I stopped by public land on my way home from work. This land is right on the Hudson River. I was able to see this young eagle not far from where I parked my car.
I also saw a full adult eagle fly by a few times seemingly checking up on junior. I was hoping it would fly out and catch a fish, but I was told he had just caught one and ate it prior to my arrival.
It was still nice seeing one regardless. Maybe one day I can watch them catch fish. Have a great weekend!
One very windy Sunday morning I went down to see if I could spot loons wintering near one New England Beach, which they usually do. No luck spotting any, however, I saw this gull which appeared to be picking up a rock, but I am sure it is a shell.
Merlin gives three choices for this gull. The first one is an Icelandic Gull. If I am wrong, let me know. The other two to me do not look that close to this one. It is hard to tell with the early morning light, but it appears to be an immature. The east coast of the northern US is within the range for the non breeding gulls. Only some of the gulls migrate south for the winter. Many stay in the arctic all year.
The gull appeared to be heading in the direction of the jetty. Possibly it would try to crack the shell open there? Have a great weekend.
This guy seemed to have no fear of me. He paused and stared at me before climbing back up the tree. He is making a quick stop at the forest convenience store before any predators came by.
We are supposed to have two good days out of the three this long weekend. Enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend and remember the sacrifices many made for our freedom.
How much can the skies change during a kayak trip? A lot. I had to wait before I started this trip as it was raining and thundering nearby. It was getting late in the day and I wanted to get this in before dark.
Pollywog Pond can be accessed from other ponds by canoe carries or your can drive to Floodwood Road off of 30 near Upper Saranac Lake. Floodwood Road turns into a dirt/gravel road when the campsites start. Incidentally this body of water seems to be popular to camp along as most of the sites were taken. I am guessing it has to do with the ability to drive to the sites along Floodwood Road whereas other places you had to canoe/kayak to access them.
There is not a marked launch site on the map. However, I drove along Floodwood Road until I reached what looked like a good boat launch next to campsite 5 on the map. The road in that are near the launch has a wide shoulder so I felt it was safe to park my car there.
The canoe carry to Hoel Pond is on the northeast corner of the pond. The exit from the lake where you would catch the canoe carry to Hoel Pond is a gradual ascent to land. It is good for kayaks on this end.
The only place that appeared to be the canoe carry to Follensby Clear Pond is pictured above. It was a no go for me. It was a steep exit from the water and did not look safe.
There is an area on the east side of the pond that looks like a peninsula. It really is an island. There is a water passage break between the island and the land. There is a campsite at this location.
This was not marked , but it was the only location I saw that looked like it was meant to be a canoe carry to Middle Pond. It was very steep and muddy. Again a no go for me.
I missed out on this pond. The day before I met someone at Follensby Clear Pond that said they saw 4 adult loons swimming and playing on Pollywog. So the next day I went to Pollywog. While I was there, I heard loons loudly talking to each other, but the sounds were coming from Follensby Clear Pond. You can’t win them all.
Once again I highly recommend this pond. It seems most bodies of water you cannot go wrong with the in Adirondacks. However, the connections to other ponds via the canoe carries that I came across on the Pollywog side looked dangerous on two out of three that I looked at. So I recommend driving to to access the pond where I did. I did not look at the canoe carry to Little Pollywog on the south western end of the pond.
Get out and enjoy all nature has to offer. I highly recommend experiencing the Adirondack lakes and ponds.
Where can you find the highest concentration of grotesques in New York City? The answer is on the campus of City College of New York.
City College is located on Amsterdam Avenue near 138th Street. It is in the Hamilton Heights neighborhood of Manhattan just north of Harlem.
According to “The City College of NY 150 Years of Academic Architecture” written by Paul David Pearson (1997) the buildings are “encased with over 600 grotesque figures that directly relate to the educational function of each building. The figures were designed by Livingston Smith, a staff member in the post’s architectural office, modeled by G. Grundellis and cast in terra cotta.” I got this quote from another website. Scouting NY website says there are 1,000. I don’t think I was able to access close to either of those numbers walking around campus, however, there are a lot to see.
In Manhattan take the number 1 subway line to 137th Street- City College station. Exit and walk up Hamilton Place and turn right on 138th Street. When you cross Amsterdam Avenue you are there. Anyone can walk around the campus. There are not many people there on the weekend, but I was still able to walk around the buildings. There are areas you can not walk on campus. Some streets or alleyways may be closed off with fences.
If grotesques peak your interest, it is worth a trip up the 1 train. It may also be a good destination prior to Halloween.
Thanks for joining me!
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
Sharon's Iconic Travel Photography Blog 