Fort Jackson State Forest, Part 1

Since I'd run over a big rock and bent the riding mower blades into a right angle, I could do no more lawn mowing. So that freed me up to do a bit of hiking with the dogs. I'd ruled out Azure Mountain in the Adirondacks because it was black fly season, but I'd noticed on the map that one of the MANY State forests in the area was just a stone's throw from my farm. So I loaded Fergus, Seamus, Daphne and Clover into the car and drove to it. I found an old wood road and followed it deeper and deeper into the woods until it began to look like I'd get stuck if I went any farther. So I parked at what appeared to be an old logging header and let the dogs out:

The pooches were ecstatic. This is what they live for. Well, it's ONE of the things they live for:

Lots of happy running by the dogs:



The soil looked like almost pure sand and there were mostly tall pines in the section we were walking. There was also plenty of Reindeer Lichen growing all over the ground. I found some British Soldier Lichens and Star Moss growing with it:

We followed another old wood road. The land was amazingly flat. On one side of the road the land had been logged off and had begun to grow up again. On the other side were tall pines, and that was the side which Seamus preferred:

We took several forays off the wood road and into the forest. There was very little brush, so walking was quite easy:

We found other areas of the forest which were mostly deciduous trees:

This was a very beautiful area and unlike anything I'd ever hiked before. We saw no other person or vehicle and seemed to have the entire forest to ourselves. I'm happy to report that we also saw no black flies. I'll post more tomorrow:

An Afternoon At The Farm

The dogs and I were making a weekend visit to the farm and we'd gotten ourselves settled in. The dogs, in this case Clover and Fergus, were napping comfortably:

Wally chose one of his favorite spots to relax, hidden beneath the kitchen table:

And I went without doggy accompaniment on a walking tour of the farm, beginning with the flowering apple and pear trees:

They were even lovelier close up:

A quick view of the fruit trees with the barn in the background:

I didn't see any honeybees at work, but some species of large bumblebee was working those apple blossoms with great vigor:

I began mowing the lawn, and believe me there's a lot to mow. Alas, I hit a large rock and ruined the blades before I finished:

Since I couldn't finish the mowing I went back indoors, feeling secretly relieved but also guilty for feeling happy about it. I opened the door to my apartment to let in the spring air and see the flowering crabs in bloom:

The dogs ate some dinner while I decided what to do next:

C'mon Dad, can't we do something exciting?

I decided to put the dogs out in their fenced run to relieve their doggy bladders and then take the younger ones hiking. I'll post about that tomorrow: