County Reforestation Land, Sheldon Road, Fort Jackson NY

Normally I take a few scenery photos while hiking with the dogs, but then weed them out while editing photos. But I took so many of them while hiking with the dogs in the Fort Jackson State Forest (see previous two posts) that I decided to present them as a separate post. I began with these Pileated Woodpecker holes in a White Pine:

Technically, we were walking along County Reforestation land, though I think of it as Fort Jackson State Forest because this is the road which leads us there:

The forest was a mixture of Red Pine, White Pine, Red Maple, Sugar Maple, Beech and Aspen. I'm sure there were lots of other trees also, but these were the main forest denizens:

There was a snowy ridge along the road to our right (on private land), which I decided must be an old stone wall. I'll try to remember to look the next time we're there when there's no snow:

A forest troll:

The road took us through both tall timber and scrubby woods:

When we came to an old logging header, I snapped a picture and turned back toward our parked car:

It was obvious that this section had been logged, but how long ago I could not tell. I also didn't know if it was logged before or after being designated as County Reforestation land. I would think that "reforestation" means no more logging, but I realize "it ain't necessarily so:"

Beech trees and White Pines:

We would have ventured off into the forest if hadn't been for the snow. Maybe we'll do so this summer:

I am always inclined to wander off into the trees, just to see what mystery and beauty lies therein, but the time I got lost in the forest a few years ago has made me much more cautious. I am, after all, a crippled old codger:

More forest beauty:

We were soon back at our car and this excursion came to an end. I hope that you enjoyed the wintry loveliness along the way:

Garvin Road, Brushton New York - Part 1

My driving tour of County Routes 7 and 8 was not panning out, so I turned onto Garvin Road to return me to the main highway and go home. But I quickly realized that Garvin Road was rural and scenic, just right for photos:

There were snowy fields, littered with farm equipment:

A sugar house, all ready for springtime with a big pile of firewood:

A beautiful, New England style farm house and barn, surrounded by big old Sugar Maples:

A collection of barns, silos and grain bins:

This farm had lots of the "dog houses" in which calves are often raised, but they were empty. In fact, I saw no livestock at all:

A very large, classic barn - but there were lots of places where the cold winds were blowing through it:

Silo, barn, tractor and modern garage:

A traditional farm house and barn. They won't be needing that lawn tractor for another few months yet:

Most of the landscape was flat, open fields, covered with snow and buffeted by the wind. Garvin Road was rather short, but there was a lot to see and photograph. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

The Beauty Of Snowy Woodlands - Part 2

I was taking a drive down the gravel road which runs past my house and snapping photos of the beautiful, snowy forest (see also Part 1, posted yesterday):

Wintry white tracery on all the trees, a soft white carpet on the ground:

The forest was quiet and peaceful, with only an occasional Raven, Blue Jay or Chickadee to break the stillness:

More Red Pine and American Beech trees:

There were a number of lanes cut into the forest, leading I know not where. I hope to get to know who owns these lands and ask about permission to walk them with my dogs. Doesn't it look inviting?:

A quiet landscape, with a lacework of purest white:

American Beech and Red Pine:

I believe the two small trees in the foreground were Sugar Maple, but I'm not certain:

I wish now I'd tried to identify the trees, but from the photo, these may have been spruce or fir:

A giant rock alongside the road, backed by more forest. The trees were all small, leading me to speculate that this was farmland not too many years ago:

A splash of copper, seeming to dance and spin like a ballerina, indicated a small beech tree. They hold onto their leaves all winter:

The last picture shows Red Pine bark and American Beech leaves adding reddish orange color to accent the view. It was all very lovely, but it was time for me to put away my camera and head home to do the evening chores before dark. Fortunately, home was nearby as I'd ventured only a couple of miles::