A Return To Harper Falls - Part 1

The weather forecast was for a hot, sunny afternoon and I'd been working pretty hard around the farm. Deciding to take a break, I loaded the dogs into the car and headed down to the town of Russell, along the Grasse (AKA Grass) River, to find Harper Falls. I pulled into the empty trail head and let the dogs out:

The trail began as an easy walk, just fine for my problematic ankles. The only problem was keeping the dogs from running too far ahead. They were full of energy and enthusiasm:

They wouldn't stay close, so I made do by calling them back when they got too far ahead. Little Daphne thought it was a fun game, and all the extra running just added to her joy:

We crossed a little bridge over a tiny stream. There was a rocky cliff to the right of the bridge, over which a torrential waterfall must cascade during the snow melt. But this time of year, it was just a trickle:

Hurry up, Dad, we want to run more:

The next stream had no bridge and, in fact, I saw lots of evidence of flooding and figured it must be from Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Clover and Daphne stopped for a cooling drink and a little bit of splashing:

Fergus and Seamus joined them:

And then we continued on our way through a hardwood forest:

It was a short hike and before long I heard the roar of a waterfall. We all quickened our pace:

As soon as Harper Falls appeared, I realized that I had, indeed, been there before. Clover ran down to the rocky shoreline:

I was having a lot of trouble negotiating the sharp, slippery rocks, but the two Papillons considered it great fun:

Seamus and Fergus were intimated by the rocks and wanted to stay where it was safe. The Papillons joined them and watched me struggling to get back across the sharp rocks and up the bank. I decided next to continue on the trail to the top of the falls, but I'll post about that tomorrow:

Cascade Lakes With Hurricane Sandy On The Way

I'd driven up to the farm on Sunday and met with the fence contractor on Monday morning. But Hurricane Sandy was roaring up the east coast that very day and I had to make a decision whether to stay up at the farm and ride it out - or drive quickly home to Albany where the hurricane was predicted to be much stronger. I chose the latter and began hightailing it for home with all the dogs in the car. I stopped at the Cascade Chain of lakes along Route 73 just as the winds were beginning to pick up:

There was no one else there, so I let the dogs out for a run and a romp as the fog rolled in:

Seamus roamed widely, happy to stretch his extra long legs:

Little Madeline trotted across the grass, bracing herself against the ever increasing winds:

Winky did likewise, but his denser, more tangled coat and barrel shaped body seemed to make him extra wind resistant:

I called the dogs down into an area with more trees and less wind:

Daphne, ever the adventurer, braved the gusty winds to explore a retaining wall:

But Madeline and Clover were happy to be in a more sheltered spot. No, I don't know why Clover appears to be leaning like that. It wasn't because of the winds:

You've probably noticed the ever increasing fog which was shrouding the area. We had our windy rest stop beneath its cover and I wondered if it would soon envelop the area or if the winds would drive it away. We never stayed long enough to find out:

This little park along the Cascade Chain of lakes is always beautiful, but it took on a bit of a haunted, excited look with the promise of a hurricane on the way:

I got all the dogs except the two old timers down to the sheltered spot where they could explore in peace without fighting the winds:

And then we all began making our way back to the car so we could finish our dash back to Albany. In the end, Hurricane Sandy left both the Albany area and the north country pretty much unscathed. But we'd had a good trip up to the farm and back, I'd seen the new fencing and all was well:

Walking The New Fence Line

Early on Monday morning, the fence installer (Nick) arrived to walk the new fence line with me, to show me his handiwork and to explain how to operate it:

The fence line stayed out of the woods to avoid fallen, short-producing branches and he kept a 5 to 10 foot path around the fence for me to keep mowed:

We took Seamus and Fergus with us as we walked both the south and north hay fields. He installed a gate at the far end of the north field so that I can access the rest of my land which is mostly wooded. I may some day have the local Amish install barbed wire back there to provide another place for cattle to roam:

From the north field we had a nice view of the house and barn:

We walked the full fence line in both fields and he showed me the preparations he'd made for installing frost-free hydrants in the barn and fields for watering the cattle. He also installed the fence controller, a box which electrifies the fence wires and monitors the voltage. This is all more sophisticated than anything I've ever experienced before, but I'm sure it'll be a blessing. But this was the day Hurricane Sandy was arriving and I had to decide whether to ride it out where I was or try to get home to Albany first. I'll post about that tomorrow: