Winter Beauty

These pictures were taken a couple of weeks ago in mid-December. Our roses had kept blooming due to our warm start to winter. But after an overnight snowfall, I found them still red and pink beneath their coating of wintry white:

These lovely buds were only inches from the ground after their branches were bowed down with the weight of the snow and ice:

But the hardy leaves were still growing and still green:

Rose hips generally persist right through even the coldest of winters, at least if they don't get eaten:

And they sure are pretty:

A few individual flowers just sort of fell apart. Some drooped, and some revived as soon as the snow melted. This has, as of this writing, sure been a mild winter:

My little potted mini-roses also stood right up to the snow and ice. They appear to be every bit as hardy as I'd hoped. I like to think I can move them up to the farm some day when I retire:

And that evening, just a block or so from my house, I caught the sun setting over Albany's skyline across the Hudson River:

It was a lovely and serene landscape, quite different than the wintry beauty one might usually find in mid-December. This world is filled with wonder and glory. We only need to be mindful to see it:

Hannacroix Preserve - Part 2

It was a hot and sunny day, so I'd taken Seamus, Fergus and Daphne to the Hannacroix Preserve, just south of Albany, to play in the Hannacroix Creek. Apparently lots of people had the same idea as there were quite of few people with their dogs splashing in the cool water and hiking the shady woodland trails. Seamus has decided that he really enjoys the water but I had to encourage Daphne. She didn't mind it once she felt how it cooled her. And of course, she liked to follow the example of her big brother, Seamus:

Fergus was willing to get wet, but not truly enthusiastic. Mostly he hopped from rock to rock. As for me, I walked right into the water, shoes and all:

When we reached the falls, we discovered that there wasn't much water falling. Yet still there was a nice, deep swimming hole at the base of the falls:

People were playing in the water and friendly dogs were mostly staying along the water's edges:

But we got back on the trail and walked around to the quiet waters above the falls. The less turbulent water and the calmer atmosphere seemed to suit Fergus and he became a little more willing to enter the water:

Seamus lumbered through the water like a brontosaurus and I chuckled, imagining him as a prehistoric dinosaur with seaweed in his mouth:

I'd seen hints on the internet that Papillons can be swimmers. Daphne was certainly willing to experiment:

But Daphne's biggest thrill was discovering the tadpoles in the Hannacroix Creek. She's a devoted bug hunter and thought she'd also like to catch these little fishy things:

And speaking of tadpoles, here's a video of them:



The creek at that point was quite clear and full of fish as well as tadpoles. If you enlarge this photo you can see a school of them just past that rock about midway along the submerged branch:

Well, I'd planned to do some extensive hiking after getting all cooled off, but instead of energizing me, the waters seemed to have relaxed me. So the dogs and I headed back toward the trail head:

The shady trail leads through the forest with the Hannacroix Creek on one side:

And as we neared the trailhead, we once again encountered masses of giant Multiflora Roses. In this case, the flowering branches provided a perfumed archway under which we walked:

And alongside the trail I spotted this intimidating sight - a wall, perhaps 8 feet high, of thorny Multiflora Roses mixed with giant Poison Ivy. But we were almost finished with our outing and the car was just ahead. It'd been a great adventure and it was time to head for home:

Hannacroix Preserve - Part 1

It was Memorial Day, Monday May 31st and I had the day off. I decided to take Daphne, Fergus and Seamus hiking somewhere (this was before Clover's arrival) but since we'd just hiked up a mountain, wanted something cooler, more level and less strenuous. I remembered a wooded preserve south of Albany which I'd hiked quite a few years ago and found directions to it on the internet. It's along the Hannacroix Creek and we arrived in only 15 minutes or so. I pulled into the parking area and was impressed with the beautiful if invasive Multiflora Roses in full bloom and climbing high up into many of the trees:

Here's a close-up of the rose blossoms. They were fragrant and perfumed the area:

Dame's Rocket, Phstegia virginiana, was also beautiful, also in full bloom and also an alien species

Also in bloom was the Purple-Flowering Raspberry, Rubus odoratus. This one is both beautiful and a native species:

When we arrived, I noticed a family just ahead of us with two dogs, one of them large and, I thought in my defensive mindset regarding little Daphne, a potential threat. A Papillon puppy is small, white and given to quick movements - easily mistaken for a rabbit and likely to awaken a predatory instinct in some dogs. The owners said their dog was fine but they kept him on a leash anyway. I let them go ahead of me and then followed cautiously. But when we caught up with them as they played in the river, I learned that all the dogs got along famously. Seamus especially liked the big dog. At last, a dog his own size!:

The family was throwing balls into the river for their big dog to fetch. He loved that game but their terrier was not fooled. He would go in only to an ankle depth:

This family's big dog loved the water and Seamus learned from him some of the joy of splashing and swimming:

The two big dogs loved the water. Fergus was willing to go in but wasn't very comfortable with it. Daphne wanted no part of it, but did eventually swim a bit with encouragement:

Fergus liked the cooling effect of the water, but I think he wished that he didn't have to get wet to enjoy it:

As for me, I abandoned all hope of keeping my feet dry and just walked in, snapping pictures of the dogs and people at play:

But the time soon came to get back on the trail and head farther into the preserve, especially desiring to see the waterfall:

We passed by the stone ruins of the Croswell-Parsons Paper Mill which operated here on the banks of the Hannacroix Creek from 1826 to 1897:

And we soon arrived at the waterfall. There wasn't much water, given our hot, dry spring -but being a hot, sunny holiday, there were plenty of both people and dogs. Seamus likes water, people and dogs, so he ran right in to greet everybody:

Seamus is a happy, sociable dog who naturally assumes everyone loves him and will enjoy his company. Usually he's correct. I'll post the final photos from the Hannacroix Preserve tomorrow: