Mid-June brought with it a long stretch of very hot weather, and after a few days sticking to the air-conditioned indoors, I finally headed out again for a walk in central Greenville. Completely clear skies made for excellent conditions along a 7.2 mile loop, starting and ending in the small hamlet of Greenville Center. The rolling hayfields in this area were lined with sweet-smelling spring flowers, and provided excellent views of the mountains to the southwest.
Roads Walked: NY-32, CR-35/West Road, CR-41, Plattekill Road, Fox Hill Road, South Plattekill Road
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This white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) didn't flee as I approached, allowing me to get a picture from very close.
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Close-up of a web-lined daisy (Bellis perennis), blooming in the shade along Fox Hill Road.
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A tree in this forest was removed some years ago, forming a bright hole in the otherwise dark wood.
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Fox Hill Road, lined with flowers and reflectors as it curves up Fox Hill.
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Blackhead, Black Dome, Thomas Cole Mountain (left to right) loom over a ripening hayfield.
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The barren upper Shingle Kill, cleared in severe floods some years ago, is a prominent feature on the ten-mile-distant Arizona Mountain.
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Rolling hayfields along Fox Hill Road.
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Blackhead rises above the fields. Of all the places I've yet walked in Greenville, Fox Hill Road is by far the prettiest.
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Stoppel Point rises in the distance above trees, fields, and power lines.
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As always, Windham High Peak retains significant prominence despite the visibility of taller mountains.
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An old barn sits beneath Windham's monolithic silhouette.
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Another shot of the Blackhead Range, here seen above some recently-mown fields.
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Stoppel Point (L) and Arizona Mountain (R) above the tamed fields of the Sunny Hill Golf Course.
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The fields cut for Sunny Hill provided views farther towards the west. Seen here are Zoar, Ginseng, and Hayden.
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Looking back towards the barn from Fox Hill. Pisgah, Steenburgh, and High Knob, hills, far to the northwest, seem more prominent from this viewpoint.
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A shot of Plattekill Road as it winds down off of Fox Hill.
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The Blackhead Range dominates the skyline from Plattekill Road as it did from Fox Hill.
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Layer after layer of field brought back memories from my early childhood, reminding me of an oft-lost sense of freedom.
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Strong winds blew the hay into wave-like patterns, but on close inspection the field remained homogeneous.
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Old crooked fences in the overgrown field complete a rural scene beneath Windham's familiar shape.
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| Wild rose bushes grew along the old barn, filling the air with a wonderful scent. |
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Eight-mile view to Rountop, almost directly south of the Sunny Hill Resort.
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A golf flag joins this view of Round Top over water traps on the course.
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| Horse trails along South Plattekill Road wind through a dark oak forest. |
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This well-kept barn on Plattekill Road is home to several goats.
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Although not as majestic as the mountains, I find fence-littered fields to be quite beautiful in their own right.
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| A hay-filled hillside stretches out beneath the Blackhead Range and nearer Escarpment. |
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The skies during this walk were clearer than I've ever walked under, without so much as a wisp of cloud to mar the dome of dark blue.
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Although it was mid-June, the tips of the tallest maple trees still retained some of their spring color.
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