Walking The Wetlands On The Rutland Trail - Part 1

There was a light rain and it was kind of chilly, but that didn't stop us. This trail is only 5 miles from home and I decided to go hear the spring peepers, which had begun singing only one day earlier. The dogs hit the trail running:

There is water on both sides of the trail, which is beautiful and ideal for hearing spring peepers. It also keeps people on the trail. There's no wandering when on this section of the Rutland Trail:

I began by letting the dogs run and not hollering at them when they went too far. I figured that they surely must know the limits by now. I was wrong. We hadn't gone far before I began calling them back every few minutes. But they love running back as much as they love running forward, so they were still happy:

Daphne, Clover and Jack walked down the water's edge to explore:

Then, of course, they all ran ahead. When I called, they all ran back. Oh, to be so young and energetic:

We stopped at a trailside beaver lodge but the dogs didn't seem to smell anything interesting:

And they explored the water's edge on the other side of the trail:

Little Clover, always the adventurer, climbed up on a rock:

It was a grand time to be near the water:

The trail is where the Rutland railroad tracks used to be and is therefore level and straight:

My ankles were hurting, so I knew we wouldn't go very far. But that was OK because we all enjoyed a quick jaunt out and back:

The scenery was lovely but there were no green leaves or flowers yet. I made a mental note to return here soon to see the plant life come alive. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: