There were wetlands on both sides of the raised trail, an old railroad bed, but the biggest body of water was on our right - and it was enormous:
We began to see signs of a massive blow-down:
Furthermore, someone had cut down most of the sizeable White Pines along the trail. They left them where they fell, so I never did figure out what their intent had been:
More beaver activity:
We had walked farther than I'd ever gone before and my bad ankles were becoming painful, so we started back toward our parked car. By this time I was falling behind:
The two bridges which had been built, apparently for snowmobiles, were still intact although this one was rather skewed:
The dogs' feet and bellies were drenched with black water, colored with the dark stone base of the old railroad bed. It was hard, and the reason my ankles were so sore. I can walk on dirt trails, but flat concrete or asphalt is problematic - and this was more like the latter. And of course the dogs left a considerable mess in my car and, when we got home, on the house floors:
But they were happy pooches and not to be discouraged by a bit of black mud:
My sister and I posed for a photo:
And so did the dogs - well, sort of:
I saw this tiny patch of Frog-Bit, only the second time I've ever seen it. It is considered an invasive species but it sure hasn't caused much harm up here, at least not yet. To me it is like a miniature waterlily with cute, white flowers. The roots are free floating, not rooted in the ground. I like it so much that I have a hard time remembering that it's invasive. I suppose many felt the same way about Purple Loosestrife when it began conquering our native cattails. I don't know if it's a problem still, but up here the cattails are outperforming the Purple Loosestrife many times over:
We came to the last big water and stopped to reflect on its beauty. In just a week or two (I hope), these wetlands will be loud with the calls of Spring Peepers:
This was another fine post! It was nice to see the photos of your sister and you together on the hike with the dogs. There's a special bond between sisters and brothers for sure. I always thought my brother was cool, and mostly liked the ideas he came up with. Hope your ankles are better! The weather was beautiful here in Ohio today, however a little windy.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I am pleased to know that you've enjoyed my post. Our weather is predicted to be snow, rain and sleet (all three) through Tuesday, so there won't be any more hiking for me until springtime resumes.
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