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:

St. Regis River Flow Trail - Part 1

I take the dogs to the St. Regis River Flow trail at least once each year (and hopefully more often), beginning at the boat launch. The trail is largely meadow and riverbanks, with lots of wildflowers. And it's the best place I know to find Cardinal flowers. We parked near the two piers and boat launch:

No one else was there, so I let the dogs off the leash and they wasted no time getting wet and muddy:

But I soon called them away from the parking area and we headed for the trail:

This must have once been all forest, but it's largely meadow now, and a great place to find wildflowers and for happy dogs to run:

We arrived at the trail, which is more or less kept mowed, and turned upstream parallel to the river:

One of the most common blooming flowers was Meadowsweet, Spiraea latifolia, a member of the Rose family. It is a small bush and absolutely beautiful:

 And there was lots of Common St. Johnswort and Spotted Knapweed:

The trail became a sort of dirt road, just right for my lame legs and the dogs to run amok with joy:

There are a certain number of access trails to the river which I always take. When we got to the first one, the dogs knew just where to go and ran excitedly toward the water:

Indeed, the water was lovely. You can see the two piers in the background. That's where we were parked. But we'd just gotten started. I'll post part 2 tomorrow:

Around The Farm

Summer is a busy time. Remy has mostly been a good boy, staying in his corral and not causing trouble except sometimes when he balks about returning to the barn in the evening. I don't think he objects to the barn, but sometimes freaks out when we walk through the opening in the electric fence. He doesn't mind going through in the other direction and he doesn't mind if I tie him to a fence post for a minute before leading him through the opening. I have no idea why that helps, but it does:

 Blue is more easily frightened but is also more compliant, so he's always (well, almost always) a good boy:

 They still get lots of hay in their corral and it's time for me to start worrying about the Box Elder tree in their yard, which is covered with (poisonous) seeds. When they start dropping, the horsey boys will have to stay in the barn until it is safe in their corral again:

The Red Poll herd makes frequent trips from the pasture in to the barn because that's where the stock tank is located:

 But mostly they eat grass and lounge around the pasture, always swatting at the pesky flies:

 Violet is timid and easily frightened, despite her large size:

Indoors, Sammy and Bugsy relaxed on one of the yoga mats:

 Clover, Fergus and Daphne napped on the big green floor pillow:

 Daisy hopped up on a chair and rolled over, begging me to pet her. I rubbed her cheeks, which she likes, because I know better than to rub her belly:

Flowers, both wild and cultivated, are blooming prolifically, and I try to bring a vase full of them to church each Sunday. Last week I brought three vases. This one included orange Asiatic Lilies, Blue Sea Holly, wild Cattails, a Ninebark branch with burgundy colored leaves, and white (wild) Bouncing Bet:

 This vase had two colors of Asiatic Lilies, purple Veronica, pink Yarrow and yellow (wild) St. Johnswort:

 This vase contained two kinds of roses, orange Echinacea and white (wild) Bouncing Bet:

In Search Of The Folklore Of St. Johnswort

St. Johnswort of course is known as an antidepressant and has many other medicinal uses. It has also been believed to hold magical powers through the centuries such as foretelling one's longevity, conjuring up evil spirits or protecting one from evil spirits.

But the legend I wanted to pursue was that of the plant's sap on the day of St. John's beheading. The way I originally heard it, the sap of St. Johnswort would turn red on that day, which is usually observed on August 29. Many years ago I checked and found that the sap was actually sort of red, which fueled my curiosity. This year I promised myself I'd try again as we got close to August 29.

I went out to the ditch along the county road to check for myself and was amazed at the abundance of colorful wildflowers. In this photo alone, I see Goldenrod, Butter-and-Eggs, Orpine (our wild Sedum) and Deptford Pinks. Of course there are many other plants without flowers too:

 Another angle, showing Queen Anne's Lace, Opine, Goldenrod, Deptford Pink and Butter-and-Eggs:

 It was all fascinating and photogenic, but I was after St. Johnswort, and I knew there was some nearby:

 I found a plant and broke off a stem. Alas, I couldn't find any sap at all. Perhaps our drought had left the interior of the plants low on sap this summer. I read one account saying that St. Johnswort sap turns red when it contacts air, which would explain my earlier experience, but of course that would only work when the plant has enough sap to ooze out:

 I went out again later, this time to the far south field fence line. It was filled with Joe-Pye-Weed and Jewelweed, another wildflower rich in folklore:

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 There is an orange flowered species and a yellow flowered species. Mine appeared to be a hybrid. I know that's possible, but I wonder if it's likely:

 The fence line was also abloom with Blue Vervain;

 But again, I was there to check the sap of St. Johnswort. I found another plant and broke the stem in search of sap. Again I couldn't find any, not even a micro-drop. Perhaps the next time I check, it will have to be in June, when St. John's birth is celebrated. Maybe they'll have more sap then. So I never got proof or disproof of the legend, but I did enjoy being outdoors on a beautiful August afternoon:

Wildflower Fence Walks

I took two walks one day along the fence line, once for enjoyment and once to repair the fence. I was amazed both times at the spectacular displays of wildflowers I saw. This wild collection for instance was Queen Anne's Lace, Red Clover, Black-Eyed Susan and Goldenrod:

 Just a few steps farther and I saw Common Boneset (more on this later in this post), Purple Loosestrife and Goldenrod:

 But what on earth were these tiny, daisy-like flowers? I took a number of photos to look them up back in the house:

 I looked them up and decided that they were probably Tradescant's Aster, a new plant for me. I later found a picture of Prairie Fleabane and thought that it might be that also. Whatever it was, it was interesting:

 This single Common Mullein stood five feet high and right next to the fence wire (I'd turned off the electricity):

 A close-up of Common Mullein's flowers:

 This was a familiar old favorite which, for most of my life, I called Coffee Grounds. The real name is Curly (or Curled) Dock, but when we were kids, we'd strip the seeds from the stalk and pretend they were coffee grounds, which they did resemble:

 I don't remember Common Boneset ever growing in my fields before, but there is a lot of it this year:

 Boneset got its name because its leaves are joined at the stalk, prompting pioneers to think it could heal broken bones. Native Americans knew better and used it for fevers and as an antibiotic/anti-viral. Some people still use it today:

 My photo of these minuscule flowers wasn't very good. They were exceedingly small and looked a lot like Lobelia flowers. I looked them up when I got back to the house and decided that they were indeed a form of Lobelia, named Indian Tobacco. They were mostly lavender color although they look white in this photo:

 Queen Anne's Lace and St. Johnswort. The day honoring St. John's Day beheading is coming up and I must remember to test the sap to see if it is red: