MAY 7 2015 BOWDOIN PARK

      It was another beautiful day for walking.  There were nine of us, including a guest: Lee's daughter, Janet.  We followed the red trail which provided a wider loop than the yellow but it still turned out to be a rather short walk.
      Five of us enjoyed brunch at Perkins in Wappingers.  After, CJ and I went on a mini tour.  I needed to go to Hyde Park and, after completing brief business there, we visited Pinewoods and Hackett Hill parks.  We're scheduled to walk there in August and they appear to be relatively short walks.  Then we visited the Beatrix Farrand garden at the Roosevelt Estate and, lastly, we stopped at the Orange County Arboretum.  Since I didn't take many pictures on the walk, I've included some pictures from these two places also.

The red trail

I bought a NYS Wildflowers book but couldn't identify these.

wild grapes

Book didn't help me here either

ok these are violets

the train bridge...tide was out

This is new.

and the group

I still find this group interesting

Turtle pond

Don't know what these purple flowers are either. 

BEATRIX FARRAND GARDEN

ORANGE COUNTY ARBORETUM

MAY 2, 2015 VANDERBILT ESTATE

     Another beautiful day that was perfect for walking and 18 people agreed.  We did our usual tour down to the riverside.  It's always such a nice view and we spent some time enjoying it and relaxing with the group.  Then we headed back uphill some dispersing into the gardens where we encountered fellow member, Katy, who volunteers there.  Others headed in various directions.

     Spring planting has begun and some of the rose bushes already have leaves.  Others have just recently been planted.  While the official garden didn't have that many flowers blooming at present, there were quite a few "wildflowers" around and, of course, I took pictures of many of them.

      Five of us had an excellent brunch, as usual, at the Eveready Diner...one of our favorite places for after-walk brunches. 

      After brunch CJ and I visited fellow member, Eileen, who is recuperating from hip replacement surgery.  We were happy that she seems to be progressing.

What a wonderful spot to sit and enjoy the view

view closeup

I saw many spring flowers o the way to the river.  These are Dutchman's Britches [sp?]

don't know what these tiny flowers are

Bloodroot

The view at the bottom of the trail

Enjoying a trip on the Hudson

Another river view

Relaxing at the bottom

One of the many religious structures along the river

Such a pretty place.

This stream flows under the bridge near the parking area

The short cut which is quite steep.

Some daffodils in the garden

The bridge and stream at the entrance

Pretty magnolias at the garden

I found several patches of "wildflowers" as I walked around

Vinca

An iconic garden view

The end of the mansion and a little bit of the wonderful view

Closeup of artwork above entrance...there are many lion heads

      

APRIL 25, 2015 LOCUST GROVE

     What a great day!!  It was a bit cool to start but then the weather was absolutely marvelous...perfect for walking.  And what a turnout!!!  There were 20 of us.  Actually there were 21 because Lila arrived late at 9:45 and missed walking with us so she walked solo and met us in the parking lot after to say hello.

      It was extra specially nice for me since my cousin, June, was visiting from Vermont.  She said she enjoyed meeting all of the nice Walkers and, of course, the walk.

      I had a prior commitment for the afternoon and brunch didn't happen.

John thinks these are Colt's Tails

Yeah it's just a dead tree but I thought it was interesting

I am constantly amazed at the number of stone walls we encounter

A rowing crew [probably from Marist], freight train and the Mid Hudson Bridge [Too bad there wasn't a train on our side too]

Thank you June for taking the group picture.  Yours came out better than mine.

A little piece of the river.

John thought this might be in the buttercup family & Suzanne checked out its reflective abilities.  It reflected.

New life on a fallen tree

So nice to see green and pretty purple flowers at the tree's base.

Yellow & purple combined.

The Samuel Morse home with yellow flowers in foreground.

We visited the official gardens.