Another Sunday morning had dawned where I was heading up to the farm. The dogs and I drove as far as exit 30, got onto Route 73 toward the High Peaks Region and stopped at the Ausable River for a rest stop:
We'd been spending so much time at the Schroon River in Frontier Town that we hadn't been to the Ausable River in a long time. We parked and all headed down the steep hill toward the river:
The Ausable River looked inviting. The water level was low, the banks were covered in emerald moss and large stones practically called out for a bit of exploring:
The trail alongside the river was flat and easy, meaning that the younger dogs ran forward and back, putting a great deal of mileage into their rest stop. For them, it was an exercise stop. As for me, I walked down to the river and began hopping from rock to rock. But a rock rolled underfoot and I went down suddenly and very hard. Luckily I was not seriously injured, but I was wet, with bloody gashes on my arms and bruises the size of footballs all over my body. I ended the rest stop and hobbled painfully back to the car:
We drove on toward the farm, stopping one more time at New York State land just off of Route 458:
There were White Baneberries, also known as Doll Eyes, in fruit:
Here's a close-up, which will make it clear why people call them Doll Eyes:
And White Wood Aster. Yes, autumn was surely arriving:
And Milkweed pods:
And exquisite New England Asters:
Joe-Pye-Weed had by then all gone to seed:
Many varieties of Goldenrod were in full, glorious bloom:
We then continued onward toward the farm, but I couldn't resist one more stop in Santa Clara at the St. Regis River. It's just too serene and beautiful to be ignored. I was in much pain from my earlier fall and, to be honest, still quite disturbed by how close I'd come to truly hurting myself. I was worrying about being all alone with no one to help and needed a bit of serenity along this lovely river before I traveled on to the farm. But I'll post more tomorrow:
