Arriving At The Very Snowy Farm

When the dogs and I arrived at the farm, we found the driveway full of snow. I was unable to drive in from one road, so I swung around and tried from the other direction (I'm on a corner lot). I managed to get the car up to the house and park. The barn was buried in snow and its entrance door had perhaps three feet of snow in front of it:

I opened the door to the house and found 12-18" of snow in front of the door. My next order of business was of course to shovel it:

The dogs stayed in their fenced yard while I shoveled:

And then I walked out to to the barn, where I had to climb over and through a three foot snow drift:

I looked back from the barn to see Seamus wondering what I was up to:

I plugged in the tractor's block heater and returned to a pack of dogs very anxious to see me:

Let us in! Let us in!:

The High Peaks In Winter, Part 2

I was on Route 73, driving through the High Peaks Region of the Adirondacks, on my way to a visit to the farm. The dogs and I had passed through the Giant Mountain region and began dropping down into the Keene Valley:

Daphne and Clover watched the passing scenery with interest:

We passed through the hamlet of St. Huberts:

There was a deep chasm right next to the road and then more mountains:

And once we were in the Keene Valley, there were flatlands surrounded by mountains:

A few farms have survived in the Keene Valley, but mostly it is now a place for tourists:

And the old barn I photograph on nearly every trip:

When we reached the high plateau of Route 458, the scenery became different but altogether gorgeous, kind of like driving through the Black Forest:

My front seat buddies:

And then, just ahead of me, I saw a Bobcat slowly crossing the road, not overly concerned with me or my car:

I pulled off the road onto the shoulder in order to watch his progress into the forest:

He became a little bit nervous after I'd stopped to watch him. When he reached the trees, he positioned himself behind one of them, stuck his head around the tree trunk and watched me suspiciously. The dogs never seemed to notice him, which was a good thing as they'd likely started barking. But we were close to the farm at that point and I pulled back onto the road to finish the journey:

The High Peaks In Winter, Part 1

We were on our way to the farm and had begun our trek through the High Peaks Region of the Adirondacks. The dogs were very happy, but then they seem to be happy all the time about everything. I envy their bright, cheerful dispositions:

We headed onto Route 73 and immediately began to see snowy forests and high mountains. If I remember correctly, that was Giant Mountain up ahead:

All along the road were mountains:

And frosted forests of great beauty:

The views are better in winter than in summer because the leaves are off the deciduous trees:

I slowed down to pull over and snap a photo. That got Daphne and Clover interested in finding out what I was looking at:

And this was what I was looking at. The nearby mountain had a dusting of snow on it which produced a striking effect and brought the trees and rocks into sharp contrast. I thought it was breathtaking. By the way, don't miss the big pile of snow alongside the road which the snow plows had pushed there:

And on we traveled on Route 73. I drove and ogled the mountains. The dogs mostly slept:

More mountains, some big - some small:

Chapel Pond with its surrounding hills:

Another look out over Chapel Pond:

A bigger mountain just through those trees. But we were just getting started and there was much more winter beauty to see along the way. I'll post more tomorrow:

Another Journey, Another Stop At Frontier Town

Once again it was Sunday morning and I was on the way to the farm with all the dogs and a lot of boxes in the back of the car. We reached Exit 29 and stopped, as we often do, at the old, abandoned Frontier Town. Alas, there was by then so much unplowed snow that I couldn't get out of the parking lot - and even that was dicey. So I let the dogs out right there:

Clover ran full speed while Madeline gave everything a thorough sniffing:

Even the two old-timers, blind Wally and deaf Winky, seemed to be having fun:

Madeline went exploring, quitting only after the snow became too deep for her to go any farther:

There was almost no traffic on the road and we were far enough off of it anyway, so I didn't worry as the dogs sniffed, explored and played:

The three Papillons went running off as a group:

And then the other dogs had to find out what was the big attraction (I'm guessing it was nothing):

A bit more sniffing, a bit more pooping and peeing. Even here in the parking lot the scenery was superb:

The three "Silly Sisters" seemed to enjoy each others company:


That building in the background is a place we have not yet explored. I plan to do so when the snow has melted:


I called the dogs back to the car:

And loaded them all back in. I counted noses several times to assure myself I hadn't forgotten anyone, and we continued on our way to the farm. Rest stops are hard to come by when there's lots of snow on the ground. That makes the trips shorter, but less fun:

Heading For Home, A Stop At Hays Brook

It's difficult to find rest stops in the wintertime, but I try. On this trip home from the farm I was (barely) able to drive through the unplowed snow to get to the trail head for the Hays Brook Horse Trail. The dogs were excited:

I let them out of the car and they ran off in all directions, sniffing and playing and having a grand time:

The trails, road, forest and everything were covered with snow and I figured the small access road into Mountain Pond would make a nice winter trail:

So I began walking away from the car and called the dogs to come with me. A couple of them were "stuck" on a fascinating smell, but they came after a moment's hesitation:

The youngsters ran on ahead while I urged the old timers onward and admired the spectacular scenery:

And pretty soon I more or less had the dogs together in a group:

Imagine that - All seven dogs together and easy for me to keep an eye on:

We kept walking as Clover, ever the adventuress, ran too far ahead. Usually I get miffed and call her back, but on this day I just let her have fun:

By this time Winky had fallen far behind, but he was working on keeping up:

So we turned around and rejoined old Winky not too far from the car:

I got all the dogs loaded up into the car and ready to continue on our way except for.................

..........except for crabby old Winky, who was just plodding along. He finally arrived back at the car and had a great deal of trouble jumping up into it. But with a bit of help, he made it and we continued on our way. As it turned out, there would be no more rest stops on this trip because there was too much snow: