Living through a winter in Northern New York, especially one as cold as this one has been so far, often leads people to wonder if the cattle they see outside are uncomfortable and if they should be inside a barn. In most cases, the answer is no.
Cows that are used to being outside generally prefer to be outside and will be healthy in cold temperatures as long as they are given adequate care, including good quality feed, water, and a dry location with shelter from the wind. » Continue Reading.
At about 9 am on an overcast November Saturday, a group gathered at the edge of the local dump.
They sipped coffee, pulled on gloves, and adjusted ear protectors. Then they started to work. There were loggers, tree care experts, high school students, police officers, doctors, farmers, and lawyers. There were whole families, a guy on crutches, a few dogs, a legislator or two. By day’s end, they had cut and stacked more than 21 cords of firewood, and delivered most of it to the homes of their neighbors. What was left would be available throughout the winter to anyone with an unexpected need for fuel and a way to burn it. » Continue Reading.
View in Old Forge is planning an ice bar party for February 3rd from 1 to 4 pm, in the arts center’s courtyard.
Drinks will be available for purchase via cash bar while attendees can lounge on snow furniture, enjoy hot and cold drinks, and participate in winter-themed games. » Continue Reading.
The Town of Indian Lake has announced that their 2018 Snocade is set to run from February 16-24, 2018.
The week-long family friendly festival begins on Friday at 4 pm with a Happy Hour kick-off followed by a Tricky Tray at the Indian Lake Central School at 7 pm. » Continue Reading.
I’ve been asked on four different occasions, recently, how tick populations will be impacted by the December/January below-zero cold. Some of those asking had heard reports, apparently claiming that tick populations would be decimated, if not eradicated, by the prolonged period of extremely cold weather.
We’d all certainly welcome that. It’s probable that you or someone you know has been affected by ticks and/or by Lyme disease. And any downward pressure on tick populations is welcome. But, the answer isn’t that simple. » Continue Reading.
Every year the town of Colton’s Winterfest Weekend includes many indoor and outdoor activities. This year, with the theme ‘Get Your Kicks on Route 56,’ the festival also includes activities leading up to and following Winterfest Weekend.
The festival officially kicks off on Thursday, January 25 with the All-You-Can-Eat Spaghetti Dinner at Colton-Pierrepont Central School (CPCS) and ends Sunday, January 28 with Rock ‘n Skate in the town’s Pavilion at Swift Field. The schedule of weekend activities, now available on the town website, will be updated as more details are confirmed. » Continue Reading.
My grandfather Robert G. Stehlin lived on Durant Road until he died in 1974. Living in Blue Mountain Lake was a very spiritual experience for my ‘Pop’ after having grown up in Brooklyn and Long Island most of his life.
Going through his letters and journals which he wrote while living on Durant Road I often hear, in his words, “a more meaningful way of living.”
There are a thousand little moments preserved in his journals in which he writes about the birds and other animals he encountered at his feeders, or out in the woods, and the people he met, that are hints of the joy he got from living in Blue Mountain Lake. Below are a sampling of his notes: » Continue Reading.
You know you’re starting to acclimate to the North Country when you see the thermometer reading 24 degrees and you wonder if it’s even worth building a fire.
At this particular moment, anything above 20 would seem like a steam bath. As I did my morning chores, the mercury hovered (which feels like the wrong word) at 12 below; the horse droppings clacked against each other in the muck bucket like billiard balls, and a couple of eggs had frozen and burst before I came to collect them.
We do not take the cold lightly. We have read all the literature, bought all the appropriate gear and taken all the appropriate advice. But while maintaining the proper respect, there is also something attractive about the cold. It’s a fine line, I know. But we have come here from a region where, as Mark Twain said of India, “hot” is a relative term and used to distinguish temperatures that would melt a doorknob from those that would just make it mushy. » Continue Reading.
The 2018 Town of Colton Winterfest Weekend will be held January 25-28 with the theme ‘Colton Kicks on Route 56’ drawing attention to the variety of outdoor and indoor activities which help people stay physically and mentally active throughout winter.
This year, as in previous years, a number of festival activities are planned to benefit the Neighborhood Center serving Colton, Pierrepont, and Parishville.
Lead up activities include lighting Remembrance Trees, painting barn quilts, sharing history, and kicking off fund raising activities to benefit the Neighborhood Center. » Continue Reading.
When bushwhacker Neil Luckhurst sets his sights on a goal, there’s little that can stop him. His objective may seem unattainable to many of us but a broad vision and years of experience help him sculpt adventures that explore his limits along with the mountains up which he treks.
His most ambitious outings are unique in that they are fundraisers that directly benefit the Adirondack region. Such is the case with his latest winter fundraising effort — Project 100. The endurance hike entails summiting the Adirondack’s 100 highest peaks between December 21 and March 21. While many of the trails leading to the summits of the High Peaks may be trampled into icy sidewalks, the Lower 54 peaks will be mostly untracked and guarded by a deep snowpack. If Neil is successful, he may be only the second person to hike the Hundred Highest during winter. » Continue Reading.
The first time I saw the fox last February, I did a double take. It was late morning when I glanced out the window on my way from one task to the next. The unexpected flash of red made me stop and forget about the morning’s to-do list.
I watched for several minutes as the fox trotted around boulders and past old apple trees. Every now and then it paused and cocked its head before continuing on a meandering path through the stubbly field. This would be the first of many sightings over the next several weeks. » Continue Reading.
For many of us, winter in the Northeast means cold temperatures and piles of snow, drifting through forests and across fields. It’s hard to imagine that winter here could be different, but the prospect of climate change has scientists asking just what our winters might look like in the future – and how those changes might influence forest ecology.
At the U.S. Forest Service’s Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, scientists are thinking about the year 2100. How much warming will occur isn’t certain, but some projections suggest that average air temperatures in our region may increase 5.5 to 9 degrees over the course of this century. The effects are likely to be complex and are difficult to predict, with benefits and costs for different organisms. Some tree species, for example, may benefit from longer and warmer growing seasons, but they may also sustain root damage from more frequent soil freezing. » Continue Reading.
This weekly report of outdoor recreation conditions in the Adirondacks is issued each Thursday afternoon and can be heard at North Country Public Radio on Friday mornings.
Sunrise Saturday in Lake Placid will be at 6:15 am; sunset at 5:57 pm, providing 11 hours and 42 minutes of sunlight. On Saturday, the Moon will rise at 5:49 am and set at 5:07 pm. It will be Waxing Gibbous, 99% illuminated. There will be a Full Moon on Sunday. Daylight Saving Time starts on Sunday, March 12, 2017 at 2:00 am. The Spring Equinox (Vernal Equinox) is on Monday, March 20, 2017.
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Skating out into Bolton Bay, Ted Caldwell stops to lift a custom-made, kite-shaped canvas sail rigged to ash spars jointed where the mast and boom cross. He hoists it above his head, then brings it down so that the boom rests on his shoulder. Tilting the sail into the wind, he moves off with a steady glide. Within minutes, Caldwell himself is barely visible, a swiftly moving swatch of white canvas against Dome Island.
This is what we observed a few years ago, when a long, hard freeze and little snow produced 2 ½ weeks of black ice, the ideal conditions for skating, ice boating and skate sailing. » Continue Reading.
This weekly report of outdoor recreation conditions in the Adirondacks is issued each Thursday afternoon and can be heard at North Country Public Radio on Friday mornings.
Sunrise Saturday in Lake Placid will be at 6:27 am; sunset at 5:48 pm, providing 11 hours and 21 minutes of sunlight. On Saturday, the Moon will rise at 10:12 am and set at 12:56 am Sunday. It will be waxing crescent, 41% illuminated. There will be a First Quarter Moon on Sunday.
SPECIAL NOTICES FOR THIS WEEKEND
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