Rutland Trail East - Part 2

The dogs and I were walking the Rutland trail, a former railroad bed for the Rutland Railroad which traverses extensive wetlands (see also Part 1, posted yesterday):

There was more beaver sign than I'd ever seen before, so I imagined that the beaver population was increasing:

Shelf fungi:

Jack kept running far ahead, but he always came running back when I called:

We came to a section where White Pines grew. Someone had cut down some of the biggest pines, dropping them in the water and leaving them there. I have no idea why:

My happy little troop trotted along the trail, delighted with being outdoors and moving:

The biggest body of water on the trail was just up ahead, but the dogs were busy sniffing along the trail and didn't notice it:

I stopped to photograph these dried Queen Anne's Lace flower heads:

And then these yellow leaves, which I couldn't identify. Looking them up when I got home, I decided they might be Gray Birch, native to the northeast United States:

We came to the bridge, beneath which the big pond on the right slowly drained into the marsh on the left:

We didn't go much farther, though, because the hard packed stone dust was causing my ankles to be painful, almost as if I was walking on concrete. Soon we turned back toward where we began:

It was chilly, but I'd come prepared. I'll post Part 3 tomorrow:

On The Eastbound Rutland Trail - Part 2

My sister was visiting and we took the dogs out for a hike on the eastbound Rutland Trail (see also Part 1, posted yesterday):

There were wetlands on both sides of the raised trail, an old railroad bed, but the biggest body of water was on our right - and it was enormous:

We began to see signs of a massive blow-down:

Furthermore, someone had cut down most of the sizeable White Pines along the trail. They left them where they fell, so I never did figure out what their intent had been:

More beaver activity:

We had walked farther than I'd ever gone before and my bad ankles were becoming painful, so we started back toward our parked car. By this time I was falling behind:

The two bridges which had been built, apparently for snowmobiles, were still intact although this one was rather skewed:

The dogs' feet and bellies were drenched with black water, colored with the dark stone base of the old railroad bed. It was hard, and the reason my ankles were so sore. I can walk on dirt trails, but flat concrete or asphalt is problematic - and this was more like the latter. And of course the dogs left a considerable mess in my car and, when we got home, on the house floors:

But they were happy pooches and not to be discouraged by a bit of black mud:

My sister and I posed for a photo:

And so did the dogs - well, sort of:

I saw this tiny patch of Frog-Bit, only the second time I've ever seen it. It is considered an invasive species but it sure hasn't caused much harm up here, at least not yet. To me it is like a miniature waterlily with cute, white flowers. The roots are free floating, not rooted in the ground. I like it so much that I have a hard time remembering that it's invasive. I suppose many felt the same way about Purple Loosestrife when it began conquering our native cattails. I don't know if it's a problem still, but up here the cattails are outperforming the Purple Loosestrife many times over:

We came to the last big water and stopped to reflect on its beauty. In just a week or two (I hope), these wetlands will be loud with the calls of Spring Peepers:

On The Eastbound Rutland Trail - Part 1

My sister arrived for a visit and of course we wanted to take the dogs out for a hike. The weather was still cold and I figured any forest trail would still be covered with snow and ice, so we went to the nearby Rutland Trail, the eastbound section which is an old, elevated railroad bed through wetlands. It didn't begin well, however, when we found this headless deer skeleton near the trail head. There was also a pile of garbage someone had dumped:

Just to the right of the deer skeleton were two porcupine carcasses. I wondered where all this had come from but there was nothing we could do anyway, so we began our hike. Alas, Clover later began limping and I found a short piece of porcupine quill stuck between the pads of one of her paws. But it was easily removed and we went on our way:

And the dogs were ecstatic. With water on both sides and a level, straight trail, it was easy to keep them in sight:

My sister and the dogs walked on ahead while I checked something out:

Most of the adjacent wetlands on our left were still covered with thick ice. The water on our right was mostly clear of ice. I never did figure out why, unless perhaps one side was deeper than the other:

It was chilly, but not too much so to have a happy experience. The sun was shining and the sky was blue:

There were both patches of ice and deep puddles, but the dogs didn't mind. My sister and I had on rubber overshoes, so we were OK as well:

Daphne, Seamus and Clover stopped for a breather:

There was beaver sign all along the water. We also saw a number of beaver lodges out in the water, but none of those photos were usable:

Both sides of the trail had been brush hogged, which seemed a shame but I must admit it opened up the views:

We came to a large body of water which was filled with Canada Geese - thousands of them:

Most of them moved away from us or flew away when we got too close. There were also ducks mixed in, but none close enough to tell what species they were:

We had the geese on our right for a considerable distance because there were so many of them - some swimming, some resting on gigantic sheets of floating ice. They were fun to watch. But there was more to see on this section of the Rutland Trail. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Autumn On The Rutland Trail - Part 3

The dogs and I were hiking a section of the Rutland Trail (see also previous two posts) and had gotten farther than ever before because someone had built a bridge over a formerly inundated section. Other spots were still wet, however, and I tried to keep the dogs from drinking out of the shallow pools:

Red Clover was in bloom along the trail. Certainly a common plant, it still surprised me to see flowers in bloom so late in the season:

Virgin's Bower Clematis seed heads made for a striking, autumn display:

When we returned to an access point to the main body of water, I encouraged the dogs to drink there instead of from puddles along the trail:

We were a happy group, making our way back along the trail:

The wind began to pick up as we arrived back at the bridge, and it was gusting with enough force that I wondered if a big storm was brewing. It turned out to be only wind, however, and merely added to the spirit of autumn in the air:

The dogs have seen so much water lately that they are enjoying it more than they used to:

And Beavers were clearly nearby. I wondered if the bush on the left had been Ironwood, but I never found out:

And then we came to a spot where the dogs could wade into shallow water, causing much excitement and merrymaking. I've seldom seen the dogs so happy. Perhaps it was a plot to get my car muddy, revenge for my not letting them run amok on the trail:

But when the fun was over, we kept walking:

This was an Insect Gall on a Goldenrod stem, a common sight along the edge of the trail:

Some places were so stunningly beautiful that I had to snap a photo. Notice the water and cattails in the center of the picture. These were marshes, and there was nowhere for a person to leave the trail:

Seamus and Fergus, my two "Poodly" hikers:

This Chicory flower caught me by surprise. Chicory quit blooming a long time ago. This was indeed a strange year, with warmer temperatures later into the season:

Jack often let the way, followed by Seamus, Daphne and Clover. Fergus often trots along at my side and that's what he was doing when I snapped this picture. We were almost back to the roadside where I'd parked, so I put the dogs on leashes and finished our hike. This trail is only 3 or 4 miles from home, a valuable asset: