Adirondack Safaris: Nature Up Close and Personal

Yikes! Fall Foliage is Coming Early

2007-09-11T17:26:00.000-04:00

Peak Weekends: September 22-23, September 29-30.

The fall foliage in the Adirondacks is peaking early this year. Many red maples and birches are already decked out in red and yellow, and the sugar maples are on their way. We've had very, very little rain since late April and everything is bone dry. All summer we've watched all the storms going south through the Albany and Mid-Hudson region.

The trees are stressed and when that happens, the chlorophyll in the leaves breaks down earlier than in a season of normal rainfall. Last year the trees were terribly stressed from too much rain. Wetland and riverbank trees turned red in July.

If the glorious colors of the red maples is any indication, this will be a brilliant season. Fall foliage is my busiest time of the year, so book early!

Two Crane Mountain Trips

2007-07-24T17:17:00.000-04:00

This week has turned out to be Crane Mountain Week so far. It's only Tuesday and I've climbed up twice. Sunday's adventure took me to the northernmost slopes of the mountain, the area where most hikers don't travel. I love the open ledges and the views, which are more comprehensive than those available from the summit. On Sunday, the day was so clear, we were viewing the Green Mountains in Vermont as well as the Adirondack High Peaks to the north.

Today's climb took us up into the clouds--literally. Low-lying clouds drizzled on us, and at times let loose a bit of rain. At around half past twelve, the sun broke through and the air became warm and humid. Today I was guiding an international group: about 7 teens from the Netherlands and 6 American young people. As one might expect, their spirits were high, and from time to time they broke into song, which was fun. The most common question on the way up: How much longer to the top? The question on the way down: How long until we're back at the trailhead?

Butterfly Time!

2007-07-18T17:39:00.000-04:00

Ask About Our Waterfall Safaris!
The woods are becoming quieter and quieter as each day passes. For most birds, the breeding period is long gone and the nesting time will soon close. As the fledgings grow and gain their independence, the songbirds' northern sojourn will come to an end no later than late September. Yet many warblers will begin their "fall" migratory trip to the tropics toward the end of July and in August.

For breeding fireworks, however, there is always the American goldfinch, the last songbird to breed, to entertain us birders. If you have the time and can hang out with a bunch of goldfinches for a while in mid-August, watch for their incredible aeronautic courtship displays.

And what about the butterflies? They're in full swing in northern fields and pastures. Even in the forests, a few can be found. I planted a butterfly bush (buddliea) this year in a gigantic pot on my deck and enjoy having them so close by. Monarda is another perennial that's worth planting if you want more butterflies in your yard.

It mystifies me. Last year the milkweed, a favorite food of Monarch butterflies, bloomed in mid-June and this year it's blooming now, in mid-July. I've tried to recall what makes this summer's weather different than last. One huge difference has been this summer's very cool nights, with many temps in the 50s, occasionally dropping to the high 40s. The nighttime chill has retarded the growth of almost every vegetable except for the lettuces.

Besides delaying their major food supply, butterflies are bothered by cold as well, and there do seem to be fewer of them now. If the weather warms up as expected (the long-range forecast says a heat wave is coming late next week), I'm going to watch to see if more butterflies appear.

2007-07-16T10:47:00.000-04:00

No nature hikes this morning. I'm currently (yes, right this minute) teaching a workshop "The Brave New World of Fiction Blogging" for the Adirondack "Fiction among Friends" Writers' Retreat.

Bear Hunting Dogs on the Loose

2007-07-09T17:27:00.000-04:00

Early Saturday morning I was enjoying a leisurely cup of coffee and a good book while lounging on the living room couch. The slider door was open and I had half an ear tuned to birdsong.

First I heard the growling of young bears in the distance, in the far reaches of our back property or our next door neighbor's property and beyond. It sounded a bit like the cubs were carousing and wrestling each other. Next came the furious barking of dogs, lots of dogs raising a racket. By this time, I was out the slider and on the deck, listening and alarmed. All of this was followed by the deep growls and bellows of a mature bear, growling over and over while the dogs continued to bark. By this time, I'd pulled Ken out of bed and we were both standing on the deck.

Any good scent hound, like these foxhounds, can hunt bear
As the barking and growling continued, I imagined the cubs surrounded by dogs, or perhaps the mother bear surrounded. Or perhaps the dogs had managed to get the cubs up a tree, or the mother. After about ten minutes, the sounds stopped.

Later, on my walk with Sophie, I ran into a neighbor and told him the story. He shook his head. "I'm sorry he's doing that."

"You know whose dogs they were?" I asked.

"Sounds like the fellow training his bear hunting dogs. It's not legal to hunt bears in New York," he said, "but you can train them here. This guy hunts bears in Vermont."

In the course of my travels later in the morning, I found out the name of the local person who this neighbor was referring to. I later had his name confirmed by several other people.

I placed a call to New York State's Department of Environmental Conservation and eventually got to have a good long talk with the game warden who covers our area. As people had told me, July 1st was the first day of the season when hunters are allowed to train dogs to track bears. The warden pointed out, however, that a person has to obtain a special permit to do this. Steve (the warden) said he'd see if any permits were filed for our area.

What a time to have this bear tracking training season, though! The time when mother bears and their cubs are at their most vulnerable. Just think of the stress this mother bear and cubs went through over this incident. It made me angry and sad. If New York does not allow hunting bears with dogs, then it should not allow this "training" to go on.

While writing this entry, the phone rang. It was the game warden, letting me know that the hunter believed to have been involved in this incident does indeed have a permit. The cost of the permit? $100/year.

News from My Neck of the Woods

2007-07-02T18:16:00.000-04:00

It’s fascinating to wander one’s home territory and keep track of the wildlife and the wild plants, and to observe the changes week by week and day by day. When did the creek slow to a trickle this year, and when did it last year? What’s going on with the wild strawberry crop: Who’s eating the strawberries, how do the ripening dates compare with last year’s, and what’s the quality like? And for wildlife, how many does have I seen, and how many fawns? (By the way, a mother bear and her two cubs are in the area this year, and I wonder if it’s the same female that had two cubs here last year.)

No, I didn't take this photo. Yikes! (Public domain)
I’m not sure of the number of acres surrounding my home that I regularly traipse during the course of a week, but I’d count at least 175 acres as my home territory. I own a mere fraction of this landscape of hills, meadows, swamps, marshes, and woodlands, but I watch over all of it. In fact, I feel sometimes like the caretaker of a huge estate.

As the months pass, there are victories and tragedies to account for. A victory this year was the return of “my’ chestnut-sided warbler. This beautiful male and his mate have a nest in the exact same area they did last year, not far from our stream. I know it’s the same pair because the male has a song that’s unique. Of course his song is similar to all chestnut-sideds, but he has a unique variation. I swear he says, “Mo-ga-dee-shew, with the accent on the “dee.” So this couple has nested, as has “our” indigo bunting pair, and several pairs of common yellowthroats.

The tragedy was at a new neighbor’s place. They have dug a foundation for their second—no, wait—I think it’s their third home--on land they prepared last summer. I worried last year about the scarlet tanager that nests on their property. I don’t know if he and his mate successfully raised a family last summer or not. But he returned this year, and everything seemed to be going well until two weeks ago. The owner returned to put in a “road” of sorts for his electric hook-up. This man's driveway is too winding to be used as a direct route for the electricity running to the house. The trees were chainsawed right down the middle of the scarlet tanager’s territory. I haven’t heard him sing since.

Speaking of nests, you know, even when I know where a nest is, I never approach it. I never even go close by. I know lots of naturalists like to get close to see the nest or see the eggs. I know these people wait until the parents are out foraging, but I believe the birds know when a human has invaded their territory. Birds need space, inviolate space, if they are to thrive while raising their young. They have enough problems from wildlife marauders, and they have enough trouble finding the amount of undisturbed land they need for their nesting areas.

So, what’s going on in your neck of the woods?

Crane Mountain Birdwatch

2007-06-19T17:34:00.000-04:00

View from the Summit of Crane Mountain
And here I will relate my Mountain Birdwatch adventure on Crane Mountain. (For the link to Mountain Birdwatch, please scroll down to my previous post and search for the blue highlighted "Mountain Birdwatch" text and just click.) First of all, I'm so glad that Crane Mountain was assigned to me. Evidently the person who covered Crane last year was not able to do it this year, and, as a result, I had a fairly short drive to the trailhead in the early morning hours of Saturday, June 16, rather than a long drive to a mountain in the High Peaks. I say "fairly short" because I didn't realize until I was in the car at 3:30am that I wouldn't be able to drive at a normal daytime speed. I forgot to factor in the need to drive at 20-25 mph, all because the roads belong to wildlife at that hour. Not one but two foxes ran across the road at various points. And a doe was so mesmerized by my headlights, she took a long time to recover and meander off the road.

With no moon, the world was dark. Yet at half past three, as I left our house, the east was light! The strong cup of coffee, brewed at the bewitching hour of 2:45 am, kept me alert. Let's face it, though, I was tense with this mission ahead of me. I slept with the light on all night. Now this wasn't intentional, but I think my unconscious was trying to ensure I'd get up when the alarm went off.

When I arrived at the trailhead, I ate the yogurt I had brought with me. I then slathered on a heavy application of my non-Deet bug repellent/SPF 30 lotion. As I prayed that the mosquitos would not eat me alive, I slathered on extra bug stuff around my hairline, a favorite target.

I put on my headlamp, got out of the car, and heaved my pack onto my back. Inside it was my Sony CD player and 2 smallish speakers, and lots of water, my Mountain Birdwatch notebook, birding guide, and extra clothing. If I failed to hear the endangered Bicknell's Thrush on my route, I was to retrace my steps, playing genuine Bicknell Thrush calls and its song at each of the five stations.

A quick glance at my watch--4:20 am. How did it get to be so late so quickly? I set off for the trail, signed in, and started climbing. It was not pitch dark, but the rocks on the trail were barely visible, even with a headlamp. I scrambled up the mountain as fast as my legs and lungs would allow me, pushing relentlessly, and yes, stumbling, I'm embarrassed to say. I had to make tracks fast because I knew how important it was to be at Station 1 early, before five if I could. Bicknell's do not sing all day, nor all morning.

Thirty-five minutes later, I was there--almost to the summit. After that push, I was starving and so out of breath. The instructions gave me permission to spend thirty seconds (!) orienting myself before beginning the survey. As soon as I was breathing halfway normally (more like two minutes), I started the ten-minute site survey, identifying and recording every bird song I heard and its location. A hermit thrush, a Swainson's thrush's liquid, rising tones, black-throated blue warblers, and more, but no Bicknell's. When I finished, I realized I was having fun. I sat on a rock in the middle of the trail, surrounded by spruces and balsam firs. I chomped on a granola bar and wondered where the heck my graham crackers and almond butter went to. I also wasted valuable time pouring a half cup of coffee from my thermos. I sipped and looked off into the distance and marveled at the tinges of aqua appearing on the horizon.

Only then did it dawn on me to check my watch. 5:20 am. I gazed at the time, stupefied. I couldn't believe I had sat there ten minutes wasting all those minutes. It was as if someone else had done it.

I scampered off and reached the second, infamous Crane Mountain ladder with its 15 steps, screwed into a sheer rockface. Up I went (some people say it's scarier going down the ladder, but I think it's more daunting when you see that ladder going straight up the cliff.) Anyway, I had no time to think about it.

At station 2 I felt certain I wouldn't hear any Bicknell's. The spruce-fir cover at this location on the summit was not dense enough for a Bicknell's. No way. But I complied. I felt similarly at Station 3, which is near the overlook that looks down on Crane Mountain Pond.

This is a dreadful place to leave off. All I can say is I will be back with more soon.

What's Hot? Butterflies, Dragonflies, and Boreal Birds

2007-06-13T12:02:00.000-04:00

Butterflies and Wildflowers Summer Solstice Quest
Wed. June 20 10am-1pm

Boreal Mountain Birding Adventure
Sat. June 23 8am-2:30 pm
No, this is not a weather post, though the weather has been unseasonably warm since early May. Gardening is so tough in the heat, but the bugs and the plants seem to love it.
Butterflies are everywhere now and the milkweed should be in full bloom by the weekend, perhaps earlier on southern-facing slopes. I've got all of my butterfly nets out of storage, have dug up my butterfly field guide, and am ready to go to my favorite butterfly haunts, one of which includes the meadows on our property.

And I've been amazed at the vast numbers and varieties of dragonflies and damselflies buzzing around. Thank goodness for them--they're chowing down on our bumper crop of mosquitoes. I've seen so many more varieties of dragonflies this year than last. Last year June was pretty much a washout--with many rainstorms, including one when eight inches fell.

Of course, birding is still in full swing. When we climbed Pillsbury Mountain and walked on the trail across the summit through the boreal forest very early Saturday morning, we heard more than a dozen Swainson's thrushes and two Bicknell's thrushes. We also heard a number of blackpoll warblers, though no boreal chickadees.

I've got to hike up Crane Mountain before dawn in the next day or so for Mountain Birdwatch--searching for Bicknell's Thrush, primarily, but also for Swainson's, blackpolls, and several other boreal birds.

Don't let the bugs keep you from enjoying late spring and early summer. From a nature point of view, this is the most exciting time of the year!

Off to the Hamilton County Birding Festival!

2007-06-07T18:45:00.000-04:00

Mary Ellen Blakey and I are ready for the Hamilton County Birding Festival. If you're in the neighborhood this weekend, go to the website, and sign up for one of the trips. Mary Ellen and I have scouted all our trails, made note of all the obstacles, and we've rehearsed all the ways we'll take care of our birders when we lead them in to some of the choicest birdwatching spots in the southern region of Hamilton County. I'm so psyched!

Our Schedule:
Friday afternoon--Pine Orchard 5-mile trip (Bad thunderstorms are forecast for mid-afternoon. We'll be keeping an eye on the sky.)

Saturday morning 3:45 am Mary Ellen and I awaken. I think we're going to be setting lots of alarm clocks to make sure we get out of bed. Coffee, breakfast, then pile in the car to head to Pillsbury Mountain (elevation 3500+ feet). 5 am: We guide our birders up the mountain to the boreal forest (above 2800 feet). I'm hoping I'll see some boreal chickadees, gray jays, Bicknell's thrush, and why not a spruce grouse? Way cool.

Sat. 12 noon--Back in the car. Shove sandwich into mouth. Drive to our driving birdwatching safari on the ...woops! Mary Ellen knows the name of the road. One pm. We'll drive nineteen miles, stopping at various points to see what we hear and see.
6pm. I drive an hour to get home, asking Ken to meet me at The Black Mountain for dinner. Then home. Quickly throw Buzz Off Shirts into washing machine for Sunday's trek.

Sun. 6 am Wake up, and get my body in the car by 7:15 to drive the 75 minutes west to meet Mary Ellen and a group of eight for the hike in to G Lake. Not a long hike, but this is the place where the bugs will be ready to devour us. Lots of super No-Deet bug stuff for our clients.

Then at 1 pm, I will be on my way home to write about all our experiences. And maybe take a nap!

Even a Nature Girl Needs a Day in the City

2007-06-07T17:58:00.000-04:00

When my birthday rolled around this year, I was perplexed about how I would spend it. Ken kept asking me what I wanted to do, and I kept shrugging, promising I would figure it out before it was too late to celebrate.

On Sunday morning I woke up, brewed myself a really strong cup of Green Mountain Roasters' Organic Rain Forest Blend (makes me think I can save the rainforests of Central America by drinking coffee), and sat on the couch with my laptop.

Suddenly it dawned on me that it would be great to go to a movie. After all, it's been almost two years since we've been to a genuine movie theater.

My web surfing revealed that there was not a halfway intelligent movie within sixty miles of us. So that led me to a search for a movie in Albany, and I quickly zeroed in on a theater that reminded me of one we loved in Boston. Spectrum 8 Theater in Albany shows a sophisticated blend of foreign, independent, and only the very best of Hollywood movies. And it has an acclaimed bakery and cafe next door. So we piled in to Hector (we've always named our vehicles) and headed south.

We saw a Dutch--German--Belgian--British film about Holland in World War II--The Black Box. It did not disappoint. Thrills, heroes and villains, and some romance. Perfect birthday material.

From Albany we drove to Saratoga Springs. We walked along Broadway, had a glass of wine at The Wine Bar (so elegant), and then to The Grey Gelding for dinner. There is no way to convey how dark it was in this restaurant. It was impossible to see people at the next table, or anything else, though there was a tiny candle shining through frosted glass on each table. The setting was unexpectedly romantic and we sat close, taking full advantage of the atmosphere. The food was excellent, though I could barely tell if my forkful held pasta or asparagus.

Then home to Sophie, who gave us the "Where the hell have you been?" greeting, and a walk in the moonlight.

2007-06-01T17:31:00.000-04:00

Two good things about heat: It's great for getting a vegetable garden off to a roaring start and, if it stays hot, the black fly season may be shortened. Once the creeks, streams, and rivers heat up, the black flies are done for the season.

I hiked in to G Lake on Wednesday, accompanied by Mary Ellen Blakey, a wonderful guide whom I'm learning alot from. We were prepping the route for a birding hike we're leading for the Hamilton County Birding Festival. This trip is scheduled for Sunday morning, June 9, and, judging by our trip, the birding should be excellent. But what I was most thrilled about were the hatching dragonflies on the grassy shores of G Lake. I had never seen so many dragonflies in one place, and of so many different varieties. We both kicked ourselves for leaving our dragonfly field guides at home.

Third Annual Hamilton County Birding Festival June 1-3, 8-10, 15-17
Prior to this trip, Mary Ellen and I had only had a phone relationship. After all, she lives in Piseco, which is in the western Adirondacks, and I live in the eastern Adks. We bushwhacked through an extremely buggy, woodsy area, and then walked the shoreline of the Lake. When we came to the tip of a peninsula, we were surrounded by breezes, not bugs. We pulled out our lunches and Mary Ellen set up a small propane stove to make tea for us! I was impressed. Even though it was a hot day, the tea was an excellent pick-me-up. And there was something elegant about sipping tea in the wilderness like that...making me think that I should invest in a little stove. I bet my clients would enjoy a cuppa on a mountaintop or while sitting on a rock in the middle of the Sacandaga River.

Chez Moi--Blue Birds Everywhere I Look

2007-05-25T16:13:00.000-04:00

Hot weather can make me cranky, especially when temps near ninety strike in May, before I've managed to get acclimated to summer heat. I've been forcing myself to be outdoors before 7am for my daily woods and fields ramble. Sophie and I don't take the same route everyday, but we like to explore at least 90 minutes every morning and we always make a sweep of our back meadows, especially where the stream rushes through a thicket of young saplings--birch, beech, black cherry, maple, poplar, and ash.

Indigo Bunting
While walking there this morning, I saw my first indigo bunting of the season, in the same general area where I spotted one last spring. He made a racket as we walked by and flew back and forth. Aahh, nesting behavior, I whispered to Sophie. (At least it is for other birds--I'm not sure about indigo buntings.) It would be wonderful if he and his mate raised their young at our place, especially since another site on our mountain road, where I spotted a nesting pair last year, was destroyed last fall and winter by logging.

And, to top off the week, we still have a pair of eastern bluebirds hanging out on our fence in the meadow. They've now been around for a week. Does this mean they're considering staying here for the summer? I hope so! Yesterday I saw two bluebird females. A menage a trois? No, bluebirds are pretty strait-laced about their sexual relationships. However, they often produce two broods and sometimes three in a single season. After thinking we'd have to wait until next year to post a bluebird box, I now know there is time for Ken to build one after all. I'll bring it up when I tell him I bought his favorite kind of hamburger for dinner tonight. (I broke down and bought 85% lean instead of the usual 90%. It's Memorial Day Weekend, after all.)

Enjoy your weekend! May it find you outdoors surrounded by nature.

2007-05-21T17:35:00.000-04:00

Yes, it was a big birding weekend, but in the midst of all the fine-feathered drama overhead, we couldn’t help but notice the wildflowers decorating the forest floor. And on many wilderness paths, especially those that rarely have human visitors, it’s a trick to avoid stepping on them.

Everyone oohs and ahhs over the red trillium and painted trillium. The red trillium, sometimes called purple trillium, is neither red nor purple. It’s a beautiful shade of maroon with lovely dark green foliage. The amount of reddish-purple streaking on the painted trillium varies from flower to flower—some have very little coloration while others have a great deal.

Red trillium has a funny folk name—Stinking Benjamin. The name supposedly came about because some people thought the flower smells like a wet dog. With my very young clients, I love to get down on all fours and sniff the flowers to see what they think of the odor and what it reminds them of. Yesterday everyone decided that the odor resembled a slightly fishy smelling riverbank.

The trout lilies, a graceful yellow flower emerging from green spotted foliage, are everywhere, too, and so are the Carolina Spring Beauties (love that name!)

Wild Columbine
And this afternoon, when Sophie and I reached the top of the ledge, I gasped. Growing right along the edge of the cliff were numerous wild columbine wildflowers! They weren't there last May, that's for sure. The only wild columbines I saw in our area last year were over a mile away. So how did they get to one of my favorite wild places? As exposed to the elements as the ledge is, maybe the wind blew the seeds there? Or were seeds deposited by birds or via the scat of another animal? Since there are many plants where there were none before, I'm mystified.

Peak Birding!

2007-05-16T17:01:00.000-04:00

The peak songbird migration days in the Adirondacks have arrived. Lots of warblers and vireos have already come back or have passed through on their way north, but the best days for viewing are now here for the next five to seven days. Even after that, the birding will still be good until early June when we settle down with our resident songbird population.

I was stunned to see a small flock of White-Crowned Sparrows hopping in the area that was once an inground swimming pool. The white stripes on their head are striking. They won't stay, though--they're on their way to Canada for the summer.

And, while I was discussing plans for an addition to our gardening deck with the carpenter, a bluebird landed on a fencepost in the field below. This is the first time I've seen a bluebird on our property. I went beserk, of course, and the carpenter probably thinks I'm a lunatic, which I am, I suppose, so who cares?

Oh, I'd love it if a bluebird pair would stay and breed here. I would've asked Ken to build a bluebird box if I had known they'd be dropping in. Next year we'll place one in an optimal location. For bluebirds, that would be on the edge of the field next to the woods.

I can't convince any of my friends to go mountain birding with me, up to the boreal forest on top of Crane Mountain. (Boreal forest in our area starts at about 2800 feet.) Guess I'll have to go on my own, which I don't mind at all, really. Are you free on Memorial Day Weekend? I'm leading a boreal birding mountain trip on Sunday the 27th.

Phew! My Bird is Back

2007-05-11T17:16:00.000-04:00

I was a bit worried early in the week. The yellowthroats had not returned, and last year they arrived on May 3rd. There were no frontal systems or storms holding them up that I could determine, so where were they?

In the early spring every birder worries about late arrivals, wondering if the winter season in Central America, South America, Mexico, Texas, Florida, or the rest of the southern U.S. was too difficult for them. But believe me, winter weather in their southern habitats is the least of the songbirds' problems. What is causing alarming declines in songbird populations is the destruction of their winter habitats to development and agriculture, which deprives them of food and shelter. Every year fewer and fewer birds return to their summer breeding grounds in the North.

Of course, loss of habitat due to development is a crucial problem here as well. If birds don't have the space and the places they need to breed and raise their young, they are unsuccessful in producing offspring.

In any case, if you are concerned about this issue, there is an excellent new book available written by the Canadian biologist Bridget Stutchbury, Silence of the Songbirds: How We Are Losing the World's Songbirds and What We Can Do to Save Them.

If you would like to listen to an outstanding hour-long interview with Stutchbury, go to the May 9 broadcast of Tom Ashbrook's "On Point" program. You can listen to it online or download it. Ken and I listened to it during dinner last night and were quite moved by it.

On Wednesday morning, May 9, I shuffled out in my bathrobe with my binocs and lo! I heard the yellowthroats singing their hearts out. I ran back inside and dressed hurriedly, then rushed down to the stream and the very young deciduous woodland that surrounds it. And I found a couple hopping around and flying from tree to tree, singing the "witchery witchery witchery" song. Hurrah!

2007-05-09T18:04:00.000-04:00

Mother's Day Morning Birding & Wildflower Adventure 9am-12pm $20/adults; $10 children

The two days I spent hiking near Lake George were simply beautiful. The weather was perfect--sunny and not too warm, unlike today which got up to a dry 83 degrees.

The trail I found deep in the Lake George Wilderness in Fort Ann was spectacular. A wide carriage trail led to a spectacular waterfall, then descended to the shores to a sheltered bay on the east side of Lake George. What a delightful place to sit on a warm day, under the white and red pines of Sheltered Rock Bay. I wished I'd had a picnic and a good book with me.

I must confess it took me forever to find this unmarked trail. The guide I had took liberties with the English language--very confusing directions. Eventually, after much driving and hiking down dead ends, I found it, and it was well worth the frustration. Still, it's a very long drive from the village of Lake George and is not for everyone.

Can you believe I still haven't forced myself to sit down with my new camera's manual? As a result I have to rely on this photo of Lake George taken from the top of Buck Mountain, which is in the general area where I hiked yesterday.

From Mosses to Lake George

2007-05-07T18:46:00.000-04:00

Last week my favorite Adirondack naturalist called me and asked if I'd like to go on a moss exploration. Would I! I nearly leapt out of my chair. She has been studying mosses and clubmosses for years and I'm eager to know more, mostly because it is so difficult to learn the names of mosses and to get information about mosses in the Northeast. There is no "Field Guide of Mosses" for the East, for instance, so what's a naturalist to do?

Evelyn invited another botanist to come along, so I had the benefit of two experts' instruction. Learning to use a hand lens was so interesting. I own four of them, and now I'll be able to give my clients a microscopic view of the moss world. I learned a tremendous amount, and not only from the direct teaching. It was lots of fun to see them interact and come to a meeting of the minds on moss and liverwort identification.

The ridge was an interesting habitat, primarily red pine with a bit of white pine mixed in, not at all the habitat that I'm accustomed to in the Siamese Ponds Wilderness. Not alot of vegetation, but plenty of moss. And some great views of the Mill Creek Valley.

Today found me exploring trails near Lake George. I climbed Pilot Knob Ridge, which is land owned by the Lake George Land Conservancy, a wonderful group doing all it can to preserve land in an area that is overwhelmed by privately owned land. From the top of Pilot Knob Ridge, there's a gorgeous view of Lake George, Crane Mountain, Gore Mountain, and a few of the High Peaks. Incredible!

2007-05-05T17:11:00.000-04:00

May always finds me scrambling to squeeze everything I need and want to do at this time of year into one short month. The biggest push me--pull me is dividing my "leisure" time between nature activities and the garden. Birding and wildflower hiking is never better than in May, which is exactly the time I need to be tending my seedling farm and preparing the deck garden for all the vegetables and fruit plants that will grow in containers there.

This year I'm going to attempt to grow Tristar strawberries, an everbearing variety, in a large half-wine barrel given to me by neighbors who spend most of their year living in Long Island next to a large commercial vineyard. It's supposed to be easy to grow strawberries?? Our fields are also chock full of wild strawberries. Last June they were on the verge of perfection when seven inches of rain fell. When the deluge ended, I went out in mud boots and discovered they had all turned to a bland strawberry mush!

My Concord grapes did not come through the winter too well. The loads of April snow from two huge snowstorms came tumbling off our metal roof and not only sheared our second-floor balcony off the house but also crashed our fledgling grape arbor. Fortunately the arbor was new and didn't involve the loss of vines in their prime. Now we know where not to put the arbor.

New blueberry plants are coming any day now as well. Then there's all the squashes, cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers I'm growing in the furnace room under lights. And Ken and I are planning other outdoor yard and garden improvements, though we won't be planting anything other than what's on the deck. Who can beat the incredible display of wildflowers that bloom in our fields from June until October? All my gardening effort goes into food production and I let Mother Nature provide the flower show.

And how do you manage everything there is to do outdoors in May... and get your regular work done? If you have strategies, please share them by posting a comment.

2007-05-01T13:42:00.000-04:00

News Flash: Sunny, warm weather for This Weekend's Birding Safaris!!
Early Spring Migrants Hikes: Saturday, May 5 and Sunday, May 6 9am-2pm

Yesterday's high winds have made a huge impact on drying the trails. I'm so glad--That means it's time to hike into the really wild places in the Siamese Ponds Wilderness. The mountains need some more time to dry out, but I'll be climbing soon. Sunny, warm weather will rush this process, and we're due for this weather later this week and through the weekend.

Painted Trillium
I am so yearning to see wildflowers. I haven't spotted a single one yet, but they'll be appearing with the warm weather coming. Trout lilies, yellow wood violets, and red and painted trillium will brighten the woods still covered with last fall's leaves. It's time to pack my watercolor pencils and my nature journal and do some journaling.

Birding in My Bathrobe

2007-04-29T12:21:00.000-04:00

Early mornings usually find me slow to recover consciousness. The first thing I do is to brew a cup of tea or coffee. I then shuffle to the couch where I sit, sip, and read until I drain the cup, and only then can I force myself off the couch and out the door. That's right, I go out in my zip-up sweatshirt-style bathrobe first thing in the morning all the time, no matter what season it is. (I put on my muck boots first, though.)

I walk with binocs in hand, searching the trees, bushes, and sky for movement. If it's sunny, I perch on one of the rocks in our fields and wait for the birds to come to me. I've even been known to walk a few hundred feet down our mountain road in this attire. That's one of the great things about living in the wilderness. There's no one to know or care what I do. After about a half hour or hour, I go home, eat breakfast, and yes, I do get dressed so that I can get out in the woods without snaring or tearing my bathrobe.

No new migrants this morning. But the mosses and reindeer lichen are so lush--they make the otherwise dull landscape--all grays, browns, and tans--resonate green. I'm trying like crazy to add sketches and drawings to my nature journal, but because I haven't done any art work in about five or six years, I'm finding no end to the mental barriers I'm putting up. Just do it, I say. I'll try again today.

2007-04-27T12:33:00.000-04:00

I'm looking out on a dark and dreary world today. It's been raining, not too hard, but after my wilderness excursion with Sophie early this morning, I'd just as soon not hop in the car for the errands I planned to do. So, with most Adirondack hiking trails muddy and uninviting today, I'm settling for being indoors with wildlife.

I'm brushing up on my bird songs online and on CD. Have you ever visited "All about Birds," part of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website? I consider it one of the best birding sites. Each individual bird entry includes a link to the song and call of each bird. Besides all the information about bird species, the site also includes several games and even a "Quiz of the Week." Do you have a favorite birding website? If so, please share by leaving a comment.

I'm also reading Coyote: Seeking the Hunter in Our Midst by Catherine Reid. Reid's a wonderful nature writer who lives in Western Massachusetts and her research, observations, and encounters with coyotes make this book a must-read for fans of Canis latrans.

My Viewpoint article "Coyotes of the Adirondacks" will be appearing in the July issue of Adirondack Explorer. I also wrote an article "Women Guides of the Adirondacks" for that issue. If you love the Adirondack wilderness, you'll enjoy getting acquainted with this publication.

Finally! Winds from the South

2007-04-26T13:03:00.000-04:00

After an entire week of winds from the north and northwest, at long last we have southern breezes today. And why am I excited about that? Migrating birds rush north when they have a tail wind to ease their way. Birders from downstate this morning reported that hawks are migrating in droves today. If only I could climb a mountain peak this afternoon to see them, but our mountains are still snow-covered, and where the snow has melted, there's mud. It's really best to stay off the mountain trails in these conditions to avoid damaging them. In any case, tomorrow morning there'll be lots of migrating warblers and other birds to see.

On our hike this morning, Sophie and I were wowed by a very muddy red fox dashing across the road in front of us. He had a large rodent in his mouth, and was surely on his way to the den to feed the mother of his pups. For the next two months, we'll be much more likely to see foxes and coyotes in the mornings as they scramble to feed their families.

Birds from Dawn til Dusk

2007-04-23T12:11:00.000-04:00

Going to the Birds and Wildflowers Nature Hike
Sat. April 29 9:30 am--2:00 pm

Deep snow still rules in the woods, but I've gone and hung up my snowshoes for this season. Temperatures have been in the 70s, and today we're topping 78 degrees, so it won't linger for long.

Spring birding is now in full swing. New arrivals in the past few days: white-throated sparrows (and their beautiful song), blue-headed vireos, yellow-rumped warblers, one black-throated green warbler, and I swear I heard a yellow warbler near the wetlands up the road. It's a week early for them, but not out of the question.

There's nothing like finding a comfortable rock to sit on by a stream or swamp and sitting still waiting and listening intently for bird sounds and movement. Birding in the wilderness allows the birder to focus completely, because there are no human-made sounds to distract--no planes, trucks, cars, lawnmowers, chainsaws, dogs barking, or human voices.

Don't Give Up on Spring!

2007-04-13T14:12:00.000-04:00

April has been incredibly wintry, more so than January was this year. From my home office, I've been imagining the greening of the birch and maple trees out my window as I plan all kinds of spring nature adventures. I do believe the black flies will appear later than usual. I don't think there's a chance of them showing up before the 15th of May.

So what kind of safari suits you? This spring there's nature journaling, wilderness watercolor journaling, lots of birding adventures, and wildflower and butterfly treks. And, of course, plenty of mountain hiking.

Bicknell's Thrush
In related news, I'm going to be a volunteer for the Mountain Birdwatch program through the Audubon Society and the Vermont Institute of Natural Science. Between June 1-June 21, I'll be scrambling up Crane Mountain at dawn to search for Bicknell's Thrush, a thrush that has been in the news a great deal. It's on the Audubon Watchlist, and is currently the Neotropical migrant of highest conservation priority. In New York State, Bicknell's Thrush can only be found on mountain elevations higher than 2800 feet. Crane tops out at about 3300 feet or so, so I'll be hiking (softly), listening, and recording the thrush's song on the top 500 feet of trail. I love every inch of Crane Mountain, so none of this will be a hardship. I can't think of another place I'd rather be at dawn.

A Peak Snowshoe Trip & Spring Event Planning

2007-03-30T16:40:00.000-04:00

The skiers' snowshoe adventure on Wednesday was beyond belief, it was so wonderful. First of all, the weather could not have been more perfect--not a cloud in the bluest of skies and temps neither too warm nor too cold. But the best part were thewomen--what a group! Enthusiastic, witty, funny, and full of good spirits. I don't know when I've laughed so much or so hard. It was a "10" kind of day. I wish I had some photos to show--many were taken, but not by me, due to a sad camera death. A new one is on the way because I can't bear not to be able to record the kind of peak experience we all shared on Wednesday.

Spring Birding Safaris Are Underway
At home I've been up in my office, working fiendishly on the Spring version of the Adirondack Safaris website. Many spring birding, hiking, and wildflower events have been planned for April and May, and, new this year, two Nature Journaling workshops in late April (before the black flies make it hard to sit still in the wilderness.)

If you like the idea of visually and verbally recording your experiences as you hike, you may wish to check out the Nature Journaling Workshop on Saturday, April 21 and the Wilderness Watercolor Journaling on Saturday, April 28, with noted and award-winning Adirondack watercolorist Kate Hartley. I can't wait. My watercolor pencils are all set to go!