Winter Cathedral Of Pines - Part 1

I took the dogs back to the Red Dot Trail the other day to hike in the snow. It's been two years since we were there and it was a snowy Christmas season then also:

The temperature was just about freezing and quite pleasant, and there was still enough snow on the ground and trees to be beautiful:

It was all so quiet and isolated that I let the dogs run to their heart's content - as you can see by how they crossed this little bridge:

The trail began alongside Osgood Pond, which was frozen over, and the dogs found it fascinating:

And I too found it fascinating - quiet and eerie, with muted colors:

The trail took us alongside a sort of canal between Osgood Pond and Church Pond:

The wet snow had been clinging to the trees for many days and I'm glad I got there in time to see its beauty:

I hate to use the trite expression, "Winter Wonderland," but it sure fits. I guess that's why it's used so often. The dogs, as you can see, were still running full speed:

Clover kept running so far ahead that I eventually began calling her back. She's happy to come when called. It's all part of the fun for her:

Daphne too was running full speed, back and forth, stopping occasionally to check with me to be sure everything was OK:

We rounded a bend and I knew that Church Pond was just ahead:

The dogs also sensed that we were approaching something, but I'll post about that in Part 2 tomorrow: