To the Palisades

It was a cool morning (about 40 degF), overcast skies with light winds from the south.  I was planning on getting a longer paddle in this weekend.

I put in at the mouth of the Otter at Fort Cassin, and headed west across Lake Champlain to the Palisades.  Where the shoreline on this portion of the Vermont side of the lake is dotted with farms and lake houses, the New York side is steep and deeply wooded.

As I entered the broad lake, I saw what looked like 2 islands of to the south.  At first I thought they were the Diamond Islands.  I quick glance to the north confirmed that they weren't.  What were they?

Duck blinds!  Yep, its that time of year!

The crossing is about 2 miles.  As I approached the New York side, I could see the remnant of a rockslide on the steep mountainside.

The shoreline is a battle between wood and rock.  In some places you can't tell where the rock ends and the wood begins.

I paddled south to Ore Cove.  I remember reading somewhere that these was mining here, but the steepness of the terrain led to numerous slides.  Maybe there is an abandoned mining operation here. . .

There is a small campsite here.  The ground is very rocky, while there is no easy take-out as the water at the shore is several feet deep.

The campsite is part of the Lake Champlain paddlers trail.

Across the lake to the east I could see Camel's Hump in the Vermont Green Mountains.

This part of the lake is bounded by the Adirondack State Forest.

As I paddled near the shore I could here something moving in the woods.  What was it?

A red squirrel!

There are a lot of tiny coves.  As I came around a corner into one I startled a pair of ducks.

The rock face is very steep in parts.  In places, huge blocks of stone were poised to fall into the lake!

I came across another campsite.  My nephew and I stopped at this one years ago.

It is also a Lake Champlain paddler trail site.

As I continued south, I came to the high cliffs known as the Palisades.  I looked up and at the top I saw a Peregrine Falcon watching me.  They nest in the cliffs.

After a few minutes it flew away.

There are several places were water cascades down the cliffs . . .

I came to another of the paddler trail campsites.  I stayed at this site about 8 years ago.

There is a little, protected cove . . .

. . . a shelter . . .

. . . and even first rate accommodations!

I paddled back across the lake to the Vermont side.  The crossing here is only about 1 mile.  I headed over to the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum where they have a recreation of the gunboat Philadelphia (aka the Philadelphia II).  The Philadelphia was built in 1776 at the southern end of the lake in Whitehall, NY.  Whitehall is the birthplace of the US Navy!

As I headed north back to Fort Cassin, I could see the Palisades off to the west.

Another fascinating paddle!

An Autumn Stroll

The wife and I took a late afternoon walk down by the lake.

The fields are still soaked from all the recent rains.  The paths and roads were wet and muddy.

There were berries on the trees and shrubs - the end of the season is at hand.

We came across a old barn with a charming collection of flowers . . .

The lake was still and calm.  The sun was setting over the Adirondacks.

The setting sun revealed the wonder of nature.  Beautiful.

It was a fine walk.

Pedal Power

We went to the Shelburne Museum this past weekend.  This trip, we visited a number of the collections associated with woodworking, tools, toys and carving.  I took a lot of photographs - a lot a material for future blog postings.

For this entry, I thought I'd show some of the foot-operated tools from the Blacksmith Shop and the collections in the Shaker Shed.

The first piece of equipment had me stumped.  It was obvious it was a foot powered machine which would drive a sharp metal tool down.   But what was it? I consulted a book I have on American hand tools (Alvin Sellens' Dictionary of American Hand Tools - A Pictorial Synopsis).  Aha! It was a mortising machine.  One would have drilled out the hole to be mortised, and then squared-up the hole using the foot-powered chisel.

I like the wooden leaf-spring at the top, but it seems that the upper and lower leaf springs are flipped.  I looks like the pedal would not be able to move very far before both springs would come in contact.  I'm just going to go back and ask a few questions.

There was a great foot-powered saw . . .

. . . a foot powered lathe . . .

. . . and a foot powered jig saw.

There was also a slate cutter's bench. It is similar to a shaving bench in operation.  There used to be a lot of slate quarries in the area.  Something else to study!

Reprieve . . .

We are having an unusual warm spell the next few days.  I don't mean we'll be in the 90's.  Highs will be in the mid to high 70's.  Given that we had frost a couple of times this week, these temperatures are wonderful.

Fall is here, and winter is not far away.  We get our first appreciable snow the end of October.

I went for a short ride.  I came across several woolly bear caterpillars.  I've given up trying to determine if they are can prognosticate winter weather.

I decided to paddle Dead Creek.   I have not paddled it this year.  Soon duck season will be here, and I won't want to be near the Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area (I find the bullet holes in the sign ironic!).

Most of the bird-life has gone.  There are still great blue heron about.

Dead Creek has wide areas for paddling, and tiny little passages.  I like to explore the tiny passages - you never know what you'll come across.

In one isolated area, I came across more blue heron.

The water is very still in Dead Creek.  I loved the reflections in the water.

More reflections . . .

To the west, I could see the Adirondacks . . .

. . . and Snake Mountain was to the east.

Occasionally geese were overhead.  Dead Creek will be chock full of waterfowl as the fall migration continues.

The sumac are now deep red.  The sun was getting lower in the sky, and the moon is rising over the Green Mountains.

I hope to keep paddling until the water freezes in mid-winter.

Ghost Signs in Montreal

Overloaded . . .

I've been traveling a lot the last month.  We traveled to Vermont and back twice.  I've been on business travel to Huntsville, Phoenix, and Montreal.  This week we are staying put.  It gives me a little time to sort through photos.

Last weekend we were in Montreal.  So many things I could blog about - great food, architecture, the old city, friendly people.  Where to start . . .

I know - the Ghost Signs!

While walking around the old city, I saw three large Ghost Signs.

One was for a company known as Mercantile Printing.  I couldn't find much about it.

The second was for La Sauvegarde D'Assurance (Safeguard Insurance).  From what I can tell, it was started around 1915 and continued in business into the 1960's.

It took me a while to figure out the last sign.  It was for Dupuy & Ferguson.  They were a seed distributor in the first half of the 20th century.

Keep looking up!

The Approaching Autumn

It was a beautiful, fall-like morning.  The morning temperatures were around 45 degF.  The winds were light and from the north-east.

I set out from Kingsland Bay and was planning to cross the lake and head to the Palisades.  Once on the broad lake, I decided to head back to the Vermont side and paddle into Porter Bay.  I had never paddled Porter Bay - I was hoping to see some wildlife.

Autumn is coming fast.  Much of the bird life is disappearing.  Canada geese are still about . . .

. . . as are the cormorants.

The swamp maples are really starting to change.

Off in the distance, I saw a large bird on the shoreline.  It was a young bald eagle.  I was lucky to snap one photo.

I wanted to follow the eagle as is flew off to the east deep into the bay.  Porter Bay is weedy.  Though the lake is a little higher after all the rains we have had over the last few weeks, I could not follow.

The osprey are now gone.  It will be 6 months before the nests will be occupied.

There were a few open passages into the bay.  You never know what you'll find in the weeds.

Peaceful . . .

Off in the distance, I saw great blue heron flying about.  They will stay around for a while, but will fly away as the cold weather closes in.

At this time of year, the boat traffic decreases.

The camps and large lakefront homes will soon be quiet . . .

As I paddled back, I saw Mount Mansfield off in the distance.  In a few months the ski resorts will be in full operation all about the Green Mountains.

One of the first to appear, and one of the last to leave, the mergansers are still about.

Autumn is on its way.

Flooding

We weathered the remnants of Hurricane Irene.  The creek came up a little, but there was no flooding.  The ground is now soaked, and our grass hasn't been mowed in weeks.

We decided to do some remodeling this weekend.  It was hot and muggy.  I painted the master bedroom and living room ceiling and ripped out the old carpeting in the master bedroom.  We picked up some new laminate flooring which I'll install in a few weeks.  By Sunday evening we were tired.  We went out to dinner.  On the way home the temperature started to drop.  A few rain showers came through.  Mists swirled around the mountains.

We painted the master bedroom on Monday.  It had rained all night and all through the day.  By Tuesday the rain eased up.  I got a little yard work in (turned the compost piles, weeded, trimmed brush), and we hauled the old carpet to the dump.

The remnants of tropical storm Lee came in late Tuesday evening.  It has dumped inches of rain.  The creek overflowed its bank and flooded the eastern part of the yard.  The house is okay, but we expect to have a little water in the garage and the barn.  Luckily we have most of our stuff on pallets and only shovels and garden tools in the first level of the barn.  At most we got an inch of water in a few places.

The water level is already dropping, but we still expect a few more inches of rain overnight.  Looks like we will have more cleanup to do next weekend.  A few of our neighbors have many inches of water in their basements.  Given the fact we have a stone foundation and a dirt floor in our basement, we'll have to run the dehumidifier to keep the dampness down.

We are lucky.  This is minor flooding.  I think about the people affected by Katrina, or the recent flooding caused by Irene.  Nature is dispassionate.

Why I Blog

One of the main reasons I blog is to keep a record of the natural world around me.  I always felt I should learn more about birds, plants, and insects.  Today was one of those days when I learned something new.

I had come home from work and my wife greeted me on the porch.  She pointed out a caterpillar on one of our potted impatiens.

We went inside and then did a Google image search for 'caterpillar identification'. After scrolling through a few dozen photos, I found out that this was a Pale Tussock Moth caterpillar.

In reading up on this caterpillar, I found out that it can cause rashes.  Glad we didn't touch it.

We went for a walk.  When we came back, it was gone.  What a great little find.  I saw something I had never seen before, I learned what it was, and I am able to share it with the blogosphere!  Enjoy!

After The Storm

We weathered hurricane Irene with no problems.   Some family in the mid-Atlantic have had no power for days.  Towns south of us have had terrible flooding.

Outside there has been the sounds of chain saws.  Neighbors have been cutting fallen trees of their roofs.

The Otter is furious.   I have never seen the falls so angry, even during spring floods!

The river is up several feet.  The parking lot at the basin is flooded.

I hope you all are safe!