West Parishville State Forest - Part 2

The dogs and I were hiking the Red Pine Trail in the West Parishville State Forest (see also Part 1, posted yesterday). They were happy dogs:

The scenery was as lovely as I'd remembered it - except that the last time we were here, everything was covered in deep snow and ice:

Even when I couldn't see the tree tops or upper bark, it was obvious which type of pine we were walking through by looking at the pine cones on the ground. These are the long, thin cones of White Pines:

And the shorter, stouter cones of Red Pines:


But we soon came to Private Property signs and had to turn around. There was a logging operation going on there, but no one was working at the time, so I snapped a photo of the loader:

And the skidder. I used to drive skidder for a logging crew, and it brought back memories - mostly good ones:

So we headed back toward the car. The sun was now at our back, so I found the view of the forest to be even more beautiful than before:

Also, the dogs had slowed down more than usual and I got to listen to the Blue Jays and Wood Thrushes off in the trees instead of hollering, "Clover, get back here! Jack, stop! Daphne? Where's Daphne?"

It was a very pleasant, relaxing walk back to the car:

I noticed Seamus' unusual stance in this photo and took note that it's getting more awkward for him to walk. I hope he never becomes unable to go with us into the woods. He'd be heartbroken to be left behind:

We stopped for a moment in a sunny opening and even walked a short distance on a side trail - but not for long. Soon, we were again on our way back to the car:

The car was just up ahead when I snapped this shot. It had been a short but lovely walk in the forest. We are blessed to live in such a place with so many options for quiet, contemplative strolls in nature:

West Parishville State Forest - Part 1

We'd only been to the West Parishville State Forest once, and that time were turned back by the deep snow and ice. But I remembered thinking it would be a lovely trail in the summertime, so we went back to give it a try. I parked the car and let the dogs out:

They were excited and I had to stop them from running too far ahead (as always), but I must say that I did less yelling than usual. They were happy dogs, and fairly well behaved:

We entered into a forest of tall Red Pines. In fact, this was called the Red Pine Trail:

We took a couple of side trips into the mossy forest, where little Jack continued running at full speed:

Fergus mostly stayed at my side. He'd like to run, but gets nervous and returns to my side every time I raise my voice:

Clover, on the other hand, loves to run ahead and explore. In many ways, she's a little sissy dog - but on the trail, she's a regular Daniel Boone:

Daphne has an adventurous, independent streak and also enjoys being out front and getting into trouble:

Seamus is getting old and his legs are getting wobbly. I can certainly relate on both counts, so the two of us hang out together, at least after he gets tired:

The wild blackberries were not even close to being ripe, probably slowed by the deep shade in the forest:


We continued on the trail, which was also enough of a road that I could have driven its length:

The forest turned from Red Pines to mixed White Pines and hardwoods as we progressed:

I was feeling good and enjoying my time outdoors. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

West Parishville State Forest - Part 2

The dogs and I were attempting a walk in the West Parishville State Forest, avoiding the deeper snow and the icy trail (see also Part 1, posted yesterday):

We were in a predominantly Red Pine forest, but hardwoods were mixed in. When I came to this Striped Maple, I fondly remembered the mountain trails I used to hike back on the Massachusetts/Vermont/New York intersection. Striped Maples were everywhere there. You can see where the small tree got its name by taking a close look at the striped bark:

And there were plenty of small Beech trees, still bearing their golden leaves and adding much beauty to the scenery. Back in Ohio, Beech trees grew huge, but here they seem to stay small, like the Striped Maples:

When we began, I'd been angry at the dogs for running ahead and not coming when called, but they calmed down and so did I. Soon we were having a grand time:

We turned around and carefully made our way back to where I'd parked the car. I was amazed at how little ice and snow was on the ground in that area, so I led the dogs off into the woods for a bit more exploring:

I came across an old log with this beautiful emerald moss, a kind I don't remember seeing before. I was sure it had to be called Feather Moss, and spent considerable time online at home, trying to identify it. I finally concluded that it was called Common Fern Moss, Thuidium delicatulum. I guess Fern Moss was as descriptive as what I wanted to call it:

We continued on through the snow free forest, heading toward an old stone wall:

And of course I had to stop to photograph this Partridgeberry. It was a great pleasure to see green leaves this time of the year:

We continued on toward the old stone wall:

The stone wall was unlike any I'd seen before, as if it was incomplete, with only very large stones. At first I thought that someone had tried to reconstruct an old wall, but later figured it more likely that the original farmer had just never gotten it finished, as there were no smaller stones nearby to fill in around the big stones. Daphne and Clover didn't care. They were having lots of fun running and playing:

We continued uphill and through a gap in the stone wall, only to discover that just over the next wall was the forest access road which had brought us here (not that there was any traffic at all). So it was time to return to the car:

I love this photo because it shows the dogs' great joy as we ascended the hill to our parked car. Seamus and Fergus look especially ecstatic. These pooches love our walks in the woods. I do too, though reining them in at the beginning can be trying. Once they've used up some of their excess energy, they're well behaved dogs:

West Parishville State Forest - Part 1

I hadn't taken the dogs out for a long time, partly because of our harsh winter weather, and partly because of the trauma, earlier this winter, of Jack getting caught in a leg trap. But we had a surprise thaw and warmer weather, so one day I drove the dogs to to the West Parishville State Forest:

There was still so much snow along the sides of the road that I feared I'd never find any place to park, but our trail had a parking area and was free of snow. I let the dogs out and they ran amok, wild with pent up energy:

Right next to where I parked was this odd sight, which I decided must have been an old cellar hole from a former residence, the old stone foundation now holding the water:


We started on our way and I was pleased at the dearth of snow and ice. The dogs continued to run wildly, except to stop for pooping (as Daphne is doing in this photo):

We were in a predominantly Red Pine forest and I was hopeful for some nice scenery:

I had to keep calling the dogs back because they were so excited:

But we hadn't gone far before the entire trail was covered with slick ice, the forest floor covered with enough snow to make walking hazardous for me. I slipped and fell once, but suffered nothing more than a small scrape on one hand:

I considered turning back, but first tried walking into the forest to see how that went:

I soon returned to the trail, but walked along the edge of it, trying to stay off both the ice and the deepest snow. Meanwhile, the dogs were running and exploring:

They seemed to have no problem navigating either the snow or the ice:

And in spite of my earlier thoughts of turning back, we soon found ourselves going deeper into the forest:

Seamus struck a pose, looking very handsome. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

West Parishville State Forest - Part 2

I was hiking with the dogs in the West Parishville State Forest (see also Part 1, posted yesterday) and we were heading deeper into the forest:

The forest type began as Scotch Pines, then became hardwoods, then became mixed. I had trouble identifying the pines after that because they were all tall, with no saplings growing, and I could barely see the needles:

I thought I saw a beaver marsh through the trees and we walked over for a look, only to discover it was a farmer's corn field. So we made our way back to the forest trail and continued on our way:

There were tiny (1") orange mushrooms:

But we had traveled quite a way, at least for an old codger like me, so we turned back the way we'd come:

As always, the dogs were just as happy going back as they were going forwards, though by this time they'd used up much of their excess energy:

Seamus and Fergus showed off their new haircuts beneath the tall trees:

Tiny yellow mushrooms, so small they were overshadowed by this Tree Club Moss (Princess Pine):

A great big orange mushroom. I called Daphne over to sit beside it and she got nervous, which is why she has such a silly expression on her face:

We made a happy procession as we headed back toward our parked car. I believe these trees were Scotch Pines, which is what predominated at the beginning of the trail. And as if for confirmation, the trail was named "Scotch Pine Trail:"

The dogs were considerably slowed down by this time, enabling me to relax and listen more to the bird songs:

And then we arrived back at our car, which I'd parked just off the trail. It was a simple matter to pull back onto the all purpose trail and head back out of the state forest on the gravel road: