Wildlife

Saw the following while kayaking on the flow today:

• Great blue heron - flew right by the kayak
• Red-winged blackbird
• Kingfisher
• Black duck
• Tree swallow
• Barn swallow
• Deer on the shore

Rock Hugger

Wood-Sorrel (Oxalis montana)

Foxglove (Digitalis)

I planted a "shady garden mixture" last year and now I have foxgloves. Yeah! How can a plant so pretty be so poisonous? I guess that is what has kept the deer away.

Back to Camp

Back to our camp in the woods for the summer.

Nature Walk

Took a nature walk with A and J.
Lots of neat spring flowers.

And opportunities for stalking frogs.

A Walk on the Beach

Great weather for shell collecting.

Back to NJ, Sigh

We head back to NJ this morning. The weather here is gorgeous and it is hard to leave. But lots to do in NJ and we'll be back next month to stay a while.

P.S. Had a long paddle on the lake yesterday and saw our 2 loons. Welcome back!

Kayak Trip Up Stony Creek

Today we took a paddling trip with ADK North Woods chapter. We kayaked up Stony Creek from the bridge on Coreys Road and into Stony Creek Ponds where we had lunch at campsite 5. The water is so high we just paddled through the trees with little sign of the actual channel -- so it looked nothing like the above map. The high water meant we could not get under the bridge in the middle of the ponds. So going up we got out and carried over the road and coming back we climbed out at the bridge and sent the kayak under the bridge while we walked over it and managed to catch the boat on the other side. An interesting version of "Pooh sticks".

Wildlife

Saw a pair of bald eagles and a beaver today while kayaking on the Flow.

We were trying to see how far upstream we could get since the water level is so high and, as usual in the Adirondacks, we came upon a beaver dam. There was a good-sized lodge behind it. Both were in good shape and contained newly cut branches. And the owner was just approaching the dam when I paddled up. I forget how big beavers are - at least twice the size of an otter in girth. S/he gave me a look and then did the traditional tail slap as s/he dove under. Very cool.

And then we saw a pair of eagles gliding overhead. We know there are eagles on the Flow but rarely see them.

All in all a very good paddle, despite the high winds and white caps on the way back.