St. Lawrence County Route 50 - Part 2

I was on County Route 50 in the town of Brasher, New York (see also Part 1, posted yesterday). It was paved but only one lane wide. It sure was scenic:

There were hay fields galore, separated by rows of trees and patches of woods:

And wetlands and forest. In fact, much of the road took us through the Brasher State Forest:

There were emerald fields behind old fences, with puffy clouds in the blue, afternoon sky:

And lovely old farmsteads:

I had Seamus with me, so we pulled into Brasher State Forest to stretch our legs:

An old cemetery with many more gravestones than I would think possible for such a sparsely populated area. There must have been more people living here at one time:

Black-Eyed Susans bloomed along barbed wire fences:

A split rail fence and laundry, waving gently on a clothesline:

We passed a trail head which had a sign proclaiming it to be the "Burns Trail." We didn't stop this time, though:

We were almost into the hamlet of Brasher Falls when I snapped a photo of this beautiful farm. It was time to get home by then, so I put my camera away and concentrated on where I was going:

The Brasher Falls IGA Grocery Store

I returned to my dogs and my little farm apartment in the afternoon, let the pooches out for a romp and made myself a quick lunch. But night falls early out on the northern tundra this time of year and I wanted something - well, interesting for dinner. So I left one more time for the little town of Brasher Falls. They have there a brand new IGA market which surely must be the envy of less fortunate towns like Fort Jackson, Winthrop, Nicholville and Hopkinton. Brasher Falls is only 15 to 20 minutes from my front door:

I probably should have said something first and asked for permission, but I didn't. I just began walking around snapping pictures. The Brasher Falls IGA is a real old fashioned market. It has nearly everything a person could want in the way of groceries, toiletries, household cleaners or pet supplies:

There appeared to be four employees - two behind the meat counter, a young boy at the cash register and an older man stocking shelves. I'll wager it's a family affair:

A dairy aisle and frozen foods. Who needs to make the long drive into Massena to shop at Wal-Mart when everything you need is right here? I'm not being snarky, by the way. I really mean it:

Even fresh fruits and vegetables:

I can't even remember what I bought that day except that I know I got two small steaks for just a couple of bucks. I wondered if the price would even cover the cost of packaging:

The place was booming and the register had a line. The cashier carried an older woman's groceries out to her car for her without her even asking. I was impressed:

I snapped only one photo of downtown Brasher Falls as I left the store. I only needed one photo because it all fit in one:

A Driving Tour With Papillons In The Car

My sister and her daughter's Papillon were visiting me up at the farm. We'd taken a hike across the north hay field and then decided to investigate the inside of the barn. First, we climbed up into the hayloft:

Some of the dogs came up there with us. The biggest attraction up there for them, I'm sorry to say, was the pigeon poop:

I showed my sister the old farm machine which I think was a seed cleaner:

The dogs were quite excited to point us to some dead pigeons:

And then we came downstairs and walked back to farm apartment. Seamus led the way:

My sister (the marathon athlete) stood at the fence and tried to befriend the tenants' Pit Bull. She had no more success at that than I have had:

And then we drove to Brasher Falls where we stopped to see the deep ice cap just below the falls. The ice was easily four feet deep in many places as it floated atop the water:

Brasher Falls is so tiny that there's a campground on the opposite shore:

The St. Regis River was running wildly and we made it a point to keep the Papillons away from the riverbank:

And inside the car, my sister was cuddling all three of the Papillons. That's Madeline on the left, and you can tell by the expression on her face that she's not yet completely reconciled to sharing a lap with the two puppies:

Madeline began to accept them conditionally - as long as she could look away she figured they might be OK:

We drove northward to get a glimpse of the mighty St. Lawrence Seaway:

Once we were home, and settled comfortably indoors, we discovered that Madeline had already made friends with my two Papillons and Fergus. They began to play:

The Beautiful Little Town Of Brasher Falls

I was on a back roads tour with Daphne and Clover, the two Papillon puppies. But given that it was late afternoon on a chilly Saturday, I thought I'd better begin by stopping in the town of Brasher Falls to buy some groceries. The regional high school for the St. Lawrence area is in tiny Brasher Falls and as I posted before, their sports teams are called "The Larries." Garrison Keillor's "Lake Wobegon" monologues have a team with the same name, used for humor. I can't help but wonder if the local people here find it humorous. NPR is certainly popular up that way. I produced no proof in my last post, so thought that this time I'd include a photo of the high school's sign. Click to enlarge and you'll see it:

And then I noticed that it's also on the front of the building. Again, simply click to enlarge:

Across from the high school was this very elegant house. Brasher Falls is one of the nicest small towns I've ever seen, clean and apparently rather prosperous:

Erin's Isle is a popular restaurant which has always had cars overflowing its large parking lot. It's popularity with the locals inspired me to want to eat there some day. But on this day it appeared to be closed. Perhaps it was closed for Thanksgiving weekend?:

I arrived at the tiny IGA grocery store. It was newly opened and provides the local rural area with nearly everything a big grocery store would have. Previously, I suppose that people had to make the long drive into Massena or Potsdam:

As I walked into the IGA, I snapped a photo of the downtown business district. Yep, this is all of it:

I've previously called this the octagon house, but looking at this picture, I'm thinking that it perhaps has only six sides. What do you think?:

This charming little ornamented house:

And a green sort-of-Victorian style house. If this was in Albany, it'd be mighty expensive. But real estate is cheaper up there in the north country:

A very prosperous looking brick church:

The St. Regis River, Brasher Falls And A Wondrous Apple Tree

I'd driven up to the farm with all six of my dogs, made a walking tour of the grounds and gotten settled in my little apartment. I shoveled a lot of dirt, spreading it out over the new septic system where heavy rains had caused settling. I'd visited the neighbors and the afternoon sunshine was beginning to glow in that twilight sort of way. So I took Daphne and Clover, the two Papillon puppies and drove to the nearby town of Brasher Falls, where they have a brand new (but tiny by city standards) IGA grocery store. I wasn't even sure that I needed to buy anything, but I wanted to get out and do something. In the town of Brasher Falls, I stopped to photograph the bridge over the St. Regis River:

I bought a few groceries at the little IGA market and then drove north hoping to find some new roads to explore. Everywhere I drove I encountered the St. Regis River. It twists and turns and has many branches, so it really does seem to be everywhere. But up north of Brasher Falls, it was running calmly and placidly. Compare this river with the one in the first photo:

The quiet river at dusk filled me with a sense of serenity. The trees on the shore and the clouds overhead were beautifully reflected in its mirrored surface:

But I took a wrong turn in my exploring and wound up making a big circle, finding myself back near the farm once again. I was very tired by this time so considered it a fortuitous accident. I let the dogs out to run once again and this time I took special notice of the apples outside my door. There are two flowering crab trees there, but one of them is growing intertwined with what appears to have been a wild apple seedling. The fruit looked like Golden Delicious, so I decided to try one:

Indeed, it also tasted like a Golden Delicious apple. I wondered if the tenants had not yet discovered these wonders or if it was simply a matter of such an overabundance of apples, pears, blackberries and raspberries that they simply couldn't keep up. Well, I decided to keep that tree in spite of its crowding the flowering crab:

But the sun was setting rapidly and the temperature was falling. The dogs and I settled in for the night in our comfy little apartment:

I cooked myself dinner, the dogs got dog food and everybody got drowsy:

I can see the starry skies through those windows when I'm in bed. And the skies that far out in the country are vast and the whole milky way is plainly visible. There is one street light, a true oddity so far out in the middle of nowhere, but since it's all by itself it doesn't drown out the stars. Well, we were all tired. You can see Daphne's head drooping in this picture and Fergus is already zonked out. Good night:

Settling In For The Evening

The dogs and I had settled in at the farm apartment, but I wanted to drive to the small town of Brasher Falls, New York to buy a few groceries at their new IGA, the closest thing to a grocery store nearer than Massena or Potsdam. To take a photo tour of Brasher Falls, click here. It's the home of the St. Lawrence Central Schools, named after the St. Lawrence Seaway and St. Lawrence County. I passed the school on my drive and noticed a large sign proudly proclaiming it to be the home of "The Larries." Not the Hurricanes, Tigers, Braves or Pumas, but The Larries. I wonder if their mascot is a nerdy guy with big glasses and a pocket protector?

I brought little Clover with me and began driving through the countryside, which consisted of both farms and forests. I saw a Raccoon up ahead and readied my camera. It began crossing the road, unconcerned about me and my car until I got closer. Then it got up on its hind legs and gave me an inquisitive look before bolting the rest of the way across the road. I only had a split second to hold my camera out the car window and snap this photo:

But I got my groceries and also indulged myself in what appeared to be a local specialty, dill pickle flavored potato chips. I don't normally eat potato chips, but I just had to give this odd flavor a try. They were good, though perhaps I just had denied myself junk food for so long that most any such thing would be scrumptious. Anyway, I arrived home (with dill pickle breath) and greeted all the dogs:

The weather was perfect and the dogs got to go back out and play in their fenced yard. We didn't do any hiking around the farm on this trip:

The tenants' dog has a dog house in the yard and my dogs thought it was very interesting:

As for me, I just enjoyed the sun and bird songs. On a clear and sunny day in June, upstate New York must surely be one of the most beautiful places on earth:

But I'd been up since very early that morning and driven a long way to get there. So as the sun began to set, I began to get very tired. So I set about cooking myself dinner. The woman from across the road knocked on my door to invite me to a sort of country block party and pig roast they were hosting on July 31st. I've since arranged to get the day off of work so that I can attend. It'll be a great opportunity to meet my neighbors:

All the dogs were happy to make themselves comfortable and begin settling in for the night:

Clover, of course, knows the best place to sleep is right next to Dad's head: