Beautiful October In The North Country

I traveled along Converse Road in Fort Jackson, New York to photograph this golden colonnade:

And on nearby Sheldon Road, I found a corner lot filled with these beautiful leaves:

There is a gravel road beside my house where I saw these red Sumacs:

Continuing down the gravel road, red and yellow trees towered above me:

I like autumn color when there is still enough green to highlight the red and yellow:

Along a neighbor's property:

A tree so red it almost glowed:

A small hay field between a stone wall and an autumn colored woodland:

Explosions of color all along the road:

Down toward the end of the road, this house was selling pumpkins:

The light colored bark of Aspen trees stood out among the brighter colors:

And colorful trees bordered the Amish farmer's pasture. It is down the road from his house and barn, and he takes a milk can down there in his buggy every morning, milks his cows and hauls the milk back to his family. New York's north country is beautiful all year long, but October is especially so:

Autumn Drive On Sheldon Road

Our autumn color had reached its peak, so I jumped into the car with my camera and headed to nearby Sheldon Road in Fort Jackson, New York for my annual autumn color driving tour:

It was differently colored than in previous years, perhaps because I was a bit earlier than usual. But it's a good thing I didn't wait because we had a hard wind and rain storm the next day, causing many leaves to fall:

And the colors did not disappoint:

All along the road were reds, yellows and greens:

Autumn color in full array:

And the trunks of birch trees added punctuation to the color:

Massive old maples leaned over the road and seemed to smile with their vibrant colors:

In other places, the reds were so vivid as to remind me of fireworks:

As I neared the end of the road, it became shadier, with more dignified colors:

Yellow on one side of the road, green on the other:

And then a surprise explosion of color in a pasture:

More reds and oranges:

Sheldon Road has little traffic and few residents. It's a peaceful place for such beauty:

Old rock walls bordered the road in many places:

Golden orange along both sides of the road. I'm sure glad I live among such beauty:

Sheldon Road Multi-Use Trail - Part 2

The dogs and I were investigating a newly constructed multi-use trail off of Sheldon Road and had just entered a forest of saplings (see also Part 1, posted yesterday):

But the sapling forest wasn't big and soon we emerged into a sunny corn field. The trail continued on to the left of the field and would have taken us all the way to the state highway and beyond, but I saw no reason to continue, only to backtrack to return to our car:

I knew that this trail had formerly been a snowmobile shortcut for locals, enabling them to avoid traveling on the roads, and continue on after crossing the highway, all the way to the Catherineville State Forest:

But on this day, thoughts of winter snow were far away. On this day it was hot and buggy - and I was having trouble walking in my leg braces, so we began making our way back to the car:

It was a pleasant walk and the dogs by then had slowed down a bit:

They continued to sniff and explore, but everything was more subdued:

In fact, I'd say my five pooches were downright well behaved now that they'd used up their excess energy and enthusiasm:

It was a short but pleasant journey:

The sun was hot and bright wherever it broke through the canopy of the trees:

And soon we were back at the car. This trail was short but pleasant. I doubt, however, that we'll be back because there is an entire State Forest just a mile up the road, with a multitude of trails to choose from:

Sheldon Road Multi-Use Trail - Part 1

I drove by this newly erected sign one day and stopped to investigate. A number of trucks and bulldozers were building a new, multi-use trail off of Sheldon Road. A few weeks later I returned with the dogs to give it a try:

It was a hot, sunny day with lots of pesky deer flies, but they weren't biting, so we pressed onward:

The terrain was flat with huge boulders, no doubt glacial erratics, indicating the retreating glaciers had once scraped this area flat and then left behind "gravel" as they melted:

The ferns were even taller than Seamus, and he's a giant of a dog:

It was a fine day to be outdoors:

And the dogs ran and played, investigating everything:

Seamus sometimes acts as the leader, mostly because of his size:

But it is tiny Clover who is almost always out front. In fact, I have to keep calling her back so she doesn't get too far ahead:

About a half mile into the forest, the trail made a sharp left:

And entered a forest of younger trees. This area was probably a farm field not too long ago. But it was cooler in there and we enjoyed the shade. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Fort Jackson State Forest Via Sheldon Road

Our snow and ice melted one fine, sunny day and I took the dogs for a quick hike in Fort Jackson State Forest. There was still a bit of snow in the shade of the trees, but not enough to hinder a nice walk in the forest:

The dogs were so full of energy that I had a lot of work to do in order to keep them close at hand. I even had to put Clover on a leash for awhile:

But mostly it was a lovely day under a blue sky:

We apparently had the whole forest to ourselves and had entered by way of a third road, putting us on the opposite side of the river from our previous recent hikes in Fort Jackson State Forest:

I followed the trails downhill, hoping to find the St. Regis River, and indeed we did. The dogs were excited:

We all explored the riverbank:

And the St. Regis River was as spectacularly beautiful as ever:

We all enjoyed a few moments by the river:

And then we began the uphill journey back to the car:

By this time, the dogs were doing better at staying close to me:

And the forest scenery was exquisite:

And the dogs were, as usual, overjoyed to find the car. They are wonderful companions, always happy and always up for a new adventure: