Autumn (Or Winter?) Experience By The Ausable River

It was another Sunday morning on which we were driving up to the farm, the dogs and I. We drove up the Northway all the way to Exit 30, the High Peaks exit, and got onto Route 73. I then stopped at our favorite, secret little campsite by the Ausable River and let the dogs out:

We hadn't been down to the riverside lately, so we climbed down the rocky hill to the path along the Ausable River. Old Winky, as usual, lagged behind and I had to keep going back to urge him onward:

Wally, also quite old, surprised me with a burst of puppy-like playfulness and Fergus joined in the fun, running and bouncing through the forest. You can see Fergus' ears flopping as he runs joyously:

I walked right down to the rocky river bank and looked back to where the dogs played on the mossy shore. Can you find them in this picture? I see Winky, Clover and Fergus:

Fergus peeked out from behind a tree, looking either shy or playful:

But I was enjoying the beauty of the wild Ausable River:

Clover did a bit of playful rock hopping, but I stayed safely on solid ground. My last fall has made me much more cautious:

I climbed back up to the trail and then looked down and called Winky up to join us. He's almost totally deaf, so my "calling" was mostly arm waving and clapping:

And we all began making our way back to our parked car:

The Papillons ran and played, keeping each other entertained:

Back at the car again. I loaded all the dogs back inside and then went in search of Winky:

And there he was, looking up at me and not at all sure he felt like climbing uphill with his crooked old legs. He did it, though, and soon we were on our way again: