Wolf Lake Loop Trail, Part 3

We were almost to Moon Lake on our hike and the deer flies (or were they horse flies? They sure were huge) were coming at both Seamus and me by the thousands. I kept us both sprayed with Deep Woods Off but it only seemed to help for a few minutes. And the deer flies found spots I hadn't sprayed on Seamus and attacked him there. At one point he passed me and I saw his short tail plastered with about twenty deer flies I wiped them off and applied more spray. He began to run off into the brush, lying down and rolling to rid himself of the deer flies:

The other three dogs, being younger, smaller and more white, didn't seem too much bothered by the deer flies. They were still having a grand time:

We arrived at Moon Lake and trail sign said that Wolf Lake was only 4/10 of a mile to the right. But I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the Moon lake itself. Be sure to notice the cluster of brilliant Pink Ladyslippers at the base of the sign:

A closer look at the Ladyslippers and of Moon Lake just beyond:

 I walked to the edge of the rocks and snapped a photo of lovely Moon Lake:

And the three younger dogs watched me with interest.This was a fun excursion for them:

But I was worried about Seamus and turned around to find him at the base of the rocks by the edge of the lake. I didn't know how he'd gotten down there but feared he'd tumbled. He seemed disoriented and weak in the legs. I suspected heat stroke and scrambled down there to help him. I tried to cool him off in the lake but couldn't get him into the water. So I then tried to help him back up the steep rocks but his legs were weak and it quickly became apparent we wouldn't make it. Just then a woman hiker, the first and only person I'd seen since we'd left the car, came by and offered to help. She pulled on his collar while I pushed from behind. We got Seamus up the rocks and discussed where the closest water access would be. She suggested the lean-to on the other side of Moon Lake. Who says there are no angels?:

So I cancelled my plans to see Wolf Lake and turned back past the trail sign and field of Ladyslippers toward the lean-to. I put Seamus on a leash to prevent any more tumbles down cliffs:

We got to the lean-to and I managed to get Seamus into the water to cool off. He was soaked, but it seemed to do him a world of good. By this time he was quite ill, vomiting and with diarrhea. But he revived after his cooling bath in Moon Lake:

Little Clover investigated the campsite for food scraps until I felt Seamus was ready to begin walking to the next lake on our way home, Huckleberry Lake. I kept him on a leash as we walked. This served to keep him close and under control as well as to help shield him from deer fly attack. As long as he was next to me, they focused their evil intentions on me:

So we walked slowly toward Huckleberry Lake. I didn't take any more photos as all my attention was on Seamus. But when I got to this exquisite patch of Fringed Polygala, I stopped to snap a couple of photos:

They are quite odd little flowers with a vivid color, a real show stopper on the forest floor:

And then we arrived at the northern end of Huckleberry Lake. It was even more beautiful than Moon Lake. I immediately began searching for a place to get Seamus into the water again:

He cooled off a bit here and then lay down. I let him rest for awhile before we began walking again. I'll post more tomorrow:

Wolf Lake Loop Trail, Part 2

We were hiking the Wolf Lake Loop Trail and it was lovely - except for the biting deer flies or horse flies. I wasn't sure which they were as they seemed bigger than normal deer flies. They were becoming increasingly fierce and numerous as the morning warmed up. Nevertheless, I was still enjoying the many Pink Ladyslippers along the trail, thousands upon thousands of them:

The trail crossed a split log bridge:

And lots of Blue Flag (wild Iris) were in bloom along the edges of the many beaver marshes:

The beavers had long ago dammed many places, and their ponds had slowly become marshes. They were picturesque and good wildlife habitat, but unfortunately also breeding grounds for more biting insects. They continued to increase in number and ferocity as we hiked farther into the forest:

We passed a beaver dam of unusual depth and intricate construction. Seamus again cooled off in the water:

Those yellow water lilies you saw in the above photo were, I used to believe, called Spatterdock. But I've since learned that the more northern species is Bullhead Lily. Neither name is very attractive, I suppose, but I always welcome seeing them:

And many more Pink Ladyslippers and Canada Mayflowers:

And then I spotted a small flower I'd only seen a few times before. It was Fringed Polygala. The first time I'd seen it I thought that it too was an orchid. But it's a member of the Milkwort family, albeit rather unlike its relatives:

And on we went, happily passing by more and more beaver marshes, some of them quite extensive. One of them was so large I thought we'd arrived at Moon Lake, the first lake on the trail. But I later learned that these marshes were unnamed. Notice Fergus' ears flopping as he merrily bounces along the trail:

By this time, sadly, the deer flies had become brutal, and were attacking both Seamus and me. I sprayed both of us with Deep Woods Off which seemed to work for a minute or two. Then we needed more spray:

The deer flies didn't seem to be bothering the three smaller, mostly white dogs. I suspected that Seamus was much bigger and putting out more body heat. I later read that they're attracted to dark colors also. But we'd come a long way and there was no turning back, so we continued on toward Moon Lake and Wolf Lake:

Clover again walked out on a fallen log to survey the beaver marsh. She's quite the little adventurer:

I passed by thousands of exquisite Pink Ladyslippers along the way, pausing only occasionally to stop and photograph them:

And the Bunchberries were in full bloom also, a tiny relative of the Dogwood tree. In fact, they're in the same genus. Bunchberries are a denizen of northern forests and mountain slopes. I still remember the first time I saw them. It was near the summit of Mount Marcy. But our hike was only in its midpoint. I'll post more tomorrow:

Bennett Hill, Part 4

The dogs and I were hiking the Bennett Hill trail in Clarksville, New York, just outside of Albany. It's a steep-sided, flat-topped hill which is a botanical and ornithological treasure. This is the fourth and final post from our hike. We were already on top the hill and I was exploring the trails and watching for Pink Lady's-Slippers. Alas, I never found any, but I did find lots of other flowers in bloom. I also saw this brilliant orange fungus on a dead tree. I did a Google search later, hoping to find some clue to its identity but still all that I know is that it's a pretty orange fungus. I guess that will just have to be enough:

The trail circles the circumference of the mesa-like hill, but I took the dogs into the center areas, still hoping to find Lady's-Slippers in bloom. There's no trails in the interior, but much low vegetation which made walking easy. In one past excursion on this hill, my dog Jed ran off and I found him worrying a porcupine. But when I pulled him away, I also found quills in his mouth and jaw. So I held him down and pulled them out there on the spot. The friends who were with me thought I was being cruel, but Jed suffered no consequences from the quills, probably because I'd handled it so promptly. Besides, what alternative would there have been?

Anyway, we saw no porcupines on this hike. In this picture, Seamus is leading the way and that green patch near him is mostly low-bush blueberries:

I walked through many blueberry meadows and around pines and birches in search of interesting natural sights:

Seamus and Daphne are now great buddies and enjoy being together. Seamus is so gentle that he'll allow her to walk all over his body and pull a rawhide chewie out of his mouth. It's a darn good thing for all of us that he's such a well behaved dog:

Fergus got a little high strung and overly excited. When he detected anger in my voice, he began keeping his distance. So I made my voice more calm and put him on a leash for a while. Actually, I wasn't sure if it was the tone of my voice or some other phenomenon to which he reacted. He became very skittish and worried about something. But whatever it was, a quiet walk on his leash soothed and calmed him:

This scene was lovely. The blooming bush was a Japanese Honeysuckle and the blooming tree was a Black Cherry:

If you are wondering why Daphne is in this odd position, it's because she was jumping up and down trying to catch bumble bees. I, of course, was hoping she wouldn't catch one. Luckily, neither dog nor bee was hurt in this episode:

I was still searching for Lady's-Slippers when I saw a bright purple something or other in a patch of low vegetation. I thought it might be a food wrapper or something, so stooped down for a closer look. It was a tiny flower which looked very much like an orchid. I looked it up when I got home and discovered that it was a Fringed Polygala, Polygala paucifolia. It's not an orchid, but commonly mistaken for one. In fact, it's listed with orchids in my field guide. It's also called Gaywings or Flowering Wintergreen. It was an exciting discovery for me. In this photo, you tell how tiny it was by comparing with the dry oak leaves and grass plant nearby:

The time came when we headed back down the trail towards our parked car and through the varying forest types. I set my camera on a log and snapped our photo just for fun:

And we passed by the cow pastures once again, with the hills of rural Albany County in the distance:

When we arrived back at the trail head, I found this plaque on a boulder:

That roof you see in the grass was at one time a kiosk where a trail map was displayed. I suppose its supports had rotted out over the years. That house across the road is abandoned and is also rotting away:

The trail head is located in a meadow and the dogs did a bit of romping. Their play would have made a great dog food commercial:

When the hike was over and we were back in the car traveling home, I passed through the small and historic town of Clarksville. I hadn't planned to take any photos but couldn't resist this one house. On one side of the house was a statue of a dinosaur with a stick keeping its head from drooping:

And on the other side of the house was this sign designating it as a historic landmark. Our hike was over and I headed on home to sort through photos and identify flowers. I have one more video, however, which I'll post at the bottom:

This is a quiet video, with not much happening. But it helps to give the flavor of the sights and sounds atop Bennett Hill: