Happy Dogs In The Fort Jackson State Forest - Part 1

I woke up one morning and found that our hot July weather had suddenly cooled off, the breezes were blowing and it was a perfect time to go somewhere with the dogs. I put all five of them in the car and drove 3.7 miles to the Fort Jackson State Forest and then another .8 miles into the forest. I stopped and parked when I saw a grassy lane leading off into the trees, a lane which we'd never explored before:

The dogs, of course, were ecstatic and required a few crabby words from me to keep them from running too far ahead. But they soon calmed down:

And the scenery was beautiful - mostly White and Red Pine with Reindeer Lichen and moss on the forest floor:

I found several patches of Wood Strawberry in full bloom. I don't remember ever tasting their berries, but I understand they are smaller and less tasty than the Common Strawberry:

The walking was level and easy, even for an old codger with leg braces. I'm sure the dogs wished I'd go faster, but they found interesting smells to occupy them while I caught up:

There were piles of brush from former logging operations but mostly it was just lovely woodlands:

And we were having a great day:

St. Johnswort was in bloom along the lane:


My legs and ankles were doing better than expected, so we continued on:

Seamus heard a sound and went on point, but nothing came of it:

And on we walked, into a Red Pine forest:

We rounded a bend and I still felt like going farther. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: