Hurricane Lee hit mainland, but it was in the Canadian Maritimes (still as a hurricane) with 80 MPH winds. The coastal areas of Massachusetts and Maine suffered some damage from the wind and waves putting out power and flooding water to the areas near the ocean. This area has been hit with every storm coming up the coast and storms coming across the nation, so they didn’t need any more water. It is still raining there today, September 18.

Two other hurricanes, Margot and Nigel, are going up the middle of the Atlantic Ocean into colder water. There is a tropical depression off the coast of Florida which could develop into something over the ocean and affect the coast of South [Carolina] and North Carolina. Hurricane season still has over two months to go (into the middle of November.) The floods in Libya (where they got eleven months of rain in a single day) washed out two dams above the city of Dema, causing this city to be nearly washed away. The total flood deaths top 11, 300, with 10,100 [people] still unaccounted for. In Marocco, they are still searching for victims of the earthquake [that occurred] there with 3,000 dead so far, [and] many more missing.

The [Great] Adirondack Moose Festival will be held in Indian Lake this weekend [Sept. 22-24] and the chance of seeing a moose is possible, as bulls are on the move looking for a cow to mate with. They [travel] a lot of miles looking for a cow…sometimes swimming across some of the bigger lakes. The moose population is growing, [with an] estimated 700 animals now living in the state. There is a tick problem in some areas, which has caused some animals [to die.]

In Indian Lake, there are several hikes and drive-through areas where moose have been seen, [and there is] a moose calling contest for young and old. I haven’t seen a moose this summer, but I’ve seen tracks in the Moose River Area while checking my loon lakes. Early bear season is open, so if you are out hiking be aware of the clothing you wear. [I’ve] never had a problem, but hunters are required to be dressed in hunter orange or pink.

Orchid cactus. Photo by Gary Lee.

A new hike some might [like to] try is the mile-and-a-half trail to Buck Mountain Fire Tower (off the south half of the Sabattis Circle Road, five miles north of Long Lake Village.) [The] grand opening [was] last Friday, [Sept. 15.] From the tower you can see much of the Whitney Property, including Little Tupper Lake, Round Pond, and some of the High Peaks to the east. The trail gain in elevation is 500 feet to 2,400 feet at the tower. The tower [was] built in 1933 [and] is 60 feet tall. It was completely rehabbed during the last year before the opening.

I still had a hummingbird at the feeder this morning, which is two days later than we saw one last year…but it will leave soon. I’ve been moving my plants inside for the winter, and some had put on lots of growth during the summer. My orchid cactus still had two blooms when I brought it in, and it had never bloomed past June ever before. I don’t know the reason for this, but [I] enjoyed the blooms all summer. My jade plant has put on arms and legs and [is] nearly twice the size it was this spring. The rubber plant has grown over a foot in height…and it’s a good thing we have high ceilings. We may even have to put that [the rubber plant] in the living room. A new plant (a type of begonia that I just got last fall) is growing higher daily and may require the eight-foot ceilings by spring.

Karen says my cactus collection is growing too big with all their spreading arms and legs and no blooms, except for the orchid cactus. I’m hoping my star cactus will bloom during this winter, as their flowers are super compared to the plant itself. I got this plant on Sanibel Island, where it bloomed in a pot for the owner before he put it in the ground where it bloomed every spring. I believe his plants may not have made it through the hurricane that washed over the island. This plant has all kinds of arms and legs now, but no spines on them…just waiting for a big star flower on one of the arms.

Big wedding happening this coming weekend (Grandson Jake and Courtney,) but that’s another story. See ya.

Photo at top: Star cactus. Photo by Gary Lee.