Back in NJ

We had a very nice trip to the Adirondacks. We have been trying to figure out why we feel so relaxed when we are there for a few days, even when designing a finished basement. Having good friends helps. We went out with friends 2 of the 4 days we were there, which never would happen in NJ. But also, on these short trips we can escape the mundane tasks like paying bills, etc. We even managed to take so many leftovers we did little grocery shopping or cooking. So I guess it is like a mini-vacation. Now we're back in NJ and have to pay the bills that were in the pile of mail waiting for us, go grocery shopping, etc. Sigh.

Before

We have spent much of this visit to camp in the basement designing my new sewing room to fill this empty corner.The project continues to grow - now we've decided we need to replace the basement steps too - so who knows when the "after" picture will be posted.

What We Do Best

... spend money. Or what I like to think of as stimulating the economy - that's a good thing, right? Or what W likes to call retail therapy. Today the economy we are stimulating is that of the north country. We came to camp yesterday to start the process of building a room in the basement. It is going to be mainly a sewing room for me - yea! We went into town today and ordered the lumber and sheet rock. We also need a replacement handle for the back door and the best place to buy that was pretty close to Lake Placid. So we figured why not go to Placid Boatworks and order our new boats - especially since they were having a sale: order and pay by January 15th and get a paddle for free. Given that the paddle is worth nearly $500 and that they never put the boats on sale - they can't build them fast enough - we figured that was a good deal. We'll pick up the boats in the spring. This is what my boat will look like.It weighs about 20 pounds. We are already looking forward to getting back on the water. Though we could go paddling now if we wanted. It is 50 degrees today and the locals are already bemoaning the lack of snow.

The Culprit

We woke this morning to yet another damaged bird feeder. I don't know why I bother. These little hand-like prints in the dew on the steps identified the culprit.

Deck Refinishing

We've been playing hard. Now time to get some work done around camp. We've spent the last couple of days refinishing the deck and back porch. Actually, the porch isn't finished yet; we realized if we did both at the same time, we would not be able to get in and out of the house. W washed down the surfaces with a cleaner and power washer. Then we applied Sikkens, using the teak color this time. Hopefully it will last longer than the last finish did. This post is mostly so we can look back and see when we did the work. I will also note that 2 gallons was just barely enough.

Orchids at the VIC

I took a nice long walk at the Paul Smith's VIC (Visitor Interpretive Center) this morning, looking especially for orchids. I got some great photos.

July So Far One of Coldest on Record

See, I wasn't imagining it. That is the headline of a story on NCPR today. And they are predicting the below-average temperatures are going to persist for another 2-3 weeks! But then it should warm up in August and perhaps be above average in September. I hope so. We need a reward for sticking it out through July.

Rain, Rain Go Away - Come Back in a Month or So

We had another several inches of rain yesterday. The mosses and lichens love it. The humans, not so much.

Picnic

We had a good time at today's picnic at the Hardy camp on the St. Lawrence. There were about 20 of us. A few brought their boats and took short paddles. Because of the rainy forecast we elected not to take ours. But I'd like to next time. The river was much narrower and calmer than I expected and I'm looking forward to exploring it.

SOAP!

Another mostly rainy day. A and I drove to the SunFeather Soap factory store in Parrishville this morning and discovered that a bag sale was in progress - $10 for a bag-full of soap - so we came away with 4 bags! Their marketing leaves something to be desired, since I got no notification of the sale. I even called a couple of weeks ago to ask if they were having a sale soon, and they said no. So this post is to help me remember to call them around the 4th of July next year to see if a sale is going on.

Another note, I need to remember not to use the GPS to get me to the soap store. It led us a merry chase over a couple of dirt roads. But that delayed our arrival enough that we saw this fox across the road from the store.

Trip to the Garnet Mines

AA&J arrived on Thursday, to very rainy weather. It finally let up a bit today so we went to Barton Mines to search for garnets. The site is a pit full of waterwith small garnets all over the ground to be picked up.There are large patches embedded in the surrounding rocks, but they are too fragile to dig out. A frog chorused us most of the time we were there, and we found large tadpoles in the water.Then driving home, what must have been a coyote crossed the road in front of us. Very cool.

Neighborhood Wildlife

We did our usual walk along the road this afternoon and W spotted a scarlet tanager. This picture is a bit fuzzy, since it was fairly far away, but no doubting what it was.And then this frog, probably a leopard frog, was resting in the pool by the side of the road. Not bad for an afternoon stroll.

Wildflower Quilt

I'm collecting wildflower photos to print onto fabric and incorporate into a quilt for camp. The starflowers are blooming now - Trientalis borealis in the Primulaceae.

Wood Frog

We found a wood frog on our dry, dusty road, of all places, when we were walking today. I hadn't seen one before and found this identifying photo on the web at http://www.fws.gov/northeast/heinz/WoodFrog.jpg I did not have my camera - I really must get better about carrying it wherever I go.

Fretty Plowers

Remember the LP we used to have with the Muppets' tale of a princess who reversed the first letters of words?.... (At least I think that is what it was.)

Anyway, I planted my annuals in planters on the deck today.I bought them at the Flowering Meadows Nursery in Lake Placid where we purchased our fir and spruce trees, since I thought they would have a good selection. The plants are very nice, but not nearly the selection I'm used to from "down south". I got beautiful tuberous begonias for the shade (they didn't have many left so it is a good thing we went when we did. If they had still had fuschia in hanging baskets, I would have gotten some for the front porch) and in the planters more in the sun I put geraniums (I'm a sucker for those gorgeous clear colors) and Calibrachoa, those trailing flowers that look like miniature petunias.

Camp Woodlure

While on Rollins Pond today we went by Camp Woodlure and took photos.This is the camp originally built by W's great-grandmother's brother and where the family used to vacation. We know nothing about who owns it now.

At Camp

We're relaxing at camp and listening to the loons on the lake. Life is good.

Critter Cam

Usually the raccoons wait until dusk to steal the sunflower seeds. This one came to visit while we were eating dinner. Opening the door caused it to get off the deck, but not very far. And it kept returning until all the seed was gone.

More Wildflowers

The blueberries are blooming along the lakeshore. And the woods are full of the flowers of goldthread (Coptis groenlandica) in the Ranunculaceae.

First Paddle of the Season

The weather was so beautiful and still this morning we went for a paddle on the Flow. As you can see, the leaves are not out very far yet. But neither are the bugs, so we are really enjoying the 60+ degree weather. Then this afternoon we went tree shopping, which was the main reason for the trip to camp. We found some nice spruce and fir at Flowering Meadow Nursery in Lake Placid. Their main location is in Jay, but the selection in Lake Placid was quite extensive. We ended up buying smaller plants than I had planned - their larger ones were too big for us to handle. They would have dug some middle-sized ones for us, but I wanted to get them in this week. And the smaller trees meant we got them planted when we got back. We have 3 balsam fir and 3 black spruce. We decided against white pine when the nurseryman said the deer love their succulent tips.