Day 192: July 10th – The North Country

Sunny and warm, then chilly and rainy, then sunny and warm……

       We’ve begun our trek north and has an interesting journey up to South Colton where we will be staying with friends for the next couple of days.  When we left home, it was sunny and cool but rapidly warmed up into the 70s.  By the time we hit the “Dacks”, the sky was darkening and the temps were dropping.  Whiel it was still fairly sunny, however, we did stop and take a good look at the Hudson River at North Creek.  Back home near West Point, the Hudson is over 200 feet deep.  It is amazing to see it here closer to its headwater.  Here, you could easily walk across the river and barely get wet.  As the summer progresses, it will grow even more shallow.

        Eventually, by the time we hit Long Lake in the heart of the Adirondacks, it was teeming rain and temperatures had dropped almost 20 degrees into the 50s.  Following a lengthy lunch at the Adirondack Hotel (over one hour for chicken fingers and a sausage and pepper sandwich?), we continued north and the weather rapidly cleared with temps gradually climbing back into the upper 70s as the skies brightened.

        As we drove past one of the many swamps along the roadside, we noticed in a bare snag a nest with what appeared to be chicks of good size residing within.   We did a quick 180 degree turn which had Sharon clutching to the door handle and returned to find two Great blue heron chicks on the nest.  The parent which had been with the chicks was not comfortable with our presence even though we were at least 300 yards distant.  And so, I grabbed a couple of shots of the chicks, got back into the car and headed back north towards our final destination.

      
       When we arrived in South Colton, we were greeted by sunny skies and warm temperatures.  Our hosts have a beautiful home on one of the impoundments of the Racquette River and are true lovers of nature…just another reason that we have stayed friends for over 40 years.  Anyway, they love to feed the chipmunks and the birds and that makes this a special place for us to grab some excellent photo-ops of some of the north country’s wildlife.  We were greeted first and foremost by a barrage of chipmunks who were looking for a handout.  Our host Rosie accommodated them with peanuts which they would gather and then quickly run of to horde in their larder.

  










    A Red squirrel was obviously privy to what was going on here and made an appearance in the hopes of also taking advantage of the feast.

       Hummingbirds, Blue jays and Goldfinches were also at the feeders as was a fine looking Red-breasted nuthatch……..harbingers of things to come here in “God’s Country” over the next several days.