Skeletons and Signs

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.

If you celebrate it- Happy Halloween!

Autumn Birds

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

or here :

https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/248438

Get out and enjoy the conditions while you can. It will be winter before you know it.

Milea Estate Vineyard Vintage Truck Advertising

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.

Product Photography Soap 3

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

Anticipation

“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.

Messy Eater

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.

What do you think? Are animals messy eaters?

Adirondack Chairs

I believe this was on Lake Colby outside the town of Saranac Lake

What iconic piece of furniture makes many people envision many summer and relaxation? It’s the Adirondack chair. Invented first as the Westport chair in the Adirondack Mountains of New York, it later became known as the Adirondack chair.

This chair seems to resemble more the original chair: the Westport chair – on Upper Saranac Lake

The Westport chair had a solid back, as opposed to many of the chairs today which consist of slats in the back.

On Lake Flower in the town of Saranac Lake – View from Gauthier’s Saranac Lake Inn property

According to Merriam Webster an Adirondack chair is a wooden lawn chair with a high slatted back, broad arms, and a seat that is lower in the back than the front. So the main difference in design between the Westport chair and the Adirondack chair seems to be slats used instead of solid wood pieces for the area such as the back.

Mirror Lake in Lake Placid, NY- Old Style Adirondack chairs and Adirondack recliners.

It is popular in the Adirondacks to see the chairs on boathouse docks, boat docks, around fire pits, and on beaches.

Mirror Lake

The Adirondack Mountains in New York usually has dry summers and cold, snowy winters. These chairs typically were built to hold up well in the weather.

Saratoga N.Y. area

The sloping seat many find comfortable. The position of the back area makes it unnecessary for most people to find the need to use pillows with it.

In an antique shop in Lake Placid- a combination of tree branches and more traditional Adirondack chair parts- I think the store owner said this one is not antique a local person makes them.

The size of the arm rests makes it convenient to place a drink on.

Lake Placid the lake- View from Wildwood on the Lake’s Property (hotel)
On Lake Placid- a very nice patina of wood
Two with a connecting table
On a dock with a chiminea, outdoor fireplace- on Mirror Lake
Painted with sunflowers- Upper Saranac Lake

These chairs are not just sold in the Adirondacks, although they can be seen all over the area. They can be any colour or painted with scenes on them. Do you have this iconic outdoor furniture in your yard?

What is it?

Can you name this bird? I saw two birds like this hanging with Canadian geese for one day on Lake Placid. I did not see them after that.

Not the greatest picture, but this was before sunset in a shady area.

It is mostly white with a black or dark grey bill. It has a stripe going from the bill to the back of it’s head that starts out dark grey then fades to a lighter grey. It has light grey on back feathers.

I have had a few suggestions: young snow geese, white morph Ross’s goose, and a hybrid. What do you think?

Minions Hay Bale Art 2022

It is October 1st and what anticipated display has returned? The yearly Minions display! This house in the Hudson Valley of New York has put up different Minions displays for autumn in their yard for at least the past three years.

The past two years the display advertised a business. Last year it was Dunkin Donuts. This year it is RIMS driving school. I wonder if they get sponsorship through this? They should.

For those who asked: There is a stiff metal piece that is the base for the arm and goes into the hay bale. It looks like they shaped the metal to go the way they wanted the arms to go. The arms have some sort of material wrapped around the metal piece.

Hay Bale Autumn and Halloween decorations are more common in some areas of the country over others. It is always great to see the creativeness of our neighbours. Happy Autumn! Happy October!

Long Pond

How can you tell if a kayaker is truly dedicated? If they kayak in the rain. Many will only go out in sunny weather.

I had a long holiday weekend. It rained 3 out of the 4 days. On the second day of my mini vacation I went to Long Pond in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. I was told it was not predicted to rain until 3 p.m. I think it started after 11 a.m, which was not long after I started.

Long Pond can be accessed by at least two canoe carries that can be accessed from Floodwood Road off of Route 30 north of Upper Saranac Lake. Floodwood Road starts off as a paved road, then switches to a dirt/gravel road. The road itself seems in pretty good shape. There are campsites along it on different ponds where the little driveways in are not in good shape.

Wooden walkway next to the beaver dam

The first canoe carry I found was starting from a parking lot across from a remote location of St. Regis Canoe Outfitters. This store was out in the middle of nowhere in a house. I walked part of the canoe carry which went across a wooden path in a marshy area behind a very large beaver dam. Side note: these are some serious beavers. Unfortunately on the other side of the wooden walkway from a steep rooted incline. This is a no go for me. I went into the store and asked if the canoe carry at the other end of Long Pond was any better. They assured me it was shorter and not so steep. Before I left , just in case, I rented a canoe carrier device to put your kayak on underneath the middle of the boat. They charged me $5 dollars.

At the western end of Long Pond maybe 3/4 of a. mile- 1 mile further west was a parking lot for the other canoe carry. I walked all the way down and back to make sure it was doable. Then brought my kayak down.

Launch at the Southwestern end of the pond. It is great for kayakers. It is a gradual descent into the water.

Passageway to Pink Pond

I was not sure if this was going to turn out as a good passageway or not. It was a little overgrown in spots, but I was able to navigate it to Pink Pond without any issues. The passage starts on the opposite side of the pond from the launch a little east of it.

At this point the passageway was viewable.

Pink Pond Passageway to Unnamed Pond

Beaver dame ahead

This was blocked pretty well with a beaver dam. I did not want take it apart on this day or try to climb over it so I went back. The beavers won on this day. It looked like there was a canoe carry from the unnamed pond to Ledge Pond on the map.

Passageway from Pink Pond into Long Pond

Ahead you can catch glimpse of Long Pond again.

Campsites

The campsites along the shore of Long Pond spaced apart. They are all free, first come, first served. As you can see by the sign, some of the campsites were closed to allow for revegetation. While there I saw leaving from camping overnight. I saw one person with a campsite set up who was remaining, and I saw others paddling in with camping gear heading off for their campsites.

This site has a nice lake view.
Heading north

Slang Pond Canoe Carry

The canoe carry to Slang Pond is on the north east area of Long Pond. It was a nice gradual incline to a little beach. From Slang Pond you can go to Turtle Pond and by canoe carry over an old railroad tracks/ path you can access Hoel Pond.

Canoe Carry from Long Pond to Floodwood Pond

The other end of the very long canoe carry I did not take.

I saw some people enter the pond from the canoe carry I would not take. It leads back towards the remote location of St. Regis Canoe Outfitters. They had four people in three canoes loaded with camping supplies. I asked if it was okay before I took these photos.

You can tell they are dedicated paddlers and campers. It was a dreary, rainy early autumn day and they were quite happy to be out enjoying it all.
Proper rain gear and dry suits make life easier in these circumstances.

Wildlife

You can’t tell in these photos, but it was raining most of the trip. I did see 5 loons on my return. There were two pairs hanging out together and one by itself. Because of the wet conditions I did not want to have my camera out of the bag for a long time, so no loon photos. I also saw a great blue heron on the lake and heard kingfishers.

I definitely want to return to this pond on a nicer, rain-free day, however, I recommend using the canoe carry on the western end of the pond. If you do not have a kayak /canoe cart, I recommend renting one from St. Regis Canoe Outfitters. Even on the shorter western end of the pond it is a long carry to the water.