Madawaska Pond - Part 1

It was going to be a hot day and my hay field was going to be worked in the afternoon, so I left early for Madawaska Pond. It had been closed to the public for four years and only recently reopened. I was anxious to see it again. I drove south for 25 miles and then another six miles on dirt lanes through the forest to get to the parking area:

There was no one else anywhere, so I let the dogs run and they headed off down the trail. Of course moments later I was hollering at them to keep them closer to me:

Warblers and Thrushes and White-Throated Sparrows sang beautifully off in the trees:

The dogs sniffed everything while I busied myself slapping deer flies which landed on my head - hundreds of them died because they thought my bald head would be a perfect landing strip and diner:

I had been here only once before and that was four years ago. Even so, I opted to follow a side trail when I discovered one, just to see new scenery:

The dogs ran down this side trail with great enthusiasm and I, not knowing where it led, began ordering them once again to stay near me:

It led to a clearing with a gorgeous view of Madawaska Pond:

And everywhere there were Lowbush Blueberries, acres and acres of them. Alas, they weren't yet ripe:

We walked down toward the pond but turned back when I discovered that flat green expanse was under about a foot of water with mud beneath it:

So we headed back uphill, looking for another path back to the main trail:

I stopped to photograph the Sheep Laurel in bloom:

And we easily got back on the main trail. With the towering pines, the wildflowers the bird songs and the lovely aromas of evergreens and moss, I remembered why I had loved this place so much four years ago. But we were just getting started. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Little Rock Pond, White Hill Wild Forest Part 3

We'd passed by the side of Little Rock Pond and I assumed that we wouldn't be seeing it again until our return trip, on our way back to the car. We hiked on, the dogs and I, proceeding along an unknown trail in an unfamiliar forest. Each bend in the trail presented me with a new surprise:

I stepped over these tiny little green leaves with tiny white flowers. I had no idea what they were, so I snapped a photo to identify later. I've decided that this was Partidgeberry, Mitchella repens, with its creeping stems and 4-petaled flowers in twin-like union:

There was lots of Club Moss, also called Princess Pine or Ground Pine. There are apparently many species of this primitive, spore producing plant - all of them in the genus Lycopodium. I just like them because they're cute, looking like miniature evergreens:

Then around another bend I came face to face with the lower end of Little Rock Pond:

We stopped to enjoy the cool water and scenery. Fergus and Daphne did a bit of rock hopping:

In spite of its looking so much like a beaver pond, I was unable to find any chew marks on stumps. I began taking a video and only then did I discover some:

Daphne posed for a publicity photo:

The mosquitoes and deer flies were so bad that I was being bombarded continuously and bit every few seconds, all while the rain continued to fall. I sure know how to have fun, don't I?:

We departed Little Rock Pond and continued on our way, following the red trail markers through White Hill Wild Forest. I didn't know what we'd find, but it wasn't time to turn around quite yet:

I put the camera on self-timer and got a hold of Seamus who was happy to take a break: