St. Regis Flow With The Dogs - Part 1

I walk along the path by the St. Regis River in Santa Clara, New York every year to see and photograph the Cardinal Flowers, but this year there were none. Furthermore, most of the other flower and tree photos I took were not usable. But the dogs sure had fun and the scenery was lovely, so I'll share the photos I have:

I was taught to call these Spatterdock but my field guide says that is a southern species which holds its leaves above the water. What we have in the northeast is Bullhead-Lily, and its leaves float on the water. It sure is beautiful and the frogs love it, just like in the cartoons:

We investigated the shoreline by the boat launch, then headed back toward our car and turned left into the field to find the trail which paralleled the St. Regis River:

Common Milkweed was just beginning to bloom, but already the air was so perfumed that everywhere smelled like a florist shop:

And the sandy Adirondack soil grew an abundance of Wild Strawberries and Lowbush Blueberries. The blueberries were just ripening, but there were enough ripe ones to snack on. There was also a lot of Reindeer Lichen:

We hit the main trail and turned toward the river access. The dogs knew where we were going and broke into a run:

That brown patch on the right was Haircap Moss with its brown colored fruiting bodies, producing spores:

Daphne, Fergus and Seamus stopped for a moment in the shade:

And then we saw our first river access point and the dogs once again began to run:

Seamus and Jack went right in. They didn't hesitate:

Daphne got wet right up to her chin and looked silly. But we were just getting started. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Whiskey Flats State Forest - Part 2

The dogs and I were hiking a trail in Whiskey Flats State Forest (see also Part 1, posted yesterday), where most of the ground was carpeted in mosses and lichens:

We took a side trip into a stand of pines and the dogs ran joyously over the mossy ground, dodging tree trunks as they explored:

They were having a grand time:

I saw these two examples of what appeared to be two varieties of Reindeer Lichen. I looked them up online when I got home, and though I learned that there are at least three species, I didn't find much more information. Nonetheless, they are fascinating:

Clover, almost always the leader of the pack, went ahead to explore:

And then Fergus joined her. Notice all the dead small trees. I thought at the time that a big wind storm or snowfall must have been the cause, but now wonder if it was further evidence of the pine false webworm infestation:

We saw a number of stands with such thick moss carpets that I couldn't resist. This is natural beauty of the first order:

Daphne and Seamus thought it was beautiful too:

I was looking at mosses when I saw these little pink dots. I had seen them in a nature blog I follow, so I looked it up when I got home. I thought they were jelly molds, but instead I learned that they were Pink Earth Lichen. The surrounding moss was more Brocade Moss:

And innumerable Pink Ladyslipper plants were growing in the moss. It must have been lovely when they were all blooming. Perhaps I need to return to this trail next year when it's Ladyslipper season:

We continued down the trail but kept taking side trips into inviting areas:

The thick carpets of moss beneath tall pines were the biggest draws for me. But we weren't done yet, and I'll post Part 3 tomorrow:

Whiskey Flats State Forest - Part 1

It was going to be a hot day, so I decided to leave early and take the dogs to Clear Pond, in nearby Parishville, NY. We were on the road, headed toward our destination, when I noticed a new Multi-Use Trail into Whiskey Flats State Park. I'd been there before and hadn't considered it very interesting, but this might be a revelation and it was only seven miles from home. So we pulled off the road and parked in what seemed almost pure sand. Next to my parked car were Sand Cherries and pine seedlings:

And there were lots of Spotted Knapweed in bloom, an invasive species which does quite well in sandy spots:

I let the dogs out of the car and they took off running, stopping every now and then to sniff something they might find interesting:

Seamus and Jack ran side by side for awhile:

I saw lots of pines other than the usual White and Red Pines, and wasn't sure I could identify them. I looked up the state website on Whiskey Flats State Forest when I got home and learned that Scotch Pine had been planted in the 1930s and 1940s. Yes, of course, many of the pines I was seeing were Scotch Pine. There were also very long needled pines, two needles per bundle, which I never did identify:

I was initially put off by the barren look of much of the forest. It seemed to have been recently logged, though I saw no stumps and no bush left over from logging. Later, when reading the state website, I read that there had been infestations of pine false webworm, a sawfly which defoliates and kills pine trees. So that explained the barren look of the landscape. The good news was that I didn't see any current defoliation:

Furthermore, I began to find that there was some advantage to walking in a forest with such open views. I could see the rolling hills as we approached them and where lanes were going which led off of the main trail:

The only flowers I saw other than Spotted Knapweed were St. Johnswort, and they were exceedingly healthy:

And the dogs were on a new trail, which meant that they were even more excited than usual. That, in turn, meant I had to do more hollering at them than usual. Even big ol' Seamus got so excited and ran so fast that he accidentally bit his tongue. But he kept running even with his tongue dripping blood. They always came when called, though, and eventually the heat and exercise slowed them down:

I'd forgotten bug spray, but to my happy surprise, it wasn't needed:

We took many side trips down inviting lanes and into attractive stands of pines:

This was perhaps the mossiest forest I've ever seen, with much of the ground absolutely carpeted with a variety of mosses and lichens. These two were Common Haircap Moss on the left and Brocade Moss on the right. But we were just getting started, and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

The Pink Ladyslipper Trail 2017 - Part 1

Last year I found a trail in Brasher State Forest which had an astounding population of Pink Ladyslippers in bloom. This year I was five days earlier and the blooming season was running late, so I doubted I'd find anything. Nevertheless, we needed an outing so I drove to the forest and let the pooches out:

The first thing I noticed was this Pasture Rose right next to where I'd parked. It wasn't blooming yet, but it was distinctive:

And of course Wild Strawberries. There were millions of them, growing abundantly in the sandy soil covered with old pine needles:

I'd feared there would be a lot of black flies, but instead we got lots of mosquitoes. But we were here to look around and enjoy ourselves, so off we went:

The dogs, not surprisingly, were ecstatic. They love an adventure:

Oh no. I began seeing Pink Ladyslipper plants, newly emerged, with no flowers. Clearly, we were much too early:

I did, however, see lots of Starflowers:

And the dogs raced through the forest, sniffing and peeing on things:

More Ladyslipper leaves. Too early, too early to see any flowers:

So I concentrated on the beautiful forest and happy dogs:

The tall White Pines and Red Pines were lovely and the dogs looked tiny as they ran through the trees:

Partridgeberry and Common Haircap Moss. It was sad that we were too early for Pink Ladyslipper flowers, but the forest was still a beautiful, fascinating place. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: