Degrasse State Forest - Part 3

The dogs and I were hiking in Degrasse State Forest (see also previous two posts) and had already been swimming in an oxbow of the Grasse River and seen a privately owned cabin in the forest. We were on our way back to the car:

I spotted a large patch of Yarrow in bloom along the way:

The dogs were no longer running ahead and needing me to holler at them. They were happy, tired and satisfied:

The forest of mixed conifers and hardwoods was beautiful, though the underbrush was thick:

I'd seen a coyote cross the road on my way to the trail head so I wanted the dogs to stay near me even more than I usually do:

Our walk back was leisurely and comfortable. I enjoyed the sights and sounds, the dogs enjoyed the scents:

Clover, who usually leads the way, began to lag and stay close to me:

But we were all happy and feeling as if we'd had a grand experience:

I got a stone in my shoe and stopped to get it out, so Fergus came back to see what was slowing me down:

We were almost back to the car and I felt some sadness that this hike was almost over:

We arrived back at the car:

But before we left, I saw this lovely pond. It was on private property, so we couldn't investigate - but I did take a photo:

Degrasse State Forest - Part 2

The dogs and I were hiking in Degrasse State Forest and had reached an oxbow where they went swimming (see also Part 1, posted yesterday). This was my favorite photo of the day because of the look of joy on Seamus' face:

But of course we couldn't stay at the oxbow all day, and the time came to head back to the main trail. We began climbing uphill and I spotted this blue Gentian flower and bud, the first of the season. I looked it up when I got home and decided it was a Soapwort Gentian:

And I saw large patches of Running Ground Pine, a Club Moss:

And Bunchberry, a miniature relative of Dogwood trees:

Fan Club Moss:

We got back on the main trail and continued on our way:

 But I had to stop when I saw this Club Moss. It was different from the Running Ground Pine, above. I looked it up when I got home and decided it was One-cone Clubmoss, Lycopodium lagopus, a northern species:

We reached the border with private land and someone's beautiful cabin among the pines:

They'd mowed the grass all the way down to the Grasse River (no longer the oxbow), but I didn't walk down there because it was private land. I could have pushed through the underbrush on state land but decided instead to begin heading back to where I'd parked the car:

Along the way I spotted some ripening Wild Blackberries:

And stopped to enjoy them:

We were on our way back the way we'd come. I'll post Part 3 tomorrow:

Degrasse State Forest - Part 1

We'd never been to Degrasse State Forest before, so one morning the dogs and I drove there, about 40 miles southwest of home. I found a place to park off the rough dirt road and opened my car door, only to discover a large Viper's Bugloss plant in full bloom. It was prickly and I had to step over it to get out of the car:

We hit the trail immediately. It was smooth enough to drive on - possibly better than the road we came in on, but we were there to hike, not drive:

The dogs were, as always, beside themselves with joy and kept trying to run ahead. That meant that I spent the first half of the hike calling them back:

We passed through a mixed forest of conifers and hardwoods, with so much underbrush that I never attempted leaving the trail. The dogs pretty much stayed on the trail also:

 I thought this was Spotted Knapweed, but it was too big. So I looked it up when I got home and decided that it was Black Knapweed:

It was a pleasant hike and we arrived before it got too hot, which is part of why it was so pleasant:

  I stopped at a patch of Wild Ginger. This plant blooms in the early spring so I've never seen its odd, brown flowers. This year I thought of it when the time was right but didn't want to hike in the chilly, muddy weather. Maybe some day I'll actually do it and get to photograph the flowers:

We took a side trail which I knew from the map would lead to an oxbow, a loop of the Grasse River which had become disconnected from the river and now exists as a sort of long, skinny, looping pond. The dogs saw the water below them and broke into a run:

The bottom was smooth and the water cool, so the dogs enjoyed it immensely. They've had a lot of water to play in this year and have come to regard it as a wonderful thing. Only Clover shies away sometimes:

Seamus immersed himself while Daphne and Fergus waded along the shore, where Jack had already gone back to so he could roll for joy:

The sun reflected off the water as the dogs lingered there:

I took a photo of the Oxbow, looking south. It looks just like a river, which it once was before it became disconnected. It sure was lovely. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: