Black And Long Ponds, Keese Mills - Part 1

I decided to take a clear, beautiful day off from farm work and drove down near Paul Smith's College with the dogs to hike the trail along Black Pond and Long Pond. We began at Black Pond, where there was a sunken rowboat, a remnant of earlier times:

The outlet of Black Pond was somewhat swampy and filled with Green Frogs whose banjo-like twangs echoed through the trees:

A loon floated quietly and peacefully on Black Pond:

The trail was level and mostly easy to navigate, though my braces gave me trouble at the rocky places:

We arrived at the Black Pond lean-to and the dogs ran ahead to the water's edge:

They were overjoyed and went in far enough to get their feet wet:

Bunchberries were in bloom in great numbers:

We continued northward along the western shore of Black Pond:

I saw one canoe, quietly paddling across the lake:

Clover and Daphne explored the water's edge:

And Clover was a very good girl, not running ahead like she used to do:

Common Wood Sorrel in bloom. We'd just gotten started and there was still a lot to see. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: