Part 4, Mountain Laurel Heaven

We were descending the trail down Mount Everett toward our parked car, the dogs and I. The day had been warm, sunny and breezy. At about the halfway point, the narrow, rocky trail became a gravel service road, making the walk easier. The rocky cliffs along the route provided magnificent scenery:

A mountain stream began flowing downhill along the edge of the trail and all four of my dogs were quick to help themselves to multiple drinks of clean, cool spring water:

We continued downhill, sometimes steeply and sometimes comfortably, through the emerald forest:

When we reached the car, I first had to spend some time with a large family of picnickers who fell in love with my dogs and wanted to hold the two Papillons. But then I began driving down the access road alongside beautiful Guilder Pond. When I saw a turn off, I took it and parked. There were even more Mountain Laurels here than on the steep mountainside, but most were still only in the bud stage:

The dogs and I threaded our way through the Mountain Laurels, Cedars and Hemlocks toward lovely Guilder Pond:

As Daphne and Clover, the two Papillon pups walked through the forest, passing beneath blossoming Mountain Laurels, the scene was surely magical:

And at last we arrived at the shore of Guilder Pond, with Mountain Laurels lighting up the forest like glorious little beacons:

Seamus wasted no time rushing toward the water:

Daphne and Clover found a safe spot to get a sip of water but were careful to keep their feet dry:

If there is a heaven, surely it must look like this. Or maybe we'll discover some day that this earth was heaven, and be judged for how we despoiled it or treated it with love:

Part 1, Mountain Laurel Heaven

I'd badly torn a calf muscle 15 days previously, but on this Sunday morning I seemed to be walking almost normally again. The day was beautiful and the forest paths were calling me. So I got brave, loaded my four hiking dogs into my little red car and set out for Mt. Everett in Massachusetts, near the three-way border of New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut. The hiking trail began on an old service road, at first rather level but quickly turning steep. We began climbing higher and higher:

The last time I'd hiked Mount Everett, the wild Azaleas were in bloom. But I knew I'd see Mountain Laurels blooming in June. I was a bit too early as they were mostly buds, but still lovely:

Seamus has been on a diet and had lost enough weight to enable him to keep up with the youngsters as we climbed higher and higher. It was a great pleasure for me to see him having so much fun:

Mountain Laurels filled the woods and lined the trails. Seamus found this one a great spot to sit down and catch his breath:

At a bend along the path, a broad grassy area opened up and Daphne and Clover, the two Papillon puppies, ran back and forth at full speed:

Fergus joined them for awhile, but then found an interesting smell. When he realized that we were continuing on our way, he ran like crazy to catch up with us:

Mountain Laurel flowers are mostly white, but the buds are mostly pink:

The trail had become quite steep and my injured leg was doing OK. Seamus was beginning to slow down:

And then we reached the first overlook, where we could see out over the broad valley toward the Taconic Mountains. If you click to enlarge this photo, you'll see that the two pups continued running at full speed, oblivious to any scenic overlook:

We were looking out over Massachusetts and Connecticut from here, and the view was stunning:

Another group of hikers joined us and their Yellow Lab, Molly, was very friendly. She and Seamus struck up a friendship while the puppies mostly continued running at full speed. But we were only half way up at this point. I'll post more tomorrow:

We Head Once Again Up To The Farm

It'd only been 10 days since I'd been up to the farm, but the lawn needed mowing and the new tenants needed their keys. On Sunday morning I attended both a meditation group and Unitarian Universalist service. Then I came home, packed the car, loaded up the dogs and headed north. When we reached the Ausable River in Keane, New York this time, we stopped the car and made our way right down to the riverbank:

The younger dogs ran full speed along the riverside trail until they reached a campsite and fire pit. That stopped them in their tracks, I suppose because of the lingering aromas of campfire cooked foods:

Wally trotted along at his own speed, quite a way behind the young pups but ahead of Winky:

Little old Winky just could not keep up, but with his crabby and independent spirit, it certainly didn't bother him:

We explored the woods a bit:

And then we turned around and headed back toward our car. By that time Wally and Winky were together. Two short-legged old doggies enjoying an Adirondack mini adventure:

Seamus and Daphne went down to the Ausable River to get their feet wet. Can't you just hear Seamus asking, "Does this picture make my hips look fat?":

The riverbanks were covered with emerald moss and the the tree canopy was mostly hemlocks:

Wally, Clover, Daphne and Fergus check out the rocky shoreline. Well actually, Daphne is checking out Fergus' butt:

These rest stops must be brief and we were soon back in the car and on our way. But first, the two Papillon puppies had to get some silliness out of their systems by racing full speed through the woods:

Checking Out The Exterior Of The Farm

I'd arrived at the farm and inspected the interior of the farm house, finding everything clean and ready to show to prospective tenants. I then put the dogs out in their fenced yard while I took a walk around the exterior:

The skies by then were blue and it would have been lovely weather except that the winds were gusting with great force, enough so to be downright alarming. But they were not enough to prevent me from touring the grounds:

The barn could use roofing and siding, but I already knew that. Otherwise it looked good:

I kept hearing a loud banging, so checked the south side of the barn and found some steel siding flapping wildly in the strong winds. I brought out a step ladder and climbed up as high as I dared to drive a few more nails into the side in an effort to keep the siding from coming off completely. Just before I bought the place, a windstorm ripped off the sliding barn door here and splintered it. The new door has several locks on the inside to prevent that from happening again:

From the south side of the barn I looked back at the farm house where the dogs were watching my every move and wondering why they couldn't come along:

I walked across the road to pay a visit with my friendly neighbors. This is the view of my own house and barn from the county road:

The view of my farm house as seen from the neighbors' front porch:

Ah, spring had finally arrived in the north country and I had daffodils blooming to prove it:


The dogs busied themselves with doggy pursuits:

And the two Papillon puppies wrestled and ran in circles:

Aack! We Got More Snow!

The weather seemed pretty much OK on Monday morning, March 21st. It was the first full day of spring and we'd been having reasonably nice weather for a week or so. But about 7:30 AM it began to snow - slowly at first but then harder and harder. I felt sad but the dogs, of course, were overjoyed. I went out with them to watch them enjoy it. Daphne and Clover ran back and forth:

Clover saw me with the camera and hoped it might be food:

No food? Well then, I'll just go back to playing:

Seamus stopped romping for a picture while the two Papillon puppies, Daphne and Clover, played near the fence. Hey, wait a minute! Daphne is pooping back there:

Fergus led the puppies on a search for contraband:

Daffodils were doing so well in their new, transplanted location. Well, I'm sure they'll just consider this an early spring watering:

Fergus and Seamus stayed together while Wally trotted along the fence behind them:

OK, I've had enough. Let's go back indoors now:

Another Happy Snow Day, Part 2

We'd had yet another snowstorm, this time on top of a layer of ice. I was very unhappy about it, but the dogs considered it a grand opportunity for silliness and play. Daphne and Clover, the two Papillon puppies, love to wrestle and run together. Clover often grabs Daphne's tail to slow her down:

The running nearly always turns into wrestling with much growling and silliness:

Winky is a true snow dog and has no qualms whatsoever about staying outside in the snow. He likes to explore:

One of Rose Of Sharon bushes caught my eye because it was covered with snowy, drippy ice:

The snow continued to fall throughout most of the day, but this was in the morning as it was just getting started. I had to go to work, but took one more video before calling all the dogs back indoors. They were digging, running, wrestling, peeing and being happy: