Wintry Fun At Marcy Field

The dogs and I were on our way home from the farm and as yet had only had one rest stop (Hays Brook). It's always difficult to find suitable places in the wintertime, places where I can get off the road for the dogs' freedom and safety. Marcy Field parking lot is usually plowed and usually unoccupied - as it was on this day:


The dogs got out and immediately began running:

This photo captured all seven of them. It's rare to get them all in one picture:

We walked over to the trail head for Blueberry and Porter Mountains:


And began to explore the trail:

Daphne and Clover, as usual, led the way as we moved at a glacial pace up the trail:

With old Winky and Wally poking along behind us, we had to travel slowly. But then, that's all the better for dogs to thoroughly sniff the scenery:

Seamus, who had been lagging behind, caught up with the group:

And we proceeded happily, albeit slowly, beneath the canopy of trees:

But this was only a brief rest stop and the weather was cold and blustery. I called the dogs back to the parking lot:

Madeline and Wally brought up the rear. Winky was actually ahead of them, but only because he had never even made it as far as the trail:

I got the pooches loaded up, counted noses several times and headed back out to the highway. This was our final rest stop for the trip:

Blueberry Porter Mountain Long Trail

I hadn't been up to the farm in quite a long time, perhaps even two months. My wonderful tenants in the farm house recently told me they were moving at the end of April so I knew it was time for me to get up there. The snow and ice was mostly melted, so on Sunday I loaded the dogs into the back of my car and headed northward. But I discovered there was still lots of snow in the Adirondacks. My favorite little dog walking site along the Ausable River was still covered with nearly two feet of snow! So when I reached Marcy Field in Keene, New York, I pulled into the parking lot hoping we could use the beginning part of the hiking trail. Indeed, the parking area was free of snow and the trail had been tamped down enough for me to let the dogs out:

The dogs, of course, were all excited and the three youngsters, Fergus Daphne and Clover, ran ahead to give everything the sniff test:

Wally and Winky lagged behind and I had to encourage them to speed up while trying to keep the youngsters from running too far ahead:

Seamus was just happy to be outdoors stretching his long legs and giving his nose some exercise:

We walked off the trail a bit and found some bare, snow-less ground. How exciting!:

I noticed for the first time that Wally seemed to be navigating mostly by sound and smell. I checked and found that he can discern movement, light and dark. But his eyesight has largely left him. He has no self-pity, however, and enjoyed leaping over fallen logs and being once again in the outdoors:

Fergus and Clover scoured the forest, taking seriously their job of keeping America safe from vicious, terrorist squirrels and chipmunks:

In spite of her ever-lengthening coat, Clover is still quite thin. And it shows in this photo:

Little old Winky was still spry enough to follow Wally over the fallen logs:

But this was only a rest stop along the way and we had many miles to go before we reached the farm. So I called the dogs back to the car:

Wally was the last to arrive, doing that curious side to side walk which reduced eyesight often causes:

Once all six dogs were back in the car and I'd counted them several times to put my mind at ease, we were ready to resume our drive up to the farm: