Chapter 1, The Malone/Franklin County Fair

I drove to the town of Malone on a slightly rainy Saturday morning to see the Franklin County Fair:

This was the first day of the fair and I arrived only a half hour after the gates opened. It was not yet crowded, but I did take note of this motorcycle with barrel trailer from Ontario:


My first stop was at the horse riding competitions near the grandstand:

Folks of all ages were lining up to compete, some on horseback and others in a more leisurely manner:

And then I toured the horse barns. There were two horse barns, one for riding horses and one for race horses. I stopped and petted any horses that seemed to want attention:

And so did this little girl:

She somehow knew which horses wanted some human attention and was drawn right to them:

And then I visited the cow barn, actually a connected series of long, narrow barns which stretched for much of the length of the fairgrounds. The north country is real cow territory:

There were lots of dairy cows of various breeds, all of them tame, clean and healthy:

If and when they got dirty, there were shower facilities just outside the barn:

But mostly these cows lounged around, chewing their cuds and living the good life:

This group of cattle belonged to the farmer I'd visited not long ago who raised American British White Park Cattle. He was so busy, though, that I didn't stop to chat. His cattle looked beautiful:

Some farms even provided their girls with curtains:

And they had one baby Scottish Highland, the breed I used to raise. I stopped and had a long talk with this cute little fellow's owner. But there was lots more to see. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

The Ledges Hike Finished And A Return To The Salmon River

The dogs and I were just finishing up our hike to The Ledges, an Adirondack overlook just south of Malone, New York. We were almost back to the trail head, moving slowly and carefully down an unrelentingly steep and treacherous grade. We stopped often to rest:

Colorful Red Maple and Bigtooth Aspen leaves were collecting on the forest floor, making an especially nice display when contrasted against a patch of bright emerald moss:

I stopped to admire a family of mushrooms which were an unusually beefy color:

And had another look at the snow white shelf fungus I'd passed on the way up. I tried to search out an identity for these beauties but never found it:

And there was our car. The dogs broke into a run. They're always excited to leave the car and excited to find it again. They're excited to hike and most happy to rest. What better companions could there be?:

I exited the forest via the incredibly rough Lee Road (a better name would be "Lee Deer Path") and then headed south on Studley Hill Road along the Salmon River:

The hills along the Salmon River were gloriously arrayed in autumn colors and I thought about what an absolutely perfect day it had been. One of the great benefits of writing this blog is that it constantly reminds me of how blessed I am. It's hard to get depressed in the presence of such natural splendor and happy dogs:

There was a tiny town on the riverbank consisting of perhaps ten houses and named Chasm Falls. There were several houses for sale, including one with this view. I looked it up later and found a listing with photos. It was a magnificent house and garage on 1.7 acres for $128.500. If I'd been in the market for a home (and had money) I might have bought it on the spot. If you'd like to see the Realtor's listing, click here. Or click here to see the photos of the place:

My car was low on gas and we were so far out in the country that I didn't think I'd find a gas station without driving into the town of Malone. But I kept stopping along the banks of the Salmon River to enjoy the scenery and autumn air:

One last stop before I headed into Malone to fill my gas tank. That's the county road, Studley Hill Road, behind us, by the way. You can see what a tiny dirt road it is. It's also the same road on which I visited a herd of Scottish Highland Cattle several years ago. A young couple had cleared a patch of forest and were raising a herd of those magnificent beasts. But our hike was over and I knew we had to get going. I'll post more tomorrow: