Taylor Creek State Forest, Buck Pond Road Trail

Our first short trail in Taylor Creek State Forest was unexciting, so we drove south to the Buck Pond Road to try the second trail. Once again, it was a short access road instead of a hiking trail, and I drove almost to the end and parked. I could see Buck Pond through the trees, so the dogs and I set off through the forest to get to the water's edge:

When we arrived, I discovered that the shoreline was marshy and not a place where I wanted to slosh through the mud and water. As you can (almost) see, Daphne did not hesitate to dive right in:

 Clover ran off along the edge of the pond, but Daphne and Jack explored the shoreline. It was a truly beautiful location:

Alas, Seamus disappeared and when I looked around for him, he was too far away, heading off in the wrong direction. I called his name until I got him to turn around, but once again took note that his advanced age means I will have to be extra careful with him:

Daphne and Fergus bounced through the ferns:

We returned through the forest to our parked car, though I stopped along the way to photograph this tiny orange mushroom:

And yet another Yellow Finger Coral Mushroom. This one, however, looked as if the dogs may have knocked it over as they ran ahead:

When we got to the road, AKA trail, I noticed a lot of white flowers in bloom and recognized them as White Snakeroot. It is a poisonous plant and was once the source of what was called "Milk Sickness," caused by drinking the milk of cows which had eaten the plant. It is suspected as the cause of death of Abraham Lincoln's mother:

We were quickly back at our car, ending our mini-hike:

But instead of returning the way we'd come, I took Buck Pond Road eastward, where the road several times crosses the waters of Buck Pond. It was a lovely drive, with views far better than we got on foot:

Buck Pond, according to the map, is quite large but we only got glimpses of several bits of it. Nonetheless, it was a beauty, and the drive across it was the best part of this "hike:"

Taylor Creek State Forest, Selleck Road Trail

One morning I decided to take the dogs to yet another local forest we hadn't been to yet, the Taylor Creek State Forest. It had only two trails according to the map, and they were short. We began on the Selleck Road Trail:

There were the usual flowers in sunny places, but this time I also saw Viper's Bugloss in bloom. Surprisingly, it is a member of the Forget-Me-Not family:

The trail was actually a short service road, so well graded that I could have driven it to the end - but we were there to walk, so that's what we did:

The dogs were happy and the scenery along the trail was alternating forest and field:

We were having a spell of perfect weather - cool, sunny and spectacular - just right for a walk in a state forest:

There were deep woods just off the trail, though we stayed where the walking was easy:

As pleasant as it was, I was a bit disappointed that the trail didn't take us into the forest. The dogs, however, were ecstatic to be running wildly and exploring:

They found something putrid and I had to holler at them to keep them from eating it or rolling in it:

Yet it was a pleasant walk:

The map had shown a small lake but we never found it. Then, on our way back to the car, I decided that this tiny marsh was what the map showed as a pond:

Seamus climbed down the slope to get a drink of water and then couldn't get back up the hill. I was able to pull him back up, but he has been limping ever since. He is a giant dog and ten years old, so it is not surprising that he is beginning to have problems. I will have to keep a closer eye on him from now on:

It was a short hike, and uneventful except for Seamus' problem. But there was another trail to explore, so we headed for it. I'll post about the next trail tomorrow: