As one of the only native plants that blooms in late fall and early winter, American witch hazel (Hamamelis virginiana) can be found stealing the forest spotlight right now.
While most of our native bloomers turn in for a long winter’s nap, the streamer-like flowers of this plant are just starting to appear, following the annual loss of the shrub’s leaves. These highly-fragrant yellow blooms typically last into December. » Continue Reading.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has announced that online registration for the agency’s 2020 Summer Camps program will open Sunday, January 26, 2020, at 1 pm.
Applications should be submitted through the online registration program available through a link from the Summer Camps webpage. Parents and guardians are encouraged to register early since some of the weeks fill up quickly. » Continue Reading.
Four million dollars is available under the P-12 Schools: Green and Clean Energy Solutions program to reduce energy use and assist with the conversion to carbon free energy solutions for schools serving Pre-kindergarten through Grade 12 students.
The program supports the State’s goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 85 percent by 2050 and the Green New Deal, considered by some to be the most aggressive climate and clean energy program in the nation. » Continue Reading.
Marinas on Lake George and Lake Placid (and on every other “AA-Special” waterbody in New York State) must start complying with national clean water regulations that require run-off from boat decontaminations, fluid changes and any other so-called industrial activities to be treated on site.
According to Bob Stegemann, regional director of the Department of Environmental Conservation, the federal government’s Clean Water regulations “do not allow for direct discharge of storm water to groundwater. It needs to be either eliminated or controlled or treated as point source pollution.” » Continue Reading.
The Nature Conservancy’s Adirondack Chapter has announced it has hired Abby Blum as its new associate director of philanthropy.
Blum comes to The Nature Conservancy from Middlebury College’s Office of Advancement, where she served as senior development officer for nearly seven years. » Continue Reading.
Do you like to act? sing? write skits? Make people laugh? Or just need to break up the long winter? The Arts Center in Blue Mountain Lake is looking for you.
The Arts Center’s production of Forever Snocade, an offshoot of their popular Forever Wild production is gearing up with an hour-long meeting for those interested to learn more and to start developing skits on Thursday, December 5 or Sunday, December 15. » Continue Reading.
Traditional Arts in Upstate New York (TAUNY) is once again offering locally made Adirondack Balsam Wreaths for sale this holiday season.
There is an earlier deadline to order wreaths this year and all orders must be submitted by Friday, November 22nd for a December 7th pick-up date at The TAUNY Center in Canton or to be shipped to family and friends across the country. » Continue Reading.
British soldier lichens are among the first wild things I remember being able to identify as a child. I loved spotting this lichen during forays into the woods – on a giant boulder or atop a decaying stump – its tiny, bright red caps seemed whimsical and somehow happy. I still love to find British soldiers, and they offer a welcome pop of color, especially during these days when the landscape is muted.
Lichens are fascinating things, really, the result of an intricate relationship between a fungus and an alga (or a cyanobacterium). Lichens are named for their fungal partner, so British soldiers are scientifically called Cladonia cristatella. This fungus has a symbiotic relationship with the alga called Trebouxia erici. » Continue Reading.
Fort Ticonderoga has announced a new schedule of programs during its Winter Quarters season. From now through April, visitors can enjoy exciting living history events, engaging seminars, specialty programs, behind-the-scenes VIP Tours, and hands-on workshops.
Guests can now explore Fort Ticonderoga during what was traditionally the “Winter Quarters” season for armies of the 18th century. Groups of 15 or more are welcome to schedule a visit to have the entire property to themselves and a dedicated historic interpreter for a group tour. » Continue Reading.
Adirondack Health has invited the public to a celebration of its new Ambulatory Surgery Unit at Adirondack Medical Center.
The event runs from 5 to 6:30 pm, on Thursday, November 21st. Attendees should meet in the main lobby at Adirondack Medical Center, 2233 State Route 86 in Saranac Lake. » Continue Reading.
Secrets hidden in more than 300,000 index cards with hand-written information about nesting birds are gradually being revealed. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is partnering with Zooniverse, an online people-powered research tool, to digitize this valuable collection and create the largest database of nesting bird information in the U.S. This new effort is called “Nest Quest Go!” » Continue Reading.
Wind Refreshing Cabin Memories
Wind pushing uphill cannot clear
the mountain of this mist
nor quite bring on much-needed rain.
Aspen leaves quake on no ear,
their timeless tremulosa dismissed
with the white-throated sparrow’s refrain.
In the fireplace a green-cut round
of mountain ash boils out its sap
with flames pulled tall by wind
— that shouldn’t be bound
uphill. A freakish front’s mishap
let such a breach of etiquette in.
Crane Mountain lurks cloud-hidden
whereabouts unknown, memory
layered deeper than kitchen middens.
Dad recites Sandburg’s “There Is A Wolf in Me.”
until we’d pray the Lord our souls to take,
while the aura of the wolf kept us awake.
Located in the 17,123-acre Horseshoe Lake Wild Forest is the popular Mount Arab Fire Tower. The Wild Forest also provides easy access to Tupper Lake and Horseshoe Lake for fishing and boating.
The Mount Arab Trail ascends 700 feet to the Mount Arab fire tower and observer’s cabin on the summit of Mount Arab and is 1 mile long, with the first 0.7 miles located on the Conifer Emporium Conservation Easement and the rest on the Wild Forest. » Continue Reading.
There is 4-8 inches of snow across most of the Adirondacks, with deeper snows – about 6-10 inches – across the Northern Adirondacks, and at higher elevations in the High Peaks, and nordic, downhill and some backcountry skiing has begun around the region.
Whiteface Mountain, in Wilmington, and Gore Mountain, in North Creek opened for the 2019-’20 season on Friday. They will remain open through the weekend, but may close during the week until Friday after Thanksgiving. Both mountains have begun using direct-to-lift radio-frequency identification (RFID) for Ski 3 Card holders. There’s a new cabin at the summit of Burnt Ridge Mountain at Gore. » Continue Reading.
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