plowed:

The skies were clear and the views of the surrounding mountains were terrific. Hey, look at that "Z" cloud! Had Zorro been there?:

I had an excellent view of the close-at-hand mountains:

Clover and Daphne, true to form, went running on ahead with great speed and great silliness:

Crabby little Winky chugged along like a miniature locomotive with some magnificent high peaks in the background:

Seamus and Fergus joined the Papillons in running and playing:

Mountains rose up to our north. I suspected that those were the peaks through which we'd just driven:

And old Wally joined the youngsters in exploring the snowy field:

Wally's eyesight is getting worse but he still manages to have lots of fun. He can't hike anymore but these rest stops provide him with some exercise and a chance to experience the joy of living once again:

We walked all the way to the woods across the field:

Wally and Winky came with us, which was wonderful. Getting them to come back with us to the car was more difficult:

And all the while the "Silly Sisters" romped and raced and wrestled. But it had been a busy couple of days and we were almost to the main highway. This was our final stop of this trip up to the farm:

Driving Home From The Farm - From Lake Colby To The Keene Valley

The dogs and I left for home early on Tuesday morning and I took the usual, fastest route. When we passed Lake Colby near the town of Saranac Lake, I pulled off the road to watch the people ice fishing. Daphne found them all fascinating. I sure wish I could have read her mind:

I stopped right in the middle of the town of Saranac Lake to photograph some lovely old homes along the shore of Lake Flower:

In the town of Lake Placid I pulled in to the Equestrian Center hoping to find both scenic views and and a place to let the dogs out. I succeeded only in the former:

The Lake Placid Equestrian Center was a great place for scenic views of the Adirondack mountains even though the day was overcast:

Farther along, I stopped on Adirondack Loj Road for a view of the high peaks near Mount Marcy:

And from there I could also see the Olympic Ski Jumps of Lake Placid:

Route 73 then took us over the mountains toward the Keene Valley:

And then drops steeply down into the Keene Valley:

The views here are quite nice but the places to stop and take photos are few. I took advantage of whatever pull-offs I could find:

At the intersection of Routes 73 and 9N I stopped once again to photograph my favorite scene of all. The skies had cleared by then although a few wispy clouds drifted across the mountaintops:

The Adirondacks here are close at hand and one can see, at least on a clear day, great detail atop the peaks:

It was a grand scene but not a safe place to let the dogs out. So I snapped one more photo and continued on my way toward home:

All Comfy, Safe And Warm After A Long Winter's Day

I'd had a busy weekend up at the farm and when Monday night arrived I was tired. The dogs and I settled in to our little farm apartment early in preparation for leaving for home on Tuesday morning:

Giant Seamus curled up on a door mat as if that was going to give him a comfortable rest. There's pillows all over the floor but he won't use them. So I put a folded up blanket on the floor and encouraged him to use that instead. That was a success and I'll be using that as a Seamus bed in the future:

Wally usually sleeps on my bed, but when he's not there he enjoys the floor pillows:

And little Daphne won the competition for the coveted pillow which receives the gas heater's directed warm air:

Clover waited on another pillow for Daphne to move, at which point she'd confiscate the pillow by the heater:

Crabby little old Winky got all comfy on yet another pillow:

I gave the dogs their dinner and then began cooking my own:

When dinner was done, and with no computer or television to distract me, I got into bed myself to read a good novel. Wally, Fergus and Daphne joined me. But of course I quickly fell asleep. I'd be leaving for home early the next morning. I'll post photos tomorrow from the drive home through the Adirondacks:

A Romp Across The Snowy North Hay Field

I returned to the farm after a long driving tour of Blue Mountain Road in the Adirondacks and the town of Gouverneur. I was tired and tempted to just lie low for the night. But the weather was pleasant and there was still daylight, so I took the four younger dogs for a romp across the north hay field:

They'd spent a lot of time cooped up in the car and were full of energy. Even tubby Seamus got to running and playing:

There was still snow on the ground but it was shallow and easy walking. We headed toward the woods:

We found deeper snow in the woods, enough that I found it difficult to walk in some places:

Seamus plowed some through snow while the tiny Papillons just danced across the surface. Notice Clover in the top left of this picture. She's checking for wildlife - or alien spacecraft, or whatever it is dogs check for:

Running back and forth through a trough in the snow caused some confusion when silly dogs were going different directions. But we all had fun:

By then the it was dusk so I called the dogs to head back to the farm house:

And my little caravan of pooches romped their way back toward home. Old Wally and Winky couldn't have managed this walk so they stayed back in the farm apartment, warm and comfortable:

Clover and Daphne, however, never grew weary of running and wrestling:

Almost back to the barn. Notice those sheds on the side of the barn. They were soon to be demolished:

Back home again. Time for dinner and sleep:

The milk room, I hope, will some day be a chicken coop. I'm already saving old barn boards to use for building nest boxes: