The Rutland Trail - Part 2

It was late on Monday afternoon up at the farm and I'd had a long and tiring day. But the weather was glorious and I had some dogs eager to go hiking, so that's just what we did. The Rutland Trail passes within miles of my house so it was quick and easy to get to:

The dogs were happy and Seamus climbed into the water to do a little swimming. I didn't get there in time for a photo, but this is him just as he exited the pond. You can imagine Madeline and Daphne walking away from him, shaking their heads in disgust at a dog who'd do such a thing:

Pussy Willow along the banks:

We passed by a shallow spot with easy access and Seamus went in. This time, Daphne gave in to temptation and got her tootsies wet:

And onward we hiked, with the waters on both sides of the trail becoming even broader and more extensive:

We got to a spot with so much water covering the trail that I was forced to either wade or turn back. I chose the latter:

Daphne and Madeline investigated the shoreline as we returned toward the trail head:

When we got back to the shallow spot, Seamus once again went in:

And this time, both Clover and Daphne joined him. Daphne splashed wildly about, acting like the happy pooch she is. Fergus then went in also. Madeline wanted no part of such undignified silliness:

So we continued our way back to the car. The dogs had had their exercise, so I had them heel more often, releasing them after a few minutes to again run and play:

Fergus posed for the camera but didn't look very enthusiastic about it:

And Daphne and Clover ran and wrestled simultaneously. We reached the car a few moments after that and I drove home to prepare for the long drive back to Albany: