A Wet Time At Slush Pond - Part 1

It had been a few years since I'd been to Slush Pond, and it was only 32 miles from home. One morning I decided to take the dogs down for another look. I parked in the last campsite (none of them were occupied) and let the dogs run through the trees, headed toward the Slush Pond:

Slush Pond is truly wild and lovely, a wonderful place for a boy and his dogs:

With lots of interesting smells to keep the canines sniffing:

But the main attraction for me was the floating peat bog. I walked out onto it and discovered that the driest places I could walk were those where the water only reached my ankles. I was looking for the sphagnum moss which comprised this floating bog. I came in three colors - yellow, red and green, which I've read are three distinct species. Ripe, red cranberries dotted the surface:

The peat bog was more overgrown than I remembered it and I could not find a single Pitcher Plant or Sundew plant. Nonetheless, how could a person complain in such a magical place?:

Tamaracks had taken root in some places and Fergus led us straight toward the water:

I figured that the floating peat would be shallower and less likely to hold my weight as we approached the edge, so I walked carefully. I'd long since given up trying to keep my feet dry:

This would have been perfect moose country, though we never saw one:

Closer and closer to the edge:

C'mon, Dad. Don't be chicken. Walk right out here with us:

Yikes! Fergus fell right in, though I didn't see exactly how it happened. It took a bit of effort, but he was able to climb back up on the floating mass of sphagnum without my assistance:

Jack simply ran, first one way and then the other, disappearing into the tall brush and then back out again. This was all new to him and he was enjoying it. But there was still more to see and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: