After The Rescue - Part 1

Once the tow truck left and I'd driven with the dogs as far as the CCC reservoir (see previous posts), I decided to stop and enjoy the cool forest and lovely waters. After all, that's why we'd come here in the first place. I parked and let the dogs run into the forest:

Little Daphne and Clover ran full speed toward the water:

I momentarily thought this was Joe-Pye-Weed but the leaves were not whorled, so it couldn't have been. Then I thought it was New York Ironweed but the leaves were opposite, not alternate. I finally gave up trying to figure it out. Does anyone know how to identify this wildflower?

We walked out onto the peninsula, keeping near the water all the way:

A look out over a section of the reservoir was a lovely sight:

And the dogs were again drawn to the water:

It was a fun place to cool off after a long hike:

Cool water to wade in and to drink, with beautiful scenery. Perhaps this day was not so bad after all:

These tiny white flowers were Wood Strawberry. No fruit yet, though:

Jack ran joyously along the top of the peninsula:

And then we headed toward the tip of the land which jutted out into the reservoir. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Happy Dogs In The Fort Jackson State Forest - Part 1

I woke up one morning and found that our hot July weather had suddenly cooled off, the breezes were blowing and it was a perfect time to go somewhere with the dogs. I put all five of them in the car and drove 3.7 miles to the Fort Jackson State Forest and then another .8 miles into the forest. I stopped and parked when I saw a grassy lane leading off into the trees, a lane which we'd never explored before:

The dogs, of course, were ecstatic and required a few crabby words from me to keep them from running too far ahead. But they soon calmed down:

And the scenery was beautiful - mostly White and Red Pine with Reindeer Lichen and moss on the forest floor:

I found several patches of Wood Strawberry in full bloom. I don't remember ever tasting their berries, but I understand they are smaller and less tasty than the Common Strawberry:

The walking was level and easy, even for an old codger with leg braces. I'm sure the dogs wished I'd go faster, but they found interesting smells to occupy them while I caught up:

There were piles of brush from former logging operations but mostly it was just lovely woodlands:

And we were having a great day:

St. Johnswort was in bloom along the lane:


My legs and ankles were doing better than expected, so we continued on:

Seamus heard a sound and went on point, but nothing came of it:

And on we walked, into a Red Pine forest:

We rounded a bend and I still felt like going farther. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: