Go to Old Forge Farmers Market for a Phytochemical fix

It doesn’t seem possible that the Old Forge Farmers’ Market is entering it’s fifth (count ’em, five) season!

I remember us all being so nervous on our first opening day in June 2008—who knew what the heck was going to happen?!

But the opening bell went off at 2 p.m. and the rest, as they say, is history!

The idea of farmers’ markets and stands is an old concept that has slowly but steadily had a resurgence of popularity across the U.S.

According to the USDA’s website, this is due partly to concerns over food borne illnesses and folks wanting to know exactly where their food is coming from.

People want to know if pesticides and inorganic fertilizers were used in the growing of their produce. Continue reading →

Picking up where you left off with summer friends

It was a hot morning that last Friday in June as I stood on my front lawn and watched Limekiln Lake gradually come back to life.

Carloads of summer folks were headed for their lakeside camps and gave friendly toots as they passed by our house.

I was practicing my whiffle ball pitching skills with my pitch-back net.

My dog Mutt waited patiently in the shade of the maple tree to grab an errant throw.

Once the opportunity came her way she vaulted across the lawn and gobbled up the ball.

An inevitable game of chase would ensue.

After four or five bad pitches it was just too darn hot to chase a dog, or even throw a ball, so I joined Mutt under the tree to find some rest.

I closed my eyes and felt the sun’s heat on  my eyelids.

I rolled over and watched small ants wander around the grassy miniature jungle.

I was not sure where they were headed, but they paused every so often and pointed their bodies in several different directions.

Mutt flopped down beside me. Her panting was so loud that I decided we both could use a drink of water. I went towards the house and picked up the hose.

The hose was hot to the touch after sitting in the direct sun all day, but it was soon cooled when the clear, cold water poured through it.

I stuck my whole head under and tried to lick up the water as it rolled down around my ears and across my cheeks.

Mutt stuck her head in, then licked the water from the back of my neck.

Her tongue was warm and slimey, but tickled at the same time.

I cupped my hands together and filled them with water.

Mutt gladly slurped it up before I filled them again and took a drink for myself.

I heard a beep from the road and noticed that one of my summer friends was back for the season.

The car slowed down and out the window popped my friend’s head.

He waved his long skinny arm.

I waved back and shouted that I would be down to the tree fort in a little while.

With an affirmative toot, he and his family traveled down the road to their camp.

It was too hot to continue playing in the sun. I needed to be in the lake or in the shade of the tree house.

I decided to have a sandwich, then headed down to the lake to see if the water was as cold as what came out of the spigot.

Then, maybe a trip to the tree house to catch up with my friends and find out what they had done since last fall.

Mitch Lee, Adirondack native & storyteller, lives at Big Moose Lake.ltmitch3rdny@aol.com

Do what you want with bath products, just stay out of my face When one ponders the idea of total relaxation several images come to mind…

You’ve got your early morning peaceful and beautiful sunrise.

You’ve got your vision of a sandy beach with gentle waves rolling into shore.

You’ve got an appointment for a chat-free pedi.

You’ve got an hour set aside in your busy day for a delightful soaking bath.

But wait… did you say bath?

Well, the bath thing has now been tainted, almost totally wrecked, by a bunch of idiots who have decided that their newest, most innovative way of catching a buzz involves—of all things—BATH SALTS! Continue reading →

Heat, adequate rainfall keep wildflowers lush, thriving

The heavy rains came over the weekend, just as I finally got all my garden in. I don’t know if the radish and lettuce seeds I planted got washed out or not, but time will tell.

My wildflowers have gone crazy with all the heat and just enough rain to keep them watered.

The real heavy rain and hail on Saturday (6/23) didn’t do them much good, however.

It chopped some leaves off the trees in places and made the ground snow white for a short time.

The temperature dropped about 20 degrees. Karen even had to shut the windows.

I’m sure the folks out in Colorado wish they would have a little of this rain, but I see the temperatures in Denver were in the 90s and 100 for the last few days.

That’s not good news for the fire fighters. Conditions like that sure help the fires get bigger and bigger, and now over 200 homes have been consumed.

The milkweed flowers are ready for picking and eating in many places—almost two weeks ahead of schedule.

Just cut them off with a couple of leaves and pile them in a pot.

Add water and boil for seven to ten minutes. (The ants and spiders will normally come to the top.)

Put them in a bowl, add a little vinegar, salt and pepper and dig in for some great veggies.

They taste better than they smell, and that’s saying something.

I had some small plants over at the banding station for supper one night.

The other folks at the table said I had to eat them first. They wanted to see if I had a reaction before they would eat them.

Everyone tried them and agreed they were better than the wild asparagus we had the night before.

I made a trip over to the Denley Trout Farm on Thomas Road in Port Leyden to get a few fish for my pond last Friday.

Proprietor Joe Kraeger was waiting for me with the trout I had ordered in a holding tank.

He put a few pails of water in a plastic bag in a garbage can, put in the trout and then some oxygen from his welding truck, tied the tops of the bags and I was on my way.

They made the hour trip with no problem and my son helped me get them into the pond.

I haven’t seen them since but there are so many minnows in the pond that they wouldn’t have to surface to feed.

I got them for my fly fishing clients who wish to learn how to catch a trout on a fly. I just hope they get more active.

I’ll watch for the Osprey who cleaned out the pond a few years ago.

When I was out with John Scanlon last week he told me he had picked up a Bald Eagle that couldn’t fly at Unirondack on Beaver Lake by Number Four.

It was taken in for rehab but died a couple days later from what was diagnosed as lead poisoning.

He said this was the seventh Eagle they had that died from lead poisoning.

I haven’t tracked down the source, but it must be from fish they are eating that have a lead sinker in them or attached to them.

This is how the Loons get a lead sinker. They can also get them by picking up small stones for their crop and they get it off the bottom.

These birds aren’t being shot with lead shot.

So far, the Loons are doing quite well. The rains have been coming an inch at a time rather than four inches at a rip, so no nests around here have gone under.

I’ve had a couple late nesters that won’t come off until the middle of July. That’s not too late as I’ve had some hatch as late as August 15 and still make it out before the lake iced over.

Last week I lost one chick on Limekiln Lake to an unknown cause. The other pair there now has a chick.

I haven’t had any reports of chicks on the Fulton Chain, but I’m sure some of them have chicks on the water, so steer clear of them while you are out and about in a boat, canoe or kayak.

It’s taken them 27 days to hatch the eggs and they will be on the water with the chicks for 12 to 14 weeks, so give them a break.

You will know when you are too close by as they will be running on the water and hollering loudly.

Some pairs tolerate you more than others, but if you are close by they are paying attention to you instead of  predators that might be lurking from below, such as a snapping turtle.

Also they won’t feed their young when you are close by.

Karen and I found a newly hatched chick yesterday and that pair certainly didn’t want us anywhere near them, much less on the same lake.

I collected the egg sac from near the nest site and we left.

On the second lake we found the pair setting on a new nest that was surrounded by Rose Pogonia flowers—thousands of them in fact, and many were double flowers. What a beautiful setting.

Other orchids are starting to bloom, but that’s another story. See ya.

by Sen. James L. Seward

New York State government is working again. The proof is abundant. Over the past two years we have eliminated $13 billion in budget gaps without raising taxes or fees, passed two consecutive on-time budgets that reduce spending, consolidated government agencies and enacted a historic property tax cap. Significant steps have been taken to bring New York’s fiscal house in order, but more needs to be done to help homeowners as they work to make ends meet. The state senate recently passed legislation that would restore the STAR property tax rebate program. An initiative that would deliver $202 million in property tax relief to senior citizens in the 2012-13 school year and $1.2 billion in property tax relief to middle class families starting in 2013-14. Back in 2006 when I helped start the STAR rebate check program, the idea was to return homeowners some of their hard earned money each fall to help meet their needs. Moms and Dads often spent it on back to school clothes for their kids. Many used it to help cover their school tax bills which also arrive in the fall. Some put it toward the cost of filling their fuel oil tank to prepare for the winter heating season. The program was successful in reducing the bite of that fall school tax bill. Unfortunately, in 2009 the program was dropped. A petition drive I launched to revive the program received an overwhelming response. But despite the grassroots support the STAR rebate checks did not go out that fall or any year since. Dropping the program served as a de facto tax increase on middle class families and senior citizens already struggling to make ends meet and stay in their homes. Now, at a time when we’ve already seen significant property tax relief thanks to the tax cap enacted last year, we need to continue the forward momentum and reinstate the STAR rebate check program.

Continue reading →

The Town of Webb Historical Association is planning a celebration to commemorate the 10^th anniversary of the move of Hemmer Cottage on May 31, 2002, from the grounds of the Town of Webb School campus to the Old Forge waterfront. A special reception will be held at the Hemmer Cottage on Thursday, July 19th.

During the winter of 2001, the Hemmer Cottage was saved by a group of local citizens from being demolished when the Town of Webb School could not find a buyer for the historic house, where local artist, Bernard Hemmer and his wife, Mary, once lived.

The cottage, built in 1931, was one of a dozen unique cottages built in the 1920s and 1930s by Hemmer, a World War I veteran.

In 2001 the citizens group circulated a petition and collected funds to save the unique structure.

They were overwhelmed by the donations by the community and visitors which enabled an Ad Hoc team to present a bid to the School Board in the amount of $751. It turned out to be the winning bid, which was accepted by the School Board.

The move to its new location was made possible with a grant of $25,000 that was secured by then-Senator Ray Meier.

Additional grants were received by various organizations in 2002 and 2003 to make improvements. Since the move to the new site overlooking the Old Forge Pond, the upper floor of Hemmer Cottage has served as rented office space and a conference area for CAP-21, and meeting space for small groups.

On the first floor there are exhibits by the Historical Association, including Bernard Hemmer’s oil paintings.

The Historical Association has hosted fundraisers on the grounds of Hemmer Cottage to cover ongoing expenses of maintenance and upgrading.

The community is invited to the 10th anniversary celebration.

For planning purposes, those wishing to attend are asked to register by calling the Historical Association at (315) 369-3838 or by emailing: director@webbhistor.org.

Rich Chapman, Head Golf Professional at the Thendara Golf Club, will be hosting a series of free golf clinics between 4 and 5 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays throughout the summer. The clinics began this week and Chapman invites anyone who is interested in learning the game of golf.

Women’s clinics will take place on Thursdays; men’s on Fridays, and family clinics will take place on Saturday afternoons.

Chapman is able to host the clinics for free, he said, thanks to the generosity of the Muriel Cohen Memory Celebration Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that strives “to bring the joy, discipline and life lessons of the sport to golfers of all ages and skill levels.’’

“We spoke with the Muriel Cohen Memory Celebration Tournament Committee to see if they wanted to jump on board and they thought the outreach to the community for the game she enjoyed so much was a good idea. We’d all like to see more people get involved,” Chapman said.

According to Chapman, each clinic will cover all of the basics of the sport, beginning with swing skills on the driving range, and progressing to chipping, putting, and sand shots.

The Club will also offer participants the opportunity to play at reduced greens fees following each clinic.

Additionally, thanks to the Muriel Cohen Tournament Committee, Chapman will teach two free Junior Golf Camps this summer at the golf course.

The first is scheduled to take place between Monday, July 30 and Friday, August 3 and the second is scheduled for Monday, August 13 through Friday, August 17th.

Children will be split into different classes based on age, and registration for the camps will take place the week prior to the events.

For more information, call Thendara Golf Club at (315) 369- 3136.