Nicandri Nature Center - Part 1

The nature center in Massena, New York opened this past spring and when I first visited there, I called it the Robert Moses (State Park) Nature Center. It does seem to be on state park land or at least adjacent to it, but the official name is Nicandri Nature Center:

There are trained interpretive naturalists on duty to take school kids on guided tours or to shoot the breeze with an old geezer like me who once studied these things but had to earn his living elsewhere. Pollywogs, weeds and wildlife have been my passion since I was a small boy, trying to catch minnows in the local creek. This gigantic, wrap-around aquarium is the first thing a visitor sees:

On an island inside the big aquarium were four frogs, probably Green Frogs (though I didn't ask). The naturalist told me that some of the big Channel Catfish had been trying to eat them, so they stayed up where it was safe and waited for the staff to feed them crickets:

The aquarium was filled with Bullhead, Perch, Channel Catfish, Sunfish, Bluegills, etc. There was a Map Turtle and probably other animals as well, but the beaver, bear and heron were stuffed:

Who needs wetlands? We all do, and the St. Lawrence River wetlands are an ideal place to study them:

Another giant aquarium in another room contained other species. In this photo are a Bullfrog tadpole (on the log) and two Sturgeons (resting on the gravel). There were eels and other species as well. The Mudpuppy was a rubber model which sat on a shelf outside the aquarium:

In the big aquarium were several Longnose Gars, the first I'd ever seen in real life:

And a display case with five species of local freshwater clams:

One entire wall was filled with a wildlife diorama which contained taxidermy mammals and birds:

I remembered the pied deer from my last visit because it was so unusual:

A black bear. I was told that the small bear skin at its feet was for school children to handle so they could keep their hands off of the full bear. Pictures with the bear, however, are encouraged:

Behind the wavy glass were scenes as could be found in wild settings all through the area. There was more for me to see, though, and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

New Nature Center in Massena, New York - Part 1

I heard that a brand new nature center had opened over the weekend in the Robert Moses State Park, just northeast of Massena, NY on the St. Lawrence Seaway. I drove to it on Monday morning to have a look. The exterior was impressive, and crews were still working on the landscaping:

The interior was even more impressive, with a large aquarium front and center. If I remember correctly, I was told that it holds 2000 gallons of water:

There was a display at the top of the aquarium which showed how a muskrat lodge would look:

And down below, several Eastern Painted Turtles were swimming:

A few Green Frogs watched me from the weeds. I was told that they had gotten rather tame because the staff threw food to them. A friendly naturalist took me around, explaining things as we went:

Behind the big aquarium were a stuffed bear and beaver:

And lots of native fish swam in the waters below:

These were Yellow Perch:

Who needs wetlands? Every living thing on earth. This was, after all, right between the St. Lawrence and Grasse Rivers, with marshes and ponds and rivulets everywhere:

I was familiar with fresh water clams, but had no idea there were five species. I also learned that we have freshwater jellyfish (non-stinging), common to Adirondack lakes. They are clear, and about the size of a penny. They are a non-native species, introduced accidentally from China:

This aquarium had fish, turtles and crayfish:

 And most of the fish in it were Creek Chub. But I was just getting started and had much more to see. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Black And Long Ponds, Keese Mills - Part 1

I decided to take a clear, beautiful day off from farm work and drove down near Paul Smith's College with the dogs to hike the trail along Black Pond and Long Pond. We began at Black Pond, where there was a sunken rowboat, a remnant of earlier times:

The outlet of Black Pond was somewhat swampy and filled with Green Frogs whose banjo-like twangs echoed through the trees:

A loon floated quietly and peacefully on Black Pond:

The trail was level and mostly easy to navigate, though my braces gave me trouble at the rocky places:

We arrived at the Black Pond lean-to and the dogs ran ahead to the water's edge:

They were overjoyed and went in far enough to get their feet wet:

Bunchberries were in bloom in great numbers:

We continued northward along the western shore of Black Pond:

I saw one canoe, quietly paddling across the lake:

Clover and Daphne explored the water's edge:

And Clover was a very good girl, not running ahead like she used to do:

Common Wood Sorrel in bloom. We'd just gotten started and there was still a lot to see. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Clear Pond Again, White Hill Wild Forest Part 5

I'd been hiking in the White Hill Wild Forest with four of my dogs again and we were almost back to the trail head and my parked car. As you may have noted in previous posts, there had been lots of interesting mushrooms, most of them growing right in the trail. When I came to this sight, it gave me pause. Then I realized that my thundering herd of excited dogs and trampled right over these unfortunate fungi:

And then we arrived at Clear Pond. Well, I couldn't pass by without first walking over to explore the shoreline once again:

The dogs were all excited to be there (again), but then one of the wonderful things about dogs is that they are overjoyed by nearly everything. If only we humans could learn to enjoy life so much!:

A handsome pair of puffballs along the way to the lake:

The afternoon was quiet, peaceful and sunny. I was still the only person in the forest preserve. I had no need to worry about leaving the dogs off leash:

The clouds were reflected beautifully in the waters and there was something watching us from the shallow edge:

A close-up reveals a Green Frog. He stayed and watched us until Fergus tried to lap up water near him (without ever realizing his presence). That was too much for Mr. Frog and he took off:

Seamus cooled off in the beautiful waters again. I tried to encourage Fergus to go in because his feet were still coated in stinky swamp mud, but he would not:

Clover and Daphne danced along the lovely shoreline, all excited and happy:

While Seamus continued to do his brontosaurus act:

Well, our hike was over but I snapped one last photo of Clover posing beautifully on a shoreline rock. This is why I like my brand of hiking. It is solitary and peaceful, yet still I get the happy companionship of such happy dogs: