Cedar L:ake Overlook With The Dogs

I drove down with the dogs to Trout Lake State Forest, about an hour southwest of home. I planned to try two trails, the first of which was to take me to an overlook over Cedar Lake. I parked and stepped out of the car, immediately seeing Purple-Flowering Raspberries, a favorite of mine which I haven't seen recently:

The trail to the Cedar Lake Overlook was billed as short but steep, and the beginning of the hike confirmed at least the second half of that - it was steep:

We made it to the overlook and the dogs ran back and forth along the rocky edge:

Seamus is getting old and developing leg and hip problems, so he was content to hold still and look out over the beautiful lake with me. I too am old and lame, so we made quite a pair as we hobbled along:

Clover and Daphne had run off to the left, but returned to where I was standing, 100 feet above Cedar Lake:

And the little dogs decided to act like mountain goats. I made sure Seamus stayed away from the edge as he has fallen more than once:


And then we started back toward the trail head:

The dogs stopped at several woodland brooks for a drink of cool, clean water:

And we passed through areas of tall trees:

Much of the trail was rocky, and both Seamus and I were beginning to limp:

We were going downhill to the trail head, but that doesn't mean the trail was all downhill. We had a few sections which took us back up:

But we soon reached the trail head and hopped back into the car for a short trip to the next trail. I'll post about that tomorrow:

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: