Autumn On The Rutland Trail - Part 1

We had a beautiful autumn day and I needed to get out in nature, so I took the dogs to a section of the Rutland Trail, a former railroad bed which traverses a stretch of wetlands. Need I add that the dogs were ecstatic?

Indeed, they ran so fast and far that I had to do more hollering. I am glad to say that they soon calmed down and became pleasant company:

The Rutland Trail is hard packed gravel, straight and level - just right for an old codger with leg braces and just right for dogs who love to run:

The first body of water lay to our left, a lovely, peaceful scene where I often record Spring Peepers - in season, of course:

The autumn colors were muted but lovely, and the day was comfortably warm for October:

The big pond on our left was bordered by grasses, cattails and dead Queen Anne's Lace plants. On the right was a sort of overgrown canal but the sun was too bright for me to get a photo of anything on the right:

 I kept seeing these distinctive oak leaves, so I looked them up when I got home and decided that they were Bur Oak. I wish I'd have found some acorns to confirm that I.D. but I think I'm right:

And then a gentle, red dragonfly landed on my hand. It held still while I tried to maneuver the camera with my left hand so I could get a photo:

 Here's a closeup. I looked it up when I got home and decided it was a Red Skimmer Dragonfly in the genus Sympetrum, but there were too many species for me to narrow it down any more:

 A Woolly Bear, whose adult stage is the Isabella Tiger Moth

I was stopped in my tracks by these leaves, the most brilliant purple leaves I'd ever seen. They were the common Bittersweet Nightshade, and the plant's red berries added to the color:

Jack, Clover and Daphne may be small in size, but they are bold, determined hikers. We were just getting started on our hike, though, and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Comfortable Pets At Home

As the weather outside slowly gets colder, the indoor pets, though always warm, seem to spend more time snuggling on soft surfaces. Bugsy is fond of this little table which is covered by a rug:

Former tenants left this dog house behind when they moved. My dogs have mostly ignored it, but sometimes Daphne uses it to get out of the wind or rain:

Seamus' thick, woolly coat makes him pretty much impervious to the cold. He could stay outdoors for long periods, though he too likes his soft beds inside the house:

The ramp is still a favorite resting spot for the dogs when they're outdoors - and yes, the Rugosa Roses are still putting out a few late season flowers:

But the favorite resting spot is the kitchen corner with its floor pillows and dog beds:

As for Georgette, she is wedded to her bed on the kitchen table. That's Fergus, watching from the background:

And speaking of snuggling, Clover and Bramble are a preferred duo. They are proof that dogs and cats can love each other:

The dogs always want to come in - unless I'm outdoors also:

A typical kitchen corner scene - Daphne, Clover, Jack, Bramble and Seamus:

Rocky, atop the dog food bin. It's difficult to get a good photo of Rocky. His tuxedo coloring seems to throw off the camera's sensors:

Even Bramble, here atop a 6 foot high cabinet, always looks black and white even though he's really gray and white:

Jack, Clover, Fergus, Rocky, Seamus and Daphne, a kitchen corner pet collection:

Around The Farm As Autumn Turns Colder

A second red Dolly Madison hybrid lily burst into bloom just as the weather turned cold. I cut the stem and took the last flowers to church one Sunday:

 And I mixed the red lilies with golden leaves from the Peonies, which put on a second colorful show every October:

 One of the two Ninebark seedlings grew like crazy this year, showing a great ability to outdo the weeds. I think it will be a beautiful, large shrub in the future:

 The second Ninebark seedling, however, grew very little and seemed to have contracted a fungus. I sprayed it several times with fungicide and it still looked very much alive, so maybe it will have another chance to grow next spring if the fungus dies in the cold weather:

 Late in the season, a patch of wild Butter-And-Eggs, in the Snapdragon family, burst into bloom beneath the electric fence and next to the hay bales:

 I am up to 25 white fantail pigeons as we go into winter. They all seem healthy, though some of them must be rather elderly by now:

 This pair seemed young and robust:

 And there are several pairs using the cake pan nests I made for them on high shelves:

 Alas, some birds continue to favor the floor. They'd be safer (and probably a little warmer) if they'd used the high shelves like the other birds:

 The bantam hens do it properly, using the floor for food and water but then roosting up off the floor:

 Our first hard freeze, cold enough to form a solid sheet of ice on the stock tank, came in October. It was melted by midday, though:

Autumn Color Along The St. Regis River

I walked the dogs in the Fort Jackson, New York Town Park, a trail which ran along the shore of the east branch of the St. Regis River (see previous two posts). All along the river I snapped photos of the lovely autumn color on the far shore. I couldn't seem to stop myself, so when I got home, I separated some out for their own blog post. Here's what I saw:

All of these photos are of the northeast shore:

Notice little Jack and Daphne, exploring the shoreline on our side of the river:

Brilliant splashes of red and orange, mixed in with the evergreens:

Autumn beauty:

The maple bough added depth and beauty to the scene:

Taken from a shady spot beneath the trees:

Brilliant colors:

A closer view, using my zoom lens:

We were on our way back to the car when I took this, the opposite shore then on our left side:

I marveled at the colors:

The last shot, just before we walked to our parked car:

Fort Jackson Town Park - Part 2

The dogs and I were hiking a short trail along the St. Regis River in the Fort Jackson (New York) Town Park. Little Clover went ahead to check out the shoreline:

And Daphne found a quiet spot to get a drink of cold water:

Seamus, who has had some leg problems lately, was unusually active and playful:

And all the dogs were happy and playful as they romped through the woods:

I kept noticing the beautiful trees on the opposite shore so took some photos of them while we were there. But I'll post those separately tomorrow. Jack, Daphne and Clover did a bit of exploring:

We reached private land and the trail ended, so we turned around and began walking back to our car:

This is a small, rural park but unusually beautiful - and a great place for happy dogs to run and play, Notice orange colored Jack (almost the same color as the fallen leaves) running and leaping and leading the way along the trail:

They were a happy pack as we proceeded along back toward the parking area:

Clover climbed up on a big rock to check out the area. She often does this and I always wonder if that is a genetic behavioral remnant from when dogs were wolves, a way to search for prey and/or enemies:

Jack and Clover trotted down to the riverbank for a cold drink and I got a shot of beautiful autumn color:

But much of the autumn color was just pale yellow. It too was beautiful:

The dogs were so full of energy and I knew we were alone in the park, so I didn't even call them to heel as we neared the parking area. It had been a happy, scenic walk: