Great Day for Nest Building

Lunch hour birding at Stockport Flatts; Checked out the old Eagle's nest on middle ground island, the pair was actively involved with the nest, couldn't tell if there are any eglets yet. Watched another eagle swoop down to get some twigs to bring to a new nests. Tide was out and you could easily see why it's called the Flatts. A lone male Wood Duck was swimming in the creek.
On my way home stopped by the towers in Athens to check on the Heron nests, two active nests with bird coming and going with building material. On the old black tower is an active Osprey nest, both birds seen on or near the nest.

Eagles - 3
Great Blue Heron - 4
Osprey - 2
Wood Duck - 1
Redwing Black Birds - Many
Downey Woodpecker - 1
Woodchuck - 1

So Proud

The Boy was inducted into Phi Eta Sigma, a National Honor Society For College Freshman. We made the trip up north on a beautiful high pressure day, blue blue sky and fluffy white cumulus clouds. I always enjoy this trip and it has the added bonus of seeing the boy at the end.
The ceremony was short and low key, the faculty advisor made the remark (as they added more chairs) that this was the largest group they've ever had. I guess he didn't get the memo about the Echo Boomers and their helocopter parents. I can't believe his first year of college is just about over. We haven't had the usual freshman problems. He has taken to college like he's been waiting for it all his life.
I'm so proud Pook, you done good!

I'm not surprised

I am an Echinacea What Flower Are You?

Gift of a Day

I have been wanting to explore the Hudson River Island State Park for a while now, so today Lemmer & I dropped in at Stockport Station. Tide was out and the flats were shallow, almost diificult to paddle as we kept hitting the mud. What a glourious day! So many of my favorite things in one place.

First the River; I love the Mighty Mighty Hudson from it's pristine beauty in Newcomb to it's broad curving expanse as it meets the sea.

Second Eagles; Thank you Mr. Nye & the NYS DEC, beacause of you, I see Eagles almost every day. Sometimes when I'm crossing the Ripper on my way to work, sometimes at the boatl aunch on my lunch hour, sometimes just looking out the bathroom window in the courthouse. How cool is that?

Outhouses! A Hudson River Outhouse is much different than an Adirondack outhouse, but nicely decorated with cresent moon symbol. It even still had tp from last season.

And of course my paddling partner. We are finding our rhythym, and this week went much smoother with loading/unloading the boats. We are laughing more and cursing less :) My heart just about explodes as i paddle behind her.

Birds of a Feather

Out for a lunchtime walk around Hudson today and spied a Pileated Woodpecker high in a tree. My second one this year. I love these birds because of their cartoonish/woody woodpecker look. These birds are not to common and you can consider yourself lucky to catch a glimpse of one.

Queen of the Courthouse

The big news this week was my boss' 60th birthday. She is a terific Lady to work for (I love my job) and gets great pleasure out of everyday things. The day was treated as a national holiday. We decorated her office with all sorts of dollar store crap and we ended the day with cake! Here's the video I presented her with the next day, and now she thinks I'm a computer genius! Sh! Don't tell how easy movie maker is to use.

Hudson River Run # 465

Dropped the boat in on Saturday afternoon for what we thought would be a quick run on the river. We headed south on a flat river under cloudy skies. Surprisingly, not a lot of traffic for a holiday weekend although all the sites on the island were full. We had just cleared the Castleton Bridge when an eagle, a juvenile, swoops down in front of the boat; he missed his catch, and then flew up to the tree line. Wow those eagles are becoming a common sight on the river...how cool is that? We turned back at the Athens’s Lighthouse, but not before I got to spy the three heron nests on the power line tower. I had read about theses on the Hudson River Almanac newsletter I subscribe to. We also spied another bird sitting on the tower, after much debate and it took flight we could see it was another eagle, older because we could see the white tail feather. It started spitting a little on the way back but we outran it. The evening was so nice we decided to head to the barge in Watervliet for dinner. We ran home in the dark on a mirror like river, but the bugs! We were headed into the wind and the bugs were like little bullets pelting us…yuck! We got back to Bethlehem with no problems and just like motel six, they left the lights on. Nice thing about the Bethlehem launch, the launch is very well lit at night so no probs getting the boat back on the trailer in the dark.

Wildlife talley for this trip;
2 Eagles
3 white Ibis
1 heron
a bouy full of Cormorants
multiple Gulls, Ducks & Geese

NPL to Oneil Lean-to 08/05/07

Nature calls it happens to all of us. But girls, leaving your TP on the trail is just plain lazy. Now being a lady of a certain size and age and having birthed 3 kids i p*e*e* a lot, but always off the trail and i loves me some Ziplocs. On this beautiful August day we encountered at least 5 parties on our way to the lean-to from the Rt 28/30 trail head. That's taking your chances in being caught in a compromising position, and my camera is always at the ready. So unless you want to see your bare bottom ( or worse) on here, take it off the trail, pack it out or bury it. Enough said.

Cheney Pond - 12/31/06 New Year's Eve

Cheney pond is a quick little jaunt to a beautiful wilderness pond, located in the Vanderwhacker Moutain Wild Forest. We hit the road late as we were a bit lazy and unorganized this morning, so this nessitated just a bit of a stretch of the legs. We had McGreggor with us and he's not use to snow and cold. I wanted to explore this pond for a while, it should be great for a paddle in the warmer months. My only worry is that at only a mile in, it proably gets a lot of use. There was a picnic table and privy and just enough snow to make it look pretty. We drove down Blue Ridge Rd to North Hudson then took rt9 all the way to Lake George and stopped into the Garrison for some burgers. A Great way to kick out 2006.

Happy Birthday Baby New Year

He wasn't the first or even the last baby to be born on that new year's day of 1990. He came as usual at his own pace somewhere around 9:13 pm. He came into this world peeing and not breathing and at that moment my heart stopped. They whisked him down the hall to the NICU, oldmanmac and most of our family running behind. Don't let him be alone for a minute i cried thru my tears and fright.
Now here's my pook at 17, the one who makes me laugh and reminds me not to take myself so seriously, the one who awes me with his brain and the things he knows. When did the tide turn and i am now asking him to explain? Why did we fight the French & Indian war? He knows. Why must those with no children pay school taxes, his argument is persuasive. He keeps me on my toes so i can be a mom to be proud of, as proud as i am of him.
Love ya pookie.