Exploring Slush Pond - Part 2

The dogs and I were exploring the floating peat bog and Slush Pond (see also Part 1, posted yesterday):

There were lots of Pitcher Plants, some of them ruby red. Some of the sphagnum moss, as you can see, was similarly red:

Seamus explored the water's edge:

And Daphne checked out every sight and every smell:

This tiny pink wildflower was new to me, though I could tell it was a Laurel. It turned out to be Pale Laurel, Kalmia polifolia, in the same genus as the more familiar Mountain Laurel and Sheep Laurel:

Daphne and Clover got a little too close to the water for my comfort, but neither one fell in this time:

There were also these tiny pink bell shaped flowers, growing on plants whose leaves reminded me of Rosemary. Indeed, they were called Bog Rosemary, Andromeda polifolia. It resembles the herb, Rosemary, but is not related. You can also see both red and yellow sphagnum in this photo:

While I looked closely at tiny plants, the dogs were bounding across the bog and giving everything the sniff test:

This is a close-up of the very tiny Cranberry plant. It was much too early in the year for berries, but maybe we'll return in the autumn to find some:

But the mosquitoes were biting me and it was time to head back to the car:

I took a slightly different route, just for the fun of it, and that suited Seamus just fine:

We all piled back into the car and I squashed as many mosquitoes as I could before we began our return home. Jack, Daphne and Clover settled down on the seat next to me for the drive:

Exploring Slush Pond - Part 1

It was a fine day and I decided to make a quick run down to the floating peat bog at Slush Pond with the dogs. It was about 30 miles from my house, plus another couple of miles through the forest, but the entire drive was scenic and pleasant. As soon as I saw a place to pull over and access the water, I parked and let the dogs out. My first discovery was that it was mosquito season and I was immediately covered with hundreds of the vicious, ravenous little insects. The dogs didn't seem to be bothered, but they had much less skin exposed than I had:

We walked out toward across the peat, heading toward the water. Clover and Daphne ran on ahead:

Seamus was interested mostly in the water:

But there wasn't much to see there, so I called the dogs back into the car and we continued on to a campsite where I knew there to be a good access to the peat bog:

We got out of the car and headed down the trail through the forest toward Slush Pond:

Jack had never had such an adventure and was very excited to be included:

We were soon walking on the floating peat bog, which bounced with every step. If I stood in one place too long, the water oozed up through the peat and covered my shoes:

There were carnivorous Pitcher Plants growing everywhere and other vegetation one only finds in peat bogs:

Fergus and Jack were ecstatic:

Not all Sphagnum is green. Some of it is bright red or golden yellow:

Jack bounced on ahead to explore this wondrous habitat:

Clover, Daphne and Seamus explored the water's edge. I am happy to report that no one fell into the water this time. There was more to see at this extraordinary place. Tune in tomorrow for Part 2:

Chapter Two - The Wild Center!

I continued my tour of the Wild Center in Tupper Lake. I was especially interested in the mushrooms, as I so often see and photograph them while hiking. I have only once seen a green mushroom and I don't think it was these, but I'll now be able to identify one if I see it in the future:

There were lots of wetland displays as the Adirondacks is filled with bogs, ponds, lakes, creeks and rivers. Water, water, everywhere:

The displays on the right were about peat bogs and that giant fish tank on the left contained several indigenous species:

Including Lake Trout:

And Sturgeon:

There was a giant Pitcher Plant display:

And all about flooding, shallow water fish and nighttime species:

More about wetlands:

And Brook Trout:

This was the otter display, a big favorite. The swim tank was very large and L-shaped. The part you see here was merely a small portion of it. The happy, playful otters also had dry land on which to live and you can see that over on the right, above that cave opening. The cave was for children to explore:

I took many photos of the otters but they were moving so rapidly that none of them were useable. So I admit that this photo and the next one are from the internet:

When I studied Wildlife Biology in college, my Adviser specialized in River Otters and kept several of them as research animals which, I could tell, were secretly pets as well. I had my photo taken with them and it appeared on the cover of a pamphlet about the Honors Program. But there was still more to see at the Wild Center and I'll post Chapter Three tomorrow:

Beautiful, Peaceful Slush Pond - Part 1

My sister and I had hiked with the dogs up to The Pinnacle (see previous posts), but the day was still young. So we drove south on Route 30 to a narrow, unmarked road into the Adirondack forest which I happened to know would lead us to Slush Pond:

We parked the car, let the dogs out and began heading toward the floating peat bog. But on the way, we enjoyed the tiny treasures on the forest floor such as the various mosses, the British Soldier lichens, the Pixie Cup lichens and the Reindeer lichen:

Here's a close-up of a patch of Reindeer lichen. If you click to enlarge it, you can see a lot of detail:

The dogs were happy and enjoyed the mossy forest floor:

There were puffballs growing amidst the pine needles:

But we were headed out to see the floating peat bog and Clover led the way as we carefully walked out across its spongy surface:

Millions of ripe cranberries dotted the surface:

And I was more than happy to taste a few:

And there were plenty of red, carnivorous pitcher plants. They seemed to be partly beneath the sphagnum substrate, perhaps because the recent rains had raised the water level:

Pitcher plants are really quite lovely. Their flowers look like alien invaders, though I haven't seen one in years:

There were golden patches of sphagnum and red patches, which I've recently learned are different species. This red patch was further ornamented by scarlet cranberries, rather like gems on a crown:

The dogs led us out past the young tamaracks toward the edge of the bog:

This channel led to the rather large Slush Pond and the dogs had no fear of walking right up to the edge. But there was yet more to see and experience in this wild, lovely place and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Slush Pond - Part 1

I was between Albany and the farm on moving day and decided to make a quick rest stop at Slush Pond, a new favorite place. So I pulled off the road onto an unmarked lane and about 3 miles into the forest. Then I parked and let the pooches out to play:

They all ran full speed through the trees and out onto the floating peat bog:

The peat bog bounced beneath us with each step:

And it was very beautiful:

Clover, ever the little adventurer, went ahead to check for whatever it is dogs check for. I'd seen a loon in the water when we pulled up, but it'd disappeared the moment I opened the car door:

Ack! Seamus walked too close to the edge and broke through the peat. I took his picture first and then helped him back up. On the way back, Daphne fell in at that same spot:

There were several carnivorous Pitcher Plants, though I was disappointed that none of them were blooming:

My noble Seamus, the giant Poodle:

We all enjoyed the fresh air, the birds singing and the glorious scenery:

And glorious it was indeed, with Tamaracks framing the view:

We walked back toward the forest:

But I stopped first at this mass of color. I was sure it was Sheep Laurel, but a quick look at my field guide informed me that it was actually Pale Laurel. I often use the alternate name of Bog Laurel, though, because it was not pale by any means. But there was more to see at Slush Pond and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: