A Walk At Clear Pond - Part 2

I was walking the trail along Clear Pond, in the White Hill Wild Forest, with my friend, Evelyn, and all our dogs (see also Part 1, posted yesterday). The pooches were having a grand time as we explored the shoreline:

After each trip to the pond, we'd return to the main trail and walk farther into the forest to find the next water access point:

 Steeplebush was blooming, and this one was next to a lovely White Pine:

Little Clover and Daphne ran along the water at the next shoreline site we visited:

And Seamus waded right in:

Peekaboo:

Seamus, Daphne and Jack kept cool:

And Clover tiptoed through the wildflowers (mostly Spotted Knapweed and Queen Anne's Lace):

Clover and Daphne checked out the waterlilies:

And I snapped a photo of this lovely scene with Bullhead Lilies, Pickerlweed and Steeplebush:

We headed back to our car and drove the short distance to a camping area:

There, we again headed for the shoreline of Clear Pond, where Meadowsweet and Common St. Johnswort were blooming prolifically:

We explored a lovely clearing beside the water, the dogs again got wet, and then Evelyn called them back toward the car. We had six happy dogs and two happy people:

St. Regis River Flow Trail - Part 1

I take the dogs to the St. Regis River Flow trail at least once each year (and hopefully more often), beginning at the boat launch. The trail is largely meadow and riverbanks, with lots of wildflowers. And it's the best place I know to find Cardinal flowers. We parked near the two piers and boat launch:

No one else was there, so I let the dogs off the leash and they wasted no time getting wet and muddy:

But I soon called them away from the parking area and we headed for the trail:

This must have once been all forest, but it's largely meadow now, and a great place to find wildflowers and for happy dogs to run:

We arrived at the trail, which is more or less kept mowed, and turned upstream parallel to the river:

One of the most common blooming flowers was Meadowsweet, Spiraea latifolia, a member of the Rose family. It is a small bush and absolutely beautiful:

 And there was lots of Common St. Johnswort and Spotted Knapweed:

The trail became a sort of dirt road, just right for my lame legs and the dogs to run amok with joy:

There are a certain number of access trails to the river which I always take. When we got to the first one, the dogs knew just where to go and ran excitedly toward the water:

Indeed, the water was lovely. You can see the two piers in the background. That's where we were parked. But we'd just gotten started. I'll post part 2 tomorrow:

St. Regis River Access Plants - Part 1

I decided to take the dogs for a quick hike at the St. Regis River boat launch site in Santa Clara, NY. It's a short, easy hike and I can count on finding lots of spectacularly colored Cardinal Flowers at this time of year. To my surprise, there were so many wildflowers in bloom that I came home with a camera full of photos. So I've separated the dog pictures from the plant pictures. The beginning of the hike featured lots of Goldenrod:

And lots of Common Milkweed:

And, like most waste places, lots of Spotted Knapweed:

The sandy soil also supported Reindeer Lichen and Wild Strawberries. Those red spots you see behind the strawberry plants were not berries, but red leaves:

Tree Club Moss (Princess Pine). At least I think that's what kind it was:

There was lots of Meadowsweet growing everywhere at the dry, sandy beginning of the hike:

And Meadowsweet also grew along the riverbank, where the soil was probably richer and moister:

Black-Eyed Susans abounded but I somehow only got this one photo. It was next to a Scotch Pine:

Common St. Johnswort, like some of the other wildflowers, seems to be everywhere right now. It must be a good year for it:

The Chokecherry, Prunus virginiana, was producing fruit but I didn't taste it. I probably should have:

More Chokecherry. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

The Stark Easement Canoe Carry - Part 1

I'd left the house windows open and the fans running all night, but it was still hot and muggy inside the house. The weather promised to be even more uncomfortable as the day wore on, so I decided to take the dogs to some Adirondack water while it was still morning. I drove 32 miles south to the Stark Easement without any idea what I'd find as we'd never been there before. When I saw a sign down a trail saying "Canoe Carry," that's where we went:

It was an easy, flat trail and we had no company whatsoever, so I let the dogs off their leashes:

We passed a strip where the power lines ran. I'd love to explore that on some other, cooler day:

The deer flies were hungry but only seemed to bother me, not the dogs:

Nonetheless, it was a pleasant hike and presumably a short one. I really had no idea, but canoe carries are not generally very long because people don't want to carry their canoes too far:

The shade protected us from the heat of the summer sun:

Then we arrived at a grassy path down the center of what must have been a long peninsula. I could see water on both sides of us:

We arrived at the Raquette River and a magnificent view. The Raquette River is dammed in many places for hydro power and there are numerous reservoirs and just plain wide spots:

The dogs broke into a run, all excited about the water ahead:

And all the dogs went in, beginning with Seamus, Fergus and Daphne:

This was glorious scenery, with cooling waters, expansive views, Meadowsweet blossoms and ripe blueberries:

It was magnificent. I kind of wished I could go in also, but I didn't. We had more yet to see, and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Around The Farm In August

There's so much happening around the farm this summer that I often have more photos than I can post. Here's a few from summer in the north country, beginning with the chickens who invade the barn at every opportunity. They're looking for spilled cattle grain and hay seeds. They also like to nest atop the bales of hay, laying eggs there if given half a chance. I wouldn't mind so much, except that they leave a trail of chicken poop behind them:

But they're pleasant and scenic outside on the lawn, where their poop is a welcome fertilizer:

The dogs have never shown any inclination to hurt them, but they sure do watch them. In this case, though, the dogs couldn't even be bothered to leave the ramp. They just lay there and watched from a distance:

For their part, the little bantam hens cover every inch of the yard, snatching up bugs and greens in a never ending search for food:

And inside the barn, I discovered a new baby fantail pigeon:

The first baby has quickly grown to full size and is now, in fact, hard to tell from the older birds:

The pigeons and baby chicks get along famously, with the pigeons often getting down on the floor to fraternize:

I've spent a lot of time walking the south field, looking for the calf. But that has resulted in my getting a closer look at the wildflowers which live there. This beauty is Purple Fringed Orchis, a wild orchid which I've seen in books but never before in real life. This summer, the south field was full of them:

And Goldenrod, the bane of my existence because the cows despise it, allowing it to grow unchecked while they eat everything else:

This beauty was another new wildflower to me, which I had to look up. It is Meadowsweet, a member of the rose family:

Do you remember that rose cutting I tried to grow by poking it into the ground and upending a jar over it? I kept it watered, but thought the summer heat had killed it:

But finally I pulled up the jar to take a look. Indeed, there was a healthy young rose plant growing. This jar technique, I'd read, was how the pioneers transplanted cuttings from their favorite roses as they moved west: