Catherineville State Forest, Santamont Trail - Part 2

The dogs and I were hiking in the snowy Catherineville State Forest (see also Part 1, posted yesterday):

The dogs were less rambunctious than usual, which made me happy, yet they got to run and play - and also to poop and pee everywhere:

Fergus, Daphne and Seamus went exploring off the trail, but they didn't go too far:

And sometimes they thought they heard something. They'd all stop and pick up their ears, then decide they'd been mistaken and continue on along the trail:

Fergus most often walks at my heels but was more forward on this hike, though he sometimes looked back at me to see if I was OK with that. I was:

It was lots of fun, but we didn't go far. Soon we turned back the way we'd come, returning to our parked car:

Clover and Daphne, imagining themselves to be Timber Wolves, strode boldly through the trees off the trail:

We stopped at a giant bolder, a glacial erratic, a bit of "gravel" left behind as the glaciers melted:

We again crossed a Balsam Fir which had fallen across the trail:

And took another exploratory trip off the trail:

I was happy to be out in nature and to have the dogs behaving so well:

And then we saw our little red car, parked along the side of the road up ahead. I had all the dogs heel (our version is pretty loose). Jack has never quite learned, but he sort of has the idea by watching the other dogs:

Catherineville State Forest, Santamont Trail - Part 1

Our winter took a break, with temperatures rising to 40 degrees (F). The snow was all melted at the farm, so I took the dogs to Catherineville State Forest, about 8 miles away, where there was still plenty of snow. We began walking the trail, following a Coyote's footprints. The dogs were not concerned, so neither was I:

They began with their usual exuberance, though I am happy to report that they stayed a bit closer than usual and required less hollering on my part. Fergus' ears were flopping as he bounded along the trail:

Jack was just getting over a bad cough, but that didn't slow him down, especially when it was time for him to do his traditional rolling for joy in the snow:

The dogs investigated everything, covering much more ground than I did:

With five dogs going in five directions, I had all I could do to keep track of them all - and that's why I want them to stay so close to me:

Fergus wondered if that tiny tree was worth peeing on:

Seamus led the way for awhile and his little buddy, Jack, ran joyously behind. If you click to enlarge this photo, you can see that Jack's feet were not even touching the ground when I snapped this photo:

There were some interesting smells for the dogs and beautiful sights for me:

And every so often, the dogs collected in one spot with much enthusiasm. We saw no wildlife, though, not even a mouse:

The forest was mostly Red Pines and Balsam Fir, with an understory of golden leafed Beech trees:

The dogs took occasional side trips off the trail, but I stayed where the snow was worn down:

They ran and played, while I concentrated on not slipping - and on keeping track of the five of them. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Catherineville State Forest - Part 2

The dogs and I were hiking in the Catherineville State Forest (see also Part 1, posted yesterday). It was a beautiful location on a near perfect day. I only felt a few mosquitoes, although they became more numerous as the day warmed up:

To my surprise, the trail became narrower and the trees smaller as we proceeded. I would have expected to find bigger, more mature trees farther into the forest:

It was a happy experience:

We came to a small, winding brook with big rocks - a perfect place for thirsty dogs to get a drink of water:

Clover went upstream and Seamus went downstream for their drinks:

And then we got back on the trail to continue on our way:

The trees kept getting smaller and I began to consider turning back toward the car:

I kept saying I'd go around that next bend, and then if there was nothing new, I'd turn around. Eventually I did just that. We'd already gone farther than usual anyway:

The flowers were pretty well spent, but these Foamflower plants were looking healthy. I also passed lots of Wild Ginger, whose odd flowers I've never seen, but we were too late to see them on this hike:

We were on our way back to the car, retracing our steps. There were no side trails to confuse us or provide a bit of variety:

The dogs were still feeling peppy, and bounced through the Bracken Ferns along the side of the trail:

And then we saw our red car. It's wonderful to live in such a beautiful part of the country, where we can access such splendor only 8 miles from home:

Catherineville State Forest - Part 1

Our hot, humid weather suddenly ended and we had a cool, sunny, breezy day. It was just right for a day in the woods, so I took the dogs to the Catherineville State Forest, just 8 miles from home:

There were lots of Wild Blackberries in bloom. Pretty soon there will be ripe berries along the sunny parts of the trail:

I pulled into the forest, far from the road. That gave us a head start and hid my car from passersby. We strayed from the trail soon, though, as the open forest was so inviting:

The dogs ran and played while I searched for wildflowers in bloom and took note of the tree species in evidence:

Back on the trail, I was thinking that I could have driven in much farther. We soon came to a tree fallen across the road so I decided it was a good thing I parked where I did:

Jack was running full speed and in big circles. He's a happy little dog:

As usual, all the dogs were a bit wild at first. I told myself I'd let them run and not yell at them, but it wasn't long before I had to start hollering for them to stop and come back. It seems they think the object is for them to run as far as possible, until I call them back, and then they run full speed back to me. They do, however, take time to sniff and pee on everything:

It was a beautiful forest and an easy trail, a near perfect day:

The forest alternated between deep, dark woods and bright, open spaces. There were also many forest types, clustered together in small groups. There were Hemlock, Spruce, Fir, mixed hardwood and Maple/Beech sections:

Seamus was our lookout. After all, he was the only dog tall enough to see over the weeds:

I saw the first Daisies of the summer on that trail - in the sunny spots, of course:

The dogs began to slow down, allowing me to relax more and enjoy the forest beauty. But we had farther to go, and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Scenic Brasher Falls, New York - Part 1

I was on my way home from church one sunny Sunday when I noticed Dullea Road and thought it looked both rural and scenic. I had already passed the road by the time I reacted, so I turned around and drove back to it, then took a driving tour which began with this scenic farm and barns:

This lovely farm house atop a hill went the barns in the above photo. Imagine sitting out on that porch on a summer day, looking out over the scenery:

This is the sort of scenery you would see from that porch - corn and hay fields, stone piles and forest:

I stopped at this brushy marshland because I thought the bright red color was due to Winterberry fruit. It was not, so I then guessed it was Red Twig Dogwood. It was too marshy to walk out for a closer look, so I never learned its true identity. It sure was dramatic, though:

There were woodlands along Dullea Road also, though most had relatively young trees, indicative of former farm land, abandoned and gone wild:

But Dullea Road was very short and I soon realized I was entering the tiny settlement of Brasher Falls. So I just continued to snap pictures, noticing as the houses became closer together and the woodlands and farm fields farther apart:

This modern looking home sat well back behind a a row of White Pines:

A small, hip roofed barn:

This was the house which belonged with the above barn. I was on the edge of Brasher Falls:

The houses continued to get closer together in Brasher Falls, and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: