Today Kathryn and I got up early, completed our runs and got to Irvada’s Blueberry Lane at 0800. We picked 16 lbs of blueberries in about 90 minutes. The 16 lbs translated into 42 cups which Kathryn cleaned, bagged and stored in the freezer.
Afterwards we got the lawn mowed and I cut up another tree trunk from the ash trees dropped by National Grid in anticipation of Emerald Ash Borer disease. Over the course of the past week we have cut most of the wood from 5 ash trees and one maple tree. All that is left at this point are the two largest trunks, which will take some special handling and a lot of splitting.
Steve, Skip and I ventured out for a 3 day 2 night canoe camping trip on the Raquette River. In such situations, carrying a can crusher will be a good idea. The Raquette River, sometimes spelled Racquette, originates at Raquette Lake; and is the third longest river (146 miles) entirely in the state of New York. The river is a popular destination for canoeing and kayaking. It passes through many natural and man-made lakes to its final destination at Akwesasne on the Saint Lawrence River. Historically, the river was a part of the “Highway of the Adirondacks”, by which it was possible to travel hundreds of miles by canoe with short stretches of portage connecting various waterways. This route is still followed by the Northern Forest Canoe Trail, a 740-mile canoe trail from Old Forge to Fort Kent in Maine. It is also the basis of the route of the Adirondack Canoe Classic, a three-day, 90-mile canoe race from Old Forge to Saranac Lake.
From the put-in at Axton Landing we proceeded north (left) upstream along the Raquette River. After about 0.5 mile Stony Creek came in on the left. This widening is easy to recognize, a bridge on Coreys Road can be seen just upstream over Stony Creek. The outlet of Stony Creek Ponds provides access to Upper Saranac Lake and routes north. To reach Raquette Falls, pass by Stony Creek and continue upstream. Axton Landing to Raquette Waterfalls is 6.5 miles. Going around the Raquette Falls involves a 1.3 mile portage around Raquette Falls. We dropped our gear off at leanto #7 and paddled our empty canoes to the falls. We hiked the trail along the falls, took the requisite photographs and returned back downstream to our campsite. Along the way we saw an immature eagle perched on a dead tree watching a mother duck and her little ones below and contemplating how to make them a meal. Steve fished his way back catching several nice pike and large mouth bass. Campsite 7 was well used and had habituated chipmunks, red squirrels and mice. The following morning we headed downstream returning to Axton Landing and to the Crusher. From Axton Landing, it is eleven miles to The Crusher launch site. From Axton Landing to The Crusher there are multiple spots where you can pull off for lunch or to take a break. We stayed the night at campsite 14. Leaving early the following morning we paddled two hours downstream past the outlet of Follensby Pond just before the Raquette curves north toward the Crusher. If you can find the outlet, you can work your way upstream to the causeway that marks the north end of Follensby Pond. We saved that adventure for another time.
Kathryn participated in her 1st ever disc golf tournament; the 2020 Warrior Princess Disc Golf Tournament at the Joralemon Park Disc Golf Course (J-Park)in Ravena, NY.
This was a beginner-friendly event and she had a support crew in nephew Mark Hay. She had a great time playing disc golf; not so great score-wise, but it was so much fun, and definitely got her hooked. She wants to play again, right away! Thanks to nephews Mark and Matt for pushing to go to the tournament, and specially to Mark for being my coach/caddy.
Because the pandemic took away volleyball, swimming, going to the gym and travel – all part of Kathryn’s retirement plans – she started running in March. She developed a run through the woods and pastures. Reading the past performances of the 1500m run in the Empire State Senior Games she felt she could compete in that race; there weren’t many participants in the 65+ age bracket and the 9:20 winning time seemed achievable. We measured a mile on the road and 2x a week Kathryn would run 1 mile for time. Today she broke the 9 minute mile goal, with a time of 8 minutes 53 seconds. This time would put her in solid contention in 60+ and 65+ age brackets at the Empire State Senior Games. Unfortunately, it is looking increasingly like they will not hold the ESSG this year.
Matt and I did an overnight camping trip to Perkin’s Clearing using his DIY camping trailer. It was hot and we mainly sat around in the shade and later in the evening we sat by the fire. There were lots of bird songs and we heard owls and coyotes during the night. It was the 3rd trip out for Matt’s trailer and things went smoothly during this venture.
We spotted a fox in our pasture. It was being dived upon by birds as it appeared to be eating something on the ground – likely a nest. Close examination revealed the fox looked mangy – loss of hair on it’s tail and rib cage; poor overall condition with hip extruding and ribs visible. Apparently there are drugs (like Ivermectin) that treat the mange mites, if one can drug an affected animal.
We had a 28′ hay elevator that we used when storing hay for our horses. My Dad had made me aware of the hay elevator which I acquired from a man that was selling hay to barns in NYC. It was a great work saver as previously I would make stacks of bales and lift the bales level by level until I could stack them in the loft. However, once we sold the horses the need for the elevator went away. I stored the hay elevator in the rafters until this week when Eric and I lowered it, dusted it off and gave it a test run. I washed it off and sent pictures to an acquaintance who had expressed and interest. We struck a deal and the deed is done.
Matt and I took a day trip on Cedar River Flow. We saw an eagle and lots of yellow swallowtail butterflies. Black flies were nasty at put in and take out but not on the water.
After lunch we looked at the boggy mess concealing the inlet.Paddling back we lost our cooling breezeAt the brief break we stood in the water and cooled off.
