Degrasse State Forest - Part 2

The dogs and I were hiking in Degrasse State Forest and had reached an oxbow where they went swimming (see also Part 1, posted yesterday). This was my favorite photo of the day because of the look of joy on Seamus' face:

But of course we couldn't stay at the oxbow all day, and the time came to head back to the main trail. We began climbing uphill and I spotted this blue Gentian flower and bud, the first of the season. I looked it up when I got home and decided it was a Soapwort Gentian:

And I saw large patches of Running Ground Pine, a Club Moss:

And Bunchberry, a miniature relative of Dogwood trees:

Fan Club Moss:

We got back on the main trail and continued on our way:

 But I had to stop when I saw this Club Moss. It was different from the Running Ground Pine, above. I looked it up when I got home and decided it was One-cone Clubmoss, Lycopodium lagopus, a northern species:

We reached the border with private land and someone's beautiful cabin among the pines:

They'd mowed the grass all the way down to the Grasse River (no longer the oxbow), but I didn't walk down there because it was private land. I could have pushed through the underbrush on state land but decided instead to begin heading back to where I'd parked the car:

Along the way I spotted some ripening Wild Blackberries:

And stopped to enjoy them:

We were on our way back the way we'd come. I'll post Part 3 tomorrow:

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:

St. Regis Flow With The Dogs - Part 2

I was hiking along the St. Regis River with the dogs in Santa Clara, New York (see also Part 1, posted yesterday) and the dogs were having a grand time splashing in the river:

Seamus has the longest legs and likes the water the most, but even he doesn't go into the deep water. They are all happy to just play, get wet and cool off:

Daphne splashed out to some Bullhead-Lilies:

Fergus looked abandoned when Jack ran off to try some new swimming spot:

And sometimes the dogs were calm, just exploring and drinking the clean, cool water:

We got back on the trail again and I found lots of Wild Blackberries. Alas, none of them were ripe yet:

And there were entire fields of Spreading Dogbane, a poisonous but pretty plant:

We came to another water access, and this one had a nice view of a mountain in the distance:

This photo was an accident but when I got home and saw it, I loved it. Jack and Daphne were pushing their way through the ferns and Oxeye Daisies. The yellow flowers in the foreground were St. Johnswort:

We made another detour down to the water's edge:

This is the place where we always see abundant Cardinal Flowers - but not this time. I couldn't remember what their leaves looked like, so I couldn't check for plants without flowers. We were probably too early and I'll have to go back later. Nevertheless, the dogs sure had fun. I'll post Part 3 tomorrow:

Plants And Birds

Wild Blackberries burst into bloom everywhere I was unable to mow - or were they Black Raspberries? I went to the internet for some ID pointers, but found them scarce and difficult to use. Then I found a website which was wonderfully helpful and easy to use. It confirmed that I have Blackberries, not Black Raspberries. I highly recommend this site:

My north field was getting very tall and my neighbor decided it was time for its first cutting:

 It was so thick and heavy that it was slow and difficult to mow:

 This was some seriously tall, thick, lush, heavy hay! As of this writing, the first part of the field has been cut and will be turned over to dry (tedded) today. About 3/4 of the field remains to be cut:

 My Rugosa Roses suffered badly from a fungus last year, along with the apple trees and one of the Ninebark bushes. But this year they continued blooming faithfully:

 So far, I see no fungus except on the one Ninebark which was affected last year:

 The Variegated Weigela was a dead looking stick a few weeks ago. Now it is blooming!

 The white Peonies (and one new red one) are building up to a flowering frenzy:

 And the Snowball bushes are doing extraordinarily well:

 I had no Cliff Swallow nests under the milk room eaves this year - until now. I found two adjacent mud nests, filled with birds. As soon as I snapped this photo, 6 to 8 birds burst from those holes and flew around, scolding me. I hope they keep the biting flies in check. The cows and horses (and I) will be grateful:

 In the lawn and pasture are many of these tiny white flowers, each petal split into two. They are Lesser Stitchwort, a kind of Chickweed. The grass head is Redtop:

 And of course the big, beautiful Red Clover. 'Tis the season:

St. Regis River Access Plants - Part 2

I was hiking with the dogs along the St. Regis River and photographing the abundant wildflowers there (see also Part 1, posted yesterday). There was a lot of Heal-All, and it was unusually large and deeply colored:

It was the Cardinal Flower I'd come to see, but there wasn't any to be found - until Jack called my attention to some. He walked right underneath a brilliantly scarlet spike of flowers:

I looked around and found more Cardinal Flowers growing next to the river. There were fewer of them than most years, but enough to get some good photos:

Some of the Cardinal Flowers were just beginning to open:

And some hadn't yet opened at all:

We walked uphill, away from the river, and continued on the trail where we found patches of Moss and Wild Strawberries. Now that we were back on the trail, I didn't know what kind of plants we might find:

We found lots of Yarrow in bloom:

And Cow Vetch, some of it 4 feet high, supported by the surrounding plants:

Wild Blackberries, though none were ripe:

More Common Milkweed. This one was so gigantic that I snapped a photo with my hand to show its size. It reminded me of the Rubber Tree Plants which were popular house plants when I was a boy:

And of course there were Oxeye Daisies. I'll post Part 3 tomorrow: