Buddies - Part 8

I'll begin this edition of the "Buddies" post with all my happy dogs in the farm house getting themselves comfy. There's a melancholy side to it also, however. Wally had died the previous day and old Winky, as it turned out, died the morning after this photo was taken. But it's nice to remember him while he was still part of the family:

My five remaining dogs enjoyed their time at the farm in the lovely spring weather:

Back at home in Albany, Snoozey and Bramble shared a bed:

And Clover, Daphne and Bramble got cozy also:

Bramble certainly does "sleep around," doesn't he?:

And there's Bramble again, in bed with Clover while Daphne and Fergus lounge nearby. That rubber chicken, by the way, belongs to Fergus. It was a "going away" gift from a friend:

Madeline and Seamus shunned the doggy beds and just shared a spot on the carpet:

Traveling back up to the farm, Daphne and Madeline watched intently out the window for whatever dogs watch for. I've seen a Red Fox, a Black Bear, a Porcupine, a Bobcat and many Wild Turkeys crossing this road (Rt 458), so I suppose anything is possible:

And lastly, a row of sleeping dogs in the farm house kitchen. They do all get along well and it's nice that they have each other for company:

A Spec-top-ular Experience On Coney Mountain - Part 3

We'd reached the summit of Coney Mountain and it was spec-top-ular indeed. I believed that to be the southern part of Tupper Lake in the distance:

There were rocky mounds on which we could stand, viewing not only the distant scenery, but each other:

Seamus, all excited, trotted off toward the edge and out of my view. I began to worry when I he didn't come when I called and went looking for him, calling louder and more urgently. I began to fear he'd fallen off a ledge. Finally, I saw him walking up this rock and a bit wobbly legged:

I will never know what happened, but clearly he went too far and had to climb back up some steep place. You can see how tired he was in this picture:

Seamus took a couple of rests, but began to recover and we made our way without incident as we progressed happily back toward the trail head:

The forest floor was coming alive with springtime color:

I had the dogs heel every so often just to be sure they were under control. That worked quite well until they saw a woman coming up the trail from the other direction and they all bolted to greet her. Sigh. I don't know if I'll ever conquer that training obstacle. I generally put them on leashes if I see someone coming - but this time they saw her before I did. Anyway, for this photo, I told them to stay for a moment so I could get a group photo:

And a photo of Fergus with a silly look on his face:

And three Papillons on the move:

And Seamus, hopefully more cautious now that he's had a good scare (but I'll bet he wasn't half as scared as I was):

But it was a fine day and had been a worthwhile visit to the farm, topped off by a mountaintop experience on Coney Mountain:

I was snapping pictures of some Painted Trilliums when my camera ran out of memory. But we were almost back to the car anyway. So I pocketed my camera, completed the hike and resumed our journey home to Albany:

A Spec-top-ular Experience On Coney Mountain - Part 2

We were hiking our way up to the top of Coney Mountain, the dogs and I, and enjoying the wildflowers along the way. Spring Beauties were in full bloom:

And Red Trilliums:

The climb was gradual and quite easy, even for an old codger like me:

And the dogs would stop and wait for me every so often:

We were nearing the summit:

The incline turned steeper:

And rockier:

And higher:

We were almost there:

Maybe this was the last incline?:

No, there was one more:

Ah, we made it. Coney mountain has a wonderful, 360 degree view and you can see why I coined the word, "spec-top-ular." The dogs were quite happy and so was I. I'll post Part 3 tomorrow: