Happy, Wet Dogs In The Benton Road County Reforestation Area

If you read yesterday's post, you know that I promised myself to return to Benton Road with the dogs. Well, I did so the very next day as our non-wintry winter continued to break all warmth records. Alas, it began raining, at times quite hard, but we got out of the car anyway and hoped the pines would shelter us:

The ground was covered with pine needles and many species of moss and Reindeer Lichens:

But for the dogs, running through the trees was the big attraction. Clover and Daphne led the way:

Jack and Clover explored, giving everything a sniff test:

I stopped to photograph this old log with many varieties of lichen on it. My favorite, as always, was the perfectly formed little Pixie Cup lichens:

This was indeed a beautiful area, but not very large. So we left the trail and began exploring in the forest on our own:

Clover was much better behaved this time and didn't run too far ahead - at least not too often:

This sawed off tree trunk had a full head of hair, comprised of ferny moss:

We continued on through the forest without concern. The area wasn't large enough to get lost in. The rain stopped and the sun came out as we walked:

I stopped to photograph this Reindeer Lichen:

It was a fun time for the dogs and for me:

But it was quick excursion and soon we found ourselves back at the car. We may come here again sometime when we want a short walk in a lovely pine forest: