I went out on April 6 in search of the dogs I encountered the day before. I think I was too late, as I talked to someone who said that a guy in a truck had picked one of them up and was asking what to do with her. I had really hoped to keep them together; even if they ended up at a shelter. In any case, I didn’t find either of them on the trails I hiked.
I did take some photos. I definitely spent more time, checking things out and taking pictures than actually hiking. I probably walked 6 miles in 5 hours. There are a few dead trees that are still burning near the trail; even after two significant rainfall events. I wonder how long they will burn. It’s been at least a week.
I tried to get pictures of the turtles that were sunning themselves in the beaver pond, but they kept diving into the water as soon as I got a clear shot. I didn’t have a telephoto lens with me. That would have helped.
I took a photo of a poison ivy vine, climbing a tree. Poison ivy is really common in the forest; especially in the wet areas. Most trees have poison ivy vines on them. They are the fuzzy ones, FYI (in case there are no leaves to identify them). You can get poison ivy from the vines, even when there are no leaves, so try to avoid contact with them. I’ve seen several snakes in the past month, but none of them have given me any problems. Poison ivy, on the other hand, is my nemesis. I like to hike without a lot of clothing, and I’m highly allergic to poison ivy, so I’m screwed.
I took the other dog home. Named him Ash because he started following me in the burnt forest. He had at least 200 ticks. Glad to hear the other dog got picked up.
That’s excellent, Mike. They both seemed to be very sweet dogs.