In the woods with puppies

Beaver Creek

During the past winter I spent so much time shoveling that I had little time to enjoy the winter or the forest I live in. So I hadn’t been down to the bottom of Roundtop Mtn. and the little Beaver Creek that runs through the valley since the start of 2015 and probably not since early December. This weekend the weather cooperated, the day was sunny and near 60, so down I went.

I took Skye and Sparrow with me, as neither has had much chance to spend time in the woods with me or go on longer hikes. They are still young, not much over a year, before winter set in I thought a longer walk might still be too much for them.

I really wasn’t expecting that I’d be able to walk the length of the valley. I expected to find mud and soft ground in the road, as I have in years past But the spring rains haven’t really taken off yet, and the snow melted 10 days or so ago, and I found the old woods road in better shape and drier than I anticipated. The puppies were ready for an adventure, and spent much of the walk down the mountain chasing and jumping on top of each other.

Skunk cabbage

Down along the creek, I discovered the little creek running full and fast, a far cry from the near-still and shallow version of itself during the last weeks of adventure camp. Down here, spring has not yet sprung. I found exactly one skunk cabbage plant and that just 2-3 inches above the ground. Even the moss hasn’t greened up yet. Most of the Christmas ferns have finally lost their green shade, and the few that are left no longer look very festive.

The puppies paid more attention to each other than what was going on around them, I’m afraid. They did venture down to the creek’s edge for a drink of creek water, but nothing else held their attention or their interest for long. They certainly loved the run, though. On the way back, their little tails dragged a bit, as they haven’t learned not to use up all their energy at once. They still have a lot of learning to do.