Clear Pond - Part 1

I woke up one morning in a rotten mood and pouted for several hours until it dawned on me that I hadn't had the dogs out to the forest in quite awhile. I knew it would be a cure for my foul mood and the dogs would be ecstatic. So I put them in the car and drove 17 miles to the Adirondacks' lovely White Hill Wild Forest. I let the dogs out of the car and Jack, Fergus and Daphne led the way down the trail:

We'd just gotten started when I came across a clump of Pink Columbine. Wild Columbine is red, so I figured these must be leftover from when a Boy Scout camp was located here:

I'd noticed Lilacs still blooming along the road to this destination, so I already knew the area had an even later spring than where I lived, only 17 miles away. Still, I was shocked to see Canada Mayflower in bloom. But when I got home, I checked my field guide and decided that these were Three-Leaved False Solomon's-Seal, a related but later blooming species:

And there were lots of Bunchberry plants, a sort of miniature Dogwood, in bloom:

We arrived at the shore of Clear Pond in short order and Seamus waded in without hesitation. Daphne rushed to join him there:

Daphne and Jack tested the water:

And Daphne decided she liked it:

Clear Pond is a wild but accessible Adirondack gem. We had the entire White Hill Wild Forest to ourselves and, according to the register book, only one other person had been there in the last several days:

This Pink Ladyslipper surprised me because it was long past its normal bloom time. It was already faded and shriveled, though, so it was almost spent:

Brilliantly orange and yellow flowers were immediately identifiable as Orange Hawkweed, and the white flowers behind it were more Bunchberry (and one Oxeye Daisy):

We returned to the trail through the forest but took the next side trail to the water's edge, where Daphne again showed what a water dog she is. There was yet much more to see here, though, and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Water Loving Dogs At Whippoorwill Corners - Part 3

I was hiking with the dogs along Plumb Brook, in the Whippoorwill Corners State Forest (see also Parts 1 and 2, posted previously), but the time came for us to turn back toward the trail head:

I saw a dirt lane climbing up a steep hill and thought it might take us back where we wanted to go, so we tried it. It was marked as a horse path and probably did go where I wanted, but I didn't want to risk it. So we walked back down the hill and took the same trail we'd come in on:

The extra sunlight on the top of the hill produced a bumper crop of Orange Hawkweed, a beautiful, distinctive wildflower:

 

Soon we were back on the rocky brookside trail, where I remembered once again that going up rocky places is usually easier than going down:

Plumb Brook was now on our left as we made our way back on the trail:

Look, Dad, another place to cool off. Can we go in the water here?

Indeed they did. It was a fine stream for keeping dogs cool and watered on a hot day:


Back on the trail again. There were a few mosquitoes, but not too many:

 I found this clam shell near the water, likely the remnants of a raccoon's dinner and evidence that freshwater mussels live in the brook:

The little dogs wanted to rock-hop out to some rapids, and I didn't stop them. Both Seamus and I were tired and too unsteady on our feet to try it:

In a stretch of quieter water, Daphne got herself so drenched that she looked, as my mother used to say, "like a drowned rat:"

There was a stretch of quiet, shallow water just before the trail head, so we stopped once again for the dogs to explore the cool water of Plumb Brook. Then we all piled into the car and headed for home, arriving before the real heat wave began:

October Dreaming

Despite our extremely wet summer, we had a nearly month long drought leading to autumn. Alas, that means disappointing tree colors - or at least that's how it has looked so far:

Nonetheless, the cows and horses present a wondrous picture of pastoral beauty which I find rewarding and satisfying:

The animals like autumn because the food is still abundant but the flies are mostly gone. They are a happy herd now:

The little bantam hens also seem happy, though their egg production is tapering off dramatically:

The fantail pigeons who nested on the floor near the door hatched one baby:

Everything looked as if it was going well, but about a week later I found the baby had died and the parents had abandoned the nest:

I haven't let the pigeons out much this year, but one day I let them out and they sure enjoyed it:

I found this Orange Hawkweed growing beneath the apple trees. It was quite beautiful. It also had more orange and less yellow than it appears in the photo:

The view from out in the south field, looking back toward the barn, the house and my 88 bales of expensive but necessary hay:

Something began tunneling into the insulation beneath the milk house roof, apparently entering through the eaves. It seems unlikely to be a bird at this time of year although I've never seen whatever kind of animal it is. I should board it up better, but don't want to trap some animal inside there. I haven't solved the problem yet:

My Phlox almost all died last winter but this autumn, these Asiatic Dayflowers took their place. I used to see these all the time in the city, but they are new to the farm:

Wildflowers Around The Farm

The yard around the house is big, but far from manicured. There are weedy sections everywhere and I delight in them, for they display amazing wildflowers all summer long. So one day I took my camera and recorded a few of the wildflowers which beautify the wild patches. The first is Deptford Pink:

And Sundrops, a day blooming relative of Evening Primrose:

Common St. Johnswort:

Cow Vetch:

A white Aster, species unknown. Feel free to add a comment if you can identify it:

Orange Hawkweed:

Queen Anne's Lace, or Wild Carrot:

Rough-Fruited Cinquefoil:

Yellow Goats-Beard:

White Clover:

Bouncing Bet:

Red Clover:

Bladder Campion. This bloomed profusely all over the property earlier in the season, but there were only a few, sad looking specimens left this late in the summer:

A Bedstraw, species unknown. Do you see those amazing brown seed pods near it? I don't know what they are, but they are fascinating:

Early Goldenrod:

Common Milkweed:

Butter-and-Eggs:

This plant is extremely common and looks to be in the mint family, but I can't identify it. You'd think it would be easy because of its square stems and distinctive leaves, but I've been unable to find it online or in my field guide. If you know what it is, please leave me a comment: