Glorious Tamaracks Along Route 28N

In spite of my promise to not take any more photos, I couldn't resist when we hit Route 28N and I saw the Tamaracks glowing yellow in the forests:

Tamaracks are our only conifer to shed their leaves in the winter. They have lacy needles and turn yellow later than most hardwoods. So all along the road, the green Spruces were mixed with glowing yellow Tamaracks:

And what a breathtaking sight they were:

They livened up what would otherwise have been a landscape of merely green and brown:

Even the Papillons were impressed:

Tamaracks tend to like wet spots and indeed, that's where they were concentrated:

We made one rest stop along Route 28N, a pull-off I'd discovered on one of our first trips:

We didn't go far from the road, but there was almost no traffic and lots of nature for pooches to sniff:

We walked around the open field and did not enter the woods:

Wally and Madeline stayed pretty close to the car. Winky did also - as you can see by his little head peeking out next to the car's front bumper:

I gave a call for the dogs to return:

They all collected back at the car. I got them loaded back inside and we continued on our way home from the farm:

Driving Home From The Farm Through The Adirondacks

The dogs and I had a wonderful weekend up at the farm and a great hike on the Wolf Lake Loop Trail. But Tuesday morning I was up early and preparing to drive home to Albany. I had to be back at work on Wednesday morning. I loaded up the car and began the homeward journey on Route 458. Daphne watched out the car window as we passed by fields of corn seedlings.

Then we traveled down Route 30 until I saw this sign for Follensby Clear Pond. I pulled in to take a look:

Follensby Clear Pond was a glorious Adirondack lake:

But there wasn't much of a place to let the dogs run, so I left them in the car. There were Swallowtail butterflies flitting about everywhere:

A little farther south I pulled into the Raquette River Boat Launch:

Again, there were Swallowtail butterflies in great numbers all along the water's edge:

And the Raquette River was stunning. Once again, however, there was not good place to let the dogs out to run. I continued driving south:

Route 30 took me through the town of Tupper Lake:

I passed by the Northwood Cabins, a motel which reminded me of many we'd stayed at on our summer journeys across the U.S. when I was a boy:

I passed by the Sunmount Development Disabilities Services buildings in Tupper Lake. This is a state run facility and its campus is quite lovely:

I continued south through the town of Long Lake:

I turned east on Route 28N, passing through the town of Newcomb and then on to Blue Ridge Road. I pulled off at the little rest stop along the Boreas River to let the dogs out to play. Like most of the places I'd stopped in the Adirondacks, there were Swallowtail butterflies everywhere:

So many Swallowtails that the place seemed enchanted:

I noticed that the Adirondacks was filled with Swallowtails but there was none up at the farm. According to what I've found on the Internet, the Adirondacks hosts only the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Papilio glaucus. St. Lawrence County, where my farm is located, is home to only the Canadian Tiger Swallowtail, Papilio canadensis. I am unable to identify the species by looking, so I am assuming that is the reason I saw so many in the Adirondacks but none at the farm. Can anybody out there identify this species by the picture?:

Another Trip Up To The Farm With A Stop Along Route 28N

With work on the barn going at an exciting pace I was soon back on the road driving up to the farm. But this time I decided to take another route just for variety. I was driving on Route 28N through the Adirondacks near Newcomb, New York when I spotted a pull-off which I knew from previous trips had a nice place where I could give the dogs a rest stop. We all hopped out of the car and down a small hill to a brook:

Little Daphne and Clover stopped only momentarily for a drink before resuming their race through the forest:

Old Wally, in spite of his failing eyesight, happily walked across the water on a moss covered log:

And crabby old Winky did the same. These two old guys have not yet given up their spirits of adventure - they're just slower and more cautious these days. But this was just a quick rest stop and within minutes we were all back in the car and on our way once again toward the farm. I'll post more tomorrow:

Driving Through Two Adirondack Towns

We were on our way up to the farm, the dogs and I, for a weekend visit and traveling Route 28N. When we arrived at the wonderful Adirondack town of Newcomb, New York, I at first stopped at the park with its nice views of the high peaks. But I've photographed them many times before and they just didn't look much different that day. So I turned onto a side road and followed it a short distance until it ended at the Hudson River Information Center. No one was there, but I got out to take a look:

There was a small logging museum and out behind the building was, not surprisingly, the Hudson River. Folks in southern New York would be surprised to see the mighty Hudson so small, so pristine, so lovely, The river runs almost east to west at this point and this view is looking west:

And looking east:

But that was all there was, so I hopped back into the car, returned to the highway and stopped again at Lake Harris, also in Newcomb. Again, no one was there so this time I let the dogs out:

They were all excited and happy to be out, exercising and giving everything the sniff test:

Crabby little old Winky, however, was moving very slowly and needed a lot of encouragement to get him to join us:

But join us he did, and seemed very happy about it:

The next order of business, of course, was getting all the dogs back into the car. This went quite well except for Winky. He was as slow as usual and required a boost to get him up into the car:

When we arrived in the Adirondack town of Long Lake, I stopped at Hoss's general store. It was decorated with real birch bark and twig art. And if that's not enough, there was a giant bear outside. Their website is here:

Hoss's had a giant eagle or two plus more bears, ducks and herons on and about its front porch:

I went inside to buy myself a sandwich, but as has happened before, their deli was abandoned and nothing was available. Luckily there was a convenience store right across the street, so I bought a sandwich and we continued on our way. I'll post more tomorrow:

A Rest Stop On Our Way To The Farm

Well, it was time to drive up to the farm for the weekend. I loaded all six dogs into my little red car and headed toward the north country. Yearning for a bit of a change, I exited the Northway (limited access highway) at the tiny town of Pottersville and began to travel northwest on Route 28N. I'd previously discovered a little rest stop along the way, so we stopped there. I let the dogs out and we all entered the forest. The youngsters ran ahead, but old Wally wobbled a bit as he crossed a small brook on this log carpeted with emerald moss:

Fergus first ran ahead with the youngsters but then came back to be sure I was alright:

Daphne investigated the sights, sounds and taste of the burbling brook:

Winky was working on keeping up with us but those darn logs kept getting in his way!:

Daphne couldn't resist taking another taste:

Big ol' Seamus led the smaller dogs through the forest grasses:

Fergus and Daphne went exploring. Clover, true to form, had passed that spot some moments earlier and was already checking out the forest:

"Here I am, Dad. Did I do good?":

Wally, also a bit on the geriatric side and rapidly losing his eyesight, contemplated the possible dangers of crossing a chilly, rocky stream:

But then he decided to go for it, picking his way carefully across the rocks:

We all enjoyed the Adirondack forest for a bit, but then it was time to return to the car and resume our journey up to the farm:

One last photo of Fergus and then we were on our way: