Black And Long Ponds - Part 1

My sister usually visits me each autumn and the visits are mostly brief, so I try to make good use of our time together. This year we took the dogs south to the Black Pond trail in the Adirondacks. We parked and began at this small section of Black Pond. It was lovely, but I knew there was much more up ahead along the trail:

We saw some ducks, apparently a family group which was traveling north up the lake at about the same speed as we were walking. We used a zoom lens for a better look and identified them as Common Mergansers, diving ducks. We got a chance to see them in a communal feeding frenzy, apparently when they'd located a school of fish:

We approached the first of several lean-tos:

We walked to the lean-to and stood, taking in the wild beauty of Black Pond:

And then we continued on our way up the trail. The trail is mostly level, but not entirely flat and easy to walk for a guy like me with leg braces and awkward gait:

The trail never left the shoreline, and the dogs were able to take a drink whenever they pleased:

There were patches of Balsam Fir trees, and we knew when we entered one of them by the heavy Balsam perfume:

Parts of the trail were easy even for me:

And there were planks across the marshy places:

Seamus waded in up to his chest to get a drink and cool himself off:

The little dogs liked the water also, though they picked shallower spots and only got their feet wet:

We saw evidence of beaver activity, though most of it looked old:

The trail ran between a tall esker on the left, and the pond on the right. An esker, by the way, is a gravel ridge, left behind by melting glaciers:

My sister stopped beside a Winterberry Holly, laden with scarlet fruit. We were headed north along the shore of Black Pond and there was much more yet to see. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

Autumn Beauty

I was returning from the feed store one day and decided to take a side trip near Brasher State Forest in search of fall colors. Most of the trees were still green and our autumn seemed to be delayed, but then I found some nice color surrounding a cemetery on County Route 50:

The cemetery lay on both sides of the road and the early reds were prominent in both locations:


I drove on, stopping to snap a photo wherever the colors were especially nice. This spot seemed to qualify:

Not all the color was brilliant. Some of the more muted shades were the prettiest of all:

But also the reds were standouts. The golds and yellows would come later:

I was surprised at the lovely colors the ferns added to the forest, even where most of the tree leaves were still green:

More reds, more brassy ferns:

Dusty reds and beginnings of gold:

County Route 50 in the town of Brasher is a scenic favorite at any time of year, but autumn is particularly nice:

Glorious fall:

Some trees seemed to shoot up like fireworks:

I saw some Winterberries in fruit. They will remain like that through the winter or until the wildlife eats them all:

Heath Hill Road, In Dickinson, New York - Part 2

I continued my driving tour of Heath Hill Road (see Part 1, yesterday). The scenery was lovely and couldn't have been more rural:

There were small cottages with outhouses:

Forests:

And partially harvested corn fields, backed up by woodlands:

There were Winterberry Hollies along the edges of the road, brightening up the landscape with their scarlet fruit:

Rain was approaching and the hardwoods looked mysterious with their bare limbs in the air and their feet beneath a carpet of brassy leaves:

This home looked bundled up for winter and a dog barked at me as I snapped the photo:

I passed a field of corn stubble, with another farm set down in an adjoining valley and mountains off in the distance:

As I neared the highway, I snapped a picture of these Aspens with their yellow leaves:

At the end of Heath Hill Road, I turned onto the small highway toward home and took one last photo of this old, abandoned farm house. How could I not? It set me to wondering of its history, the families who had farmed there and the hardy spirit of this area:

Jamestown Falls

We finished the Moody Falls trail (previous two posts) and drove only one mile up the road to the access road to the Jamestown Falls trail. I pulled into the forest and kept on driving until I arrived at the Raquette River - no hiking required! I let the dogs out and they ran excitedly to the water's edge:

A small tributary was flowing into the Raquette River at that point and I turned to investigate both the stream and the Winterberry Holly bush on its shore:

Indeed, the Winterberry was a beauty, our native species of holly:

Clover and Daphne, on the other hand, were more interested in getting muddy:

We walked over to the sandy shore of the Raquette River and the pooches had a cool drink and chilled feet:

Once again, I saw no waterfalls. Well, there was a small waterfall about a half mile upstream and I used my zoom lens to get a photo of it. I later read that this was indeed Jamestown Falls but there is no trail to it because it's on private land. So we admired it from a distance:

Then we began exploring the shoreline downstream, enjoying the autumn sights and smells:

The Raquette River is a scenic wonder. It's been dammed in places, but the rest of it remains wild and beautiful:

We continued downstream, exploring:

Until Seamus sank down into the mud/quicksand up to his belly. I began to fret, wondering how I'd get him out of there because I'd sink even deeper than he had, but he was able to extricate himself:

We turned back upstream and headed for our parked car. The dogs, as you can see, were just as excited and happy to be going this direction. It didn't matter to them:

We all scrambled back up into the car and I was just pulling out when I saw this beaver dam on the little tributary. I stopped the car and got out to photograph it before continuing on to our next hike (tomorrow's post):

Part 2, Green and Hayden Roads in Parishville

I continued on my driving tour of Green Road and saw a few very nice, suburban type houses. I guessed that these were folks who worked in the city but loved living in the country:

But most of the homes were farms. This one had not only a gazebo but a magnificent barn:

I drove through mixed forests:

And places where Winterberry, Ilex verticillata, (our native Holly) lined the edge of the road with brilliantly crimson berries:

I stopped the car and got out for a close-up of the berries. Now, this certainly put me in a holiday mood:

I passed more farms:

And farm equipment, such as this old time hay rake:

A modern modular with a split rail fence:

And another modular behind tall pines:

I passed through a forest of Red Pine and White Pine:

And then realized that the road was taking me through Whiskey Flats State Forest:

I crossed over a lovely little brook and arrived at Route 72, which runs from Hopkinton to Parishville. Green Road ended there, but with a slight jog after I crossed Route 72, I continued on Hayden Road. But I'll post about that tomorrow: