Degrasse State Forest - Part 2

The dogs and I were hiking in Degrasse State Forest and had reached an oxbow where they went swimming (see also Part 1, posted yesterday). This was my favorite photo of the day because of the look of joy on Seamus' face:

But of course we couldn't stay at the oxbow all day, and the time came to head back to the main trail. We began climbing uphill and I spotted this blue Gentian flower and bud, the first of the season. I looked it up when I got home and decided it was a Soapwort Gentian:

And I saw large patches of Running Ground Pine, a Club Moss:

And Bunchberry, a miniature relative of Dogwood trees:

Fan Club Moss:

We got back on the main trail and continued on our way:

 But I had to stop when I saw this Club Moss. It was different from the Running Ground Pine, above. I looked it up when I got home and decided it was One-cone Clubmoss, Lycopodium lagopus, a northern species:

We reached the border with private land and someone's beautiful cabin among the pines:

They'd mowed the grass all the way down to the Grasse River (no longer the oxbow), but I didn't walk down there because it was private land. I could have pushed through the underbrush on state land but decided instead to begin heading back to where I'd parked the car:

Along the way I spotted some ripening Wild Blackberries:

And stopped to enjoy them:

We were on our way back the way we'd come. I'll post Part 3 tomorrow:

Peru Street In Winter - Part 3

I was nearing the end of Peru Street and still photographing the rural beauty of upstate New York. This giant old barn appeared to be no longer in use:

But it was part of a farm, so maybe they were still farming. With everything closed down for the cold winter weather, it was hard to tell:

A field full of snow covered farm equipment, sitting idle:

A hay wagon and a hay rake, with extensive fields stretching out behind. Even farms which have discontinued other activities often continue making hay:

I passed this log cabin in the woods:

And another giant old barn, this one set behind a stone wall:

A wonderful old home with a giant stone fireplace chimney and a front porch of incredible beauty:

This old farm house was set behind the trees and looked very "New England" to me:

An old auto garage and tow truck, which looked as if they'd both been sitting idle since the 1950s:

Sheds and gazebo, part of someone's property:

An old horse trailer:

I reached the end of Peru Road and turned onto State Route 11 where the business of Adirondack Storage Sheds had many amazing structures to offer. My driving tour had come to an end and I headed home to tend to my animals:

Peru Street In Winter - Part 1

It was a cold but sunny day, so I set out on a driving tour of Peru Street, which runs between State Route 11B in the town of Dickinson to State Route Route 11 in the town of Lawrence. The first house I photographed was this magnificent structure, with a wall full of picture windows and a wraparound porch on the second story. What wonderful views they must have!:

There were corn fields everywhere and on both sides of the road. My camera scared off two crows from this field and I saw flocks of Snow Buntings, the first this season, but they were too wary for me to get a photo of them. I'll keep trying, though, and sooner or later will get a picture of Snow Buntings:

A picturesque cabin, set back in the trees, with a woodshed attached:

A modern house, again with picture windows and porch, set back in the woods:

And speaking of woodlands, there were plenty along Peru Road, some hardwoods and some coniferous:

A small house with a nice porch and bird feeders:

Amish corn shocks, so far off the road that I had to use my zoom lens to photograph them. There was a very large field full of them, and an indication of the large Amish population I would encounter along Peru Street:

And I did indeed see many Amish farms, many of them large, elaborate and immaculately kept:

I continued on, getting a closer view of the first Amish farm with its multiple barns, silos and windmill:

An even closer view, showing the ubiquitous clothesline, from which hung Amish clothing:

A horse barn and farm equipment:

A small house with Christmas decorations. But Peru Street was long and there was much more to see. I'll post Part 2 tomorrow:

The Adirondack Village Of St. Regis Falls

Tuesday morning arrived and I shut off the water supply to my little farm apartment, cleaned the floors and packed the dogs up into the car for the drive back home to Albany. I followed the usual route except that I detoured into the little village of St. Regis Falls. When I saw a sign pointing to the left and reading "Waterfalls," I turned to go have a look. I had to enter a private campground, but it was winter and no one was around:

I parked my car and walked close to the riverbank, being very careful of the ice on the ground. The thought of slipping into that frigid water was enough to make me cautious. The first thing I saw was an American flag atop a giant boulder in the middle of the St. Regis River:

The falls themselves were beautiful indeed:

The campground consisted of many rustic cabins, apparently rented by the week during the summertime and looked to me like they'd provide a reasonably priced and friendly vacation for a family:

I drove out of the campground and into the village of St. Regis Falls, stopping to photograph the Adirondack Cafe, located in a sort of geodesic dome:

This classic Adirondack style building was the home office of 21st Century Construction, located right in the center of St. Regis Falls. I looked them up on the Internet when I got home and discovered that they build many Great Camps and high end homes in the Adirondacks. Click here for a gallery of their work:

St. Regis Falls had its own Post Office:

And a big old school which appeared to have been abandoned. I checked on the Internet when I got home and learned that it had indeed been closed due to safety concerns and a new school built nearby (though I didn't notice the new building when I was there):

The village had a bustling gas station and convenience store where I've stopped more than once on my way home from a hike (I'm always extra hungry and thirsty after a hike):

The Riverside appeared to be what used to be called a Bar & Grill:

And St. Regis Falls had its own bank:

I have searched the Internet without much success for an explanation of this dam and building. It appears to be a hydro-power generating dam and part of the Azure Mountain Power Company. It's certainly scenic. But I was on my way home and already dallied far too long. So I pulled back onto Route 458 and pointed my car homeward:

One More Small Adventure Along The Way

The dogs and I had passed through the town of Tupper Lake on our way through the Adirondacks heading toward the farm for a visit. We were on the final leg of the trip, Route 458, when I noticed that the gates into a favorite section of State land had been opened for the season. So I turned the car onto the tiny dirt road and ascended a very steep hill. When I parked and let the dogs out, they immediately ran toward an old cabin. It had formerly been closed up and locked, but that day the door was wide open:

No shrinking violets, my dogs ran boldly inside to check it all out:

My guess is that this had once been someone's private hunting cabin until New York State purchased the land. It's been closed up and locked ever since - until, that is, some vandals broke open the door. Seamus felt it was his duty to sniff every inch of the place:

When I'd cleared all the dogs out of the cabin, we all took a walk along a narrow dirt road which began in a grassy field and then headed deep into the forest. Now we were on a hike, though I knew it'd have to be a brief one:

The road was level and the walking was easy. The scenery was lovely. Only the black flies spoiled an otherwise perfect moment:

On and on we walked, going deeper into the forest:

But I decided that we had to turn around and go back to the car, especially with Winky along. Otherwise, I'd have wound up carrying him:

When we arrived at the car, my curiosity won out over my good sense. I just had to see where that flat dirt road led to. So we all got back into the car, rolled the windows up to keep out the black flies and headed back into the forest to see where the road would take us. It was several miles before the road began looking unsafe. It took some searching to find a place to turn around, but I did so and we drove back to the highway to finish our journey to the farm: