The Leonard Pond Trail - Part 2

The dogs and I were hiking the Leonard Pond trail but not having much success in finding the spur trail which would take us to Leonard Pond (see also yesterday's post). No matter, the forest was magnificent and the dogs were happy:

This brilliant spot of orange caught my attention and I believe it was a slime mold:

We never did find the spur trail to Leonard Pond and my injured ankles were getting painful, so we turned around and began heading back toward the car:

Back through the variety of forest types:

Fergus seemed even more playful than usual and poked his head out of the ferns, trying to get me to play. Alas, I've gotten too old and decrepit for very much playing. But I did give him a friendly word or two for his effort:

When we got to this amazing, undulating, emerald carpet of moss, I positioned the dogs together for a "family portrait." They had worn themselves out sufficiently at that point to hold still, at least briefly:

Back through the forest of Red Pines:

In some places, things looked magical. Even the dogs seemed to sense it:

The dogs had slowed down enough to stop and investigate every smell, making small side trips into the forest and then back out onto the trail:

After a while, the dogs could tell that we were getting close to the car and picked up their speed:

Returning to the car always seems to be as exciting for the dogs as getting out of the car to embark on a new hike. I guess dogs are just happy to out and doing something with their family:

Once everybody was back in the car, we drove back out to the highway and began the journey home: