Santamont Trail In Catherineville State Forest - Part 2

I was hiking with the dogs in Catherineville State Forest (see also Part 1, posted yesterday):

There used to be people living in this area. In fact, there was a small village, after which the State Forest was named. I haven't yet located the foundations of the homes, but we did find this old kitchen stove. Seamus was very interested. Perhaps he sniffed some hundred year old bacon grease:

There were tiny white violets in bloom. Because of the leaf shape and curled upper petals, I believe this was the Sweet White Violet, Viola blanda:

The dogs frequently collected at certain spots. I'd love to know what they could smell - or perhaps not, given their love of all things putrid:

I spotted this patch of green on a small rise in the woods and began walking over to see what it was:

When we arrived, it turned out to be a big patch of Shining Clubmoss, just right for Daphne to play in:

The dogs were having fun. In this case, Jack and Fergus were racing each other:

We took many short trips off the trail, just to see what we could see:

I didn't get enough in this photo for a species ID, but from what I can see, I suspect this was the Great-Spurred Violet, Viola selkirkii. It's only supposed to have five petals, but so are all violets, so this one must have been an aberration. The long stalked leaves on either side of the violet were Wild Strawberries:

It wouldn't be long before this forest was all leafed out and green. I am anxious to go back and explore farther. I might even drive in a way and begin where I left off since the road was in good condition and I can no longer hike very far:

And speaking of not being able to hike very far, it was soon time for us to turn around and begin our trip back to our parked car:

This was a thoroughly enjoyable hike and there are more photos still. I'll post Part 3 tomorrow: