White Hill Wild Forest - Part 1

My sister paid me a visit and I wanted to show off our beautiful Adirondacks. So on her first day here, we took the dogs to the White Hill Wild Forest. Our first stop, of course, was at Clear Pond to let the dogs play in the cool water:

It was a scorching hot day and all of the dogs, even those who don't normally like water, went right into Clear Pond:

My sister and I began moving along the shoreline but the dogs lingered. They were having too much fun:

And my sister got a look at one of my favorite places:

Fergus, Clover and Jack waded near the shore:

And then the dogs followed our lead and began progressing up the shoreline, stopping frequently to wade in the water and sniff the interesting smells:

Wildflowers bloomed in the grass near the shoreline. It was an idyllic setting for Jack and Clover:

It was so hot that my sister also waded in. I couldn't do so because of my braces:

We moved back onto the trail through the forest:

But I knew there were more water access points on the trail, coming up in short order:

And indeed there were. The dogs reacted with joy, as if they'd never seen such a wonderful place before:

It was more rocky at this spot, but it slowed them down only slightly:

And then we got back on the trail through the forest, passing this big, red mushroom along the way. We were just beginning our hike and there was much more to see. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Photo Album, Summertime On The Farm

Goldenrod, apparently multiple species, began blooming in mid-August and has been increasingly abundant ever since. Many uncut fields are, by now, looking all yellow:

The Tall Garden Phlox bloomed for about a month and then faded. I sat at the base of them one afternoon for a rest:

 The apples began to fall from the trees:

 The fantail pigeons enjoyed their freedom to come and go at will:

The family across the road threw a big pig roast, inviting everyone on our county road. There was a local country band:

 And all the neighbors brought beer and food to share:

 When my sister came to visit, she carried out apples for the cows:

I think she was disappointed that they wouldn't eat them out of her hand, but she got much closer than anyone else (other than me) has ever gotten:

One of the two plum trees I planted when I bought the farm produced plums this year. I found three small windfalls and ate them. They were delicious:

 I left the bigger plums to stay on the tree a while longer. I wanted them to become as sweet as possible:

New England Asters began blooming alongside many roads, a sure sign that autumn is here and winter is not far away:

My little bantam hens reduced their egg laying to almost nothing. Either that or they've got outdoor nests again which I haven't found. They enjoy full freedom every day during the summer: