8/30/15 City Forest

Cloudy morning and I didn't feel like driving so it was over to the forest.

The beaver pond continues to shrink but there is still enough water for Kelley.

I'm drawn to queen anne's lace and continue to photograph it's many stages.

I like crown vetch too

and a couple of flowers

Kelley had about as much enthusiasm as I did but  we got in an hour and a half. We met a few people and a couple of dogs and that perked her up. 

8/28/15 Tunk Mountain

Yesterday I had a midday appointment so we just walked around the neighborhood. So, after a couple of rest days I decided to try Kelley on something a little more rigorous than we have been doing. A beautiful sunny day in the 70's. There were a couple of deer flies at the parking area but none after that.

There is little water on this hike but near the start there is a reliable source. This is on a short undrivable road we walk to get to the trailhead

The hike up is fairly dense woods - a narrow spot on the trail

One of the things I like about this route is that you are in woods until the top when you come out to this view

Three shot pano - click for large view



Views of the trail and from the trail - probably too many

From the north side

A little water

Pretty much mud

Back on the road down there were some insects and flowers

and the water again

This one is not sharp but I hadn't seen it before.

The hike was longer than I wanted - 2  1/2 hours - but Kelley did well and was enthusiastic. At home she seemed to have not suffered any ill effects. 

8/26/15 Neighborhood

Another mostly gray rainy day so we just walked around the neighborhood. I took my camera this time and found flowers in peoples yards.

Stargazer Lily

Fenton was outside so Kelley got to spend a little time with him. He's still a pup and has more energy.

In another neighbors yard - I had not seen this variety of hydrangea - different shape and color.

And a rudbeckia in another yard

Kelley got to see a friend and I got a few pictures.

8/25/15 Perch Pond

Our string of gray weather with predicted rain continues and we are reluct to travel very far only to get rained out.  70's but very humid so it felt more like a sauna. We started from the North Trail and found few mosquitoes and only a couple of deer flies - perhaps they are finally done for this year. I'm still aiming for an hour and a half for Kelley.

It doesn't have to be a lot of water

Some nice ferns

Don't know how I got this small pond without Kelley in the picture

She was very happy when we reached the big pond

A section of the Shore Trail

Another chance to get in the pond

There are still a few wildflowers but they are getting a bit ragged.

One of the few butterflies I got this year - it has a couple of fiends

I also got few dragonflies this year so was happy with this one.

and a few more flowers

A nice peaceful hike- we met no one. Kelley did well ,seemingly without problems and I managed to not take any wrong turns. An hour and three quarters was close to our goal. 

8/23/15 DeMeritt Forest

Rainy weather continues so we went to DeMeritt to get in a hike before the rain resumed - good timing as it didn't start again until on our way home.

Kelley soon found some muddy water to get into.

and I found a few things to photograph

Not as muddy

We met a group of people with three dogs and walked with them until we turned off onto the Blue Trail and this group made  Kelley very happy.

Fancy and plain

After we completed our loop we walked over to the trail leading down to the Stillwater

The little cove alongside the river

and the river

Kelley was very happy with the deeper water and I was glad she was getting the mud rinsed off. She stayed in longer than usual but came out when I opened a trail bar.

and then a little rest

One last time in the water

A pretty good outing - temps were in the 70's and Kelley seemed happy to be out and showed no problems. 1  3/4 hours