Southville State Forest - Part 2

The dogs and I were hiking in the Southville State Forest, about halfway between my house and the town of Potsdam:

Wild Strawberries bloomed abundantly underfoot:

And the dogs snapped to attention at every sound or smell:

But this was only a short hike, so we were quickly back at our car:

I drove out of the forest, stopping along the way to photograph this Honeysuckle which I think was a Northern Fly-Honeysuckle:

I drove across the county road to access the part of the forest which would take us to the St. Regis River. I followed the sandy wood roads through the forest until I saw one which led steeply downhill. Figuring that meant it would take us to the river, I turned down it, only to find that it quickly ended in a loose pile of sand. My car was stuck and sinking deeper every time I tried to move it:

I called AAA (thank God for cell phones) and discovered that my membership had lapsed. I paid to renew my membership and they called a tow truck. The tow truck called to say off-road rescues were not covered by AAA and they didn't want to do it. But I pleaded, and they agreed to meet me back at the county road. So the dogs and I began walking back to the road:

It was about a half mile walk and not a problem, though I wasn't sure the tow truck driver would be willing to take his vehicle down those dirt lanes. On the way, I discovered another Pink Ladyslipper Orchid and stopped to photograph it:

This unplanned part of our hike was quite pleasant, or would have been if not for the worry about my stranded car:

The dogs were extraordinarily well behaved:

I stopped to photograph a Starflower:

The tow truck arrived, drove back into the forest and winched my poor car up out of the sand. I followed him back out to the paved road, at which point they had to remove one of my wheels because it had picked up loose rocks while buried. This hike turned out to be longer and more expensive than planned, but it ended well and I had four happy, tired dogs that night:

St. Lawrence County Reforestation Area Number 12

I'd arrived at the farm on Sunday afternoon and gotten settled. On Monday morning I took the four younger dogs hiking up Azure Mountain. We'd done our hiking early in the morning and were back on the road by lunchtime. I stopped at a convenience store in St. Regis Falls and bought a couple of sandwiches and sports drinks. When we arrived back at the farm, I took a nap.

Well, that was all very nice, but the day was still young and the sun was shining. I decided to drive back to the White Hill Wild Forest and hike in from the opposite direction from last time. But the road to the trail head became totally impassable and I had to abandon that project. But on the way home I passed the St. Lawrence County Reforestation Area Number 12. Not only is my farm surrounded by State Forests, there's also many County Forests (and that's not to mention the Adirondack Park only 3 miles from my door):

So I pulled the car off the road and parked. Little Clover led the way down the sandy hill into the forest. The sun was hot and both the deer flies and mosquitoes were biting fiercely:

But the dogs were happy and having a wonderful time:

I passed by large Honeysuckle bushes full of red berries. I've searched my Peterson's Field Guide and decided this must have been Fly-Honeysuckle, Lonicera canadensis, a native flowering shrub:

And blooming profusely in the sandy trail were multitudes of short Maiden Pinks, Dianthus deltoides, an alien species but beautiful nonetheless:

And of course there were ripe raspberries. I helped myself:

The dogs ran up and down the trails, thoroughly enjoying this hike in spite of the heat. It looked to me like the deer flies and mosquitoes were concentrating on me and leaving the dogs mostly alone:

And, of course, Lowbush Blueberries. Again, I helped myself:

The heat was becoming oppressive. I led the dogs through the woods toward what appeared to be a pond, but it turned out to be only an impenetrable swamp. So we turned around and began trekking back toward our parked car - Me, the dogs and billions of deer flies:

Always in the lead, Daphne and Clover arrived first at the car. There are so many State and County Forests to explore that I will be kept busy for a long time: