Part 4 - Dyken Pond Nature Preserve On New Years Day

I was hiking the Spring Trail with my four youngest dogs on an unusually warm New Years day. We'd begun by following ski tracks which helped us make our way through the snow. But then we took a turn back toward the road and walked alongside a small brook where no one had broken through the snow before us. That was more difficult. We came eventually to a lovely forest of Spruce, Pine and Fir:

Fergus waded through the snow for a short distance, but then changed his mind and returned to join the rest of us where he could walk in the tracks I'd made:

A short video of our progress along a small brook. You can see little Clover in the lead, effortlessly walking on top of the snow. Seamus and I, being heavyweights, had a bit more trouble:


As noted in the above video, the two Papillon puppies, Daphne and Clover, were so light on their feet that they were able to walk on top the crusted snow. That, of course, made it much easier for them. As if those two needed any more energy!

Another brief, quiet video of our passing beneath the coniferous forest canopy:


We came to a place in the woods were we could see the plowed road just ahead of us:

And just beyond the road was Dustin Swamp:

We had a bit of a walk along the road to get to our car. There was, needless to say, very little traffic. Nevertheless, I put Daphne and Clover on leashes and gave them another lesson on how to heel. Fergus and Seamus already know how to heel, so I left them unleashed but gave them a chance to practice:

And before long, we arrived back at the parking area. Our New Years day hike was over. It was a wonderful scenic and contemplative experience in addition to good exercise. It was a great way to begin a new year:

Part 3 - Dyken Pond Nature Preserve On New Years Day

I was hiking on a surprisingly warm New Years day in Dyken Pond Nature Preserve in Grafton New York, with my four younger dogs. We were all having a grand time, and the dogs were especially playful - even more than usual, that is:

We walked through pockets of warmer and colder air, and enjoyed the quiet of the woodlands. Clover thought she heard something and went on alert:

Fergus (and Seamus too) comes all insulated with thick, woolly Poodle fur, so snow, ice and cold are no impediments to his having a good time:

A brief video of a quiet moment along the snowy trail:



The ski tracks which we'd been blessed to follow left the trail and we began walking through unbroken snow which made it quite tiring, at least for Seamus and me. I was amazed that little Clover could consistently lead the way and wondered how such a tiny dog could push through the snow so tirelessly. Then I noticed that she was mostly walking on top of it, not through it. I suppose she wondered how we could be so slow:

The trail followed a small brook which burbled and sang as it traveled both through and beneath the snow cover:

Eventually we walked out of the hardwood forest and into a Spruce and Pine woods:

This coniferous section of woodland was darker at the ground level and the snow was littered with needles and branches:

The dogs rightly considered this a grand adventure and made it a point to sniff everything. It'd be fascinating to be able to read the smells which they can pick up. "Hmm, a squirrel walked by here, a 'possum there, a raccoon over there was having dinner. And a trio of turkeys were dining on seeds right here:"

Part 2 - Dyken Pond Nature Preserve On New Years Day

I was hiking in the Dyken Pond Nature Preserve with my four younger dogs on a surprisingly warm New Years day. We were on the Spring Trail but decided to follow a connector trail down into a wooded valley. This, of course, was occasion for more ecstatic running and great joy for the dogs. As I've said before, I think that our dogs' ability to find such joy in nearly everything is their greatest asset and benefit to our lives. Just look at those ears flopping!

After much running up and down the hill trying to get me to speed up, we all arrived at a tiny creek flowing through the snowy landscape:

Skiers had helped pack the snow a bit along the trail as we headed down through the valley:

And up ahead I saw that the dogs had located a small bridge crossing the stream:

This tiny bridge provided yet more joy in the puppies, and Seamus plopped himself down in the snow, apparently to get a drink of cold water. He never did drink, though, so I guess he was just being playful (or tired):

Fergus, Daphne and Clover were anxious for me to catch up so we could continue our exploration of the forest:

But like a child, Seamus was dipping and splashing his toes in the brook:

All along the route were glorious examples of Yellow Birch and I determined to get a photo of one which would convey the lovely golden hue of their bark. This picture gives only a hint of their beauty, but you can see the yellowness of it:

And a very brief video of my four pooches as we hiked through the woods. The trees are quite small, an indication that this area had been deforested not too many years ago. I'm glad that it is now being protected by law and returning to its natural splendor:

Part 1 - Dyken Pond Nature Preserve On New Years Day

After several bouts of cold temperatures and heavy snows, New Years Day promised to warm up into the 40s. I decided to try a short hike and drove the four younger dogs to Dyken Pond Nature Preserve in Grafton, New York to give it a try. I was hoping that cross-country skiers had flattened down the snow sufficiently for the trails to be walkable. Of course I knew that Grafton gets more cold and more snow than Albany, but still I was discouraged when I arrived to see the snow piled up around the parking area:

I'd picked a trail on the map which we hadn't yet hiked, but could find no sign of any trails along the road. I eventually found trail markers and some indication that cross-country skiers had made the trail passable, but there was no place to park, not even shoulders on the road. I eventually parked in the main lot and walked all the way back down the road to the trail I wanted. It was a good opportunity to give the Papillon pups another "heel" lesson. When we finally entered the woods, the dogs reacted with great joy. Just take a look at Fergus' face:

Seamus and Fergus ran wildly along the snowy trails, their ears flapping:

Seamus slowed down rather quickly, but Fergus and the Papillon puppies had more energy than they knew what to do with. They were on an expedition of exploration and sniffing:

The skiers had not packed the snow down completely, but had certainly made it easier for us than it would otherwise have been. So we explored deeper and deeper into the woods:

My little dog pack keeping together in the forest:

The trail was well marked with red discs, so many that I'd have considered it littered in the summertime. But it came in handy for finding the trail when it was all snow covered. We decided to take a spur trail which led down into a valley:

Ever alert and on guard, Daphne kept an eye out for lions and tigers and bears:

A brief video from the beginning of our hike. The dogs are all excited and Seamus leaves us a big, stinky surprise in the middle of the trail:

A Return To Dyken Pond - Part 6

I'd been hiking the Long Trail at Dyken Pond Nature Preserve in Grafton, New York with four of my dogs. This was our second trip to the area and, just as before, we never saw another human being during the hike. We had all this beauty to ourselves. As we hiked the boardwalk across Dustin Swamp, the two Papillon puppies frolicked a bit on the observation deck:

Clover and Daphne are best friends and playmates. May it always be so. The play wrestling has, on recent occasions, escalated to a point which made me uncomfortable and I ordered them (loudly) to cease and desist. I'm pretty firm about enforcing peace amongst the dogs, whether or not they're in the mood for peace. But on this day the two "happy pappis" were like loving twin sisters:

There were few sounds of either birds or insects, but the sights and aromas were beautiful and the day was serene:

The boardwalk had raised up in some places and sunk down in others. It was much more extreme than it appears in these photos. You may notice that the rangers had nailed 2X4s to a low side of the boardwalk to keep people from sliding off into the water:

One last farewell look across Dustin Swamp before we hiked on:

I allowed the dogs to run ahead and they discovered a lean-to for camping. Imagine all the interesting smells for a dog - strange people, strange dogs, campfires, spilled food, bacon:

Happy pooches checking out the lean-to:




We reached the dirt access road a mile or so from my parked car and I decided that it was high time to give certain young Papillons a lesson in how to heel. Daphne was quite good at it, but Clover was determined to show me that she should be leading the way. I could only insist that I knew better and could be quite persistent. We arrived back at our little red car and everyone got to relax and rest for the ride home:

As we drove home, the two puppies zonked out on the seat next to me. They were more tired than they'd wanted to let on:

A Return To Dyken Pond - Part 5

When we reached the little stream which was swollen from all of our recent rain, the dogs and I followed a different path. At that point there seemed to be no more trail markers anyway and I did, after all, know which way to go to reach the road. So we turned away from the stream and began following another trail:

By this time it was afternoon and had warmed up under an October sun. The woodland was beautiful, peaceful and quiet. And for Daphne and Clover, the two Papillon puppies, it was a marvelous playground:

On and on we hiked beneath an emerald green canopy and blue skies. Brown leaves and pine needles were softening our footsteps and sending up a friendly, earthy aroma:

I stopped for a photo, but only Seamus could hold still long enough to be included in it with me:

Clover found a fallen tree and began climbing it as if she was a spotted version of a Gray Fox:

And then, to my surprise, we emerged out into another marsh. According to the trail map, this had to be Dustin Swamp. It looked much like the swamp we'd crossed in a previous hike, but not quite. Surrounded by colorful autumn leaves, it was gorgeous:

We walked out onto the boardwalk. I could see that there were places where it had risen or sunk considerably. There were bird houses nailed to many of the standing tree trunks, but I never did figure out what birds they might be for. The entrance holes were too small for Wood Ducks:

The puppies ran ahead while Seamus and Fergus returned to check on my welfare. To their way of thinking, I'm quite the old slow poke:

I shot this video clip as we began to cross the boardwalk and mention in it that this was not the same swamp we'd crossed in our previous hike. I later realized that it was indeed the same swamp, but we'd approached it from the opposite direction and the fallen trees had been cleared:

A Return To Dyken Pond - Part 4

I was hiking the Long Trail at Dyken Pond Nature Preserve with four of my dogs. Much of the trail skirts marshes, but we took many excursions right out into the wetlands to explore. Seamus loves the water, but Daphne prefers to keep her feet dry by standing on a rock:

Most of the marsh grasses had turned silver. Clearly, autumn had arrived and winter would soon be upon this northern plateau:

Fergus loves to bounce and bound through the grass, but in spite of his partial Poodle heritage, is not fond of getting his feet wet. Notice in this picture that the presence of water has stopped him in his tracks:

Little Clover is still a puppy, but she's learning to navigate all these new places. She certainly does not lack confidence, though she does slip now and then:

"Who slips? Me? No, I am an intrepid explorer and fearless she-wolf:"

Back again into the forest we went:

And were stopped dead in our tracks by a tiny but rushing stream:

I thought the dogs would cross the stream, but they wisely chose not to do that. Here's a video of our indecision. We chose another route to continue our hike: