SAFireman
Member
Four months later . . .
Daisy and I took advantage of a few days of cooler temperatures and went back this mid-July weekend to the location in the Ozark National Forest we had hiked back in March to see the ecological differences from early spring to mid summer.
Obviously, the forest is greener and denser. A lot more insects too (thank you for Deep Woods Off). A lot less water too, back in March these streams were roaring with water running off the hills but now they are mostly dry beds. I thought there might be some runoff from recent downpours from thunderstorms that have moved through the area, but it wasn't the case. Only a few trapped pools of water.
I was a lot more careful watching for snakes this time of year as well. Although we didn't see any, this would be a good area to run across both timber rattlers and cottonmouths. You just never know what's lurking in the shade of a rock overhang or under a rock crevice in the dry stream bed.
Now seventeen months old, Daisy hikes with me off leash quite well. She is very adapt at responding to my recall to the point I can call her back from chasing a squirrel or when she jumps an occasional deer. Since Mrs. Faulkner no longer hike very far from the vehicle with her camera, Daisy has proved to be a good hiking partner.
Faulkner,
Great photos as always. Daisy has sure grown into a great companion.
BTW - Mattie says hey
