A Walk At Clear Pond - Part 2

I was walking the trail along Clear Pond, in the White Hill Wild Forest, with my friend, Evelyn, and all our dogs (see also Part 1, posted yesterday). The pooches were having a grand time as we explored the shoreline:

After each trip to the pond, we'd return to the main trail and walk farther into the forest to find the next water access point:

 Steeplebush was blooming, and this one was next to a lovely White Pine:

Little Clover and Daphne ran along the water at the next shoreline site we visited:

And Seamus waded right in:

Peekaboo:

Seamus, Daphne and Jack kept cool:

And Clover tiptoed through the wildflowers (mostly Spotted Knapweed and Queen Anne's Lace):

Clover and Daphne checked out the waterlilies:

And I snapped a photo of this lovely scene with Bullhead Lilies, Pickerlweed and Steeplebush:

We headed back to our car and drove the short distance to a camping area:

There, we again headed for the shoreline of Clear Pond, where Meadowsweet and Common St. Johnswort were blooming prolifically:

We explored a lovely clearing beside the water, the dogs again got wet, and then Evelyn called them back toward the car. We had six happy dogs and two happy people:

A Walk At Clear Pond - Part 1

I asked my friend, Evelyn, if she and her dog, Teddy, would like to come with me (and my dogs, of course) for a walk in the White Hill Wild Forest. She said yes, so we drove 17 miles from my house and hit the trail:

We hadn't gone far when the dogs saw an open path toward the cool, clean water of Clear Pond and broke into a run:

They ran so fast that they'd already been in and out by the time we humans arrived. So I urged them to go back into the water. It didn't take much urging for Daphne and Jack:

We explored the wildflower meadows near the pond:

And then the shoreline. Clover waded in among the reeds, then exited and shook herself dry:

And then we returned to the trail to find the next access point to the water's edge:

We saw a path to the next water access and turned once again toward Clear Pond:


My dogs were as excited as if they hadn't seen water for many years. They all went wading, though Teddy didn't go in:

Seamus is slow and huge, like a black Brontosaurus, but little Daphne bounces through the water like a happy frog:

We stayed at the water's edge while the dogs played:

And I looked around at the wildflowers. The Pickerelweed was blooming:

And the pond stretched out into the wild forest:

Seamus was reluctant to leave the water, but it was time for us to move on. I gave him a call and we returned to the trail. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Clear Pond - Part 3

The dogs and I were exploring the shoreline of Clear Pond, a lovely Adirondack gem in the White Hill Wild Forest (see also Parts 1 and 2, posted previously). We got back to where we'd begun but then continued walking to see a bit more shoreline. We could see our parked car from this spot:

Woo-hoo!, more water. You may have noticed a dearth of Seamus photos. He was with us, but much slowed down by his age and weak hips. I want him to continue enjoying our adventures for as long as he can, and he certainly enjoyed this excursion:

We were now at the narrow end of Clear Pond, the place where people sometimes camp, but we had the whole 15,000 acres to ourselves. The dogs had a grand time:

But it was about time to go home, so we began walking back toward our car:

By this time, Seamus seemed to be doing just fine and even walked ahead of me for awhile:

And all the dogs continued to explore and sniff:

I stopped at a patch of blue flowers, which I identified as Common Speedwell:

When we got to the spillway, Daphne couldn't resist getting wet and muddy before hopping back up into the car. But with that big smile on her face, how could I complain?:

All five dogs got in the car and we began our journey home:

 But I saw a dramatic flash of purple along the side of the road and turned around to go back and investigate. There were several patches of purple Columbine:

Just as with the pink Columbine we'd seen earlier, I figured this must have been an escapee from someone's garden although there was deep forest on both sides of the road and no houses in sight:

But the flowers were numerous, dramatic and lovely - so I took pictures before getting back into the car to finish the drive home:

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: