I made a world wind trip up to the Adirondacks. I almost brought my kayak. There was one body of water where I could have kayaked safely it appears with where to launch looking okay, but most places around Saranac Lake had snow and/or ice around the launches and ice on the lakes.
I was hoping they would turn on the lights, but they never did. Christmas tree on a dock as seen from the village of Saranac Lake.
The funny thing is on Thursday this lake had ice on it. On Friday morning the ice was gone. When I left on Saturday morning the ice was back. It is crazy how quick the ice forms and disappears at this point in the year.
South Creek boat launch looking the opposite direction from Upper Saranac Lake.East of Lake Placid. I think this may in be in or near Keene Valley. This area did not get much snow.
If you are American, I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving holiday. If you live in the northern hemisphere, enjoy the transition into winter. There is beauty in every season.
There are two lakes you can access from the town of Lake Placid in New York. From the main business street in the village you can see Mirror Lake. If go on west towards Saranac Lake on the outskirts of the town the much larger lake is Lake Placid. Lake Placid , the lake, has a few hotels along it, private land with mostly summer residences, and some land that falls under wilderness or forest preserve.
These were all from an end of September trip to the Adirondacks. I took one long trip on the lake, and a couple of short trips. I started out from the Paradox Bay area of the lake on the southern end. This area of the bay has shallow areas and attracts wildlife. Basically most of the wildlife I saw along the lake was in that section.
There is a boat launch with ample parking outside the bay on the lake.
On the lake
Correct me if I am wrong, but I think that is Whiteface Mountain in the background. The issue with large lakes in the Adirondacks is many times when you get away from shore it can be quite windy. On my long trip the first day I was there I did fine hugging the island on the way towards Whiteface landing, but on the return when I crossed the lake to the east side is was a struggle to head south hugging the shore. The wind was pretty strong. I did see a few other kayakers out there. I think one whom I talked to briefly ended up getting a ride on a boat. I was too busy trying to paddle to get any decent pictures on the return.
A different trip
There are a lot of summer homes along the lake. Some are only accessible by boat.
Traffic
Canoeists out for short paddle.
In summer this lake is very busy with a lot of motorboat traffic. I shy away from paddling this lake during the summer months. In September after Labor Day many of the summer people have left and there are more kayakers and canoeists than motor boaters. I highly recommend going before or after summer and staying close to the shore of the lake.
Wildlife
Common Loon- I only saw once and it was right where the bay met the rest of the lake.
I did hear and briefly see a kingfisher several times. At some lakes they will pause long enough for you to get a snap of them, at this lake they don’t. I saw two adult kingfishers on the bay.
The heron liked to hang out of the southern end of a bay. There were ducks and also 2 what appeared to be juvenile snow geese I think I included on another post.
I recommend visiting this lake to canoe or kayak before or after summer. Always be prepared and dress appropriately. Be familiar with the conditions. It is a beautiful lake!
What do you do on an unseasonably warm November day? I returned to the same spot I went to last week, a park on the Hudson River. I forgot to bring bird seed, but someone had already put out bird seed. The majority of the birds visiting were titmouse, but I also got to see male and female cardinals and some bluejays.
This was the closest I have been to cardinals. The ones who visited my feeder came quickly and left. I sat on a big rock to take these photos and I have a zoom.
I plan to return to this park again a few times before it snows hopefully. This time the titmouse were flying right at me and buzzed over my head as I sat taking photos. They were too fast for me to capture. Get out and enjoy those sunny autumn days before the snow arrives.
Can a bird be this friendly? I came across this friendly bird on the start of a hiking trail on the Hudson River. It flew to a tree near where I was standing, quite close actually. It took me back.
Tufted Titmouse I believe.
I suspected someone was feeding the birds. A friend confirmed to me that was the case. She said they will land on someone’s hand if you have seed in it at this location.
I did not see many birds on my short kayak trip on the Hudson, but was surprised to see this bird so up close on the trail next to river. I guess the moral is explore many spots, you will experience something new.
I am usually not much into Halloween. However, creative displays I am into. The first two below are part of one such display in Fishkill, NY.
This one was part of the same display of the skeletons below. They had a whole cemetery set up with headstones. Obviously a joke.This is creative so to speak. It goes beyond just having a skeleton in your yard. They also had two skeletons on a seesaw that was constantly going up and down. It was hard to get that one in a picture being close to the house and close to a fence.These signs are not Halloween related. It may be half joke, half serious. This was on a rural road in New York. Those of you fleeing NYC, welcome to upstate New York.
Have you ever felt you missed out on something? I missed the peak of leaf season. These were taken maybe 1-2 weeks after peak. When I arrived at the lake there was a thick fog. Maybe 15 minutes later it started thinning out.
Great blue heron when the fog was lifting.Do all gulls look this peeved? Maybe he’s not looking forward to going south?The swans were flying circles around the lake. Usually you only seeing them swimming. Could they be getting themselves in shape to fly south?
The swan has some hitchhikers on it. The black objects attached to it’s body are what locals call bull’s heads or steer’s heads. They have multiple sharp points. They are not fun to step on.
Swan wing noise in flight from Cornell Lab of Ornithology MacCaulay Library
What do you do with an old truck? Use it to advertise a business. This is one I found on a rural road in Dutchess County, New York. As you can see, this one has been restored. Since Taste N. Y. is a state slogan to advertise New York food products, I am thinking this truck may not be road operable. Get out and enjoy fall before all the leaves are off the trees, even on a dreary day.
I don’t drink alcoholic beverages, but I will visit wineries, breweries, etc. to see their displays. Some of the micro breweries in New York are known for their food and you can order non- alcoholic drinks.
I completed another round of product photography for a relative. Below are some samples of the photos I took. Which photos do you like?
#1#2#3 Chocolate Cinnamon#4. Chocolate Cinnamon#5 Fir needle soap#6. Hippy soap#7 From above#8 Her mascot is a fairy#9 Christmas theme#10# 11. Chocolate Cinnamon by itself
“The idea of waiting for something makes it more exciting” ― Andy Warhol
This great blue heron seems to embody this quote. This was taken right before sunset this summer. I did not see him catch anything because I needed to get my kayak out of the water before dark.
In this society of get everything now, be the great blue heron: wait in anticipation.
Do animals need bibs when they eat? This eagle looks like he has a fish chunk on his head. Not sure how he got this off.
He still has a part of the fish held down with one talon on the branch. It appears orange in colour. Do you know what it could be?
I came across this eagle on two separate occasions on the same tree that jutted out over a creek in New York. I kayaked within good view of him in a very shady area. Eagles move between bodies of water. There was no nest visible along this creek from one waterfall to another. I will investigate when the leaves fall off to see if I missed something.
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