This weekly report of outdoor recreation conditions in the Adirondacks is compiled each Thursday afternoon.
Contribute Your Knowledge: Add a comment below, or send your observations, corrections, updates, and suggestions to adkalmanack@gmail.com.
Practice Leave No Trace Principles when visiting the Adirondack Park.
Counting birds may not be for everyone, but having an opportunity to be a part of a larger project always intrigues me. My family has participated in the annual Christmas Bird Count as well as FrogWatch USA for years. We have counted loons, released monarchs, and monitored nests.
These various citizen science projects all have the same thing in common, asking the general public to provide critical data for future conservation efforts. Some projects require a bit of training while other programs just require being consistent. No matter the project, my family is always willing to learn more about conservation and animals that are indicators of environmental health. » Continue Reading.
View in Old Forge will be holding a free yoga session on Saturday, February 24, 2018 from 10 am to noon. Yoga offers a peaceful break from everyday commitments. It can be a time to flex and condition the body and mind.
Several instructors will be leading mini-sessions that will include chair yoga and gentle and restorative yoga at both beginner and intermediate styles, as well as children’s yoga. Everyone is welcomed. » Continue Reading.
On February 19 our nation celebrates President’s Day to recognize the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln (February 12) and George Washington (February 22). Between these two days is February 15, the anniversary of the birth of another great American, Susan B. Anthony.
Although it is not yet a national holiday, Susan B. Anthony Day is a New York State commemorative holiday and places such as Seneca Falls and Rochester, hold grand celebrations. » Continue Reading.
History credits the discovery of uranium to a German chemist, Martin Henrich Klaproth, in 1789. In 1896, just over a century later, a French chemist, Eugene-Melchior Peligot, discovered uranium’s radioactivity. Uranium ore, known as pitchblende, was revealed shortly after by Marie and Pierre Curie as the source of radium, which they mentioned as a possible future treatment for cancer.
Polish born Marie, (her name was Sklowdowska) was the first woman to win a Nobel prize, and the first person to win twice — in 1903, in physics, for her work on radiation, and in 1911, in chemistry, for discovering polonium and radium. Only she and Linus Pauling have won in two different fields. (She also developed the practical use for x-rays that dramatically enhanced patient care on the battlefields of World War I). » Continue Reading.
Registration is now open for Fort Ticonderoga’s Twenty-Third Annual War College of the Seven Years’ War May 18-20, 2018.
With a panel of distinguished historians from across the United States, this seminar focuses on the Seven Years’ War in North America, also known as the French & Indian War. The War College takes place in the Mars Education Center and is open to the public; pre-registration is required. » Continue Reading.
Adirondack musicians will come together on Saturday, February 24th at 7 pm at the Whallonsburg Grange Hall for a concert called “Adirondack String Fever.” Led by songwriter and storyteller Dan Berggren on guitar, the show includes John Kirk and Trish Miller on fiddle, mandolin and banjo; and Peggy Lynn and Dan Duggan playing guitar and hammered dulcimer. These five long-time friends have played in combinations and separately for decades at concerts, festivals, dances, theatrical performances, and events all over the North Country. » Continue Reading.
Update: Mike Lynch at Adirondack Explorer attended a State Police press conference Wednesday afternoon and filed the story located here.
After five and a half days searching in freezing temperatures, deep snow and freezing rain, missing Whiteface skier Constantinos “Danny” Filippidis of Toronto has been located – alive and well in California.
Mike Lynch at Adirondack Explorer interviewed Frank Ramagnano, President of the Toronto Professional Firefighters Association, the group Filippidis was skiing with when he was reported missing.
Ramagnano said he believes Filippidis spoke with his wife Tuesday prompting a response by emergency medical services, who found him still in his ski clothes, possibly in a confused state. » Continue Reading.
Recent Adirondack Almanack posts by Anthony Hall and Peter Bauer broke the news that Governor Andrew Cuomo has stuck a provision in his 2018-19 State budget to cap the annual State Land taxes we all share with towns and school districts in the Adirondack and Catskill Parks. Furthermore, the Governor proposes to convert the long tradition of full payment of taxes on the Forest Preserve into (capped) payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT).
The approximately three-million acre, publicly-owned and “forever wild” NYS Forest Preserve in the Adirondack and Catskill Parks (and a small amount outside the Parks) is taxable for all purposes. Since 1886 the law has required that Forest Preserve lands must be valued for tax purposes as if privately owned (today’s Section 532a of the Real Property Tax Law, or RPTL). » Continue Reading.
The following comes from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
When male animals compete over mates, it’s often a showy affair: think of elk tangling antlers or tom turkeys strutting and gobbling. But for a Costa Rican hummingbird, it seems mental prowess holds the edge over mere physical flamboyance.
New experiments show that dominant male Long-billed Hermits have better spatial memories and sing more consistent songs than less successful males, according to research published this month in the journal Scientific Reports. The benefit of a good spatial memory even outweighs the advantages of bigger body size and extra flight power. » Continue Reading.
A ski or snowshoe trek has been set for Saturday, February 17th on the Sophie’s Lair Trail in Willsboro.
Skiers and snowshoers should meet at 9:15 am at the Florence Hathaway trailhead on Essex Road in Willsboro (look for the tennis courts).
The Florence Hathaway Trail, about a half-mile long, leads to the Sophie’s Lair Trail. Overall, the ski/snowshoe adventure will run about 3 hours. » Continue Reading.
The Annual Warren County Tree and Shrub Sale is now underway.
The sale has a variety of deciduous and evergreen seedlings, conservation and wildflower packs and locally made bird and bat houses, available for order until March 16th, 2018.
Purchases help improve and protect the natural resources of Warren County. » Continue Reading.
If I had to pick a side, I suppose I would cast my lot with the older and wiser set who are cheering the APA’s decision to classify the sublime Boreas Ponds tract as a road-accessible wilderness, balanced by an adjoining swath of Wild Forest offering sucor to wielders of mountain bikes, snowmobiles, Falcon Heavy rocketships and any other toy that might strike their fancy. » Continue Reading.
Valentine’s Day. The day when, more than at any other time of the year, people declare feelings of romantic interest, love, and adoration for one another. This is most-often done with a card. Approximately 150 million Valentine’s Day cards will be exchanged in the US, this year; 2.6 billion worldwide (according to the Greeting Card Association).
The oldest known Valentine’s Day card, if you will, is still in existence. It’s a poem from Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife; written while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1415, and preserved in the British Library in London. » Continue Reading.
The multi-agency search for a missing skier, Constantinos “Danny” Filippidis, continued through the weekend and continues today, Monday, February 12, 2018. Filippidis, age 49, of Toronto, Canada, was reported missing at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, February 7, 2018. He was last seen at the Whiteface Mountain Ski resort’s mid-station between the hours of 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Since that time, teams led by the Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Rangers in coordination with the New York State Police and staff from Whiteface Mountain have been searching for Filippidis.
» Continue Reading.
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