Swamp dogs

 

This past July 4th extended weekend I headed up to the Berkshires to Cokane's father-in-law's place.  I drove up Saturday morning partially using printed out directions, a map, and my gps.  Anyone that uses gps knows that sometimes its preferred route is not really a preferred route.  I tried to avoid major cities and highways that I thought would be full of traffic. I ended taking smaller highways through picturesque towns and eventually onto unnecessary dirt roads.  I say unnecessary because my gps made no distinction between a dirt and paved road. I was met by a sign that said "not a through way. no winter plowing" or something along those lines. But I continued onward and made my way to the house. No one was home but I immediately heard some cool birds and was happy to be out of the car and walking around in nature. 

After lunch, grocery shopping and some scenic driving, we headed back to the house.  It was a gorgeous day and we headed out for some stick playing and a walk with the dogs.  The dogs couldn't have been more excited regardless of the constant bombardment from mosquitoes.  We headed towards an emergent marsh along that same dirt road that I drove in on.  Cokane restrained the dogs while I snapped a couple pics and briefly searched for any herps.  Then the dogs were released and immediately dove into the mucky water.  As you can tell from the top pic, they didn't mind marsh muck treatment and we very pleased with the results.

The next day was pretty much all rain, but I arm-twisted Cokane into heading in the backyard swamp and towards another open marsh area surrounding a network of streams.  From an aerial photograph, it looked delightful and full of possible herps.  We suited up in rain gear, walking sticks, rubber boots, and hip waders.  Alas, it was an alder shrubby wetland and the rain got more serious as we got there. So we turned around and headed back to the house.  Maybe next time, I'll continue the hike in hopes that it'll get better as it goes downstream.

Little bit of everything

For President's day weekend, we headed to Vermont for some much needed R&R. We got lucky and didn't encounter any epic blizzards or crazy driving conditions. So it was relaxation all around. For a day or two, we had very warm conditions that approached 50 degrees. Then moments of cold and snow showers. The dogs certainly seemed to enjoy the snow even though there was plenty back home.
I ate a ton of amazing food this trip that is beyond words and description. I certainly came home weighing more then when I came in. I wish I spent time showshoeing rather than plain walking in the 2 feet of snow. It was a crap shoot every step you took. Sometimes you stayed on the surface and other times you fell through. Nevermind the drifts that were thigh high.

We didn't do any sledding, which was probably for the best. Last winter, I went partially down the ice ramp, caught air and landed on my head. Thankfully I wasn't really hurt although my neck was a bit sore. Others had the same fate as I did.
The best thing of all is seeing the plentiful stars at night. We had full moon or nearly full moon the entire trip so you could see everything without a flashlight. We were eagerly anticipating seeing some northern lights but once again we got skunked.

A brief escape

I just got back from my summer Vermont trip. Aside from the usual activities, we headed up to Mt. Mansfield, which is the tallest peak in Vermont. There's a toll road that takes you most of the way. We had a full load and my car wasn't particularly happy with the all uphill and windy climb. But we made it and it was worth it. The weather wasn't great with clouds pouring over the ridge. This made a great howl by the tv towers and the visitor shack on top. We didn't make it all the way to top, but that's fine. The experience was well worth it.

Here's the view from one-third of the way up the toll road.

Here's the view at the highest spot we hiked to. At some points the rolling clouds got so intense the only thing would could see if the spot we were standing on.

Most nights I headed out around dusk to check out the wildlife. I headed down the driveway and spotted something along the edge. At first I thought it was a tree stump. Then I shockingly thought it was a coyote. Then this object jumped up and ran full speed at me. Luckily it didn't bite and was just a shepard mix. We walked to the end of the driveway where I was expecting to find her owner. Nope. Not a soul in sight. I checked the tags and it gave her name "Kayla" and some phone numbers. Unfortunately I had no phone on me. I directed Kayla to go home and followed her. We went up the dead end. The first house had no lights on and no cars in the driveway so we kept going. We finally made it the very large house at the end. Lights were on and I could see a dog bowl on the steps. These were good signs that she had made it home. I rang the doorbell and a woman answered. I asked if that was her dog. Nope Kayla was not home. I asked the woman if I could use her phone to call the numbers. Thankfully someone answered and the dog was from another nearby dead end. The owners said they would come by. Many minutes passed and no sign. So we called again and eventually they showed up. Kayla was overjoyed. Turns out she had been given a bath and was upset about that and took off. They said she would've eventually make it back home but there was no way I'd let her be outside alone considering darkness was imminent and there's coyotes and bears out. The owners had this awesome old fashioned jeep or something like that and we all hopped in. But the headlights were tempermental so I lit the way with my sad flashlight.

I hear you Stains!

I am slowly recovering from the plague that hit the office. I have occasional congestion and the cough has lingered. To compound the recovery, one of the trees that I think I'm to is starting to bloom. But on nice days like this, I have been out and about outside. Today I took my first bike ride of the year. It was nice to combine a workout and being outside. I'm trying to work off the winter weight. Of course that means any sort of no-no food is an instant temptation. So I've become a bit like Stains the dog as seen here.

The green state

I got a much needed escape from NJ this weekend. I was up in Vermont enjoying the cool air, plentiful stars, and all what makes VT great. I was with a bunch of friends and their dogs where the dogs almost outnumbered the people. It was a weekend of relaxation, drinking, naitch, and watching dogs form a pack and going back to nature. I'd be happy just to watch these three dogs, who are tied to each other, just wander around without a human providing guidance and order.

There's a man-made pond at the house and it choke full of critters. The spring peepers were peeping during the humid nights/mornings and green frogs make their "twang" call almost 24/7. I think there was a handful of bullfrogs as well since there were several very beefy tadpoles in the pond. Plus the periodic bull frog call could be heard. Here's a green frog at the surface after Asta, the black lab, went frogging. I think once Asta makes it muddy along the edge, they can't breathe so they pop to the surface. Just a theory. Asta is obsessed with the pond and she would spend all day there if she could. She never catches anything since she never seems to focus on them and when she does spot one, she not ready to commit to swim after them.
I found a ton of red-spotted newts. They have a red eft stage where they turn orange/red and like to hang out on the land. We found them on the driveway after a torrential downpour the last morning. The olive colored stage of the red-spotted newts likes to chill out in the water. We went for a hike up to the beaver pond. It's a steep hike and the dogs were so eager it was easy for them to pull you down when you descend. Asta found something along the edge of the trail. I managed to get this toad away from her. I think it's an American toad but the toads are tough to deciper.