The Hike To Duck Pond, Part 5

The dogs and I were hiking the Duck Pond Trail in the Adirondacks. The ground was littered with seeds which I guessed were from the Norway Spruces and marveled at how much food they would provide for wildlife. I shot a photo of a couple of them and have concluded that I was wrong on three counts: 1.They are apparently from Balsam Firs, not Norway Spruces. 2.They are cone scales, not seeds. 3.Since they're not seeds, there was much less food for wildlife than I'd thought. Well, zero out of three is pretty bad, but at least I looked it up when I got home:

And while November is no time to be looking for wildflowers, I was treated to several grand displays of Pearly Everlasting, Anaphalis margaritacea. I don't know how long these dried white bracts last, but I'll bet they'll be here in the spring if the snow doesn't crush them:

And all along the trail were brilliantly emerald beds of mosses:

We were almost back to the trail head and I was enjoying the beauty of it all:

The dead branches along the way were sprouting populations of various lichens:

This long, flowing lichen is common on trees at the tops of the high peaks and we've always called it Spanish Moss. It isn't, though. Its more correct name is Old Man's Beard, Treemoss or Usnea. You can read more about it here:

Seamus by this time had lost his get-up-and-go. He just plodded along my side. He's just the right height for patting on the head as we walk. I don't even have to bend over:

Another pine species (besides White Pine) began to appear. It had long needles, two per bundle. I looked in my field guides when I got home and the ID was not difficult since so few pines are native to this area. I decided that they had to be Red Pines, Pinus resinosa:

And a Blue-jay feather appeared on the trail like an omen of good fortune:

I kept thinking we were almost back to the car, rounding a bend and finding we had much longer to go:

But we did reach the car and the dogs were, as always, overjoyed. I noticed that I hadn't closed the rear window though I'd left my wallet in the car (oops).You can see the dirt road continued on past where we'd parked. It was pretty flat and safe at that point so I drove on another half mile and discovered it ended at yet another gate, probably signaling the REAL hike to Duck Pond. Well, that will just have to wait for another time:

The Hike To Duck Pond, Part 4

I'd given up on finding Duck Pond but was unsure what I'd done wrong. Well, the best thing was to enjoy the hike and scenery at hand as the dogs and I returned to the trail head. When I again passed the beaver pond, I decided I had plenty of time for a closer look. It was clear that beavers were still active there:

So I threaded my way downhill through the trees and the brush toward the beaver pond. I think I was following a beaver trail, not a deer path, for it was clear only up to about two feet and then the tree branches were undamaged and fully obstructing my passage:

Seamus jumped right into the water the moment we arrived but pushing through the tree branches delayed me and he was back out of the water by the time I arrived. I was too late to take any pictures of his swim:

And to quote Robert Frost, "The woods were lovely, dark and deep:"

Fergus was interested in the water, but would only get his paws wet and take a drink:

And again I encountered a pile of Norway Spruce cones. Did they fall here in a mass because one productive tree was just above? Or did some enterprising animal collect them here? I don't know the answer:

And more scat (it was everywhere!), this time showing signs of a more varied diet. Again, I suspected it was from coyotes:

Daphne and Fergus along the trail. I don't know why this totally imperfect picture strikes me as being so wonderful except that perhaps it's because both dogs look so much as I know and love them:

The Tamaracks provided just about the only bursts of color in the forest and I was happy to see them. Though the primary forest was Spruce, I also saw a lot young Balsam Firs getting started along the roadside. I've always thought of Balsam Firs as a deep woods species, but they apparently are a pioneer species and like to populate open spaces where they can get a bit of sunlight.

We were almost back to the trail head. But I'll post more tomorrow:

The Hike To Duck Pond, Part 3

The dogs and I had come a long way on our November Adirondack hike to Duck Pond, though we still hadn't seen it or any side trails which might have led to it. I was beginning to wonder if I'd made some mistake. Heaven knows it wouldn't be the first time! But the dogs were happy and so was I. Clover came running when I gave her a call, seeming almost airborne in her speed. This kind of speed and agility is why Papillons so often win obstacle course agility competitions:

On and on we hiked, though no Duck Pond appeared:

A handsome pair of small Adirondack mountains watched us from beyond the trees:

The skies clouded over but no rain was predicted so I didn't worry. We just enjoyed our excursion:

And the scat was everywhere, some old and some new, apparently from one species. This looked rather dog-like (heaven knows I've seen plenty of that!) but there were far too many to be from dogs. Coyotes perhaps? They have certainly become common and might be inclined to use the road:

But mostly the pooches and I just walked. I enjoyed the scenery and silence. The dogs enjoyed the smells:

The leaf littered hills were full of bright green ferns, apparently a different species from those along Quebec Brook which had turned brown more than a month earlier:

Eventually it became clear to me that there was no Duck Pond along this trail and we turned back toward the trail head:

More carnivore scat filled with hair. My best guess was coyotes, but I am open to suggestions:

These Spruce cones littered the ground in many places and I have since concluded that they were from Norway Spruce, an introduced species which I have read has become common in many Adirondack forests. Again, I am open to correction: