West Parishville State Forest - Part 2

The dogs and I were hiking the Red Pine Trail in the West Parishville State Forest (see also Part 1, posted yesterday). They were happy dogs:

The scenery was as lovely as I'd remembered it - except that the last time we were here, everything was covered in deep snow and ice:

Even when I couldn't see the tree tops or upper bark, it was obvious which type of pine we were walking through by looking at the pine cones on the ground. These are the long, thin cones of White Pines:

And the shorter, stouter cones of Red Pines:


But we soon came to Private Property signs and had to turn around. There was a logging operation going on there, but no one was working at the time, so I snapped a photo of the loader:

And the skidder. I used to drive skidder for a logging crew, and it brought back memories - mostly good ones:

So we headed back toward the car. The sun was now at our back, so I found the view of the forest to be even more beautiful than before:

Also, the dogs had slowed down more than usual and I got to listen to the Blue Jays and Wood Thrushes off in the trees instead of hollering, "Clover, get back here! Jack, stop! Daphne? Where's Daphne?"

It was a very pleasant, relaxing walk back to the car:

I noticed Seamus' unusual stance in this photo and took note that it's getting more awkward for him to walk. I hope he never becomes unable to go with us into the woods. He'd be heartbroken to be left behind:

We stopped for a moment in a sunny opening and even walked a short distance on a side trail - but not for long. Soon, we were again on our way back to the car:

The car was just up ahead when I snapped this shot. It had been a short but lovely walk in the forest. We are blessed to live in such a place with so many options for quiet, contemplative strolls in nature: