Paddling the Rollins, Floodwood, Fish Creek Loop

We had a nice nearly 8 mile paddle today, plus a walk.  We drove into the Rollins Pond campground and parked at the boat launch.  We had to pay a day use fee of $8.  We had thought we could show a property tax statement to prove we pay taxes in NY, but you must have NY license plates on your vehicle in order to avoid the fee.  We put the boats into Rollins Pond and checked out camp Woodlure that was built in the 1920's by W's great, great uncle.

Then we paddled into Floodwood, down Fish Creek, through Square and stopped at an empty campsite where we parked the boats.  We then walked about 1 1/2 miles back to the car and drove back to pick up the boats.  This is a route we used to do when we had the heavy tandem boat and didn't want to portage it.  It was nice to do it again, since we like paddling the length of Fish Creek. 

We weren't bothered by bugs as long as we stayed away from shore.  But as soon as we got close to shore we were surrounded by black flies.  So we didn't make as many stops as we would have liked.  We saw some hobblebush (Viburnum alnifolium in the Caprifoliaceae) in bloom alongside the road.

Memorial Day Paddle and Picnic

We had a great paddle on the Lower Osgood River today.  It was showery to start but the skies later cleared and the bugs weren't too bad.  I saw marsh marigolds (Caltha palustris in the Ranunculaceae) for the first time in the Adirondacks.

And bog rosemary (Andromeda glaucophylla in the Ericaceae).  

And the many blueberries along the shore were in bloom as well.

Then we had a pot luck with our paddling friends - 24 in all.  A great way to start the season.

First Paddle of the Season

We paddled on Lake Clear for the first time today.  Since we have a long paddle tomorrow, we did not go as far as we could have into Mill Pond, but we still traveled about 6 miles.

It is a beautiful day with temps in the low 70's and no bugs to speak of.  We're not sure if they are already gone, haven't started biting yet, or just will be less of a problem this year after the hard winter.  I guess time will tell.

At Camp

We just arrived at camp.  I was surprised to see the trillium still blooming.  I guess everything is late this year.  And the black flies are in abundance.  Exactly why did we leave New Jersey?

Quilt #30

This one was in the quilt show and is now hanging on the wall in my quilting room.

Final House Construction Post

We finally got sod today.  Here at last is a photo of the house with the completed front yard.  The landscaping is finished as well.  We even bought and put in some plants today to fill in some open spots.

And here are some views of the sod in progress.  The bare back yard:

LOTS of sod sitting in the neighbor's yard, waiting to be put down.

The end result.  W says we need a croquet set since we have all that grass.

Hello, Again

It has been a busy 2 months since I posted last.  We finally are finished with most of the moving in stuff, though there is still the garage to paint and arrange and a couple of closets still need shelves.  But we will be heading for camp at the end of the week, so those chores will have to wait.

Last week was an especially busy one with our final chorus concert for the season and the Rebecca's Reels quilt show where I won a first prize ribbon in the small pieced quilt category.