Winter Cathedral Of Pines - Part 3

The dogs and I were hiking on the Red Dot Trail (see previous two posts) and on our way back through the wintry beauty to the trail head:

I've never hiked this trail in the summer, but I can tell you that it's absolutely spectacular in the winter:

Clover ran on ahead and waited for us to catch up, but Daphne kept running back to check with me:

Seamus is given to gazing off into the trees and thinking deep, doggy thoughts - whatever those may be:

I didn't cross this bridge when we came to it, but the dogs sure did, running back and forth across the water just for the fun of it:

I heard no bird songs or calls, saw no animal tracks. It was quiet and mysterious:

The two Papillons continued to bounce and play:

Almost there:

We made it back to Osgood Pond, where Clover once again went to the shore to contemplate its mysteries:

Daphne joined her, appearing as if some force of nature was beckoning them:

But we continued on:

When we arrived at the trail head, the two Papillons finally ran out onto the ice of Osgood Pond. They ran full speed, headed for that peninsula, and then full speed back to join the rest of us as we plodded up the road to our parked car: