Clear Pond - Part 2

The dogs and I were walking along the edge of the Adirondacks' Clear Pond, in the White Hill Wild Forest (see also Part 1, posted yesterday), and I was surprised by all the wildflowers I was seeing. At first I didn't see any Blue Flag, but Clover and Daphne found one:

Blue Flag is our native wild Iris, and it is a beauty:

Clover looked at the pond wistfully but didn't go in:

And then Daphne joined her to explore around the rocks. You can see here what a gorgeous wild pond this is:

Little Jack, who most commonly runs in continuous big circles by himself, couldn't resist joining Clover and Daphne for a bit of water fun:

And then they split up to continue exploring:

 Back in the forest again, I was surprised to find this long stemmed violet. I usually don't try to identify violet species, but I looked in my field guide when I got home and decided this was definitely Marsh Blue Violet:

The trail took us through beautiful forest scenery:

And then deeper into the dark interior, the dogs leading the way:

But our main intent was to stay near the water, so we returned to the pond every chance we got:

 I was enamored of these jewel-like patches of Partridgeberry and mosses:

Daphne and Fergus again ran down to the water for a drink and some play. We were almost back to where we'd begun, and I'll post Part 3 tomorrow:

Around The Farm In June

The first half of June was largely cool and rainy, but that has suited many plants just fine and they are growing splendidly. I have four Snowball Bushes growing along the front of my property, a gift from a friend several years ago, a friend who has since died. These bushes have now taken on an added beauty as tributes to my friend:

The early dawns suit me just fine since I get up so early. I go out as soon as it is light enough to see, with the added bonus that I get to experience such extravagant sunrises as this one:

This tiny flower  is common in my lawn and pasture. After much searching through my Field Guide, I've decided that it is Creeping Wood-Sorrel:

I was doing the evening chores when my five dogs began barking their fool heads off and I realized that the neighbor was leading her new pony with one of her boys down the road. I tried to quiet my dogs, but my neighbor walked right up my driveway in an effort to be friendly and to help her pony learn to stay calm amid barking dogs. Abilene, the pony, did just fine with the dogs (she's an old hand at handling children's parties) but was worried about my cattle who were in the field across the road. That's where she was attempting to look when I snapped this photo:

One of my apple trees died several years ago but has begun sending up suckers. I cut the old wood down to where the suckers began and will let the suckers grow. If they form a new tree, fine. If they don't, I've already done most of the removal job:

The first of my Iris plants bloomed in early June:

All along the edges of fields and roadsides, tall bushes burst into flower. They are Roughleaf Dogwood, a relative of the familiar Flowering Dogwood, common to woodlands and lawns:

Close up, one can see the similarity in leaf and flower shapes, though the flowers are tiny and in clusters:

Blue Flag, our wild Iris, began blooming in wet spots along roadsides and in marshy areas:

Ragged Robin also began blooming in fields and along roadsides:

I posted photos of my old fashioned Bridal Veil Spireas before, but they reached their peak beauty recently, so I thought I'd post a picture of them again. They are show-stoppers:

And close up, they are just as nice. They only bloom once each year, but they are so spectacular that the memory of them lingers until the next year:

Spring Flora White Hill Wild Forest - Part 1

I took the dogs to the White Hill Wild Forest and walked around Clear Pond one day, but took so many photos that I separated them into dog pictures and plant pictures. These are the latter, and the first photo is of Leatherleaf in bloom along the shoreline of Clear Pond:

 There didn't seem to be many flowers blooming, but the Red Maple leaves unfurling sparkled in the sun and were as pretty as any flower:

  Violets are hard to identify but I guessed that these  were Northern White Violets. They were very tiny:

 An unknown Moss. I searched Google for an ID, but finally gave up:

 Wild Strawberries, of course. They were blooming everywhere:

 Blue Flag, our Wild Iris:

 Tree Club Moss, or Princess Pine:

Viburnum lantanoides, or Hobblebush. I included the Latin name because I found the plant so difficult to find online and it wasn't in my wildflower field guide:

 A closeup of Viburnum lantanoides or Hobblebush:

 Painted Trillium:

 Pillow Moss:

 Running Club Moss, sometimes called Running Ground Pine. But there was more to see, and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

McAuslin Road to O'Connell Road - Part 1

McAuslin Road runs from the town of Lawrence, in St. Lawrence County, into Franklin County, where it becomes O'Connell Road. I decided it would make a great driving tour one day. At the start, most of the road was through woodlands, with occasional grassy lanes which led back into the forest:

The forest was not old, but it was lush and green:

Then I began to see homes along the road, such as this blue house with pink and blue lawn chairs:

This barn was filled with old equipment:

A venerable old farm house:

This looked to me like a horse barn, though I didn't see any animals:

I pulled my car to the side of the road and got out when I saw a whole stretch of Blue Flag (wild Iris). They were in standing water, as they like it, and were lovely:

Here's a close-up:

I continued on my way, passing this mobile home. It did not appear to be lived in except that someone was mowing the grass for access:

A smaller home with a double garage, all neat and tidy and set back into the trees. But I'd just begun my driving tour and there was much yet to see. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Part 2, St. Regis River Canoe Carry

We'd hiked in to the quiet (quiet here, at least) waters of the St. Regis River and the dogs ran excitedly down to the shore. Seamus, Fergus and Daphne went right in but only Seamus remained in the water when I caught up with them:

Lowbush Blueberries grew everywhere across the sandy shores and it looked like there would be a bumper crop this year:

We walked over to another spot on the shore and had to walk through the Pale Laurels to get to the water. The dogs seemed to find this to be great fun:

Seamus smiled. His joy was as great as his bulk:

And this is what we'd come to see, the quiet waters of the St. Regis, set amidst the Boreal forest with St. Regis Mountain (I think) as a backdrop. Who could ask for more?:

And I was very happy:

We took another swing by the dogs' favorite swimming spot before beginning our walk back to the car:

And the walk back was as lovely as everything else about this short hike. The Pale Laurels bloomed happily along the edges of the trail and Pines, Balsams and Spruce towered overhead:

It had been a great afternoon and I was ready to go home and rest my weary ankles:

Seamus and Daphne spotted a tiny pond just off the trail and walked through shallow water to get to it. There were Blue Flags (Wild Iris) blooming at one end, again much later than most Blue Flag. This spot must be quite cold, with a shorter and later growing season:

The only mushrooms I saw were these amazingly wood-toned fungi, but there were quite a few of them:

The dogs had by this point pretty much understood my new rule of staying close to me. But if I stopped to focus on a flower or mushroom, I'd then look up and see the pooches racing on ahead. Sigh. At least they came when called. But we soon reached the car and our hiking for the day came to an end: